The Man Who Would Be Sherlock: The Real Life Adventures of Arthur Conan Doyle

The subject of how the creator of Sherlock Holmes emulated his famous detective in real life is not a new one, and this sloppy account by biographer Sandford (Union Jack) of two of Conan Doyle’s most famous inquiries suffers by comparison with the better books available. Instead of adding new information and insight, Sandford relates an unconvincing revisionist history of how the mystery author helped exonerate two men, accused murderer Oscar Slater and alleged poison-pen writer and animal-mutilator George Edalji. Lack of reliable sourcing is a problem; he presents an unverified anecdote that Conan Doyle identified Jack the Ripper as an associate of the royal family as a factual instance of the writer’s crime-solving prowess. Sandford is similarly speculative when he suggests that Slater and Edalji were actually complicit in the crimes for which they were accused. Mystery fans interested in the Sherlock author’s track record as a champion for the unjustly accused will prefer the recent Conan Doyle for the Defense to this unevenly written and overly speculative account. (Dec.)