The Last Dickens

The Last Dickens by Matthew Pearl (author of The Dante Club and The Poe Shadow) follows an American publisher in search of the end of Charles Dickens last novel.  So I talked about Dan Simmons Drood in a previous post, and this books seems similar in plot.  But I liked this one a lot better.  First off, Drood was more mystery/scifi than this novel, and this one is better written (sorry).  James Osgood (a real publisher during that time) is Dickens' official American publisher, and when news of Dickens death reaches him, he reflects on Dickens last American tour, and embarks on an interesting journey to try to find the ending to his last novel, and the mystery surrounding it.  Pearl is great at the historical fiction dealing with publishing and authors, and this is not a let down from his other two.  And it's better than Drood, so if you want to read a great historical novel with an interesting mystery, read this one!