The True Crime Files of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Paperback)

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was the creator of Sherlock Holmes, the most popular fictional detective the world has ever known. But he also found himself in the role of real-life sleuth—when two actual criminal cases came to his attention. Sir Arthur documented his investigations—one featured in the pages of the London Daily Telegraph, and the other privately published as a book in 1912. Now, they’re available in one volume.

 

In “The Case of George Ernest Thompson Edalji,” a young lawyer—half-British, half-Indian—is persecuted for a series of bizarre animal mutilations. Despite the fact that the slayings continued while the lawyer was incarcerated, the police refused to investigate further.

 

“The Case of Oscar Slater” recounts the incident of a petty criminal being imprisoned for a brutal murder he didn’t commit.  Sir Arthur’s inquiries into the matter revealed the police deliberately suppressed evidence—including the true identity of the killer.

 

Now, “literary prospector” Stephen Hines and Edgar Award-winning author Steven Womack present these cases with newly rediscovered source material and background, revealing the impact of Sir Arthur’s involvement—including legal precedents that were established—and also includes a fascinating introduction that places these accounts in the context of the author’s life as detective.