Synopsis
El 9 de junio de 1865, mientras viaja en tren a Londres con su amante secreta, Charles Dickens, de 53 años -a la altura de sus poderes y popularidad, es el más famoso y exitoso novelista en el mundo y tal vez de la historia- entra en un desastre que cambió para siempre su vida. Ha comenzado Dickens a vivir una oscura doble vida después del accidente? Fueron sus incursiones nocturnas en los peores tugurios de Londres y la profundización de su obsesión con los cadáveres, criptas, asesinatos, antros de opio, el uso de piscinas de cal para disolver órganos, y un sotano oculto debajo de Londres para investigación ... o algo más aterrador?
The Barnes & Noble Review
Just in time to rescue flagging New Year's resolutions (remember those?) to strengthen the body and improve the mind comes Drood, a hefty, harrowing, and often funny novel that uses Charles Dickens's life as a springboard. The book's great length -- 784 pages -- gives it great bulk; by simply toting it around, you're building muscle. But it's Simmons's deep dive into the final five years of one of England's favorite sons that's the real payoff. Separated from his wife and embroiled in an affair with a much younger woman, Dickens took his private life so private that even his most avid biographers have been left to do some guessing. Simmons, a master of mining historical fact and then reimagining it, makes gleeful use of this somewhat secretive period.