Nest thing you know, DR Jane is going to tell us that she didn't like THE DANTE CLUB, THE POE SHADOW or THE LAST DICKENS, either. 
Nope, I'm going to say I never read these. I don't think they are a series, nor need to be read in order. Am I correct? Are you recommending them?
Not a series.
I do recommend them, with a single caveat: I had a hard time getting into THE DANTE CLUB. I knew it was considered to be a very good first novel, but, for the longest time I could not connect with it in any way. BUT I never give up, and finally on the third attempt to read it, I found that I could not put it down. Once I had finished it, I had to read THE POE SHADOW because I became a fan of Matthew Pearl's style.
THE LAST DICKENS, however is a different case entirely. I had to read it because it involved the writing of Dickens' THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD. Not only that, but, THE LAST DICKENS was one of TWO novels released almost simultaneously involving the mystery surrounding Dickens' unfinished novel. Dan Simmons' DROOD, though hefty as a door weight, was the other. They share some characters, but, DROOD goes off in another direction. . .
If you haven't read any Matthew Pearl, I do recommend his literary mysteries.
