The opium den owner in Charles Dickens’s unfinished novel The Mystery of Edwin Drood is Princess Puffer.
Princess Puffer runs a London opium den frequented by John Jasper, the choirmaster of Cloisterham Cathedral and Edwin Drood’s uncle. She is an elderly, unnamed woman for much of the novel; the nickname “Princess Puffer” is given to her by Deputy, Durdles’s young assistant. The character’s title reflects the theatrical and mysterious atmosphere surrounding the den.
Princess Puffer becomes important because she hears Jasper speak while under the influence of opium. His disturbed remarks, including references to “Ned,” suggest that he may be connected with Edwin Drood’s disappearance. She later follows Jasper to Cloisterham, hoping to expose what she suspects. Her knowledge contributes to the novel’s unresolved atmosphere of secrecy and possible murder.
A common mix-up is John Jasper, who is the opium den’s most important customer, not its owner. Mr Grewgious is Rosa Bud’s guardian, Durdles is a stonemason, and none of those characters runs the den. Dickens died in 1870 before completing the novel, so the definitive solution to Drood’s disappearance remains unknown.