Sherlock Holmes
The Unauthorized Biography
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4.0 • 1 Rating
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
"An in-depth biography of the world's most famous detective that will intrigue Sherlockians and non-Sherlockians alike." —Publishers Weekly
He has been called a genius and a fraud, a hero and an addict, but who really was Sherlock Holmes? With an attention to detail that would make his subject envious, Nick Rennison combs the literature for clues, omissions, and inconsistencies in Dr. Watson's immortal narration. He delves into Holmes's contact with prominent historical figures—including Oscar Wilde and Sigmund Freud—and uncovers startling, new information.
How did a Cambridge dropout and bit player on the London stage transform himself into a renowned consulting detective? Did he know the identity of Jack the Ripper? When did Holmes and his nemesis, Professor Moriarty, first cross paths? Did Sherlock Holmes, protector of the innocent, commit the very act he so often worked to prevent, the cold-blooded, premeditated murder of Moriarty?
Sherlock Holmes: The Unauthorized Biography answers these questions and many more as it careens through the most infamous crimes and historic events of the Victorian age, all in pursuit of the real man behind the greatest detective in modern fiction—and, just perhaps, nonfiction.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Rennison creates an in-depth biography of the world's most famous detective that will intrigue Sherlockians and non-Sherlockians alike. Effortlessly melding genuine Victorian history with episodes from Doyle's original stories, the author adopts the popular conceit that Holmes and Watson actually existed, and uses the few clues from the canon to reconstruct the sleuth's ancestry and upbringing. While some of his conclusions will engender controversy among buffs (such as his assessment that Holmes and his brother, Mycroft, set up Professor Moriarty for the fatal encounter at Reichenbach), Rennison makes a logical case for his assertions. He falls a little short in explaining Holmes's devotion of time and resources to espionage rather than deduction, but overall his attempt ranks with previous similar speculations by Michael Harrison and William S. Baring-Gould.
