The Problem of the Evil Editor: A Charles Dodgson/Arthur Conan Doyle Mystery (Charles Dodgson/Arthur Conan Doyle Mysteries) [Hardcover]

Roberta Rogow (Author)

Book Description

Series: Charles Dodgson/Arthur Conan Doyle Mysteries | Publication Date: June 7, 2000

In the winter of 1888, Reverend Charles Dodgson of Christ Church at Oxford - better known to the world as author Lewis Carroll - brings to his new found friend Dr. Arthur Conan Doyle to London to introduce him to editors potentially interested in Doyle's writing. Their first stop is the offices of a weekly magazine, Youth's Companion, arriving in time to find the place in an uproar - the staff is upset, the printers in a rage, and the editor is busy violently rejecting the work of up-and-coming Irish writer Oscar Wilde. Dr. Doyle fares no better with the foul-tempered, duplicitous and mean editor - Samuel Bassett and the duo depart.

Shortly thereafter, in full sight of the duo, Bassett is murdered outside of magazine's offices. Due to the heavy snowstorm, neither Dodgson nor Doyle can identify his attacker but they are on hand to hear Bassett's final gasp. With the Labor Riots raging in the streets, and unrest in the air, the police immediately assume that Wilde, a socialist, is responsible and set about trying to find him. But, believing that Wilde is innocent, Dodgson and Doyle, set about to find out the truth behind the vicious attack. In a quest that takes them from the most prestigious literary and art circles in Victorian London to the lowest dives of ill repute, the unlikely duo seek to unmask a killer before he strikes again.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Once again Arthur Conan Doyle plays Watson to Charles Dodgson/Lewis Carroll's Holmes, in a third literate mystery (after The Problem of the Spiteful Spiritualist) featuring this unlikely if appealing duo. One afternoon in February 1886, Dodgson and Doyle visit the Fleet Street office of Samuel Bassett, a mean-spirited children's magazine editor who not only rejects Oscar Wilde's fairy tales and Beatrix Potter's rabbit drawings but appears to have profited from selling copies of the rare first printing of Alice in Wonderland that Carroll insisted go to charity because Tenniel's illustrations weren't properly reproduced. No wonder, then, that someone sticks a knife in Bassett's back when he leaves the office that evening. Meanwhile, mobs of workers are roaming central London in the snow, protesting their unfair wages. Dodgson and Doyle find themselves caught in a riot, and even temporarily detained by the police until Wilde comes to their rescue. The pair have to work fast to find Bassett's killerAwho under cover of the riot has committed a second murder to prevent exposure. The fun here is less in the ponderous plot, with its shortage of suspense and suspects, than in the author's affectionate and accurate portrayal of the prim, stammering Carroll and the young Dr. Doyle, eager to make his literary mark. While the playful tone may be a bit at odds with the murderer's sad and sordid motives, Rogow's sly in-jokes and seamless blend of fact and fiction should delight many. Agent, Cherry Weiner. (June)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Charles Dodgson, aka Lewis Carroll, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle never met in real life, but Rogow matches them as companions and sleuths, their relationship supposedly forming the basis for Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. Dodgson and Doyle may not have the charisma of those two, but they manage perfectly well in this entertaining series. This time the Labour Riots of 1888 are swirling around Fleet Street as Dodgson and Doyle visit the offices of Youth Companion magazine, where the nasty editor, Samuel Bassett, is insulting everyone on his staff. Naturally, Bassett turns up dead, as does one of the magazine's writers. Readers may not need Dodgson and Doyle to solve the crime, and the author's detailed exploration of the homosexual motives behind the murder sometimes get in the way of the action. What Rogow excels at, though, is setting the scene. The class warfare, as rioters spill across wintry London, is both a vivid backdrop and a rich subplot to the main action. An engaging read, especially for Anglophiles. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; 1st edition (June 7, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312209037
• ISBN-13: 978-0312209032
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,749,607 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars A Literary Period Piece, July 14, 2006

