What do you think?
Rate this book
Arthur & George
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • BOOKER PRIZE FINALIST • From the bestselling author of The Sense of an Ending comes an “extraordinary … first rate” novel ( The New York Times Book Review ) that follows the lives of two very different British men and explores the grand tapestry of late-Victorian Britain.
As boys, George, the son of a Midlands vicar, and Arthur, living in shabby genteel Edinburgh, find themselves in a vast and complex world at the heart of the British Empire. Years later—one struggling with his identity in a world hostile to his ancestry, the other creating the world’s most famous detective while in love with a woman who is not his wife—their fates become inextricably connected.
As boys, George, the son of a Midlands vicar, and Arthur, living in shabby genteel Edinburgh, find themselves in a vast and complex world at the heart of the British Empire. Years later—one struggling with his identity in a world hostile to his ancestry, the other creating the world’s most famous detective while in love with a woman who is not his wife—their fates become inextricably connected.
445 pages, Paperback
First published July 7, 2005
About the author
Julian Barnes
164 books6,512 followersJulian Patrick Barnes is an English writer. He won the Man Booker Prize in 2011 with The Sense of an Ending, having been shortlisted three times previously with Flaubert's Parrot, England, England, and Arthur & George. Barnes has also written crime fiction under the pseudonym Dan Kavanagh (having married Pat Kavanagh). In addition to novels, Barnes has published collections of essays and short stories.
In 2004 he became a Commandeur of L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. His honours also include the Somerset Maugham Award and the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize. He was awarded the 2021 Jerusalem Prize.
In 2004 he became a Commandeur of L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. His honours also include the Somerset Maugham Award and the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize. He was awarded the 2021 Jerusalem Prize.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,760 reviews
January 27, 2021
A historical novel based on true events in England in the late 1800’s to early 1900’s. George Edalji was a real person, a brown-skinned man, the son of an Indian father, a parish vicar, and a Scottish mother. George is just starting out in his career as a lawyer when his family is targeted by a series of obscene, threatening anonymous letters. Later the threats escalate and are tied in with a series of farm animal mutilations. The local hick police accuse (and basically ‘frame’) George of the letters and the mutilations. He is sentenced to prison. (I’m not giving away plot, we pretty much know all this near the start of the book.)
George and his father, good old-fashioned Christians that they are, refused to acknowledge the obvious racism in all this. George would tell you, in effect, ‘Oh yes I was bullied, but so were all the small, bookish boys.’
Appalled by absurd evidence in the case, and the obvious racism in all this, Arthur enters the scene. The book blurbs don’t tell us who Arthur is, and we don’t find out until we’re 50 pages in or so, so let’s call him a ‘real-life famous detective.’ The whole book is based on a real-life drama, so I think it would have been better to advertise in advance who “Arthur” is – Had I realized (I must be slow, lol) I would have paid more attention to his upbringing in the early chapters. If you don’t know
A good portion of the book is a biography of famous Arthur, focused particularly on his wife’s illness and an 11-year platonic affair he carried on with a woman he loved, who was, in effect, his ‘mistress’ in every other way. Another focus of the book is on Arthur’s belief in spiritualism. He believed in seances, ESP, and communication with the dead and he promoted these ideas.
Lovers of detective stories will enjoy the details of early forensic analysis used (or abused) in George’s trial; things like matching footprints to bootheels, microscopic analysis of animal hairs, handwriting analysis. Arthur felt with good reason that George was obviously innocent.
With Arthur’s fame and his deliberate efforts in publicizing the case in the newspapers, the case became as famous in England as the Dreyfus affair was in France. Eventually it was responsible for the establishment of a Board of Appeals for such cases in England. The wheels of justice move slowly, so we’re talking decades here.
And who was the real culprit? Sure enough, Arthur figured it out.
Arthur and George (2005) is one of four of Barnes’ books for which he was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. He won it for The Sense of an Ending in 2011. The other two were England, England and Flaubert’s Parrot.
I’ll rate the book 4.5 and round it up; 4 for the writing and 5 for the story. I though it was a slow starter with the alternating biographical details of their respective childhoods and that’s partly why I write that I would have preferred to know at the start who Arthur was.
Below is the Wikipedia entry for the George Edalji story.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_...\
Top photo of newspaper article from blackgate.com
Rural British landscape from cdn.pixabay.com
Arthur from literariness.org
The author from interviewmagazine.com
George and his father, good old-fashioned Christians that they are, refused to acknowledge the obvious racism in all this. George would tell you, in effect, ‘Oh yes I was bullied, but so were all the small, bookish boys.’
Appalled by absurd evidence in the case, and the obvious racism in all this, Arthur enters the scene. The book blurbs don’t tell us who Arthur is, and we don’t find out until we’re 50 pages in or so, so let’s call him a ‘real-life famous detective.’ The whole book is based on a real-life drama, so I think it would have been better to advertise in advance who “Arthur” is – Had I realized (I must be slow, lol) I would have paid more attention to his upbringing in the early chapters. If you don’t know
A good portion of the book is a biography of famous Arthur, focused particularly on his wife’s illness and an 11-year platonic affair he carried on with a woman he loved, who was, in effect, his ‘mistress’ in every other way. Another focus of the book is on Arthur’s belief in spiritualism. He believed in seances, ESP, and communication with the dead and he promoted these ideas.
Lovers of detective stories will enjoy the details of early forensic analysis used (or abused) in George’s trial; things like matching footprints to bootheels, microscopic analysis of animal hairs, handwriting analysis. Arthur felt with good reason that George was obviously innocent.
With Arthur’s fame and his deliberate efforts in publicizing the case in the newspapers, the case became as famous in England as the Dreyfus affair was in France. Eventually it was responsible for the establishment of a Board of Appeals for such cases in England. The wheels of justice move slowly, so we’re talking decades here.
And who was the real culprit? Sure enough, Arthur figured it out.
Arthur and George (2005) is one of four of Barnes’ books for which he was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. He won it for The Sense of an Ending in 2011. The other two were England, England and Flaubert’s Parrot.
I’ll rate the book 4.5 and round it up; 4 for the writing and 5 for the story. I though it was a slow starter with the alternating biographical details of their respective childhoods and that’s partly why I write that I would have preferred to know at the start who Arthur was.
Below is the Wikipedia entry for the George Edalji story.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_...\
Top photo of newspaper article from blackgate.com
Rural British landscape from cdn.pixabay.com
Arthur from literariness.org
The author from interviewmagazine.com
April 22, 2024
Few could create an enjoyable novel from this hybrid of biography, detective mystery, courtroom drama, and campaign for justice, whose themes include chivalry, systemic racism, judicial reform, English identity, courtly love, storytelling, faith, and spiritualism, with vastly different chapter lengths, and seamlessly flip-flopping tenses. But Barnes does.
“Arthur” is Conan Doyle, the creator of Holmes and Watson, and “George” is George Edalji, a young Birmingham solicitor, and the English-born son of a Parsee vicar and his Scottish wife.
The first hundred pages alternate between Arthur and George’s very different Victorian childhoods and early adulthoods, told in past and present tenses respectively. Barnes infers the minds of children and adults from known facts, and seeds themes for Arthur and George’s stories, preparing the ground for the Edwardian crime story and its consequent changes to the English legal system.
Foresight, hindsight, second sight
This is all about vision. From the opening sentence about a formative moment:
“A child wants to see.”
To the final three lines:
“What does he see?
What did he see?
What will he see?”
Image: Victorian spectacles at the Wellcome Collection (Source)
In a literal sense, there’s Arthur’s ophthalmological training and George’s extreme myopia - one of many ways they complement each other. But there is wilful blindness in intimate relationships and the legal realm, as well as questions about the veracity of the spiritualism that fascinates Arthur.
How to tell a story
It’s also about stories. George grows up with Bible stories and, though raised Catholic, it’s the mam’s telling of chivalric knights’ tales that captures Arthur’s imagination and sets his moral compass. And then there’s the case for prosecution:
“A story… made up from scraps and coincidences and hypotheses.”
When Arthur takes up George’s case, he visits Chief Constable Anson, who quotes an interview Arthur gave to a magazine:
“You cannot know which path to travel unless you first know the destination.”
But Anson disagrees:
“You cannot understand the ending until you know the beginning.”
It’s not just wordplay; it explains their fundamentally different approaches to George’s case.
Barnes keeps a foot in both camps. The book is split into four sections:
1. Beginning
2. Beginning with an Ending
3. Ending with a Beginning
4. Endings
The “Great Wyrley Outrages” - not a spoiler
The book reads like a novel, but is factual; it quotes real documents, newspapers, transcripts, and records, and the gist of the case is in the blurb.
The Edalji family live in a Shropshire village. They suddenly start receiving poison pen letters, sick “gifts”, threats, and all manner of hoaxes - some sent to them, others done in their name, over several years. Later, farm animals are mutilated. George is eventually charged and sentenced to 7 years penal servitude, despite the absence of significant evidence, motivation, or opportunity.
Arthur learns of the miscarriage of justice when he is bereft and uncharacteristically lacking focus. He is immediately convinced of George’s innocence, determined to prove it, to find the real culprit/s, and to obtain a full pardon and compensation for George.
Image: Letters relating to the case (Source)
Racism
“You’re not a right sort.”
The story concerns systemic racism, including at all levels of the justice system. Or not.
Arthur - and the reader - are in no doubt that race plays some part in the persecution, prosecution, and press coverage: snide comments about swarthy Orientals, “mixing of the blood”, mythical Hindoo [sic] practises, and “half-castes” being understandably vilified around the world.
But George is adamant that race is not a factor. I didn’t understand his view, other than wishful thinking, perhaps influenced by this exchange with his father, quite early on, when, unusually, a white family in the village receives a poison pen letter:
“‘This proves it is not merely race prejudice.’
‘Is that a good thing, Father? To be hated for more than one reason?’”
Image: The Edalji family (George, top left) (Source)
(In)Justice and faith
“I pride myself on being an unofficial Englishman.”
Both men care deeply about justice. For Arthur, defending the underdog is the chivalric duty of an Englishman (although technically he’s Scottish).
George is fascinated with rules, systems, and predictable outcomes; his faith drifts from the church to the sanctity of the law. He clings blindly to that faith, despite what happens. He rejects his father’s portrayal of him as a spiritual martyr, but comes to see himself as a secular one: salvation is not via death, into heaven, but via his earthly trials, onto The Criminal Appeal Act of 1907, and eventually, the creation of the Court of Appeal.
More and less
+ The early biographies of each man would make two good essays in their own right. I wanted to know more about “the mam” (Arthur's mother) and all of George’s family, but that would have been out of place here.
+ There was a curiosity of life in the vicarage that was raised in the trial, and subsequently, but which was never plausibly explained. Anson made nasty and unlikely assumptions about it, but no one else offered a sensible alternative.
- The three-day trial is told in detail (65 pages), and is very well done, but as one who rarely reads or watches courtroom dramas, if felt a little long as an unbroken chapter.
