The Mystery of Edwin Drood

[Freddy]

Having just watched Edwin Drood I have to say enjoyed it tremendously. Plaudits to everyone, the characters Durdles and Bazzard were a joy to watch but if i had to pick put anyone it would have to be Matthew Rhys as John Jasper (Jack), a stunning performance and glad to see him back on these shores after starring in the American tv series Brothers and Sisters. As I've never read the book I cannot compare so that could be advantageous but it will be one to read in the future.

[melade]

I hadn't intended to watch it but was hooked after the first couple of minutes. I really enjoyed the first episode and eagerly awaited the second but I have to say that I found the ending very disappointing. It just didn't really hang together as well as I would have liked it. But overall it was still an excellent piece of television and has encouraged me to read the unfinished original.

I also really enjoyed the documentary the following night that looked at the question of whether unfinished works like this should be completed. Personally, I have no interest in reading someone else's version of what the author intended but I do think that it's alright to complete works to film in this way. All adaptations take the individual elements from the original (plot, characters, dialogue, etc) but they're always going to be somebody else's vision. If, by writing an ending to an unfinished work, it allows it to be filmed and brought to a wider audience then I'm all for it.

By the way, in terms of this tv adaptation, at what point did Dickens end and the new writing begin?

[CaptainWaggett]

By the way, in terms of this tv adaptation, at what point did Dickens end and the new writing begin?

Basically it was first episode by Dickens and second episode by Gwyneth Hughes

[jaycad]

It was a decent attempt to finish the novel (if a little obvious) but I thought Edwins sudden reappearence after buggering off to Egypt without telling anyone to be a bit of a cop out-I can't remember any explanation of the finding of his watch pin and chain (which was identified by his jeweller) which had been washed up by the sea but I'll watch it again tonight to double check.
I wish it could have been longer (an hour more would have sufficed for both 'Edwin Drood' and the recent 'Great Expectations') so that the viewer had a chance to warm to some of the characters. ('Rosa' was not a likeable character at all in the adaptation IMO and 'Mr Grewgious' was worthy of more screen time)
I see that there's no planned DVD release of 'The Mystery of Edwin Drood' so I'm going to have to buy a DVD recorder and transfer it to disc from my hard drive.

[faginsgirl]

I see that there's no planned DVD release of 'The Mystery of Edwin Drood' so I'm going to have to buy a DVD recorder and transfer it to disc from my hard drive.

I haven`t watched the second part yet. But if it is as boring as the first I PERSONALY WON`T be transfering it anywhere. I shall read the book instead!

[Mr Sloane]

I haven`t watched the second part yet. But if it is as boring as the first I PERSONALY WON`T be transfering it anywhere. I shall read the book instead!

And still be no wiser how it turns out

[jaycad]

I haven`t watched the second part yet. But if it is as boring as the first I PERSONALY WON`T be transfering it anywhere. I shall read the book instead!

The second part picks up and is worth watching-it's certainly more entertaining than 'Hard Times'!

[faginsgirl]

The second part picks up and is worth watching-it's certainly more entertaining than 'Hard Times'!

Are you talking about the Timothy West version? I quite like that one. I liked the book too.

[jaycad]

Are you talking about the Timothy West version? I quite like that one. I liked the book too.

I'm talking about both the Timothy West AND Alan Bates versions....in fact I've come to the conclusion that had the novel 'Hard Times' been as long as,say 'Little Dorrit',then I would probably have put it down! I don't like any of the characters-even the death of 'Stephen Blackpool' failed to stir any emotion in me,I was as indifferent as 'Louisa Gradgrind' to the moral of that particular yawn....sorry,yarn.

[jaycad]

Basically it was first episode by Dickens and second episode by Gwyneth Hughes

I'd have said that the first two thirds at least are by Dickens hand?

[jaycad]

After watching 'The Mystery of Edwin Drood' for the second time I must admit to being a bit hasty with regards to my criticism of the first episode,the identity of 'Dick Datchery' was what I think Dickens had planned but no explanation of the washed up watch,seal and chain?
I stand by my opinion that it was rushed and could have been improved by a longer introduction but from a personal slant,my weakness is that I tend to initially be disappointed with productions that I have looked forward to and vice versa....I'll
now have a different mindset when watching 'The Woman in Black' and 'Parades End'-at least for my own sanity!

[jaycad]

Oh,another thing-can anyone explain why 'jasper' had to trick/drug 'Durdles' to sneak the key to the 'Sapsea' and 'Drood' vaults?-surely he would have had to do this twice in a year and 'Durdles' ain't a man to forget things as suggested in both the book and adaptation.

[CaptainWaggett]

BBC - BBC Radio 4 Programmes - The Mystery of The Mystery of Edwin Drood

The Mystery of The Mystery of Edwin Drood

'The Mystery of Edwin Drood' is a tantalising element of the Dickens manuscript archive held by the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Along with fellow crime-writer Simon Brett and Dickens scholar Professor Jenny Hartley, Frances Fyfield uses the packed manuscript pages, detailed number plans and early cover designs to try and make sense of one of English Literature's great mysteries: what really happened to the eponymous hero. Edwin Drood.

Dickens died shortly after bringing the curtain down on Chapter 23, barely half way through the twelve monthly instalments. He suffered a massive stroke later that day, 8 June 1870, and died the next day.

By that stage in Dickens' novel, Edwin has gone missing and it is suspected that he has been murdered but no body has been found. The finger of suspicion points at Neville Landless but the author seems to be hinting at the guilt of a more sinister figure, the leader of the Cathedral choir, John Jasper.

Ever since, Dickensian enthusiasts have searched the book for every hint of a clue as to what the author intended to do with the characters he'd created. Frances isn't afraid of joining these so-called 'Droodians' in trying to employ her crime-writer's insights to make sense of the pieces of the jigsaw left to us.

But her investigation, which takes her to Rochester where the novel is set, also examines the state of Dickens' mind at the time, and his fascination with the criminal mentality, including vintage Dickensian types like Mr Crisparkle, the angular Mr Grewgious and the hideous auctioneer Mr Sapsea.

Frances and her colleagues also search the manuscript for signs of the author's failing health, and, perhaps more importantly, failing ability.

What they find is the usual high octane writing style, brilliant inventiveness and perhaps a greater subtlety in characterisation than in many of the earlier works.

Producer: Tom Alban.

[faginsgirl]

Can`t remember what night it was on but the BBC have just show a programme called `Unfinished` where they look at unfinidhed pieces of art. The Edwin Drood book is one looked at. It is an interesting programme and should still be on iplayer.

The unfinished book of Jane Austin was also looked at and a famous painting of George Washungton.

[woody123]

I quite enjoyed it.The only downside for me was that Edwin turned up having scarpered off to Egypt,done some engineering and returned,all apparently in a few days,unless I missed a caption saying "One Year Later" somewhere,or did they have the Airbus in the mid 1800s.

[faginsgirl]

I quite liked the second part after all my criticism over the first.

But like Woody, I did find it a bit odd Edwin turning up back from Egypt when everyone was still in shock with his death! And yes, if there HAD been a massive time scale, that should have been made more obvious.