THE MAN WHO HATED SHERLOCK HOLMES: A Life of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

This has been an unusual season in terms of the number of sturdy biographies of writers who have come to be favorites with this age level -- for instance Kipling (p. 11, J-11) and Burnett (p. 324, J-116). Without resorting to the devices of fiction(present in the Hoehling book reviewed above), Mr. Wood has captured the vitality of the energetic Conan Doyle. Perhaps the first thing to compare is the titles; this one pulls at the interest as a good one should. Many of the same anecdotes are used in both books and are likely to be fuller, more detailed in The Real Sherlock Holmes, but used with better illustration value in this book. There is a long section dealing with Conan Doyle as a writer of many books, short stories and essays. There is coverage of his intent and his methods. There is a stronger sense in this book of the man as a product of a particular environment and time while the other gives more attention to family matters. This is the better written book.