47 pages 1 hour read

Charles Dickens

The Mystery of Edwin Drood

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1870

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Chapters 1-5

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 1 Summary: “The Dawn”

The novel begins with an unnamed man consuming opium in an opium den in London; while consuming the drug, he experiences memories or hallucinations of an English cathedral town. As he consumes more opium, the man becomes violent, “seizing [another man] with both hands by the throat” (5). He eventually leaves the opium den. Later that day, a man (implied to be the same man from the opium den scene) hurries in to take his place in a procession as part of a religious service taking place in a cathedral.

Chapter 2 Summary: “A Dean, and a Chapter Also”

After service has ended at the cathedral, three men gather outside: the Dean (a high-ranking ecclesiastical position), Mr. Tope (a type of church official known as a verger) and the Reverend Crisparkle. Mr. Tope explains that the cathedral choirmaster, a man named John Jasper, is ill. Reverend Crisparkle stops off at Jasper’s home to check on him; Jasper reassures Crisparkle that he is feeling much better and is eagerly anticipating his nephew’s arrival. This nephew will do him “more good than a dozen doctors. For I love him dearly, and I don’t love doctors” (10).

Jasper’s nephew, Edwin Drood, arrives a short time later; he is only a few years younger than his uncle.

Related Titles

By Charles Dickens

Study Guide

logo

A Tale of Two Cities

Charles Dickens

A Tale of Two Cities

Charles Dickens

Study Guide

logo

Barnaby Rudge

Charles Dickens

Barnaby Rudge: A Tale of the Riots of Eighty

Charles Dickens

Study Guide

logo

Bleak House

Charles Dickens

Bleak House

Charles Dickens

Study Guide

logo

David Copperfield

Charles Dickens

David Copperfield

Charles Dickens

Plot Summary

logo

Dombey and Son

Charles Dickens

Dombey and Son

Charles Dickens

Study Guide

logo

Great Expectations

Charles Dickens

Great Expectations

Charles Dickens

Study Guide

logo

Hard Times

Charles Dickens

Hard Times

Charles Dickens

Study Guide

logo

Little Dorrit

Charles Dickens

Little Dorrit

Charles Dickens

Plot Summary

logo

Martin Chuzzlewit

Charles Dickens

Martin Chuzzlewit

Charles Dickens

Study Guide

logo

Nicholas Nickleby

Charles Dickens

Nicholas Nickleby

Charles Dickens

Study Guide

logo

Our Mutual Friend

Charles Dickens

Our Mutual Friend

Charles Dickens

Study Guide

logo

Pickwick Papers

Charles Dickens

Pickwick Papers

Charles Dickens

Study Guide

logo

The Old Curiosity Shop

Charles Dickens

The Old Curiosity Shop

Charles Dickens

Study Guide

logo

The Signal-Man

Charles Dickens

The Signal-Man

Charles Dickens