The Real World of Sherlock Holmes: The True Crimes Investigated by Arthur Conan Doyle

This is an interesting book. To think of the creator of Sherlock Holmes as a detective is not hard, but to find that he really was, and a bit successful at it, is shocking. Like in some detective stories, you find yourself wondering why you did not think of it before. Mr. Costello does a very good job of investigating this aspect of Mr. Doyle. There are enough books about Sherlock Holmes and biographies of Mr. Doyle, so Mr. Costello does not rewrite the old stuff, though there is some, naturally, he does develop this part of Mr. Doyle's life very nicely. There is some original research and new, never published, information here. He mentions that he is surprised that others before him did not write of some of the things he has come across. It was there to be read. I liked the way Mr. Costello did not force issues that had little or no substance and did not try to invade the private lives of his children, where the facts are public he published them, where they were not he did without.

Peter Costello's Conan Doyle: Detective is one of the most fascinating true crime books published in the 21st Century. Like his fictional creation, Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a detective. However, Doyle was strictly an amateur and many of his cases, such as that of Jack the Ripper, were approached as an armchair detective who based his theories more from newspaper accounts and gossip rather than from first hand investigation. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle may have been a disappointment as a would be detective, but this absorbing, well written book is anything but a disappointment. Most recommended.

This is a quite interesting book that chronicles the real-life interests of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in an assortment of past and contemporary crimes and, in so doing, provides bits of insight into the molding and evolution of the character of Sherlock Holmes. Doyle did not actually take an active part in all of the cases discussed here; several were historic cases to which he took an interest and, in most cases, puts his thoughts in writing. As one can imagine, he did receive a great many requests for help from readers far and wide; as the creator of Sherlock Holmes, some desperate folks looked upon Doyle himself as a last resort when the authorities proved unable to assist them. The author makes much of an episode involving the death of a young man in the young Dr. Doyle's care, citing this as a true springboard to the creation of Sherlock Holmes. Doyle had taken in a young man suffering from meningitis, and the lad died during the night. A police detective popped by for a visit concerning the case, and this may have given Doyle a real sense of how easily an innocent man might find himself branded a criminal. In this particular case, Doyle might have given the lad too much of the standard treatment, he had already taken a shine to the lad's sister (whom he married some months later) who stood to inherit a decent amount of money upon her brother's death, and an anonymous letter to the police had alerted them to Doyle's involvement in the first place. Had a fellow doctor not been there to see the patient just hours before his death, an exhumation of the body in and of itself could have destroyed Doyle's young medical career. Exactly one year later, he sat down to begin A Study in Scarlet. The whole experience also, Costello suggests, spurred Doyle's lifetime interest in helping those who look guilty but may possibly be innocent. Costello follows a chronological approach to the cases that interested Doyle, and it is quite interesting to see the changes that followed upon Doyle's full embrace of spiritualism in the fall of 1916. Thus, when Agatha Christie disappeared, for example, Doyle sought insight from a psychometrist (whose prediction did hit the target) - this new dependence on the supernatural marks an intriguing dissonance with the harsh rational analysis of evidence by the great Sherlock Holmes himself. Doyle's involvement in the Crimes Club is intriguing for the very reason that the discussions of this informal group of armchair sleuths remain quite secretive to this day. Among the crimes that interested Doyle were the theft of the Irish crown jewels (from the care of his cousin), the mystery of Jack the Ripper (of course), the Crippen murder case, the Vanzetti and Sacco case, a number of American crimes, as well as crimes he stumbled upon during his travels to Australia and South Africa. A few seem to bear special mention. First and foremost is the case of George Edalji, the son of a vicar from India and his English wife

As well as the creator of legendary sleuth Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was also something of an amateur detective himself. This book explores the many cases he involved himself with, although in most of them his part is minimal. However, he did help with some memorable investigations - Jack the Ripper, Dr Crippen and the disappearance of Agatha Christie for starters.Unlike Holmes, though, most of Doyle's observations proved inconclusive. As well as this, the authorities were sometimes loath to accept his findings, and the author, Peter Costello, implies that several innocents were executed for wont of incriminating evidence. Throughout Doyle's long career, though, his crusading nature and willingness to stand up for the truth are impressive attributes.This book concerns itself with Doyle as Holmes creator only in passing. Here we see the author as an ever-inquisitive seeker of solutions to real-life crimes, a passion he later directed to the Victorian fad of Spiritualism. Indeed, there are some crimes he claimed to have solved through consultation with then-famous mediums. Costello wisely leaves judgement on this score up to the reader.As an addendum to Doyle's more familiar literary achievements, this book serves it purpose well and provides many interesting insights into the Victorian and Edwardian crime scene.