From School Library Journal
Grade 6 Up-This biography of the famed creator of Sherlock Holmes provides a thorough look at Doyle's life and writings. Today's readers who know the writer primarily-if not exclusively-for his detective stories will be stunned to discover just how influential he was in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and how small a part the Holmes tales were in his total literary output. Pascal draws on a wealth of primary sources-including Doyle's own autobiography-and presents anecdotes, quotations, and superb black-and-white photos and reproductions that reveal fascinating details of the writer's life, from his aristocratic Irish Catholic family to the fervent spiritualism that marked his last decades. Pascal does a fine job of conveying the era in which her subject lived. Occasional verbosity and awkward phrasing are evident but do not detract from the book's overall appeal.Leah J. Sparks, Bowie Public Library, MD Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
No other author has ever been so overshadowed by a character of his or her creation as Doyle. Here Pascal pulls Doyle into the light to show that he had more than one string on his bow. Pointing clearly to events and people in his life that later showed up in his books, she paints him as a decent, likable fellow with a talent for forceful, vivid writing and unwavering enthusiasm for new ideas and enterprises. For example, although he became thoroughly irritated with the Sherlock Holmes mania, he used his celebrity to publicize several miscarriages of justice, to defend England's behavior in the Boer War, and, toward the end of his life, to promote spiritualism. The illustrations are all contemporary photos or film stills, boxed passages from several works are long enough to impart a sense of Doyle's humor and eminently readable style, and the book closes with an annotated bibliography. Despite the lack of organizational or Internet addresses, this coherent, evenhanded presentation of the writer's multifaceted literary career will be a useful addition. John Peters


Book Description
Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) is best known for his Sherlock Holmes stories and novels, yet he considered them only a small part of his literary output. He expected to be remembered for his historical fiction, especially The White Company. He also wrote science fiction novels, short stories, and horror tales. He was knighted for a pamphlet he wrote justifying England's actions during the Boer War, in which he served as a physician in a field hospital. After one of his sons was killed during World War I, he turned to spiritualism for comfort. He became a prominent spiritualist, lecturing and writing frequently on the subject. This book--the first biography of Arthur Conan Doyle written for young adults--provides a lively account of the writer's fascinating life. Pascal considers the overlaps between the fictional Holmes and Watson and their creator, and draws a memorable picture of late Victorian society. Sidebars containing excerpts from Doyle's writings, and numerous photographs and illustrations invigorate the captivating narrative. Oxford Portraits is a new series of biographies for young adults. Written by prominent writers and historians, each of these titles is designed to supplement the core texts of the middle and high school curriculum with intriguing, thoroughly informative and insightful accounts of the lives and work of the notable men and women who helped shape history. Each book is illustrated with numerous graphics, photographs, and documents. A unique feature is the inclusion of sidebars containing primary source material, mostly excerpts from the subject's writings. A chronology, further reading list, and index rounds out every volume.

FROM THE CRITICS

Children's Literature - Childrens Literature

Perhaps the greatest tribute to an author's prowess occurs when his character's fame outstrips his own. This is the case with Sherlock Holmes, the great fictional detective with the deerstalker cap and Inverness cape, whose name has become synonymous with private eyes. This biography explores many other facets of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's remarkable life, including his occupations as medical doctor; ship's surgeon aboard an arctic whaling vessel; general practitioner in a seaside town; supervisor of a civilian hospital during the Boer War; introducer of snow skis to Switzerland; and, for the last fifteen years of his life, devoted spiritualist. To his sometimes-great disappointment, Conan Doyle could never escape the shadow of his own creation, Sherlock Holmes. Holmes was one of the first detectives--real or fictional--to solve crimes using only the clues given and applying logic, rather than relying on bumbling criminals and coincidence. Today, seventy years after his creator's death, Sherlock Holmes receives over 200 letters per month at his famous London address, 221B Baker Street. Black-and-white photos, a chronology, and entertaining excerpts from Conan Doyle's novels are included in this thoroughly researched biography. 2000, Oxford University Press, Ages 12 up, $22.00. Reviewer: Christopher Moning

School Library Journal