- The final section, looking at an occasion related to Arthur’s fascination with spiritualism and George’s scepticism, was a necessary part of the story, but I don’t think it added enough to justify 50 pages.
True story (minor spoiler in the paragraph below the photo)
Image: George (Source)
George was clearly not guilty beyond reasonable doubt, plus the police broke rules, probably tampered with evidence, and exaggerated, embellished, and distorted statements. But perhaps the most shocking aspect is that the Home Office report, which Arthur campaigned for, reached the contradictory conclusion that George was innocent, but no part of the legal system did anything wrong, so he was not due any compensation for serving time for a crime he did not commit.
• British Heritage page about the case, HERE.
• The Wikipedia page for George Edalji, HERE.
• Arthur’s actual report, HERE.
• New information that came to light in 2015 (ten years after Barnes wrote this), HERE.
Bonus fact: Arthur chose the format for his initial Sherlock Holmes stories as a compromise between serializations, where missing a single one could ruin the story, and shallow freestanding tales. Self contained stories within a broader narrative arc are now common on page and screen.
Image: Arthur (Source)
Quotes
• “A gentle failure of a man.”
• “[She] had not realized that courtship… could be so strenuous, or so resemble tourism.”
• “She had an open, generous nature, a lovely head of curls, and a small income of her own.” (Sounds like Jane Austen)
• “Knowing women less, he is able to idealize them more.”
• “The telephone is the chosen instrument of the adulterer.”
• “In his view it was an Englishman’s inalienable right to tell others, especially those of a nosy inclination, to mind their own business.”
“Arthur” is Conan Doyle, the creator of Holmes and Watson, and “George” is George Edalji, a young Birmingham solicitor, and the English-born son of a Parsee vicar and his Scottish wife.
The first hundred pages alternate between Arthur and George’s very different Victorian childhoods and early adulthoods, told in past and present tenses respectively. Barnes infers the minds of children and adults from known facts, and seeds themes for Arthur and George’s stories, preparing the ground for the Edwardian crime story and its consequent changes to the English legal system.
Foresight, hindsight, second sight
This is all about vision. From the opening sentence about a formative moment:
“A child wants to see.”
To the final three lines:
“What does he see?
What did he see?
What will he see?”
Image: Victorian spectacles at the Wellcome Collection (Source)
In a literal sense, there’s Arthur’s ophthalmological training and George’s extreme myopia - one of many ways they complement each other. But there is wilful blindness in intimate relationships and the legal realm, as well as questions about the veracity of the spiritualism that fascinates Arthur.
How to tell a story
It’s also about stories. George grows up with Bible stories and, though raised Catholic, it’s the mam’s telling of chivalric knights’ tales that captures Arthur’s imagination and sets his moral compass. And then there’s the case for prosecution:
“A story… made up from scraps and coincidences and hypotheses.”
When Arthur takes up George’s case, he visits Chief Constable Anson, who quotes an interview Arthur gave to a magazine:
“You cannot know which path to travel unless you first know the destination.”
But Anson disagrees:
“You cannot understand the ending until you know the beginning.”
It’s not just wordplay; it explains their fundamentally different approaches to George’s case.
Barnes keeps a foot in both camps. The book is split into four sections:
1. Beginning
2. Beginning with an Ending
3. Ending with a Beginning
4. Endings
The “Great Wyrley Outrages” - not a spoiler
The book reads like a novel, but is factual; it quotes real documents, newspapers, transcripts, and records, and the gist of the case is in the blurb.
The Edalji family live in a Shropshire village. They suddenly start receiving poison pen letters, sick “gifts”, threats, and all manner of hoaxes - some sent to them, others done in their name, over several years. Later, farm animals are mutilated. George is eventually charged and sentenced to 7 years penal servitude, despite the absence of significant evidence, motivation, or opportunity.
Arthur learns of the miscarriage of justice when he is bereft and uncharacteristically lacking focus. He is immediately convinced of George’s innocence, determined to prove it, to find the real culprit/s, and to obtain a full pardon and compensation for George.
Image: Letters relating to the case (Source)
Racism
“You’re not a right sort.”
The story concerns systemic racism, including at all levels of the justice system. Or not.
Arthur - and the reader - are in no doubt that race plays some part in the persecution, prosecution, and press coverage: snide comments about swarthy Orientals, “mixing of the blood”, mythical Hindoo [sic] practises, and “half-castes” being understandably vilified around the world.
But George is adamant that race is not a factor. I didn’t understand his view, other than wishful thinking, perhaps influenced by this exchange with his father, quite early on, when, unusually, a white family in the village receives a poison pen letter:
“‘This proves it is not merely race prejudice.’
‘Is that a good thing, Father? To be hated for more than one reason?’”
Image: The Edalji family (George, top left) (Source)
(In)Justice and faith
“I pride myself on being an unofficial Englishman.”
Both men care deeply about justice. For Arthur, defending the underdog is the chivalric duty of an Englishman (although technically he’s Scottish).
George is fascinated with rules, systems, and predictable outcomes; his faith drifts from the church to the sanctity of the law. He clings blindly to that faith, despite what happens. He rejects his father’s portrayal of him as a spiritual martyr, but comes to see himself as a secular one: salvation is not via death, into heaven, but via his earthly trials, onto The Criminal Appeal Act of 1907, and eventually, the creation of the Court of Appeal.
More and less
+ The early biographies of each man would make two good essays in their own right. I wanted to know more about “the mam” (Arthur's mother) and all of George’s family, but that would have been out of place here.
+ There was a curiosity of life in the vicarage that was raised in the trial, and subsequently, but which was never plausibly explained. Anson made nasty and unlikely assumptions about it, but no one else offered a sensible alternative.
- The three-day trial is told in detail (65 pages), and is very well done, but as one who rarely reads or watches courtroom dramas, if felt a little long as an unbroken chapter.
- The final section, looking at an occasion related to Arthur’s fascination with spiritualism and George’s scepticism, was a necessary part of the story, but I don’t think it added enough to justify 50 pages.
True story (minor spoiler in the paragraph below the photo)
Image: George (Source)
George was clearly not guilty beyond reasonable doubt, plus the police broke rules, probably tampered with evidence, and exaggerated, embellished, and distorted statements. But perhaps the most shocking aspect is that the Home Office report, which Arthur campaigned for, reached the contradictory conclusion that George was innocent, but no part of the legal system did anything wrong, so he was not due any compensation for serving time for a crime he did not commit.
• British Heritage page about the case, HERE.
• The Wikipedia page for George Edalji, HERE.
• Arthur’s actual report, HERE.
• New information that came to light in 2015 (ten years after Barnes wrote this), HERE.
Bonus fact: Arthur chose the format for his initial Sherlock Holmes stories as a compromise between serializations, where missing a single one could ruin the story, and shallow freestanding tales. Self contained stories within a broader narrative arc are now common on page and screen.
Image: Arthur (Source)
Quotes
• “A gentle failure of a man.”
• “[She] had not realized that courtship… could be so strenuous, or so resemble tourism.”
• “She had an open, generous nature, a lovely head of curls, and a small income of her own.” (Sounds like Jane Austen)
• “Knowing women less, he is able to idealize them more.”
• “The telephone is the chosen instrument of the adulterer.”
• “In his view it was an Englishman’s inalienable right to tell others, especially those of a nosy inclination, to mind their own business.”
September 6, 2009
It is all in the themes, I guess, and few writers write about themes that get under my skin in quite the same way that Barnes does. All the same, I’d better not run ahead of myself.
This book is based on a true story. I had wondered if it was true as I was reading it and although I knew that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was more or less real (if somewhat larger than life) there was still the possibility that Barnes had just slotted him into a work of otherwise complete fiction to make some sort of point or other – probably to do with Sherlock Holmes. I knew nothing, of course, of George Edaliji, despite, it turns out, the important role his case proved in later legal history.
Like in A Clockwork Orange, there are few fears greater than when incredibly stupid people have complete power over you. There is nothing more frightening than people who know something is the case, know it with all of their hearts. To be the victim of such irrational certainty is a terrifying idea – and one that occurs far too often in reality.
It is hard not to love a story in which a great wrong is committed, particularly if there is then also hope of redemption. You know, Christianity would have remained just a curious little Jewish sect if it wasn’t for the aching need people have for redemption. The best of fiction, and this is the best of fiction, presents human redemption in a way that is much more convincing and, to me at least, much more moving than religion does. I suspect that I simply don’t have the imagination required to believe in humanity-wide redemption and can only cope with an individual level redemption.
As I’m writing this review I’m trying to avoid needing to put a spoiler alert on it. Look, it is easy to find the story behind this novel: Wikipedia was where I turned when my curiosity got the better of me (fortunately, late enough in the novel for me to have worked out how this story was likely to pan out), but they are called spoilers for good reason. There were parts of this story which I was very glad I did not know what happened next beforehand.
I was born with a rather bad astigmatism, so I have a natural affinity with anyone similarly afflicted. I also have spent the last eight years representing people who have found themselves in trouble and were unable to represent themselves. So, there were many parts of this book in which I saw myself reflected back at me (if in a slightly distorted mirror). The bits I’ve mentioned are the parts where this is easiest to mention, where it can be mentioned with some sense of self-satisfaction, at least in part. Where I saw myself and found it much harder to continue looking was around the relationship between Sir Arthur and Jane – particularly after his first wife died and his daughter told him that her mother said, on her deathbed no less, that he would be likely to marry again. I’ve played exactly these sorts of games too, and like everyone else who has played them, I’ve lost and won in much the same ways. Few writers capture the complexity of human relations – sexual as well as emotional - for me with quite the same shock of recognition that Barnes does.
And then there’s death of course. Barnes has made a concerted effort over recent years to make this theme his own, as if he is laying claim to the kingdom of death in contemporary fiction. Or at least, the kingdom of thinking about the nature of death and why it haunts us so much. He reminds me of a modern day Montaigne. Montaigne said somewhere in his essays that his way of confronting the horrors of death was to think about it at least once a day – so that thereby he would make it familiar and so no longer something that needed to be feared. The scene at the end of this book where George confronts the ubiquity of death on a walk about a park on a pleasant Sunday evening is a lovely example of this most human and possibly inevitable of preoccupations.
Holmes is also a constant shadow across this book. It is a strange thing – I nearly finished reading all of the Holmes stories recently, but one of the things that was completely clear was that Doyle didn’t enjoy writing them, particularly not the stories after Holmes came back from the dead. There is a snideness in the writing that needs to be ignored to really enjoy the stories. This is something Barnes makes clear in this book too. But he also plays with Holmes in other ways – this is, after all, a detective mystery and having Doyle in the staring role makes interesting comparisons inevitable.
Perhaps my favourite part of the entire book is where Doyle spends a weekend with Captain Anson – and like Shakespeare, Barnes puts the most fascinating and thought provoking lines in the mouth of the least likeable character.
