A "Featured Selection" of The Mystery Guild Book Club
The Strange Case of Dr. Doyle
A Journey Into Madness and Mayhem
Description
In the spring of 1905, members of an exclusive club of crime enthusiasts known as Our Society were taken on a guided excursion through Whitechapel, one of London’s most notorious districts, by Dr. Frederick Gordon Brown, the chief police surgeon for the City of London. But this was no ordinary sightseeing tour. The focus of the outing was Jack the Ripper’s reputed murder sites, and among the guests that day was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of the world’s greatest detective, Sherlock Holmes.
Here, now, in The Strange Case of Dr. Doyleby first-time son/father writing team Daniel Friedman, MD, and Eugene Friedman, MD, you are cordially invited to join a recreation of that tour. This expedition, however, will differ from the original in one very important way: It will be led by celebrated author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle himself. As you stroll beside Doyle and his other guests, you will travel to the location of each of the five canonical Ripper murders. Thanks to your guide’s observations and opinions, all of which are based on actual historical accounts, you will learn as much about the district of Whitechapel as you will the terrible Ripper killings that occurred there.
After each stop on the tour, you will also become acquainted with the life of Arthur Conan Doyle, from his earliest days in Edinburgh to his first taste of success as a writer. You will observe Arthur’s hardships at home, his experiences at boarding school, his adventures at sea, his university education, and his days as a working medical doctor. You will be granted a picture of the man as few have ever seen him. As you alternate between biography and tour, you will become a Holmes-like detective, unearthing facts, discovering details, and piecing together information about both Jack the Ripper and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. If you maintain a sharp mind and a keen eye, at the end of your journey, you may just uncover a truth you never expected to find.
Reviews
"A father-and-son writing team explore Arthur Conan Doyle's fascination with the Jack the Ripper case . . . the book offers us an opportunity to see how Conan Doyle might have approached the Ripper investigation, had he been involved with it, and, in a larger sense, how Conan Doyle's keen analytic mind mirrored, in many ways, that of his most famous creation . . . [The Strange Case of Dr Doyle has] many virtues, including, most of all, the way it allows us to peek inside the mind of Arthur Conan Doyle. An annotated bibliography of sources is appended."
"Exposes the similarities of two very strange men, Jack the Ripper and Arthur Conan Doyle . . . interesting, as the authors expose the man with a titanic ego who always had a good excuse for his failures . . . the book goes on to raise intriguing questions and possibilities for fans of both men."
“[A]ccurate and well researched. . . . [A]n engaging examination . . . the Friedmans’ conclusion about Jack and Doyle will raise eyebrows. . . . [B]ound to be read by fans of Victorian murder real and invented.”
