The D Case

''The D Case, Or The Truth About The Mystery Of Edwin Drood'' (original Italian title: ''La verità sul caso D.'', 'The truth about the D. case') is a humorous literary critique of

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

' unfinished work ''

The Mystery of Edwin Drood ''The Mystery of Edwin Drood'' is the final novel by Charles Dickens, originally published in 1870. Though the novel is named after the character Edwin Drood, it focuses more on Drood's uncle, John Jasper, a precentor, choirmaster and opium ...

'', first published in Italy in 1989. Written in the form of a novel, by

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

authors

Carlo Fruttero Carlo Fruttero (19 September 1926 – 15 January 2012) was an Italian writer, journalist, translator and editor of anthologies. Fruttero was born in Turin. He is mostly known for his joint work with Franco Lucentini, especially as authors of cri ...

and Franco Lucentini, the book explores the Dickens mystery from the perspective of many famous literary detectives, such as C. Auguste Dupin, Sherlock Holmes, and

Hercule Poirot Hercule Poirot (, ) is a fictional Belgian detective created by British writer Agatha Christie. Poirot is one of Christie's most famous and long-running characters, appearing in 33 novels, two plays ('' Black Coffee'' and ''Alibi''), and more ...

, all of whom come to their own conclusions regarding how the tale might possibly have ended. The novel presents the criticism in a postmodern style by alternating between chapters of the Fruttero and Lucentini work and the original unfinished story by

Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian er ...

. This is established under the setting of a convention that has been organized by affluent Japanese patrons to finish unfinished works of art. The chapters of ''

'' are presented in the frame of this story as being read to those in attendance of this seminar. In the alternating chapters written by Fruttero and Lucentini, the aforementioned literary detectives discuss their theories and ask questions regarding the possible clues to the story's conclusion. The conclusion that the book ultimately comes to does not offer any serious answer to the story's possible ending; however, the preceding chapters offer criticism that examines the text in a way that is both accessible and academic. Books of literary criticism 20th-century Italian novels Detective fiction Works about Charles Dickens 1989 novels Italian crime novels The Mystery of Edwin Drood {{1980s-mystery-novel-stub