The Last Dickens by Matthew Pearl

Release date: 2009 / 383 pages

First line: Neither of the young mounted policeman fancied these subdivisions of the Bagirhaut province.

Synopsis (from front cover): Boston, 1870. When news of Charles Dickens’s untimely death reaches the office of this struggling American publisher, Fields & Osgood, partner James Osgood sends his trusted clerk Daniel Sand to await the arrival of Dickens’s unfinished novel. But when Daniel’s body is discovered by the docks and the manuscript is nowhere to be found, Osgood must embark on a transatlantic quest to unearth the novel that will save his venerable business and reveal Daniel’s killer.

Review: I am excited and honored to review this exceptional work for TLC’s tour. As I recently posted in my review of Mister Pip, I am an ardent fan of Dickens and never tired of introducing him to new generations of readersin my 9th grade classroom. In addition, I have meant to read The Dante Club for years, and somehow never did, so I was curious to experience Pearl’s style of writing — and was not disappointed.

The Last Dickens is first and foremost a mystery. Dickens last novel The Mystery of Edwin Drood was only half-finished at the time of Dickens’ death and this novel traces a historical goose chase to find the remaining installments. Many nefarious characters are interested in the ending to this novel, since Dickens was the most popular writer at his time — to an extent I believe we can scarcely fathom nowadays. This wild popularity forms another sub-plot in this novel as we witness Dickens’ last American book tour, which was so arduous that many believed it contributed to his death.

Beyond the circuitous plot, I loved the language of this novel. Although not written in an imitative style, The Last Dickens is certainly an homage to this beloved novelist. I knew I was in experienced hands when I confronted “pugilist” and “succubus” early on. His syntax echoes that of the Victorians and feels deliciously archaic and meandering, yet the momentum of the chase keeps readers from getting too bogged down with words. In addition, many, many characters populate this novel, and are each finely wrought in their individuality.

I marked 5 pages to quote before I reached page 30 and then forced myself to stop thinking of my review and simply enjoy the ride. However, here is a sampling of a few of these excerpts:

On why we should appreciate publishers:  “It was when I read Walden that I knew I wanted to be a publisher,” said Osgood, not a philosophical man but one who always wanted to be helpful. “Not that I wished to experiement as a hermit in the woods, mind! But I realized that behind the unusual insights of this strange spirit, Thoreau, there was yet another person, far from Thoreau’s woods, who was going to great lengths to ensure that every person in America had a chance to read his writing if they so desired. Someone who did so not because it would instantly prove popular, but because it could be important.”

And on why publishers are so oft maligned… “We are like lawyers, except instead of being blamed for the loss of a mortgage, we are blamed for lost dreams.”

And on why we still love Dickens… “Dickens alone, among all the writers of popular fiction of the day, could employ wit and discernment, excitement and sympathy, in equal parts in each one of his books. The characters were no mere paper dolls, nor were they thinly veiled extensions of Charles Dickens’s own persona.  No, the characters were utterly themselves. In a Dickens story, readers were not asked to aspire to a higher class or to hate other classes than their own but to find the humanity and the humane in all. This is what made him the world’s most famous author.”

And on why we love fiction in general… “Novels are filled with lies, but squeezed in between is even more that is true — without what you may call the lies, the pages would be too light for the truth, you see?”

Now, a few caveats before I finish my review…  A familiarity with Edwin Drood would add to your enjoyment of this novel (although is not necessary), and the Victorian setting, prose, and style is lovely but does not result in a fast read — of course, neither was Dickens!  At times I had to pause and unravel who the characters were and how they related to one another due to the structure of the sections, but this, too, was a momentary hesitation.

Overall, I wholeheartedly recommend this novel to any one who still mourns the loss of Dickens and wishes his spirit was found in more contemporary novels.  Interested?  Simply leave me a comment and I’ll pick a winner by Saturday!

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