The other thing this book does is make you think about how easy it is to put ideas into people’s heads and how hard it is to get those ideas out of your head again. Was George a sexual deviant? Was he too fond of his sister? How easy it is to pollute the mind of someone. And how easy it is for us to get carried away and to do too much for someone we want to help and thereby destroy whatever hope we had of truly helping them in the first place.
And racism – of course, racism is a horribly obvious theme in this book, whether George admits it or not.
You might find this book a bit slow, but it will get under your skin. Like the best fiction always does, it keeps coming into my mind and Barnes has handled these intricate and complex of themes in ways that can’t do anything other than fascinate.
This book is based on a true story. I had wondered if it was true as I was reading it and although I knew that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was more or less real (if somewhat larger than life) there was still the possibility that Barnes had just slotted him into a work of otherwise complete fiction to make some sort of point or other – probably to do with Sherlock Holmes. I knew nothing, of course, of George Edaliji, despite, it turns out, the important role his case proved in later legal history.
Like in A Clockwork Orange, there are few fears greater than when incredibly stupid people have complete power over you. There is nothing more frightening than people who know something is the case, know it with all of their hearts. To be the victim of such irrational certainty is a terrifying idea – and one that occurs far too often in reality.
It is hard not to love a story in which a great wrong is committed, particularly if there is then also hope of redemption. You know, Christianity would have remained just a curious little Jewish sect if it wasn’t for the aching need people have for redemption. The best of fiction, and this is the best of fiction, presents human redemption in a way that is much more convincing and, to me at least, much more moving than religion does. I suspect that I simply don’t have the imagination required to believe in humanity-wide redemption and can only cope with an individual level redemption.
As I’m writing this review I’m trying to avoid needing to put a spoiler alert on it. Look, it is easy to find the story behind this novel: Wikipedia was where I turned when my curiosity got the better of me (fortunately, late enough in the novel for me to have worked out how this story was likely to pan out), but they are called spoilers for good reason. There were parts of this story which I was very glad I did not know what happened next beforehand.
I was born with a rather bad astigmatism, so I have a natural affinity with anyone similarly afflicted. I also have spent the last eight years representing people who have found themselves in trouble and were unable to represent themselves. So, there were many parts of this book in which I saw myself reflected back at me (if in a slightly distorted mirror). The bits I’ve mentioned are the parts where this is easiest to mention, where it can be mentioned with some sense of self-satisfaction, at least in part. Where I saw myself and found it much harder to continue looking was around the relationship between Sir Arthur and Jane – particularly after his first wife died and his daughter told him that her mother said, on her deathbed no less, that he would be likely to marry again. I’ve played exactly these sorts of games too, and like everyone else who has played them, I’ve lost and won in much the same ways. Few writers capture the complexity of human relations – sexual as well as emotional - for me with quite the same shock of recognition that Barnes does.
And then there’s death of course. Barnes has made a concerted effort over recent years to make this theme his own, as if he is laying claim to the kingdom of death in contemporary fiction. Or at least, the kingdom of thinking about the nature of death and why it haunts us so much. He reminds me of a modern day Montaigne. Montaigne said somewhere in his essays that his way of confronting the horrors of death was to think about it at least once a day – so that thereby he would make it familiar and so no longer something that needed to be feared. The scene at the end of this book where George confronts the ubiquity of death on a walk about a park on a pleasant Sunday evening is a lovely example of this most human and possibly inevitable of preoccupations.
Holmes is also a constant shadow across this book. It is a strange thing – I nearly finished reading all of the Holmes stories recently, but one of the things that was completely clear was that Doyle didn’t enjoy writing them, particularly not the stories after Holmes came back from the dead. There is a snideness in the writing that needs to be ignored to really enjoy the stories. This is something Barnes makes clear in this book too. But he also plays with Holmes in other ways – this is, after all, a detective mystery and having Doyle in the staring role makes interesting comparisons inevitable.
Perhaps my favourite part of the entire book is where Doyle spends a weekend with Captain Anson – and like Shakespeare, Barnes puts the most fascinating and thought provoking lines in the mouth of the least likeable character.
The other thing this book does is make you think about how easy it is to put ideas into people’s heads and how hard it is to get those ideas out of your head again. Was George a sexual deviant? Was he too fond of his sister? How easy it is to pollute the mind of someone. And how easy it is for us to get carried away and to do too much for someone we want to help and thereby destroy whatever hope we had of truly helping them in the first place.
And racism – of course, racism is a horribly obvious theme in this book, whether George admits it or not.
You might find this book a bit slow, but it will get under your skin. Like the best fiction always does, it keeps coming into my mind and Barnes has handled these intricate and complex of themes in ways that can’t do anything other than fascinate.
March 4, 2017
A thoroughly enjoyable and, from what I can divine, historically accurate, telling of the intersecting lives of George Edalji and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The former being the earnest son of a country Vicar, a myopic solicitor, who also happens to be half South Asian in ancestry. The latter being the fascinating, chivalrous, athletic, literary inventor of Sherlock Holmes. Their lives meet for less than a year, when Doyle comes across Edalji's case - one which can only be described as a grave miscarriage of justice - and does everything in his power to right George's wronged name.
This is the first time I have read a book by Julian Barnes, and I'm very impressed. This was meticulously researched, and beautifully written. He brought out the characters fairly without being overly sentimental. He was quite thorough, beginning at childhood for both the main characters, so it isn't until the halfway point that Arthur and George finally meet. While this provides richness to the story, it also makes for a rather slow start to the book.
In addition to following the case, which highlights the racism experienced by an English man in his own country, there is more going on here. Stories of love and marriages, and themes of religious belief (including the controversial 'spiritism') light the pages. The contrast of George's small and humble life with Doyle's far reaching, enigmatic one. The power of rumour and suggestion. I also was very interested in how Doyle found real life sleuthing somehow deflating vs the way truth shows itself in satisfying drama in books.
Other tidbits I savoured:
- ACD felt embarrassed and punished by the character of his famous detective
- guests at Sir Arthur's 2nd wedding featured literary luminaries such as Bram Stoker and J.M. Barrie
- Doyle investigated and helped to exonerate other wrongfully convicted people in his life, and also played amateur sleuth in the 5-day disappearance of new mystery writer Agatha Christie
Not a fast page-turner, this is a rich and thoughtful homage to two very differing people who had a meaningful impact on each other's lives.
This is the first time I have read a book by Julian Barnes, and I'm very impressed. This was meticulously researched, and beautifully written. He brought out the characters fairly without being overly sentimental. He was quite thorough, beginning at childhood for both the main characters, so it isn't until the halfway point that Arthur and George finally meet. While this provides richness to the story, it also makes for a rather slow start to the book.
In addition to following the case, which highlights the racism experienced by an English man in his own country, there is more going on here. Stories of love and marriages, and themes of religious belief (including the controversial 'spiritism') light the pages. The contrast of George's small and humble life with Doyle's far reaching, enigmatic one. The power of rumour and suggestion. I also was very interested in how Doyle found real life sleuthing somehow deflating vs the way truth shows itself in satisfying drama in books.
Other tidbits I savoured:
- ACD felt embarrassed and punished by the character of his famous detective
- guests at Sir Arthur's 2nd wedding featured literary luminaries such as Bram Stoker and J.M. Barrie
- Doyle investigated and helped to exonerate other wrongfully convicted people in his life, and also played amateur sleuth in the 5-day disappearance of new mystery writer Agatha Christie
Not a fast page-turner, this is a rich and thoughtful homage to two very differing people who had a meaningful impact on each other's lives.
April 15, 2017
THE BLURB
As boys, George, the son of a Midlands vicar, and Arthur, living in shabby genteel Edinburgh, find themselves in a vast and complex world at the heart of the British Empire. Years later—one struggling with his identity in a world hostile to his ancestry, the other creating the world’s most famous detective while in love with a woman who is not his wife–their fates become inextricably connected.
In 'Arthur & George', Julian Barnes explores the grand tapestry of late-Victorian Britain to create his most intriguing and engrossing novel yet.
It's the first time ever, that I immediately, within seconds after starting the book, had to confirm the meaning of a word: tourism. Yes, imagined that.
The author starts this book with this introductory paragraph:
Using the word in the context of the opening paragraph, the tone is set for the book, the author's approach to history is established, the purpose of this novel confirmed.
The books of Julian Barnes is an acquired taste. While the author seeks to tell a story, he does it with a slow pen, meticulous research and a challenging angle to everything.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle probably inherited his love of storytelling from his mother Mary(neé Foley) who loved to entertain her younger children with ghost- and other nightmarish stories, "sinking her voice to a horror-stricken whisper". His mother's alternative approach challenged her children to question everything, to seek the truth wherever it may be hidden. The rebel in this young boy was firmly established. His father, an artist and alcoholic did not play a significant role in the young man's life.
Arthur - the scholar and medical student, the humanitarian;
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - the famous author;
Dr. Conan Doyle - who offered his medical expertise during the Anglo Boer War among other things;
and his most controversial persona,
the spiritualist - or rather, strong advocate for spiritualism.
He was neither agnostic, nor atheist. But he strongly defended the right of every human being to cut out the 'middleman' between the living and the departed on this earth.
This widely publicized, curious, and controversial case was one of the factors which played a role in establishing the Court of Criminal Appeal for England in 1907. (It was only in 2013 that the case against George Edalji was declared a farce by Solicitor-General Oliver Heald.)
Alternative chapters introduced the backstories of both Arthur and George, leading up to this case.
Part of Arthur's backstory included his murder and resurrection of his famous detective Sherlock Holmes.
However, the emotions and passion came truly alive in the last third of the book when the drama was splashed all over the media, with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle as the instigator of the vigorous debate and anger hitting the world. Three years after George Edalji was jailed, the famous and internationally beloved author threw his weight in behind George. The 10 000 letters of objection, including hundreds by lawyers, could not prevent George from going to jail. (A June 1907 memo by Home secretary Herbert Gladstone was discovered 80 years later, which revealed that one of the lawyers who had represented Edalji had privately told Gladstone of suppressing a letter by Edalji which his brother Horace had brought as a specimen of Edalji's handwriting because it was damaging to the defense's case. Source: Wikipedia )
But Sir Arthur Conan Doyle got him pardoned, leaving the establishment red faced and embarrassed(1907). He used his Sherlock Holmes skills to get behind the truth:
So yes, with the mere instinctive tourism of infancy, I ventured into the novel and came out delighted, cleverly entertained and informed.
As boys, George, the son of a Midlands vicar, and Arthur, living in shabby genteel Edinburgh, find themselves in a vast and complex world at the heart of the British Empire. Years later—one struggling with his identity in a world hostile to his ancestry, the other creating the world’s most famous detective while in love with a woman who is not his wife–their fates become inextricably connected.
In 'Arthur & George', Julian Barnes explores the grand tapestry of late-Victorian Britain to create his most intriguing and engrossing novel yet.
It's the first time ever, that I immediately, within seconds after starting the book, had to confirm the meaning of a word: tourism. Yes, imagined that.
