Arthur Who Wrote Sherlock by Linda Bailey

In recent years there have been several movies and a series about Sherlock Holmes, that great English detective. But who came up with the idea of Sherlock and what inspired the creation of one of literature's great characters?  In Arthur Who Wrote Sherlock, young readers will find the answers to those questions.

Arthur loved stories, especially the ones about knights of long ago, told by his mother as she made porridge. His mother taught him how to read and soon he was reading library books and writing his own stories.

Arthur's family was not well off, so they moved often. He also didn't always have new clothes to replace the ones he outgrew. His father didn't work because he struggled with mental illness and had a drinking problem.

When Arthur was nine-years-old he was sent away to boarding school, paid for by his wealthy uncles. Arthur found school boring and he didn't do well. But he loved sports and telling stories!

At the age of seventeen, Arthur enrolled in medical school and became an assistant to Dr. Joseph Bell, his favourite teacher. Bell had an amazing ability to observe, which often led him to uncover information about patients without asking questions. While in medical school Arthur had to work to earn money. He signed on as a medical officer on ships travelling to the Arctic Ocean and to Africa where he had many adventures. When he finally became a doctor, Arthur's practice was slow, with few patients.

With so much time on his hands, Arthur began by writing short stories. He decided to write a detective story but he needed to develop a detective character! Remembering the brilliant Dr. Bell, Arthur decided to model his detective after his friend who was observant, intelligent and brilliant. He decided on the name Sherlock Holmes. 

The first story Sherlock Holmes appears in is well received but then is forgotten. But when his stories are published in The Strand Magazine, readers grow to love Sherlock and his partner, Dr. Watson. However, the fame, and fan mail simply became too much for Arthur, so he decided to kill off his beloved detective. But this did not go over very well with readers who were completely dismayed, even angry. Eight years would pass before Arthur resurrected Sherlock  with The Hound of the Baskervilles and a unique explanation bringing Sherlock back from the dead.

Besides his wonderful Sherlock stories, Arthur leads a full life but he will always be remembered for creating Sherlock Holmes!

Discussion

Most young readers may not have read any of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories but they may very well have encountered him through recent movies and the BBC television series, Sherlock, starring the eccentric Benedict Cumberbatch.  Arthur Who Wrote Sherlock offers the perfect introduction to the the man who created one of literature's most famous characters. 

Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle was born in 1859 in Edinburgh, Scotland to Irish Catholic parents, His family was temporarily split up in 1864 due to his father's struggles with alcoholism but reunited three years later. His father struggled most of his life with mental illness and died in an institution. Arthur was educated in strict Jesuit schools which he later indicated were abusive and did not foster learning in a positive way. 

 

Arthur was a trained physician and well educated but his medical practice did not thrive. So he began writing. His first published story, A Study In Scarlet was the inaugural appearance of Sherlock Holmes and his loyal assistant, Dr. Watson. Sherlock  Holmes became so popular that when Arthur killed off his character, readers were upset. Circumstances in Arthur's life eventually led to return to writing more adventures of Sherlock Holmes, after he provided a way to bring back the famous detective from what had appeared to be an untimely death!

In Arthur Who Wrote Sherlock, author Linda Bailey highlights the influences that played an important part in Arthur Conan Doyle's development of both his famous character and his writing: the exciting stories his mother told him as a child, his love of reading, his training as a medical doctor, and his work with the intelligent and observant Dr. Joseph Bell who was to form the genesis of Sherlock Holmes. Arthur himself was an equally interesting person: he liked to drive fast cars, take to the air in hot air balloons and early airplanes, ran for public office several times, travelled to New York and also Canada and even tried to enlist in the Boer War and in the First World War (he was deemed unfit for service.)

Assisting in portraying Arthur Conan Doyle's life is the artwork of Isabelle Follath which was done using "watercolor, pencil, a pinch of Photoshop and gallons of coffee."

This well-written picture biography provides an informative introduction to Arthur Conan Doyle and his character, Sherlock Holmes. There is an Author's Note at the back along with a Sources page for further research.

Book Details:

Arthur Who Wrote Sherlock by Linda Bailey
Toronto: Tundra Books     2022