|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Frequently Bought Together
Product Details
|
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Arthur is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, physician, sportsman, gentleman par excellence and the inventor of Sherlock Holmes; George is George Edalji, also a real, if less well-known person, whose path crossed not quite fatefully with the famous author's. Edalji was the son of a Parsi father (who was a Shropshire vicar), and a Scots mother. In 1903, George, a solicitor, was accused of writing obscene, threatening letters to his own family and of mutilating cattle in his farm community. He was convicted of criminal behavior in a blatant miscarriage of justice based on racial prejudice. Eventually, Sir Arthur ("Irish by ancestry, Scottish by birth") heard about George's case and began to advocate on his behalf. In this combination psychological novel, detective story and literary thriller, Barnes elegantly dissects early 20th-century English society as he spins this true-life story with subtle and restrained irony. Every line delivered by the many characters—the two principals, their school chums (Barnes sketches their early lives), their families and many incidentals—rings with import. His dramatization of George's trial, in particular, grinds with telling minutiae, and his portrait of Arthur is remarkably rich, even when tackling Doyle's spiritualist side. Shortlisted for the Booker, this novel about love, guilt, identity and honor is a triumph of storytelling, taking the form Barnes perfected in Flaubert's Parrot (1985) and stretching it yet again.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From School Library Journal
Adult/High School–This novel tells the tale of two real men: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes, and George Edalji, an English lawyer of Indian descent. Their lives crossed when Edalji asked Doyle for help following Edalji's unjust conviction for mutilating horses. The narrative moves toward that point, which is in many ways merely the framework that allows Barnes to develop the interior stories of two unusual figures in Victorian and Edwardian England. His Doyle is a latter-day knight-errant, with all the failings and foibles one might expect; Edalji is the model Englishman with an inherent faith in the legal system and race is something that he cannot imagine could matter. Barnes has created two fully realized characters, and readers cannot help but sympathize with them.–Ted Westervelt, Library of Congress, Washington, DC
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction,
By
This review is from: Arthur & George (Paperback)
I'm still shaking my head that I never read this great book until now. I'm also still shaking my head at the miscarriage of justice it details. Yes, it is a novel, but almost all of the historical details are accurate. The first part of the book is especially haunting, as it paints a picture of an awkward, earnest young lawyer (whose background, which turns out to be a possibly motivating factor for his ensuing apprehension and detainment, is kept hidden until later on) by the name of George is falsely accused of heinous and disturbing crimes in his small community in Staffordshire. Arthur, a failed eye doctor turned successful novelist, tries to come to grips with his father's debilitating illness, his wife's death, and his public's obsession with what he perceives to be a one-trick pony. Arthur hears of George's plight and brings to bear his connections, his fervour for righteousness, and his humanity to help him.Alternately uplifting and saddening, Arthur & George is always moving. The middle portion of the novel, which elaborates on Arthur's relationships, goes on a bit too long, but overall it is an engaging read. Highly recommended.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Well-Dramatized Dual Biography of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and the Railroaded Solicitor He Befriended,
By Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!" (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 112,000 Helpful Votes Globally) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER) (#1 HALL OF FAME)
This review is from: Arthur & George (Paperback)
"It is a joy for the just to do justice,But destruction will come to the workers of iniquity." -- Proverbs 21:15 (NKJV) Many people primarily know about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle as the creator of Sherlock Holmes, something he didn't take as much comfort from as his fans did. After a number of years, Sir Arthur began looking into cases of seeming injustice to employ his skills as a crime thinker. This book considers the most highly visible and important of those investigations, the conviction of an innocent man, solicitor George Edalji, who was a victim of racial prejudice in part and an incompetent court system in part. Sir Arthur was also a dedicated student of what was called spiritualism, had a most unusual relationship with his mother, and courted his second wife in a most unusual way. Julian Barnes intertwines the stories of the two men to illuminate our understanding of them, their times, and their nation. In doing so, he draws on authentic letters and quotations to ground his "fiction" in plenty of fact. The result resembles something a bit better than the so-called new journalism that some use to report news stories today in fictionalized form. I have read about the facts covered by this book in a number of different forms, and I was blown away by how much more effective Mr. Barnes' approach is for making the story interesting, lively, and revealing. As a result, I added a lot to my understanding, even though I thought I didn't need to do so. Bravo, Mr. Barnes!
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Simply brilliant.,
By A Customer
This review is from: Arthur & George (Hardcover)
In 1903, solicitor George Edalji is arrested and convicted of mutilating cattle and other farm animals as well as writing threatening letters. He is sent to prison and disbarred from practicing law.----- In 1906 Arthur Conan Doyle still grieves the loss of his beloved life when he learns of the case that some claim is the result of racism. He does a perfunctory review and quickly learns that police and others have harassed the Edalji family before the arrest and apparently continue to do so. He digs deeper as the investigation helps him out of his morbid funk until he concludes that the extremely near-sighted George, who can barely see and was obviously a logical rational person, could not have committed these atrocious acts. Doyle begins a campaign to free George and get him reinstated as a lawyer.------ This is a terrific fictionalized account of a real event as Doyle actually undertook a campaign to free the imprisoned Edalji. The investigation grips the audience who will receive a taste of Edwardian England’s darker societal practices as much as insight into the two lead characters. Readers will understand how the intelligent George became a victim and how Arthur turned to spiritualism when logic especially that of his society failed him. The details make this a fabulous historical fiction that will shock the audience with its equivalency to the Emile Zola-Dreyfus Affair. Another great read in the genre is 'Giorgio Quest' Highly recommend.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Want to see more reviews on this item?
|
Most recent customer reviews |
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