By 

Steven Rigolosi (New York / New Jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Problem of the Evil Editor: A Charles Dodgson/Arthur Conan Doyle Mystery (Charles Dodgson/Arthur Conan Doyle Mysteries) (Hardcover)

As somewhat of a traditionalist, I will admit that I tend to be skeptical of ficitionalized presentations of literary giants. But The Problem of the Evil Editor swept aside all my reservations. Rogow writes with such obvious affection for two very different but equally great English writers (Lewis Carroll and A. Conan Doyle), and she sprinkles in cameos by other writers as well (e.g., Beatrix Potter). Often when I read historical mysteries, I feel as though I am reading a book into which the author has crammed excessive research/detail, but this book finds a lovely balance. I did figure out the murderer's identity in the first half of the book, but that didn't stop me from enjoying the characters, the plot, the cameos, and the atmosphere. And--having been an editor myself for many years--I loved the portrayal of Bassett. Recommended for those who enjoy literary mysteries!

2.0 out of 5 stars not a very engrossing read, September 29, 2000

By 

tregatt (Portland, Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Problem of the Evil Editor: A Charles Dodgson/Arthur Conan Doyle Mystery (Charles Dodgson/Arthur Conan Doyle Mysteries) (Hardcover)

I was not too impressed with this mystery novel. The mystery plot, for example, was a little weak, and it was evident rather early in the novel who the murderer was and his reasons for committing the deed. I also found that most of the characters were not that well developed at all -- in fact the murderer's character was a little more developed than the rest! But only by very little, and I'm really sorry that I've let the cat out of the bag with this piece of information.

I also kept getting side-tracked by all the famous (or infamous)personalities that popped up all over the book. For example, in the first chapter Beatrix Potter is despatched from the offices of the Youth's Companion in tears by the boorish behaviour of the soon-to-be-dead editor, Samuel Bassett. And I found to my dismay that I was not really following the plot so much as keeping an eye out for further such personages to creep up!

What I truly liked about this book was the descriptions of London during the winter and the Trafalgar Square Riots of 1886. Ms Rogow not only described this event masterfully but she also provides the reader with an intelligent and informative background to the event. I also found the subtle manner in which she presented class distinctions -- the way in which she portrayed the impact of these riots and what it meant to different people of different classes -- admirable.

This was not a badly written book (especially from a historical point of view); it is just a pity that so many other things got in the way of a more interesting plot that could have saved the book.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fun mystery, May 20, 2000

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Problem of the Evil Editor: A Charles Dodgson/Arthur Conan Doyle Mystery (Charles Dodgson/Arthur Conan Doyle Mysteries) (Hardcover)

In 1886, Reverend Charles Dodgson, better known as Lewis Carroll, introduces his friend Arthur Conan Doyle, a wannabe author, to his editor Mr. Samuel Basset. However, the children's editor rejects Doyle's stories even as he discards a work from a budding Irish writer named Wilde and a drawing of a rabbit from a Potter as pathetic junk. Basset is simply an ill-tempered individual who upsets everyone in his path. Dodgson turns irate when he learns that Basset sold the first printings of Alice for personal profit and not for charity as the author demanded.

However, his anger cools when someone kills Basset. The police feel the odious editor died due to Labour Riots that rock London. Dodgson thinks otherwise. Drafting Doyle to assist him, Dodgson begins to investigate the murder of the evil editor, especially when a second murder occurs and Wilde is the prime suspect.

THE PROBLEM OF THE EVIL EDITOR is an entertaining who-done-it due to the homage paid by Roberta Rogow to her heroes and other artistic giants of the late nineteenth century. Though lacking suspense, the story line remains fun because of the interplay and wit of the cast. Readers who enjoy historical fiction and fans of the two lead protagonists will enjoy the third Doyle-Dodgson collaboration (see THE PROBLEM OF THE MISSING MISS and THE PROBLEM OF THE SPITEFUL SPIRITUALIST).

Harriet Klausner