The adventures of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and his most famous creation, Sherlock Holmes, come to life in this inspiring picture book biography.
What if you wrote a story about a detective, and he became the most famous detective ever? Wouldn't that be wonderful? Or . . . would it? Arthur has always loved stories. Even while growing up poor, enduring hardship at school, and living a life of danger on the high seas, stories are an inspiration and a joy for Arthur throughout his life. And after years of struggle as a writer, he finally finds success, fame and wealth with a series of mysteries starring a genius detective, Sherlock Holmes! But when Sherlock's popularity becomes too much for Arthur to bear, will he really throw his greatest creation . . . off a cliff?!
From the author of Mary Who Wrote Frankenstein comes a riveting and humorous picture book about the incredible life of Arthur Conan Doyle: doctor, adventurer, tireless campaigner for justice . . . and (begrudging) creator of the world's greatest detective!
Author’s note, with photograph of Arthur Conan Doyle. Sources. Full-color illustrations were drawn with watercolor, pencil, and “a pinch of Photoshop.”
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Gr 3–5—This biography covers Arthur Conan Doyle's life from early experiences with the delights of storytelling in an otherwise difficult childhood to (in the afterword) his controversial later belief in spiritualism—but it centers so thoroughly on the sometimes contentious relationship between the author and his most famous creation that none of his (many) other works are even named. Additionally, his private life as an adult is relegated to a single, late sentence in the main narrative that is barely elaborated on in the back matter. Along with a truly terrifying Hound (of the Baskervilles), Follath supplies in a mix of fictional and real-world settings actively posed figures of the great detective, his inventor, and excited readers, all in proper Victorian dress. However, though she does include a visual nod to Doyle's worthy public campaign to free a British citizen of Indian descent who was wrongfully convicted of a crime, adding dark-skinned people to nearly every group scene (including even young Doyle's class of fellow school children) creates a misleading impression of racial diversity, or if actually accurate requires an explanatory note. VERDICT Well-intentioned though this may be, it bombs—both because the pictures convey an improbable racial mix for the depicted times and places, and because fans of the original stories will find more value in fuller introductions to the author's life and works.—John Edward Peters