The author starts this book with this introductory paragraph:
A child wants to see. It always begins like this, and it began like this then. A child wanted to see. He was able to walk, and could reach up to a door handle. He did this with nothing that could be called a purpose, merely the instinctive tourism of infancy.Striking use of the word, right? The official definition of the word: the commercial organization and operation of holidays and visits to places of interest. How would anyone want to close a book beginning like that.
Using the word in the context of the opening paragraph, the tone is set for the book, the author's approach to history is established, the purpose of this novel confirmed.
The books of Julian Barnes is an acquired taste. While the author seeks to tell a story, he does it with a slow pen, meticulous research and a challenging angle to everything.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle probably inherited his love of storytelling from his mother Mary(neé Foley) who loved to entertain her younger children with ghost- and other nightmarish stories, "sinking her voice to a horror-stricken whisper". His mother's alternative approach challenged her children to question everything, to seek the truth wherever it may be hidden. The rebel in this young boy was firmly established. His father, an artist and alcoholic did not play a significant role in the young man's life.
At home he learned extra commandments on top of the ten he knew from church. “Fearless to the strong; humble to the weak,” was one, and “Chivalry towards women, of high and low degree.” He felt them to be more important, since they came directly from the Mam; they also demanded practical implementation...His background and education would later lead to four personas in one intellectually gifted person:
...The Christian virtues could be practiced by everyone, from the humble to the high-born. But chivalry was the prerogative of the powerful. The knight protected his lady; the strong aided the weak; honour was a living thing for which you should be prepared to die.
Arthur - the scholar and medical student, the humanitarian;
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - the famous author;
Dr. Conan Doyle - who offered his medical expertise during the Anglo Boer War among other things;
and his most controversial persona,
the spiritualist - or rather, strong advocate for spiritualism.
He was neither agnostic, nor atheist. But he strongly defended the right of every human being to cut out the 'middleman' between the living and the departed on this earth.
...I mistrust faith, which is the biggest metaphor of all. I have done with faith. I can only work with the clear white light of knowledge...Arthur & George brings the persona alive. Not all of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Only the part that is necessary to built the background to the internationally reported criminal case in which the famous and beloved creator of Sherlock Holmes took on the Victorian establishment after an innocent man, George Ernest Thompson Edalji, a Parsi English solicitor and son of a vicar in Great Wyrley, a South Staffordshire village, served three years' hard labour after being convicted on a charge of mutilating a pony. George(1876 - 1953) was of mix race with his mom a Scottish woman, Charlotte Edalji(née Stoneham), and his father,Reverend Shapurji Edalji, from India.
..."The whole point of psychical research,” he explains, “is to eliminate and expose fraud and deceit. To leave only what can be scientifically confirmed. If you eliminate the impossible, what is left, however improbable, must be the truth. Spiritism is not asking you to take a leap in the dark, or cross a bridge you have not yet come to.”
... "God and the Jesus who are claimed by a Church which for centuries has been corrupt both spiritually and intellectually. And which demands of its followers the suspension of rational faculties."
... "If you look at what it actually says in the Bible, if you ignore the way in which the text has been altered and misinterpreted to suit the will of the established churches, it’s quite clear that Jesus was a highly trained psychic or medium. The inner circle of the Apostles, especially Peter, James and John, were clearly chosen for their spiritist capabilities. The ‘miracles’ of the Bible are merely—well, not merely, wholly—examples of Jesus’s psychic powers.”
...(Clergy) ...But it is what, historically, they have been. Middlemen, intermediaries. Conveyors of the truth at first, but increasingly controllers of the truth, obfuscators, politicians. The Cathars were on the right line, that of direct access to God untrammelled by layers of hierarchy. Naturally they were wiped out by Rome.”
This widely publicized, curious, and controversial case was one of the factors which played a role in establishing the Court of Criminal Appeal for England in 1907. (It was only in 2013 that the case against George Edalji was declared a farce by Solicitor-General Oliver Heald.)
Alternative chapters introduced the backstories of both Arthur and George, leading up to this case.
Part of Arthur's backstory included his murder and resurrection of his famous detective Sherlock Holmes.
He is quite clear about the writer’s responsibilities: they are firstly, to be intelligible, secondly, to be interesting, and thirdly, to be clever. He knows his own abilities, and he also knows that in the end the reader is king. That is why Mr. Sherlock Holmes was brought back to life, allowed to have escaped the Reichenbach Falls thanks to a knowledge of esoteric Japanese wrestling holds and an ability to scramble up sheer rock faces.Julian Barnes disciplined himself by selecting only the biographical information needed for this novel, and skillfully, but cautiously, brought the two main characters alive. One can sense his deliberate effort to skim off the essentials, often losing colorful aspects of both persons's lives story in the process, resulting in a somewhat sterile, bleached, fact-based documentary novel.
However, the emotions and passion came truly alive in the last third of the book when the drama was splashed all over the media, with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle as the instigator of the vigorous debate and anger hitting the world. Three years after George Edalji was jailed, the famous and internationally beloved author threw his weight in behind George. The 10 000 letters of objection, including hundreds by lawyers, could not prevent George from going to jail. (A June 1907 memo by Home secretary Herbert Gladstone was discovered 80 years later, which revealed that one of the lawyers who had represented Edalji had privately told Gladstone of suppressing a letter by Edalji which his brother Horace had brought as a specimen of Edalji's handwriting because it was damaging to the defense's case. Source: Wikipedia )
But Sir Arthur Conan Doyle got him pardoned, leaving the establishment red faced and embarrassed(1907). He used his Sherlock Holmes skills to get behind the truth:
He read and reread, sorted and re-sorted, analysed, compared, annotated. Gradually, hints turned to suspicions and then to hypotheses.More than 115 years later his theories were confirmed. Like his visual of a underwater tunnel connecting France to Britain for which he had to endure ridicule, this case got him publicly lynched and slaughtered at the time, yet history proved him correct. In many ways the world was not ready for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle(1859-1930). However, he was ready for the world and he took 'them' on full throttle.
So yes, with the mere instinctive tourism of infancy, I ventured into the novel and came out delighted, cleverly entertained and informed.
January 25, 2025
The eponymous Arthur is Arthur Conan Doyle, who is living in Edinburgh. George is the son of a Midlands vicar. The novel is set in late-Victorian Britain, and follows the lives of both boys through to adulthood. One follows Law, the other Medicine. One is a victim of a series of bizarre pranks; neither's destiny is what it first appears to be.
For the first half of the book they are unaware of each other's existence. One experiences outrageous accusation, the other unrivalled success. One stands in the dock owing to a miscarriage of justice, whilst the other has the success he desired, but at a price. What is believed to be true may not be true. Faith, ambition, English reserve, honour, racism, self-recrimination and guilt all play a part. George Edalji has issues about his identity; he is a Parsee living in genteel Victorian society. How these two lives intertwine is intriguing and cleverly written, but there are passages about the mutilation of horses which are relentlessly cruel and upsetting. These may well be based on real-life events. The novel is pseudohistorical.
This novel has a unique concept - that of following the life story of a famous celebrated writer, but giving equal weight to another person whose life history has been entirely forgotten.
For the first half of the book they are unaware of each other's existence. One experiences outrageous accusation, the other unrivalled success. One stands in the dock owing to a miscarriage of justice, whilst the other has the success he desired, but at a price. What is believed to be true may not be true. Faith, ambition, English reserve, honour, racism, self-recrimination and guilt all play a part. George Edalji has issues about his identity; he is a Parsee living in genteel Victorian society. How these two lives intertwine is intriguing and cleverly written, but there are passages about the mutilation of horses which are relentlessly cruel and upsetting. These may well be based on real-life events. The novel is pseudohistorical.
This novel has a unique concept - that of following the life story of a famous celebrated writer, but giving equal weight to another person whose life history has been entirely forgotten.
December 15, 2021
Revisited for the 2019 Mookse Madness tournament.
A book I originally read for my Book Group in 2006 alongside re-reading a number of Sherlock Holmes stories: I would count myself as a Holmes fan having read all of the original adventures and short stories.
This novel tells two stories from childhood – Arthur (Conan Doyle) and George Edalji – a half-caste son a Parsee Staffordshire vicar.
George and his family do not mix with the community – partly from the prejudice they encounter but partly on his father’s strict views of proper behaviour. George is myopic and lonely – but trains as a solicitor and publishes a book on railway law.
His family, as well as others in the parish are victims of a (or possibly several) hate campaigns. These cease for a long period but then resume with a series of livestock mutilations – the police always convinced that George was perpetrator of the initial hoaxes on his own family arrest him and he is convicted on circumstantial evidence and only released after several years and with no pardon despite a public outcry.
Arthur – by then sick of Sherlock Holmes and at the time lethargic, finds his interest in life awakened by finally agreeing to take on one of the many cases that are sent to him unsolicited due to his fictional creation – and crusades on George’s behalf.
We learn much about Arthur’s growing interest in spiritualism and belief that the 20th Century will provide a scientific breakthrough in understanding of the afterlife.
The most interesting parts are when Arthur confronts the police chief with his clear view of George’s innocence and of the actual truth and is in turn confronted with the view that the real world of crime solving and jury-persuasion as well as the notions of guilt/innocence and of what it means to know something, are much greyer in real life than in the black and white world of Holmes.
The book is written in different chapters from the viewpoint of different characters and in a kind of old-fashioned pseudo-biographical style (which is the same for all characters).
The book is surprisingly gripping and definitely an enjoyable read – although the ending seemed an anti-climax – although partly this was I think deliberate making the very point about the lack of clear-cut endings in real life.
A book I originally read for my Book Group in 2006 alongside re-reading a number of Sherlock Holmes stories: I would count myself as a Holmes fan having read all of the original adventures and short stories.
This novel tells two stories from childhood – Arthur (Conan Doyle) and George Edalji – a half-caste son a Parsee Staffordshire vicar.
George and his family do not mix with the community – partly from the prejudice they encounter but partly on his father’s strict views of proper behaviour. George is myopic and lonely – but trains as a solicitor and publishes a book on railway law.
His family, as well as others in the parish are victims of a (or possibly several) hate campaigns. These cease for a long period but then resume with a series of livestock mutilations – the police always convinced that George was perpetrator of the initial hoaxes on his own family arrest him and he is convicted on circumstantial evidence and only released after several years and with no pardon despite a public outcry.
Arthur – by then sick of Sherlock Holmes and at the time lethargic, finds his interest in life awakened by finally agreeing to take on one of the many cases that are sent to him unsolicited due to his fictional creation – and crusades on George’s behalf.
We learn much about Arthur’s growing interest in spiritualism and belief that the 20th Century will provide a scientific breakthrough in understanding of the afterlife.
The most interesting parts are when Arthur confronts the police chief with his clear view of George’s innocence and of the actual truth and is in turn confronted with the view that the real world of crime solving and jury-persuasion as well as the notions of guilt/innocence and of what it means to know something, are much greyer in real life than in the black and white world of Holmes.
