Immortalised to Death: The Dunston Burnett Trilogy
Jolly good! A Dickensian mystery about Dickens—or, more precisely, about his death.
Charles Dickens died abruptly in 1870 while he was writing his last novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Did he have a stroke, or was he poisoned? His stolid, plump nephew, Dunston Burnett, sets out to solve this conundrum to win favor with Dickens’ sister-in-law, Georgina, who was the author’s erstwhile companion and housekeeper. Dunston is an unlikely detective, but his unwavering inventiveness wins the reader’s sympathy as he loyally pursues any and all clues he can muster.
Squire incorporates many facts from Dickens’ life to embellish a fast-paced plot: tantalizing clues about the conclusion of Drood, which are left in Dickens’ notes; the author’s comfortable home in the Kent countryside; the relationships the writer had with his estranged wife; his mistress, the actress Ellen Ternan; and his official biographer, John Forster. Squire is quite adept at building compelling Dickensian characters into the plot: dastardly villains with outrageous names like Dinky Dryker and Snatcher; a sweet young damsel in distress, Dulcet; and an indefatigable Scotland Yard detective named, appropriately, Detective Line. Of course, the plot includes snot-nosed, hardened orphans who live hardscrabble lives in the London slums. And, yes, their miserable orphanage is run by a proper pair of sadists.
The writing style will look familiar: full of clever dialogue and colorful metaphor. And the conclusion to this rollicking mystery? The reader will have to read to the very last page! Bravo, Lyn Squire!
