Twentieth Century

Most biographies of Conan Doyle have, understandably, emphasized the creation of Sherlock Holmes. Only recently have there been attempts to fully round out Conan Doyle as doctor, athlete, family man, author and crusader. The question Stashower posed before writing this book is whether it is now possible to examine the spiritualist aspect of Conan Doyle's life ""with sympathy rather than derision."" He covers the basics of the writer's life well: the medical school years; studying under Dr. Joseph Bell (whose methods of observations were borrowed for Holmes); the literary output; his experiences in the Boer War; his knighthood, WWI experiences and conversion to spiritualism. Stashower notes that as early as 1881, Conan Doyle, then 21, attended spiritualism lectures. A few years later, the Victorian author observed demonstrations of mesmerism and other mediumistic displays. By 1887, Conan Doyle publicly declared himself convinced: ""After weighing the evidence, I could no more doubt the existence of the phenomena than I could doubt the existence of lions in Africa."" In 1893, he joined the Society for Psychical Research. In focusing attention on these early events, Stashower dissolves the myth that the deaths of Conan Doyle's son, brother and nephews in WWI gave rise to his embrace of the supernatural and the occult. Stashower has done an admirable job in creating both a general, well-researched biography of a complex literary giant and in providing insights into the origins and apparent contradictions of his later beliefs. Eight pages of b&w photos not seen by PW. (Apr.)