CHAPTER ONE
My name is Wilkie Collins, and my guess, since I plan to delay the publication of this document for at least a century and a quarter beyond the date of my demise, is that you do not recognise my name. Some say that I am a gambling man and those that say so are correct, so my wager with you, Dear Reader, would be that you have neither read nor heard of any of my books or plays. Perhaps you British or American peoples a hundred and twenty-five or so years in my future do not speak English at all. Perhaps you dress like Hottentots, live in gas-lighted caves, travel around in balloons, and communicate by telegraphed thoughts unhindered by any spoken or written language.
Even so, I would wager my current fortune, such as it is, and all future royalties from my plays and novels, such as they may be, on the fact that you do remember the name and books and plays and invented characters of my friend and former collaborator, a certain Charles Dickens.
So this true story shall be about my friend (or at least about the man who was once my friend) Charles Dickens and about the Staplehurst accident that took away his peace of mind, his health, and, some might whisper, his sanity. This true story will be about Charles Dickens’s final five years and about his growing obsession during that time with a man—if man he was—named Drood, as well as with murder, death, corpses, crypts, mesmerism, opium, ghosts, and the streets and alleys of that black-biled lower bowel of London that the writer always called “my Babylon” or “the Great Oven.” In this manuscript (which, as I have explained—for legal reasons as well as for reasons of honour—I intend to seal away from all eyes for more than one hundred years after his death and my own), I shall answer the question which perhaps no one else alive in our time knew to ask—“Did the famous and loveable and honourable Charles Dickens plot to murder an innocent person and dissolve away his flesh in a pit of caustic lime and secretly inter what was left of him, mere bones and a skull, in the crypt of an ancient cathedral that was an important part of Dickens’s own childhood? And did Dickens then scheme to scatter the poor victim’s spectacles, rings, stickpins, shirt studs, and pocket watch in the River Thames? And if so, or even if Dickens only dreamed he did these things, what part did a very real phantom named Drood have in the onset of such madness?”
* * *
THE DATE OF DICKENS’S DISASTER was 9 June, 1865 . The locomotive carrying his success, peace of mind, sanity, manuscript, and mistress was—quite literally—heading for a breach in the rails and a terrible fall.
I do not know if you Dear Readers living so many years hence still record or remember history (perhaps you have renounced Herodotus and Thucydides and dwell perpetually in the Year Zero), but if any sense of history remains in your time, you must know well the important events of the year we called Anno Domini 1865. Some events, such as the end of the fraternal conflagration in theUnited States , were considered of some drama and considerable interest by many in England, although not by Charles Dickens. Despite his great interest in America—having travelled there already and written books about it, not altogether flattering books one must add, and after having struggled so fiercely to receive some recompense for the piracy of his works in that copyright-flaunting chaos of former colonies—Dickens had little interest in a war between some distant North and more-distant South. But in 1865, the year of his Staplehurst disaster, Charles Dickens had reason to be very satisfied indeed with his own personal history.
He was the most popular novelist in England, perhaps in the world. Many people in England andAmerica considered my friend to be—outside of Shakespeare and perhaps Chaucer and Keats—the greatest writer who had ever lived.
Of course, I knew this to be nonsense, but popularity, as they say (or as I have said), breeds more popularity. I had seen Charles Dickens stuck in a rural, doorless privy with his trousers down around his ankles, bleating like a lost sheep for some paper to wipe his arse, and you will have to forgive me if that image remains more true to me than “the greatest writer who ever lived.”
But on this June day in 1865, Dickens
Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 1 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 2 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 3 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 4 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 5 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 6 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 7 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 8 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 9 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 10 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 11 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 12 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 13 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 14 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 15 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 16 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 17 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 18 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 19 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 20 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 21 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 22 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 23 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 24 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 25 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 26 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 27 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 28 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 29 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 30 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 31 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 32 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 33 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 34 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 35 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 36 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 37 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 38 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 39 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 40 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 41 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 42 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 43 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 44 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 45 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 46 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 47 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 48 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 49 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 50 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 51 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 52 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 53 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 54 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 55 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 56 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 57 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 58 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 59 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 60 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 61 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 62 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 63 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 64 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 65 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 66 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 67 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 68 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 69 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 70 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 71 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 72 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 73 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 74 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 75 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 76 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 77 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 78 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 79 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 80 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 81 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 82 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 83 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 84 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 85 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 86 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 87 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 88 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 89 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 90 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 91 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 92 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 93 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 94 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 95 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 96 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 97 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 98 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 99 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 100 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 101 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 102 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 103 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 104 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 105 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 106 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 107 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 108 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 109 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 110 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 111 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 112 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 113 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 114 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 115 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 116 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 117 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 118 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 119 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 120 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 121 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 122 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 123 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 124 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 125 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 126 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 127 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 128 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 129 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 130 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 131 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 132 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 133 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 134 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 135 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 136 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 137 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 138 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 139 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 140 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 141 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 142 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 143 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 144 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 145 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 146 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 147 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 148 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 149 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 150 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 151 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 152 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 153 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 154 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 155 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 156 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 157 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 158 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 159 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 160 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 161 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 162 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 163 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 164 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 165 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 166 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 167 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 168 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 169 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 170 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 171 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 172 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 173 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 174 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 175 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 176 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 177 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 178 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 179 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 180 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 181 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 182 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 183 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 184 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 185 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 186 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 187 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 188 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 189 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 190 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 191 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 192 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 193 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 194 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 195 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 196 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 197 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 198 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 199 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 200 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 201 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 202 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 203 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 204 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 205 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 206 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 207 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 208 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 209 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 210 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 211 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 212 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 213 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 214 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 215 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 216 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 217 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 218 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 219 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 220 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 221 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 222 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 223 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 224 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 225 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 226 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 227 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 228 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 229 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 230 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 231 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 232 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 233 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 234 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 235 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 236 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 237 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 238 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 239 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 240 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 241 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 242 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 243 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 244 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 245 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 246 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 247 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 248 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 249 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 250 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 251 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 252 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 253 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 254 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 255 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 256 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 257 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 258 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 259 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 260 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 261 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 262 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 263 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 264 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 265 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 266 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 267 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 268 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 269 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 270 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 271 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 272 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 273 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 274 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 275 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 276 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 277 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 278 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 279 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 280 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 281 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 282 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 283 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 284 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 285 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 286 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 287 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 288 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 289 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 290 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 291 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 292 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 293 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 294 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 295 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 296 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 297 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 298 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 299 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 300 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 301 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 302 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 303 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 304 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 305 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 306 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 307 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 308 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 309 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 310 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 311 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 312 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 313 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 314 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 315 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 316 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 317 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 318 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 319 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 320 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 321 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 322 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 323 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 324 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 325 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 326 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 327 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 328 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 329 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 330 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 331 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 332 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 333 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 334 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 335 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 336 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 337 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 338 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 339 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 340 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 341 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 342 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 343 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 344 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 345 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 346 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 347 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 348 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 349 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 350 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 351 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 352 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 353 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 354 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 355 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 356 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 357 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 358 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 359 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 360 Drood: A Novel - By Dan Simmons - Page 361
Next page>>