The book is written in different chapters from the viewpoint of different characters and in a kind of old-fashioned pseudo-biographical style (which is the same for all characters).
The book is surprisingly gripping and definitely an enjoyable read – although the ending seemed an anti-climax – although partly this was I think deliberate making the very point about the lack of clear-cut endings in real life.
January 13, 2024
3.5 stars
“Honour is not just a matter of internal good feeling, but also of external behaviour.”
This is Barnes’s account of a true story relating to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes. It tells the story of the case of George Edalji. He is the son of a Scottish mother and a Parsee father. His father is Rector of Great Wyrley in the Midlands. For a period of years the family receives very nasty anonymous letters. The police aren’t interested and even suggest George may be writing them or that it may be racial prejudice. George finishes school and trains to be a solicitor. The letters stop and start and then someone in the district starts to attack/slash animals. George is suspected and on no real evidence he is arrested, tried and sentenced to seven years hard labour. Barnes tells the story at the beginning of the book.
He then switches to Conan Doyle and pretty much writes his biography until the death of his first wife Touie. George serves three years of his sentence and then sets about trying to clear his name. One of his letters setting out his case reaches Conan Doyle, who is at a low ebb. George’s case fires him with enthusiasm because of the injustice and he sets about trying to prove George’s innocence. The rest of the novel covers Conan Doyle’s attempts to get George a pardon and their interactions. Conan Doyle’s interactions with the police force and other bastions of the establishment are also rather interesting. Barnes also outlines Conan Doyle’s growing interest in Spiritualism. This is a real case with a real outcome which is well recorded and known.
The boundaries between fact and fiction seem to be quite blurred here. Barnes examines the inner lives of the two men involved and also looks quite closely at Anson, the Chief Constable. This is quite a worthy book and interesting if you don’t know the story. Barnes weaves in a lot of ideas and the whole is quite dense. The last twenty or thirty pages seemed quite pointless but it’s an interesting exercise.
“Honour is not just a matter of internal good feeling, but also of external behaviour.”
This is Barnes’s account of a true story relating to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes. It tells the story of the case of George Edalji. He is the son of a Scottish mother and a Parsee father. His father is Rector of Great Wyrley in the Midlands. For a period of years the family receives very nasty anonymous letters. The police aren’t interested and even suggest George may be writing them or that it may be racial prejudice. George finishes school and trains to be a solicitor. The letters stop and start and then someone in the district starts to attack/slash animals. George is suspected and on no real evidence he is arrested, tried and sentenced to seven years hard labour. Barnes tells the story at the beginning of the book.
He then switches to Conan Doyle and pretty much writes his biography until the death of his first wife Touie. George serves three years of his sentence and then sets about trying to clear his name. One of his letters setting out his case reaches Conan Doyle, who is at a low ebb. George’s case fires him with enthusiasm because of the injustice and he sets about trying to prove George’s innocence. The rest of the novel covers Conan Doyle’s attempts to get George a pardon and their interactions. Conan Doyle’s interactions with the police force and other bastions of the establishment are also rather interesting. Barnes also outlines Conan Doyle’s growing interest in Spiritualism. This is a real case with a real outcome which is well recorded and known.
The boundaries between fact and fiction seem to be quite blurred here. Barnes examines the inner lives of the two men involved and also looks quite closely at Anson, the Chief Constable. This is quite a worthy book and interesting if you don’t know the story. Barnes weaves in a lot of ideas and the whole is quite dense. The last twenty or thirty pages seemed quite pointless but it’s an interesting exercise.
February 8, 2008
What a great premise for a work of historical fiction. Take a larger-than-life figure known to all, make him larger still, and overlay his story on top of one with little fame but deserving of more. The acclaimed character was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who turned out to be even more intriguing than his detective stories would suggest. From early days in Mam’s kitchen listening to chivalric tales of adventure, to heroics in sports and at war, Arthur liked thinking of himself as an honorable knight of the realm. Sherlock, if anything, is downplayed in this account while the events ultimately connecting Arthur to George are brought to the fore. Without tripping the spoiler alarm, I can say that George had a more stolid, less imaginative life growing up in a vicarage. His small bit of fame made quite a story, though. And thanks to Arthur, post-Victorian England came to know it. And thanks to Julian Barnes, we’ve come to know it, too.
Barnes made the telling seem so effortless. He evoked the more formal era, but in a readable way. What’s more, he gave the characters plausible words and thoughts. It was well researched, clearly, often using personal letters as sources. The only reason I take a star away from an otherwise fabulous book is that an extrapolation in George’s thoughts at the end didn’t ring true for me.
I strongly recommend 99.8% of this book, and I thank the astute Anglophile I married for recommending it to me.
Barnes made the telling seem so effortless. He evoked the more formal era, but in a readable way. What’s more, he gave the characters plausible words and thoughts. It was well researched, clearly, often using personal letters as sources. The only reason I take a star away from an otherwise fabulous book is that an extrapolation in George’s thoughts at the end didn’t ring true for me.
I strongly recommend 99.8% of this book, and I thank the astute Anglophile I married for recommending it to me.
July 5, 2020
The lives of two very different men intersected in the early 20th Century. Arthur Conan Doyle was the famous author of the Sherlock Holmes mysteries, a medical doctor, and a sportsman. George Edalji was the son of a Vicar from India. The extremely near-sighted man with a logical mind studied law. George was a victim of unfounded accusations, and convicted of a crime he did not commit. Racial prejudice and a web of speculation, rather than the truth, led to George's conviction. Arthur was upset with the miscarriage of justice, and worked to clear George's name.
The beginning of the book was very choppy with alternating short chapters about the boyhoods of each man, but the later chapters became longer and smoother. I enjoyed learning about the life of Arthur Conan Doyle, his family, the causes he championed, and his interest in spiritualism. George Edalji's story was told in great detail, and with compassion. The book explored themes of truth, honor, justice, racial prejudice, and faith. 3.5 stars.
The beginning of the book was very choppy with alternating short chapters about the boyhoods of each man, but the later chapters became longer and smoother. I enjoyed learning about the life of Arthur Conan Doyle, his family, the causes he championed, and his interest in spiritualism. George Edalji's story was told in great detail, and with compassion. The book explored themes of truth, honor, justice, racial prejudice, and faith. 3.5 stars.
April 30, 2017
Arthur & George is historical fiction at its best. This novel trails two lives, George an Anglo-Indian son of a vicar, and the famed author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
George, who is possibly on the Asperger syndrome spectrum, suffers racism and prejudice from the all-white English children (doesn't look like much has changed in parts of the UK today) at school. As an adult, little has changed in the small town as George is framed and sentenced for a crime that he has not committed.
Arthur, who would appear manic or bi-polar in the modern era, sees a chance to become his own Sherlock Holmes type in real life and takes on the case gratis.
Part of the secret to the success of the novel, I feel, is that Julian Barnes also wrote crime fiction for a while under an alias, and he really utilises those skills in Arthur & George.
This novel is a wonderful exploration of the ideologies of the era, with deep characterisation. It moves seamlessly between multiple genre: from realist, to drama, to thriller, to crime, to courtroom drama.
It's a marvelous work and a must-read for any lover of historical or literary fiction. It's magnificent.
George, who is possibly on the Asperger syndrome spectrum, suffers racism and prejudice from the all-white English children (doesn't look like much has changed in parts of the UK today) at school. As an adult, little has changed in the small town as George is framed and sentenced for a crime that he has not committed.
Arthur, who would appear manic or bi-polar in the modern era, sees a chance to become his own Sherlock Holmes type in real life and takes on the case gratis.
Part of the secret to the success of the novel, I feel, is that Julian Barnes also wrote crime fiction for a while under an alias, and he really utilises those skills in Arthur & George.
This novel is a wonderful exploration of the ideologies of the era, with deep characterisation. It moves seamlessly between multiple genre: from realist, to drama, to thriller, to crime, to courtroom drama.
It's a marvelous work and a must-read for any lover of historical or literary fiction. It's magnificent.
June 18, 2015
I find reading about real-life miscarriages of justice very disturbing, particularly when they occur in a country with a well-developed legal system in which the rule of law prevails. They make interesting reading, though, and this account of an early 20th century miscarriage of justice is no exception. It's made all the more interesting by the involvement of the “Arthur” of the title – Arthur Conan Doyle. The story should be better known, given its importance to the English legal system and therefore to legal systems based on the English system.
While Arthur Conan Doyle, needs no introduction, I’d not heard of the “George” of the title previously. He is George Edalji, an Anglo-Indian solicitor and son of a clergyman. The narrative, in alternating chapters, follows the lives of both men from childhood onwards. It’s a well-written novel that in content, although not in style, reads like non-fiction. As far as I can gather from some cursory research on the interwebs, Barnes got the history right.
Not much can be said about that history without going into spoilers. Suffice to say, the miscarriage of justice sees Edjali convicted or a crime he didn’t commit and Doyle involved in a campaign to exonerate him. Those aspects of the narrative were quite enough to ensure that the lawyer in me remained interested. However, this is also in effect a biography of Conan Doyle. I’ve read my fair share of Sherlock Holmes stories, but I’m not a die-hard fan and I wouldn't have gone out of my way to read a conventional biography of their author. There was a section in the middle of the book – dealing, if I remember correctly, with Conan Doyle’s marital woes – that I found less then totally compelling, but still interesting enough.
I’ve not read Barnes before, although I’ve always meant to. I liked his prose a lot. I also liked the narrative structure, the evocation of time and place and the manner in which the two central characters are developed. However, in this case, it’s the book for me, rather than the author. While I don’t see myself racing off to read Barnes’ entire oeuvre, I very much enjoyed reading this sample of it. Anyone with an interest in the legal system will probably have a similar reaction.
December 14, 2007
I give five stars sparingly, so I was torn between giving and "four" and a "five" here. Ultimately, though, when I considered that I'd put aside all other tasks one weekend to devote to finishing this book, I decided that this was five-star material.
The last book I'd read by Barnes, England, England was a bit of a disappointment -- it came off, it seemed to me, like second-rate Tom Sharpe. But this book was a different matter. I especially liked the way it unfolded, alternating from one central character to the other, shedding light on both in the process. I resisted going to the Internet to see if in fact Barnes had created the George character, and when, after finishing the book, I read that George was based on a real person, the creation of the character seemed even more impressive.
There's a realism underpinning the book that speaks to -- how shall I put this? -- more mature audiences. Let's just say after fifty or so, a more measured approach to life emerges, and as such (speaking personally here), there's less patience with relentlessly upbeat or rosily romantic themes. Arthur and George resonates on a variety of levels, not the least of which is a clear-eyed appraisal of the nature of relationships - personal, romantic, and family.
Finally, those interested in the late Victorian and Edwardian periods will be struck by how effortlessly Barnes puts the reader into that milieu.
