Doyle's World--Lost & Found The Unknown Histories of Sherlock Holmes and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Doyle’sWorld is no ordinary biography about one of the world'smost influential writers. It is instead a work that deciphers in particular thecryptic origins and actual scientific methods used by fiction's most famousconsulting detective Sherlock Holmes—and a work that provides a detailed lookinto the psyche and working life of Holmes’ creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.The book follows Doyle’s entire illustrious literary career, with emphasis on theSherlock Holmes mysteries as they evolved from the late 1880s to the early1900s. Revealed here for the first time—by son-father writing team DanielFriedman, MD, and Eugene Friedman, MD—are the many inspirations behindthe physical, emotional, and intellectual characteristics that Doyle wovetogether so deftly to bring his legendary sleuth to life. Readers are in formany surprises as the Friedmans bring forth tantalizing parallels between theliterary realm of both Sherlock Holmes—along with his various other fiction andnonfiction works—and the actual events from Doyle’s childhood and earlyadulthood that served as frequent inspiration.

The authors offer answers to long-debated and mysterious questions, such as:

*From whom did Sherlock Holmes actually learn the art of detective work?
* Why did Doyle kill off Sherlock Holmes—and how did the country of Japaninspire how he brought his famous detective back to life after nearly a decade?
* What story elements did Doyle borrow from Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island?
* How did Doyle apply his fervent belief in Spiritualism to a variety of Holmesstories?
* Who inspired Doyle to write about civil rights after a steamship journey in1882?
* How did the women in Doyle's lifecome to influence the relationships with women that both Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson have across sixty written adventures?

Doyle’sWorld is divided into three sections. The first isdedicated to the elements—both good and bad—that comprised Doyle’s childhoodand early adult years, and how an assemblage of persons and places and thingsfrom his life found their way into his literature. The second sectionemphasizes the highly complex themes and plots present in the Sherlock Holmesadventures, while it also thoroughly examines some of Doyle’s strengths—and weaknesses—asa public figure of his time. The Friedmans also reveal how Doyle was able tosubtly incorporate his own political, social, and religious views—inparticular, his passionate and often bewildering embrace of Spiritualism—into theHolmes stories. And in the third section, the authors offer two “lost” storiesthey uncovered that were written by Doyle under a pseudonym—accompanied by textual analysis with which they make their case.

This is a work of rich detail and in-depth scholarship that should win overboth established fans of Doyle and devoted “Sherlockians” everywhere—and thatwill engage, and entertain, allothers who enter this intriguing hall of literary mirrors.