{"product_id":"2940170178001","title":"Drood: A Novel (Abridged)","description":"On June 9, 1865, while traveling by train to London with his secret mistress, 53-year-old Charles Dickens -- at the height of his powers and popularity, the most famous and successful novelist in the world and perhaps in the history of the world -- hurtled into a disaster that changed his life forever\u003cb\u003e.  \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDid Dickens begin living a dark double life after the accident? Were his nightly forays into the worst slums of \u003cst1:city w:st=\"on\"\u003eLondon\u003c\/st1:city\u003e and his deepening obsession with corpses, crypts, murder, opium dens, the use of lime pits to dissolve bodies, and a hidden subterranean \u003cst1:place w:st=\"on\"\u003e\u003cst1:city w:st=\"on\"\u003eLondon-\u003c\/st1:city\u003e\u003c\/st1:place\u003e mere research . . . or something more terrifying?\u003cbr\u003eJust as he did in \u003ci\u003eThe Terror\u003c\/i\u003e, Dan Simmons draws impeccably from history to create a gloriously engaging and terrifying narrative. Based on the historical details of Charles Dickens's life and narrated by Wilkie Collins (Dickens's friend, frequent collaborator, and Salieri-style secret rival), DROOD explores the still-unsolved mysteries of the famous author's last years and may provide the key to Dickens's final, unfinished work: \u003cem\u003eThe Mystery of Edwin Drood.  \u003c\/em\u003eChilling, haunting,  and utterly original, DROOD is Dan Simmons at his powerful best.","brand":"Hachette Audio","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47162364068080,"sku":"2940170178001","price":19.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940170178001_p0.jpg?v=1763703930","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940170178001","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}