Mystery Of Cloomber [Paperback]

Arthur Conan Doyle (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 12, 2008

When John Hunter West, an Edinburgh solicitor, falls on hard times, a relation offers him and his two children a home on his Branksome Estate, set on the bleak and remote western coast of Scotland. But the family's new life is disturbed by the arrival of the enigmatic Major-General Heatherstone who takes up the tenancy of the nearby Cloomber Hall. It is the beginning of a remarkable and disturbing mystery, which leads to an unexplained tragedy out on the desolate moors.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

The creator of Sherlock Holmes, the world's most famous literary detective. Born in Scotland, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a practising doctor when he began to write tales of mystery and adventure. In addition to the Sherlock Holmes stories, Conan Doyle also wrote the Professor Challenger adventures, and his classic, The Lost World, is one of the original fantasy novels. Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) was born in Edinburgh and studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh's Medical School. Graduating in 1881, he set up practice as an occultist, but as patients proved elusive he turned to writing. An important influence upon his literary career was his professor, Dr Joseph Bell, who could observe the most minute detail regarding a patient's condition. This master of deduction became the model for Conan Doyle's legendary literary creation, the detective Sherlock Holmes, introduced in A Study in Scarlet in 1887. Conan Doyle also espoused spiritualism and devoted considerable time and effort to a campaign of support for this cause. He also wrote successfully in genres other than detective fiction. His non-fiction includes military writing on the Boer War and pamphlets on spiritualism. It is known that he felt constricted at times by the popularity of Holmes, but it is nevertheless for Sherlock Holmes and his foil, the ponderous Dr Watson that he is best remembered. As Sherlock Holmes was the first detective to solve cases by deduction rather than due to an error by the criminal, Conan Doyle can be credited with creating the modern detective novel. He was knighted in 1902 for his support of the British cause in the Boer Wars. After the death of his son in the First World War, he devoted the rest of his life to spiritualism on which he wrote and lectured.

Product Details

• Paperback: 162 pages
• Publisher: House of Stratus (January 12, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0755115791
• ISBN-13: 978-0755115792
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,871,342 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars LATE 19TH CENTURY MYSTERY WRITING, December 16, 2009

By 

Byron H. Cohen (Greenport, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Mystery Of Cloomber (Paperback)

I ENJOYED READING THIS EARLY WORK OF SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE IMMENSELY; HOWEVER, IF NOT FOR THE FACT THAT I HAVE BEEN STUDYING 19TH CENTURY LITERATURE RATHER INTENSELY FOR THE PAST TWO YEARS, I WOULD HAVE BEEN AT A LOSS TO UNDERSTAND TERMINOLOGY USED IN THE STORY SUCH AS "MONOMANIA." IT WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE TO HAVE SOME NOTES IN THE BACK OF THE BOOK TRANSLATING PHRASES SUCH AS: "ADHOESIT FAUCIBUS ORA" AND "STETS VERNEINEN."

THE INFLUENCE OF WILKIE COLLINS' THE MOONSTONE IS PRETTY EVIDENT AND I BELIEVE THAT SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE LEARNED AT LEAST SOME OF HIS METHODS FOR BUILDING SUSPENSE FROM THAT AUTHOR TOO. SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE WAS CORRECT, I BELIEVE, IN URGING READERS TO APPRECIATE EASTERN PHILOSOPHIES AND CULTURES, BUT ANCIENT OR OLDER DOESN'T NECESSARILY MEAN BETTER OR SUPERIOR.