Arthur & George (2005) is the tenth novel by English author Julian Barnes which takes as its basis the true story of the 'Great Wyrley Outrages.'
Set at the turn of the 20th century, it follows two actual historical figures: the rather obscure George Edalji, a half-Indian solicitor wrongfully accused of ruthlessly slaying a number of farm animals, and the well-known Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author of the Sherlock Holmes stories. Upon the death of ...
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Arthur & George (2005) is the tenth novel by English author Julian Barnes which takes as its basis the true story of the 'Great Wyrley Outrages.'
Set at the turn of the 20th century, it follows two actual historical figures: the rather obscure George Edalji, a half-Indian solicitor wrongfully accused of ruthlessly slaying a number of farm animals, and the well-known Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author of the Sherlock Holmes stories. Upon the death of his first wife, Doyle finds himself unable to find pleasure in either life or the mistress he's kept for quite some time. When he stumbles upon the case of Mr. Edalji, he decides for the first time to enter into the real world of detective work.
Arthur and George is laden with the unique and complex form of irony, simultaneously comic and tragic, that Barnes is known for. In this novel, however, Edalji's race, and the question as to how large a part it played in his wrongful conviction, represents a new theme for Barnes. Other themes, however,...
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