The Mystery of Edwin Drood

David Thorn reads Dickens's last, incomplete, novel, a dark romance involving a disappearance and possible murder, with a variety of voices and accents worthy of a multicast performance and an extraordinary range of color and expression. His reading, complex but neither forced nor affected, is both intimate and vivid, enlivening passages that might have been dull. One quibble: Some voices don't match Dickens's description. Thorn attempts the audacious tactic of maturing Drood and his betrothed, Rosa, by subtly altering their voices over time. He miscalculates only in starting them too callow and silly; by the time the change comes (and it succeeds remarkably), it's too little too late. A pity this is only a fragment. W.M. 2006 Audie Award Finalist (c) AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine

[Editor's Note--The following is a combined review with DAVID COPPERFIELD, GHOST STORIES, GREAT EXPECTATIONS, HARD TIMES, MARTIN CHUZZLEWIT, NICHOLAS NICKLEBY, OLIVER TWIST, OUR MUTUAL FRIEND, THE PICKWICK PAPERS, and A TALE OF TWO CITIES.]--New Millennium presents the distinguished Academy Award winner Paul Scofield interpreting abridgments of the novels and stories of Charles Dickens. These are excellent readings, sonorous and compelling. However, they lack the verve and character of the old Victorian qualities that have been so wonderfully captured on cassette by Martin Jarvis and Miriam Margolyes, among others. And while few authors benefit more from pruning than the paid-by-the-word Dickens, some of these cuttings are far too drastic. In addition, hurried post-production is evident in numerous audible edits, frequent mouth noises, and occasional overlapping of announcer and narrator. Y.R. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine

Characteristically, Charles Dickens blends tragedy and comedy and peoples this novel with an array of outlandish individuals. Narrator David Timson expertly translates into audio the complexities of Dickens's multilayered plotline, and he gives each of Dickens's peculiar characters a distinct voice--from the menacing Mr. Jasper to the pretentious Miss Twinkleton and the endearing Mr. Crisparkle. Dickens died before finishing this novel, so no one knows exactly how the mystery of Edwin Drood's disappearance would have been resolved. This production includes a summary of the likely ending as Dickens's friend and biographer John Forster saw it. EDWIN DROOD feels like an incomplete work, but Timson's deft narration makes it possible to appreciate its rich Dickensian passages. L.X. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine