![]() ![]() Do you remember “H.”? Lin Haire-Sargeant’s 1992 novel imagined Heathcliff’s life before his return in “Wuthering Heights.” At the time, people admired her ingenuity (did they forget about Jean Rhys’ “Wide Sargasso Sea”?) in filling the gaps of a classic work of fiction - now, the novelty has become a motley genre with a diverse membership. Prequels and sequels have long been part of the publishing landscape. The timing seems right for someone to take Dickens on again. (The full text of each, by the way, can be found on Google Books.) ![]() Before that, there was the wooden prose of 1914’s “A Great Mystery Solved” and “John Jasper’s Secret,” published just two years after Dickens’ death. Case,” but that (like “Drood,” the musical) is a game of multiple endings, not a serious attempt to finish the story. ![]() There have been attempts to finish Dickens’ murder book before, but not recent ones. Dickens left behind no notes, no outlines, nothing. Other characters are introduced as Jasper’s foils, and then Edwin disappears. Another rival for Rosa arrives, but Dickens stirs suspicions about Jasper, whose murderous looks at Edwin are unmistakable. The six installments present us with tormented John Jasper, choirmaster and opium addict, who desires his nephew Edwin’s fiancée, Rosa Budd. ![]() Audiences on both sides of the Atlantic were in agony. ![]()
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