Medway Council is inviting residents to take part in an online book club to discuss Charles Dickens’ final unfinished novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood.
To mark the 150th anniversary of Dickens’ death, and the 150th anniversary of the publication of The Mystery of Edwin Drood, the council is encouraging residents to download a copy of the eBook from Medway’s library service and join them in reading the mystery in monthly instalments, the same way the original readers would have enjoyed the novel.
The central mystery, the disappearance of Edwin Drood, plays out in a thinly-disguised gothic Rochester.
Can you solve the mystery? Download the eBook and join in discussions about the novel on the Reading Drood blog each month from May to October. If you’re not already a member of Medway libraries you can join online and borrow eBooks immediately. In recent weeks more than 15,500 eBooks, eMagazines and eNewspapers have been accessed by residents which is double the amount borrowed during the same time last year.
Chapters one to five will be read in May, six to nine in June, 10 to 12 in July, 11 to 16 in August, 17 to 20 in September and finally chapters 21 to 23 in October.
Thousands of eBooks, audiobooks and eMagazines on offer
Cllr Howard Doe, Medway Council’s Portfolio Holder for Community Services, said: “I am pleased we are launching a virtual book club to discuss Dickens’ last novel, it is one of the ways in which we are adapting our services in these unusual times. I would encourage residents to sign up for an online library account as there are thousands of eBooks, audiobooks and eMagazines on offer for them to read, as well as The Mystery of Edwin Drood and I hope as many people as possible join in with the online discussions. We look forward to welcoming you all back into Medway’s libraries and community hubs as soon as we can.”