Synopses & Reviews
Many engage in the quest, but no biographer yet has captured the enigmatic Doyle. Conan Doyle deliberately obscured his life, and his heirs remain keen to guard his papers. Yet the contributorsConan Doyle scholars and collectors, English literature professors, research librarians, editors, and criticsconcur that better biographical material is needed and that now100 years after the birth of Sherlock Holmesis an appropriate time to examine the biographical problems. They concentrate on the ways Conan Doyle himself and his biographers have handled these problemsor failed to handle them. In the process of evaluating and criticizing earlier biographical efforts, the contributors present an effective portrait of Conan Doyle. All agree, however, that much more remains to be done, and they suggest fruitful areas for further research.
Synopsis
Many engage in the quest, but no biographer yet has captured the enigmatic Doyle. Conan Doyle deliberately obscured his life, and his heirs remain keen to guard his papers. Yet the contributors--Conan Doyle scholars and collectors, English literature professors, research librarians, editors, and critics--concur that better biographical material is needed and that now--100 years after the birth of Sherlock Holmes--is an appropriate time to examine the biographical problems. They concentrate on the ways Conan Doyle himself and his biographers have handled these problems--or failed to handle them. In the process of evaluating and criticizing earlier biographical efforts, the contributors present an effective portrait of Conan Doyle. All agree, however, that much more remains to be done, and they suggest fruitful areas for further research.
About the Author
Jon L. Lellenberg is an investitured member of the Baker Street Irregulars and is a contributing editor of and principal book reviewer for Baker Street Miscellanea.
Table of Contents
Introduction : The quest for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle / Jon L. Lellenberg -- Autobiography -- Experience veiled in pseudonyms / Ely M. Liebow -- His final tale of chivalry / Richard Lancelyn Green -- Commitment to great causes / Andrew S. Malec -- Biography -- A spiritualist crusade / Philip A. Shreffer -- A good-natured debunking / Nicholas Utechin -- The family's counterattack / James Bliss Austin -- The ideal storybook hero / Howard Lachtman -- Scholarship translated into popular biography / Donald A. Redmond -- Four miniature portraits / Edward S. Lauterbach -- A search for emotional peace / Peter E. Blau & Jon L. Lellenberg -- A snide debunking / David R. Anderson -- Victorian Philistinism reconsidered / Richard Lancely Green -- Foreshadowed by his youth / Christopher Redmond -- Epilogue : the quest continues / Jon L. Lellenberg.