The last book I'd read by Barnes, England, England was a bit of a disappointment -- it came off, it seemed to me, like second-rate Tom Sharpe. But this book was a different matter. I especially liked the way it unfolded, alternating from one central character to the other, shedding light on both in the process. I resisted going to the Internet to see if in fact Barnes had created the George character, and when, after finishing the book, I read that George was based on a real person, the creation of the character seemed even more impressive.
There's a realism underpinning the book that speaks to -- how shall I put this? -- more mature audiences. Let's just say after fifty or so, a more measured approach to life emerges, and as such (speaking personally here), there's less patience with relentlessly upbeat or rosily romantic themes. Arthur and George resonates on a variety of levels, not the least of which is a clear-eyed appraisal of the nature of relationships - personal, romantic, and family.
Finally, those interested in the late Victorian and Edwardian periods will be struck by how effortlessly Barnes puts the reader into that milieu.
February 5, 2017
“Arthur and George”, my fourth book by Julian Barnes, adopts a four-part structure and spans four hundred pages. I am, for the fourth time, impressed with his consummate skills in crafting intelligent, well-researched, beautifully written, and perfectly executed stories. With Barnes I know I can expect to be engaged by a good story and walk away with a greater awareness of what makes us human.
Set in late 19th century England, “Arthur and George” is a magnificent pastiche of a real detective story. Arthur is none other than Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the author who gave the world its much loved detective, Sherlock Holmes. Can the creator of Holmes solve a crime for real? Drawing upon authentic letters, newspaper quotations, government reports and proceedings in Parliament, Barnes introduced us to a legal case that made history but that few knew. In 1906, Arthur, a medical doctor by training, investigated a closed court case that led to the exoneration of George Edalji, a half-Scottish and half Indian lawyer, who was sentenced to seven years of penal servitude for writing threatening letters and mutilating animals in Great Wyrley. The case of George Edalji ostensibly paved the way for the eventual setting up of the Court of Appeals. (If you intend to read this novel, this is a good place to stop reading this review.)
Read “Arthur and George”. Five noble stars.
Set in late 19th century England, “Arthur and George” is a magnificent pastiche of a real detective story. Arthur is none other than Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the author who gave the world its much loved detective, Sherlock Holmes. Can the creator of Holmes solve a crime for real? Drawing upon authentic letters, newspaper quotations, government reports and proceedings in Parliament, Barnes introduced us to a legal case that made history but that few knew. In 1906, Arthur, a medical doctor by training, investigated a closed court case that led to the exoneration of George Edalji, a half-Scottish and half Indian lawyer, who was sentenced to seven years of penal servitude for writing threatening letters and mutilating animals in Great Wyrley. The case of George Edalji ostensibly paved the way for the eventual setting up of the Court of Appeals. (If you intend to read this novel, this is a good place to stop reading this review.)
Read “Arthur and George”. Five noble stars.
September 15, 2020
Historical fiction inspired by real events in the early 20th century in England. George is a solicitor living in the rural town of Great Wyrley near Birmingham. He is accused of mutilating horses and other farm animals. Arthur is convinced of his innocence and gets involved in the case.
The plot revolves around the mysterious mutilations, though I would call this book more character driven. Barnes provides a satisfying portrait of two contrasting personalities. George is cautious, introspective, and quiet while Arthur is flamboyant, assertive, and outspoken. The writing is elegant, and the narrative is compelling. I found myself drawn along by the mystery element, while also wanting to learn more about the people, history, and culture of the time period.
The two main characters are similar in their application of logic. Arthur applies logic in the manner of a detective in attempting to break a case. George, as a student of law, employs an analytical approach to his situation, trying to remove as much emotion as possible. Each sees something the other cannot. For example, Arthur is aware that racial prejudice has played a role in George’s accusation and George sees that Arthur has come up with an alternate suspect using a great deal of circumstantial evidence.
I frequently read historical fiction based on real people, and this book is a masterful example of the way convey a feeling of authenticity. Barnes convinces me he has a grasp on the personalities of these people, as they try to navigate the complexities of their lives. This book provides a satisfying blend of plot, character, flow, originality, and style. I enjoyed it immensely.
The plot revolves around the mysterious mutilations, though I would call this book more character driven. Barnes provides a satisfying portrait of two contrasting personalities. George is cautious, introspective, and quiet while Arthur is flamboyant, assertive, and outspoken. The writing is elegant, and the narrative is compelling. I found myself drawn along by the mystery element, while also wanting to learn more about the people, history, and culture of the time period.
The two main characters are similar in their application of logic. Arthur applies logic in the manner of a detective in attempting to break a case. George, as a student of law, employs an analytical approach to his situation, trying to remove as much emotion as possible. Each sees something the other cannot. For example, Arthur is aware that racial prejudice has played a role in George’s accusation and George sees that Arthur has come up with an alternate suspect using a great deal of circumstantial evidence.
I frequently read historical fiction based on real people, and this book is a masterful example of the way convey a feeling of authenticity. Barnes convinces me he has a grasp on the personalities of these people, as they try to navigate the complexities of their lives. This book provides a satisfying blend of plot, character, flow, originality, and style. I enjoyed it immensely.
May 21, 2018
Παρακολουθούμε τις ζωές των 2 ηρώων που είναι εντελώς διαφορετικοί μεταξύ τους, μέχρι το σημείο που εκείνες συναντιούνται και το πως ο Άρθουρ προσπαθεί να διορθώσει την αδικία που συνέβη στον Τζόρτζ.
Πρώτο βιβλίο που διαβάζω απο το συγκεκριμμένο συγγραφέα. Δεν θα έλεγα ότι με κούρασε γιατί η ιστορία κυλούσε. Θα διαβάσω κι άλλο δικό του για να σχηματίσει ολοκληρωμένη άποψη.
3,5 αστέρια
Πρώτο βιβλίο που διαβάζω απο το συγκεκριμμένο συγγραφέα. Δεν θα έλεγα ότι με κούρασε γιατί η ιστορία κυλούσε. Θα διαβάσω κι άλλο δικό του για να σχηματίσει ολοκληρωμένη άποψη.
3,5 αστέρια
December 9, 2014
‘A beautiful and engrossing work’ The Independent on Sunday claims on the cover of my book, and I would absolutely have to agree. Arthur & George was the kind of book I felt immersed in, its scope being impressive, its authenticity alluring and its style – in Barnes’s capable hands – a pleasure to spend hour after hour with.
The title hints at a relationship between these two characters, but one which doesn’t get under way until about a third of the way into the book, maybe more. I had purposely read little about it beforehand, knowing only that the Arthur in the title was Arthur Conan Doyle, and that it was based on a real story. So I had expected something else, friendship perhaps, which it isn’t quite. The less said the better, I feel, (if you haven’t read it, that is) so suffice it to say that it is about how members of a community and of the local police force unfairly pin the blame of anonymous letters and horse mutilations on an innocent man, George, and how Arthur Conan Doyle eventually swoops in to show what he is made of, and to show British justice what it is made of, in the process bonding – for a while – with a man who likewise feels that he is ‘an unofficial Englishman’.
I didn’t immediately take to the book. It is long, in the beginning too long, I felt, but as I neared the point of convergence between Arthur and George, I realized that the long intro was necessary as background for what was to follow. I felt Barnes didn’t want to sacrifice authenticity or character development for narrative speed, but I likewise suspect it might deter younger readers, or readers who prefer a good, plot-driven yarn, which it only partly turned into about half way through. After that mid-way point, or a bit before probably, I found it difficult to put the book down. I have to say, though, that it helped being interested in Conan Doyle in the first place, which I was, and even more so because I had recently read some Sherlock Holmes stories.
Barnes paints a sympathetic but complex picture of both main characters, and that is one of the major strengths of the book. Based on real documents, letters, newspaper articles etc., much of it is real, but much is made up and felt, to me, just as credible. I absolutely loved some of the conversations that took place between Arthur and George or between Arthur and the intelligent but prejudiced Captain Anson, and there were many places where I was touched at the lengths Conan Doyle would go to in the name of justice. Yet we are also told of his guilt when he falls in love with another woman, despite being married, and how he feels manacled to his own creation, Sherlock Holmes.
Although the plot of the book surrounds the accusations, the trial and the repercussions, the theme is not only about the miscarriage of justice but also about how two extremely different lives and personalities came to meet, how they both felt marginalized in England despite the fame of one and the (unfair) infamy of the other, and – since it is Barnes – about death and the possible or impossible life in the hereafter. We are shown how Conan Doyle was a believer of spiritism, and how George was not, yet towards the end, before George says a final goodbye to Sir Arthur, he thinks this:
"But when you stood in Hyde Park on a warm summer’s afternoon among thousands of other human beings, few of whom were probably thinking about being dead, it was less easy to believe that this intense and complex thing called life was merely some chance happening on an obscure planet, a brief moment of light between two eternities of darkness. At such a moment it was possible to feel that all this vitality must continue somehow, somewhere."
Given Barnes’s preoccupation with death in other books I’ve read by him, I wonder if it isn’t his own uncertainties he is voicing here (cf. the fury of the resurrected atheist in his Nothing to be Frightened of).
Arthur & George was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and was, to me, more satisfying to read than The Sense of an Ending, which won it, but really, I am left feeling that Barnes can take on most topics and most forms. I am in awe of his writing. 4,5 stars
The title hints at a relationship between these two characters, but one which doesn’t get under way until about a third of the way into the book, maybe more. I had purposely read little about it beforehand, knowing only that the Arthur in the title was Arthur Conan Doyle, and that it was based on a real story. So I had expected something else, friendship perhaps, which it isn’t quite. The less said the better, I feel, (if you haven’t read it, that is) so suffice it to say that it is about how members of a community and of the local police force unfairly pin the blame of anonymous letters and horse mutilations on an innocent man, George, and how Arthur Conan Doyle eventually swoops in to show what he is made of, and to show British justice what it is made of, in the process bonding – for a while – with a man who likewise feels that he is ‘an unofficial Englishman’.
I didn’t immediately take to the book. It is long, in the beginning too long, I felt, but as I neared the point of convergence between Arthur and George, I realized that the long intro was necessary as background for what was to follow. I felt Barnes didn’t want to sacrifice authenticity or character development for narrative speed, but I likewise suspect it might deter younger readers, or readers who prefer a good, plot-driven yarn, which it only partly turned into about half way through. After that mid-way point, or a bit before probably, I found it difficult to put the book down. I have to say, though, that it helped being interested in Conan Doyle in the first place, which I was, and even more so because I had recently read some Sherlock Holmes stories.
Barnes paints a sympathetic but complex picture of both main characters, and that is one of the major strengths of the book. Based on real documents, letters, newspaper articles etc., much of it is real, but much is made up and felt, to me, just as credible. I absolutely loved some of the conversations that took place between Arthur and George or between Arthur and the intelligent but prejudiced Captain Anson, and there were many places where I was touched at the lengths Conan Doyle would go to in the name of justice. Yet we are also told of his guilt when he falls in love with another woman, despite being married, and how he feels manacled to his own creation, Sherlock Holmes.
