Dickens' Unfinished Novel by the BBC:
The Mystery of Edwin Drood

Masterpiece Classic “The Mystery of Edwin Drood” This psychological tale of a provincial choirmaster’s obsession with an engaged (to another) 17-year-old and the lengths to which he will go to attain her.

It is scheduled to air on local PBS stations on 15 April 2012 from 9 to 11 p.m.. Check listings.

Charles Dickens's unfinished novel The Mystery of Edwin Drood was given an ending by Gwyneth Hughes. Dickens died half-way through the novel.

The BBC version stars Matthew Rhys, Ron Cook, Rory Kinnear, Alun Armstrong (who's done many a Dickens' adaptation and who we best remember from "American Friends"), Freddy Fox and Tamzin Merchant.

Armstrong, Merchant

The Guardian UK reports "The Mystery of Edwin Drood, the BBC2 adaptation of Charles Dickens's last – and unfinished – novel, was watched by more than 3 million viewers when it aired in the UK in January of this year.


The first installment of the drama, which stars Matthew Rhys, Tamzin Merchant and Freddie Fox, averaged 3.1 million viewers, a 12.7% share, between 9pm and 10pm on Tuesday, including 237,000 viewers who watched on the BBC HD channel."

Three B&W images from the 1935 Universal Pictures version.

The novel was first adapted by Universal Pictures in 1935 and starred Claude Rains, Douglass Montgomery and Heather Angel. David Manners played the eponymous Edwin Drood.

It eventually became a popular musical in the 1980s.