Every other Sunday we are taking a look at the world of books. I read a lot and always want to share my opinions on what I read, so I thought it would be fun to write reviews. Today we are looking at a book about the author of Sherlock Holmes…

Arthur Conan Doyle – Beyond Sherlock Holmes (2007)

Dr Andrew Norman 

Synopsis

In the year 1900, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was at the height of his success. A qualified doctor, he was the creator of master detective “Sherlock Holmes”. In 1916, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle declared that he believed in spiritualism, and he also professed to believe in fairies. This work traces the story of Sir Arthur Conan Doyles strange beliefs.

– from Amazon

Positive Points

This book is an interesting read and it gives you a different angle on the author of Sherlock Holmes and it gives you a thorough insight into the private life of the author Arthur Conan Doyle. It delves into his family life, the inspirations behind Sherlock Holmes, spiritualism and the real life crimes that he helped solve.

Negative Points

The book reads sort of like an essay, it has some interesting points but it does read more like someone wrote it for a dissertation. The one thing that I found difficult was that there was many quotes of the other Sherlock Holmes books which takes up a lot of the pages which is a shame as it would be good to have more information then to background then quoting the books.

Overall Review

It is not a bad book, it is an interesting read if you are a fan of Sherlock Holmes and the author behind it, however it may not be what you are looking for in a book. You may find it really interesting, but for an avid Sherlock Holmes fan like myself, I found it ok but I have read better books about the author.

Rating : *** 3 Stars