Although the plot of the book surrounds the accusations, the trial and the repercussions, the theme is not only about the miscarriage of justice but also about how two extremely different lives and personalities came to meet, how they both felt marginalized in England despite the fame of one and the (unfair) infamy of the other, and – since it is Barnes – about death and the possible or impossible life in the hereafter. We are shown how Conan Doyle was a believer of spiritism, and how George was not, yet towards the end, before George says a final goodbye to Sir Arthur, he thinks this:
"But when you stood in Hyde Park on a warm summer’s afternoon among thousands of other human beings, few of whom were probably thinking about being dead, it was less easy to believe that this intense and complex thing called life was merely some chance happening on an obscure planet, a brief moment of light between two eternities of darkness. At such a moment it was possible to feel that all this vitality must continue somehow, somewhere."
Given Barnes’s preoccupation with death in other books I’ve read by him, I wonder if it isn’t his own uncertainties he is voicing here (cf. the fury of the resurrected atheist in his Nothing to be Frightened of).
Arthur & George was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and was, to me, more satisfying to read than The Sense of an Ending, which won it, but really, I am left feeling that Barnes can take on most topics and most forms. I am in awe of his writing. 4,5 stars
December 4, 2013
What is better, a so-so book with a great ending, or a good book with a disappointing one? The latter for me, but I was let down, after enjoying this story all the way through, to have it end with such a whimper. Later I read that the story was true all the way, which did make me more understanding. It is about a miscarriage of justice in the early 20th century. George, a young solicitor of Indian origin, is falsely accused of killing a slew of horses in his area, and convicted. His defense is poor and both the police, legal establishment and jury is clearly racist. Later, after he has served his sentence but is prevented from going back to his profession, he appeals to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who enthusiastically takes up his case and gets him a pardon, though not as complete a one as a modern reader would like. We follow both Arthur and George from the beginning of their lives and become very attached to them as characters, which is why the lack of a ringing resolution is a let down. Also, various elements are not satisfactorily tied up, and the last scene is a kind of public seance that was held after Sir Arthur's death (he was a great believer in spiritualism, or spiritism, as he called it) and I couldn't figure out what it had to do with the main thrust of the book. But, as I said, that is a disadvantage of not being able to move away from facts. It was a wry, compassionate, often witty book and you come to care for the characters very much.
June 14, 2021
Barnes' novelized version of this true story about a Victorian-era miscarriage of justice certainly deserved being shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Impeccably researched, the tale is still told with the urgency and thoughtful development of fiction including richly rendered characters and Barnes' usual exemplary prose that carefully and clinically examines the duality of each facet of the story. If there is a shortcoming it is a lack of emotional heft and impact, but that in no way should detract from the reader's delight at finishing such a brilliant gem.
May 16, 2021
جای همه چیز عوض شده: این بار به جای شرلوك هولمز، خالقِ شرلوك یعنی سِر آرتور كنان دویل نقش كارآگاه را بازی می كند؛ و در طرف دیگر هم جورج ادلاجیِ وكیل به جای دفاع از موكل، خود در جایگاه متهم قرار دارد. در نقطهٔ تلاقی زندگی این دو نفر اتفاق مهمی رخ میدهد كه نظام عدالت كیفری انگلستان را برای همیشه تغییر خواهد داد؛ چیزی شبیه پروندهٔ دریفوس در فرانسه؛ بلكه حتی مهم تر و البته كمتر مشهور. خواننده ای كه دنبال لذت های آنی و دمِ دستی می گردد، احتمالاً از خواندن آرتور و جورج دلسرد خواهد شد
August 13, 2015
The first sight which I ever had of Mr George Edalji was enough in itself to both convince me of the extreme improbability of his being guilty of the crime for which he was condemned, and to suggest some at least of the reasons which had led to his being suspected.
I went into reading Arthur and George knowing nothing about it – other than the fact that it was a Man Booker nominee in 2005 and that I remember really enjoying author Julian Barnes' Man Booker winning title The Sense of an Ending from 2011 ��� and I would recommend my total ignorance to any other potential reader (and will attempt to be spoiler-free).
The book starts interestingly: with the first memories of two alternating little boys, and as they grow and go to school and then set out into the world, we learn that they are opposite sorts of characters. Arthur is adventurous and athletic, a popular student and beloved son, born into a good British family that has fallen into genteel poverty. George, the son of a vicar, is controlled and withdrawn, accustomed to loneliness and the bullying of his peers who repeatedly tell him, “You're not a right sort”, despite George having been raised as a proud and patriotic Englishman. It took me nearly the entire first section of this book to start realising that I had been misdirected a bit, that things weren't exactly as they seemed, and it was with wonder that I eventually discovered that this is actually a true story; that Arthur and George were historical figures whose story, told here, was huge news in Edwardian England.
And for a true story, this one is filled with irony: The lawyer who trusts the law completely and is utterly failed by it; indeed, George is an expert on railway law who finds himself railroaded. Whereas Arthur was a boy who grew up on tales of chivalry, but who initially declined a knighthood; he is a failed ophthalmologist who used his knowledge of the eye to attempt the reputational rehabilitation of an innocent man; he values a chaste passion and is unwittingly lectured on the psychocriminal effects of repressing sexual urges. For overall plot, is there anything more uncomfortable than watching a terrible injustice happen to an innocent man? Most especially when the story is true?
The writing in Arthur and George perfectly captures the formality of its era and I was often struck by the lovely effect of passages like the following:
The mystery of the victim: something was now changed in his way of thinking. He continued to shoot ducks from the snowy sky, and felt pride in his marksmanship; yet beyond this lay a feeling he could grasp at yet not contain. Every bird you downed bore pebbles in its gizzard from a land the maps ignored.
And there were very many funny bits, as when Arthur was courting Touie, taking her around sight-seeing:
Miss Louisa Hawkins had not realised that courtship – if this was what it was – could be so strenuous, or so resemble tourism.
The first two-thirds of this book blew me away, but then it sort of petered out. Once all the legal wrangles and detective work was finished, the energy was lost from the plot, and although I appreciate that life went on for these two characters, I don't know if it was necessary to follow them to the end of these lives. The amount of research that Barnes put into this project is incredible, but it was his own art that brought both Arthur and George to full and fleshy life. It's this art that elevates a trailing-off plot to a four star read.
July 17, 2017
My fifth Julian Barnes left me underwhelmed. Who would have thought? After all, I was raving about how amazing his writing was, how intelligent etc.
Unfortunately, from the very beginning, I had an issue with the narrator of this audiobook. He wasn't terrible but not quite to my liking.
I had no idea what the book was about before I started it. I liked the short alternate chapters corresponding to the two protagonists: George Edjali's and Arthur Conan Doyle, respectively. The two grew up in different parts of Britain and had different trajectories.
Of course, Arthur Conan Doyle became Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, famous for writing the Sherlock Holmes novels.
George Edjali became a solicitor who went to jail for harming a horse. It was all a huge misconduct of justice, at the beginning of the XXth century.
The two finally come together towards the last quarter of the book, when Edjali asked for Conan Doyle's help to exonerate him. There's more action happening as we Conan Doyle takes on the task of discovering who was the actually quilty person.
Truth be told, it was interesting enough, I've learnt a few things about Doyle, but it didn't have the wit, intelligent observations or even the elevated language I've come to expect from Barnes.
So this is only getting a 3.5 stars.
Unfortunately, from the very beginning, I had an issue with the narrator of this audiobook. He wasn't terrible but not quite to my liking.
I had no idea what the book was about before I started it. I liked the short alternate chapters corresponding to the two protagonists: George Edjali's and Arthur Conan Doyle, respectively. The two grew up in different parts of Britain and had different trajectories.
Of course, Arthur Conan Doyle became Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, famous for writing the Sherlock Holmes novels.
George Edjali became a solicitor who went to jail for harming a horse. It was all a huge misconduct of justice, at the beginning of the XXth century.
The two finally come together towards the last quarter of the book, when Edjali asked for Conan Doyle's help to exonerate him. There's more action happening as we Conan Doyle takes on the task of discovering who was the actually quilty person.
Truth be told, it was interesting enough, I've learnt a few things about Doyle, but it didn't have the wit, intelligent observations or even the elevated language I've come to expect from Barnes.
So this is only getting a 3.5 stars.
May 11, 2017
I've said I'm finished but I haven't really. I'm afraid I very quickly skim read the last third or more of this seemingly endless, verbose novel.
I enjoyed the first section very much, learning about Arthur and George's early lives. The campaign against the Edaljis was intriguing and frustrating and George Edalji's court case was very well written, but that's where the pleasure ended for me. Thereafter progress slowed and slowed until I completely lost patience with the pace of the novel. I persevered, waiting for it to improve again, but it never did.
3 stars because I enjoyed at least half of it, mainly because it is based on a true story, but tonight I suddenly decided that life is too short to force myself to continue reading books that are making me resent the time spent with them. Before Barnes fans descend upon me in outrage, I appreciate that this book is probably just not my cup of tea. That's as fair as I can be.
I enjoyed the first section very much, learning about Arthur and George's early lives. The campaign against the Edaljis was intriguing and frustrating and George Edalji's court case was very well written, but that's where the pleasure ended for me. Thereafter progress slowed and slowed until I completely lost patience with the pace of the novel. I persevered, waiting for it to improve again, but it never did.
3 stars because I enjoyed at least half of it, mainly because it is based on a true story, but tonight I suddenly decided that life is too short to force myself to continue reading books that are making me resent the time spent with them. Before Barnes fans descend upon me in outrage, I appreciate that this book is probably just not my cup of tea. That's as fair as I can be.
June 22, 2016
Arthur and George, two men who come of age in England in what might be described as genteel poverty at the end of the 19th century, end up with radically different experiences of life. When their lives intersect, they quietly make history. In the hands of this literary master, Arthur & George became so much more than a novel of historical fiction or of criminal investigation. Barnes creates psychologically vivid and complex characters. An interesting plot is narrated in striking prose.
April 26, 2017
Julian Barnes is always entertaining and all of his books are very different. This is one of the most compulsively readable and centres on the stories of George Edalji, a British Indian lawyer who was the victim of a notorious miscarriage of justice, and Arthur Conan Doyle who campaigned to overturn the conviction. Intelligent, educational and highly enjoyable.
September 27, 2021
Estamos ante una obra de Julian Barnes que yo calificaría como atípica. ¿Es una novela histórica basada en un true crime? ¿Es una especie de biografía del explosivo y multifacético Arthur Conan Doyle, más conocido como padre de Sherlock Holmes? ¿Es un análisis detallado del racismo en la sociedad inglesa decimonónica? Un poco de cada, supongo, pero a veces cuesta decidir qué genero se está leyendo, ya que Barnes se explaya a su gusto y parece ir en varias direcciones a la vez.
