On Conan Doyle: Or, The Whole Art of Storytelling
ISBN: 9781400839490
Platform/Publisher: JSTOR / Princeton University Press
Digital rights: Users: unlimited; Printing: chapter; Download: chapter
Subjects: Doyle Arthur Conan Sir 1859–1930 -- Criticism and interpretation;

Though most people could pick Sherlock Holmes out of a crowd, not many could craft such a spirited and personal account of the great detective's creator's life and lesser-known works as Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post book columnist Dirda (Book by Book). A proud member of the Baker Street Irregulars-one of the oldest and largest Holmes appreciation societies-Dirda intertwines his childhood discovery of Holmes and Watson (it all started with The Hound of the Baskervilles) with the life of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930). While casual readers will associate Conan Doyle exclusively with 221B Baker Street, Dirda makes a strong case for investigating Doyle's extensive bibliography, which includes adventure stories (The Lost World), historical novels (Micah Clarke), supernatural stories ("The Horror of the Heights"), and books on spiritualism. But Holmes is still the main attraction, and the fascinating dynamics of the Irregulars are as rich as any of Conan Doyle's fictions. The Irregulars grudgingly accept, but do not encourage, the views of "Doyleans," who consider the Holmes stories as blips written by the author of The Lost World. Dirda's lifelong enthusiasm and keen critical skills underscore the timeless quality of the brilliant detective and his multifaceted creator. (Nov.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Michael Dirda is a Pulitzer Prize-winning critic and longtime book columnist for the Washington Post . He is the author of four collections of essays, Readings , Bound to Please , Book by Book , and Classics for Pleasure , as well as the memoir An Open Book . A lifelong Sherlock Holmes and Conan Doyle fan, he was inducted into The Baker Street Irregulars in 2002.

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