The Mystery of Edwin Drood

In the sleepy cathedral town of Cloisterham, choirmaster John Jasper is admired by everyone and known by no one: a respectable musician who slips away to London opium dens, and whose devotion to his nephew Edwin Drood conceals something far less wholesome. Edwin is amiably engaged to the young and lovely Rosa Bud (an arranged match neither quite believes in) and around them Dickens assembles storm clouds: a hot-tempered newcomer from Ceylon, a mysterious white-haired stranger, and Jasper's watchful, hungry eyes. Then, one wild Christmas Eve, Edwin vanishes.

Dickens died with the novel half written, leaving no ending and few reliable clues, which has made Edwin Drood the most argued-over unfinished mystery in literature. What survives is Dickens at his darkest and most atmospheric, and the rare whodunit where your solution is genuinely as good as anyone's.

At roughly 97,500 words, The Mystery of Edwin Drood runs about 11 hours at 1x narration speed. That figure is an estimate based on a typical narration pace. The exact length depends on the voice and the playback speed you choose.

The Mystery of Edwin Drood is in the public domain, so the complete text is free on Project Gutenberg and LoudReader has the entire Project Gutenberg catalog built in. To listen:

1. Download LoudReader for Mac or iPhone (free, no account).
2. Search for “The Mystery of Edwin Drood” in the built-in catalog and add it to your library.
3. Press play. A natural offline voice reads the book while each word highlights on screen, and your place is saved between sessions.

LoudReader reads with natural offline voices, so the whole book works on a plane or underground. It is fully on-device and private, your library never leaves your device. Listening is unlimited on the free tier.