Es un libro muy interesante en su planteamiento, pero que yo no recomendaría alegremente, ya que la lectura en algunos trozos se hace pesada y prolija, aunque en mi caso logré mantener el interés hasta el final. El estilo de Barnes no ayuda a exponer el caso, creo que lo carga con filigranas y detalles que se lo ponen difícil a lector. Son 570 páginas, con las biografías detalladas de ambos protagonistas, transcripciones completas del juicio y mucha información que lo acerca al true crime, más que a la literatura.
Encontramos a Arthur Conan Doyle sumido en una profunda depresión a la muerte de su esposa, incapaz de escribir ni de interesarse por nada. Cuando conoce el caso de George Edalji, de piel oscura por su ascendencia Parsi por parte de padre, acusado de una serie de crímenes de los que se proclama inocente, Conan Doyle se transmuta en su detective de ficción y aspira a esclarecer los hechos y, al mismo tiempo, convertirse en campeón de la lucha contra el racismo y la injusticia en la sociedad británica, para de esta forma acercarse a su ideales caballerescos.
La historia de George Edalji – ver Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_... - es muy extraña y nunca se llegó a aclarar completamente, pero despertó una fuerte controversia en la opinión pública – similar a la del caso Dreyfus en Francia – que condujo en última instancia a la creación de un tribunal de apelación en 1907 para evitar errores en el sistema judicial. Obviamente, la intervención de Conan Doyle - ya un famosísimo novelista en esta época – fue un factor en la transcendencia y publicidad que logró el caso.
Hay muchos temas de interés en esta obra, como la descripción detallada de la vida en un pueblo inglés a finales de siglo XIX y del funcionamiento de las instituciones en general. Pero lo que más me ha gustado ha sido conocer un poco más la personalidad avasalladora de Conan Doyle, con su vitalidad inagotable y volcánica, su concepción romántica y caballeresca de la existencia y su interés por las ciencias ocultas y el más allá.
Es un libro muy interesante en su planteamiento, pero que yo no recomendaría alegremente, ya que la lectura en algunos trozos se hace pesada y prolija, aunque en mi caso logré mantener el interés hasta el final. El estilo de Barnes no ayuda a exponer el caso, creo que lo carga con filigranas y detalles que se lo ponen difícil a lector. Son 570 páginas, con las biografías detalladas de ambos protagonistas, transcripciones completas del juicio y mucha información que lo acerca al true crime, más que a la literatura.
Encontramos a Arthur Conan Doyle sumido en una profunda depresión a la muerte de su esposa, incapaz de escribir ni de interesarse por nada. Cuando conoce el caso de George Edalji, de piel oscura por su ascendencia Parsi por parte de padre, acusado de una serie de crímenes de los que se proclama inocente, Conan Doyle se transmuta en su detective de ficción y aspira a esclarecer los hechos y, al mismo tiempo, convertirse en campeón de la lucha contra el racismo y la injusticia en la sociedad británica, para de esta forma acercarse a su ideales caballerescos.
La historia de George Edalji – ver Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_... - es muy extraña y nunca se llegó a aclarar completamente, pero despertó una fuerte controversia en la opinión pública – similar a la del caso Dreyfus en Francia – que condujo en última instancia a la creación de un tribunal de apelación en 1907 para evitar errores en el sistema judicial. Obviamente, la intervención de Conan Doyle - ya un famosísimo novelista en esta época – fue un factor en la transcendencia y publicidad que logró el caso.
Hay muchos temas de interés en esta obra, como la descripción detallada de la vida en un pueblo inglés a finales de siglo XIX y del funcionamiento de las instituciones en general. Pero lo que más me ha gustado ha sido conocer un poco más la personalidad avasalladora de Conan Doyle, con su vitalidad inagotable y volcánica, su concepción romántica y caballeresca de la existencia y su interés por las ciencias ocultas y el más allá.
January 18, 2021
Arthur & George is based on historical events taking place in the late 19th and early 20th century, resulting in a legal case in England that led to significant changes in the legal appeals process in that country. It focuses on two individuals who were central to the events and legal case: George Edalji, the accused, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who came to believe in George’s innocence and pursued the overturning of the guilty finding against him. To this day there is much that is not known about the events in question, what George Edalji did or did not do, and whether the police were reasonable in focusing on George, or incompetent, lazy, racially prejudiced or some combination thereof. All of these unknowns and open questions provide excellent story material for Julian Barnes, and he does the subject justice.
First of all the novel is a biography of the independent lives of Arthur and George. There is much more focus on Arthur Conan Doyle since he is the famous one of the two and much more is known about his life, but we get to know George as well. The events in question begin as we are reading about George’s life. The story becomes even more engaging as the Great Wryley Outrages, as they are known, unfold and Arthur works to prove George’s innocence.
This novel is much more than the retelling of the historical events. George’s father is of Parsee heritage, and so racial prejudice is a factor in the story and the case. George views the world as a lawyer and sees no evidence of racial prejudice; he views himself as an Englishman and has his ideas about what this means. Likewise, a central foundation of Arthur’s life is about what it means to be an English gentleman, although Arthur and George’s perspectives differ. Spiritualism plays a significant role the English society of the time, and Arthur Conan Doyle is at the center of these beliefs. Just as the actual historical events continue to be open to interpretation, Barnes finds the balance between providing answers and letting many questions remain questions.
Previously I had read The Sense of an Ending and The Noise of Time by Julian Barnes and enjoyed both. Arthur & George makes three.
First of all the novel is a biography of the independent lives of Arthur and George. There is much more focus on Arthur Conan Doyle since he is the famous one of the two and much more is known about his life, but we get to know George as well. The events in question begin as we are reading about George’s life. The story becomes even more engaging as the Great Wryley Outrages, as they are known, unfold and Arthur works to prove George’s innocence.
This novel is much more than the retelling of the historical events. George’s father is of Parsee heritage, and so racial prejudice is a factor in the story and the case. George views the world as a lawyer and sees no evidence of racial prejudice; he views himself as an Englishman and has his ideas about what this means. Likewise, a central foundation of Arthur’s life is about what it means to be an English gentleman, although Arthur and George’s perspectives differ. Spiritualism plays a significant role the English society of the time, and Arthur Conan Doyle is at the center of these beliefs. Just as the actual historical events continue to be open to interpretation, Barnes finds the balance between providing answers and letting many questions remain questions.
Previously I had read The Sense of an Ending and The Noise of Time by Julian Barnes and enjoyed both. Arthur & George makes three.
October 22, 2021
Dedektif Sherlock Holmes karakterinin yaratıcısı yazar Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’un yaşamında önemli bir yer tutan yarı İngiliz, yarı Hint George Edalji isimli bir avukatın haksızlığa uğrayarak 3 yıl hapis yatmasına neden olan bir hukuk faciasını kamuoyu gündemine taşımasını, verdiği savaşı ve sonuçta İngiltere’de Temyiz Mahkemelerinin kurulmasına yolaçan gelişmeleri anlatan gerçek olaylar ve belgelere dayanan bir kurgusal roman. Julian Barnes‘in akıcı kalemiyle kitap adeta kendisi bir Sherlock_Holmes macerasına dönüşmüş. Aynı zamanda bir göz hekimi olan ancak bu meslekten para kazanamadığı için yazarlığı seçen A.C. Doyle’nin ilginç hayat hikayesini de okumuş oluyorsunuz.
Çok akıcı ve basit bir anlatım zaten gerçek olaylarla birleşince tamamen kafa dinlendirici bir kitap ortaya çıkmış. Biraz gereksiz uzatılan aşk hayatıyla ilgili bölümü hızla okunmalı. Ayrıca 100 sayfa kazanmak için bu kadar küçük punto ile basarak okuyucuya eziyet etmek hiç şık değil. 450 değil 550 sayfa olur ona göre fiyat belirlenir. Bu küçük puntoları okumak için kimsenin gözünün zorlanmasını istemediğimden öneride bulunurken tereddüt ediyorum.
Çok akıcı ve basit bir anlatım zaten gerçek olaylarla birleşince tamamen kafa dinlendirici bir kitap ortaya çıkmış. Biraz gereksiz uzatılan aşk hayatıyla ilgili bölümü hızla okunmalı. Ayrıca 100 sayfa kazanmak için bu kadar küçük punto ile basarak okuyucuya eziyet etmek hiç şık değil. 450 değil 550 sayfa olur ona göre fiyat belirlenir. Bu küçük puntoları okumak için kimsenin gözünün zorlanmasını istemediğimden öneride bulunurken tereddüt ediyorum.
March 12, 2009
I like Julian Barnes; I like Arthur Conan Doyle; I like historicals. I therefore expected to like Julian Barnes' historical about Arthur Conan Doyle. Unfortunately I was disappointed.
The book concerns Doyle's years-long effort to exonerate an Indian solicitor----George--- accused of cattle mutilations in rural England. Bizarre enough, right? It's told in the form of intertwining third-person biographies of the title characters. Surprisingly, neither is terribly interesting. Doyle's little known obsession with the occult just makes him appear more of a Victorian boob, and George is just sad. The plot, confined as it is to reality, plods along through the arcana of 19th century British jurisprudence and as in life never comes to a satisfactory conclusion.
As I say, I wanted to like this book, and I'm sorry I didn't.
The book concerns Doyle's years-long effort to exonerate an Indian solicitor----George--- accused of cattle mutilations in rural England. Bizarre enough, right? It's told in the form of intertwining third-person biographies of the title characters. Surprisingly, neither is terribly interesting. Doyle's little known obsession with the occult just makes him appear more of a Victorian boob, and George is just sad. The plot, confined as it is to reality, plods along through the arcana of 19th century British jurisprudence and as in life never comes to a satisfactory conclusion.
As I say, I wanted to like this book, and I'm sorry I didn't.
October 28, 2020
3.5 stars
This was the first book by Julian Barnes that I have read, so I had nothing to compare to.
It is a very interesting novel about the miscarriage of justice and racism in the early 20th century.
The story of two unlikely characters meeting each other and forming a bond.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is the famous author of the Sherlock Holmes novels.
George Edalji is the son of a vicar from India.
George was convicted of a crime he did not commit. George went to trial and was found guilty of this horrific crime and spent time in jail.
Arthur and George paths finally meet. Arthur helps to exonerate George of this appalling conviction.
Arthur will ultimately change the legal system in England.
This book is beautifully written although I felt it was very long and drawn out.
If you enjoy Sherlock Holmes I think you would like this book.
This was the first book by Julian Barnes that I have read, so I had nothing to compare to.
It is a very interesting novel about the miscarriage of justice and racism in the early 20th century.
The story of two unlikely characters meeting each other and forming a bond.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is the famous author of the Sherlock Holmes novels.
George Edalji is the son of a vicar from India.
George was convicted of a crime he did not commit. George went to trial and was found guilty of this horrific crime and spent time in jail.
Arthur and George paths finally meet. Arthur helps to exonerate George of this appalling conviction.
Arthur will ultimately change the legal system in England.
This book is beautifully written although I felt it was very long and drawn out.
If you enjoy Sherlock Holmes I think you would like this book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,760 reviews