Mattias Boström

**I received a digital copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.**

Introduction
Have you ever wondered about the extended history of Sherlock Holmes? He is one of the most enduring and oddly endearing literary characters of all time. But how did he come to life? What was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's inspiration? What magic endears him to centuries of young and old alike? These questions (and much, MUCH more) are all answered in this book. Read on and get to know Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson as you never have before!

The story
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a struggling doctor with a penchant for writing. One day he put pen to paper and - voila! - Sherlock Holmes was born. The many adventures of Sherlock Holmes would eventually become Conan Doyle's primary source of income, spanning decades and bringing millions in royalties. Generations of men and women worldwide were captivated by this character and his unique ability to solve crimes through observation and deduction. Despite Conan Doyle's repeated attempts to leave Holmes behind him and move on to more "serious" writing, Holmes endured, even after his creator's death. The silhouette of Sherlock Holmes - that hat and pipe and pointed features - have been featured in every type of media and in countless advertisements in every country in the world. Conan Doyle's legacy even helped his children live in luxury, despite their completely incompetent efforts to manage the estate. Actors and Holmes enthusiasts have helped to shape his character throughout the years, keeping him relevant and much beloved. Each generation has seen efforts to modernize Holmes and Watson, some with great success. And so it is that the title of this book (and obviously the content itself) takes the reader from Holmes, the stoic but brilliantly eccentric Victorian detective, to Sherlock, the modern "consultant" that helped launch Benedict Cumberbatch to international stardom.

Literary analysis
This book is extremely well researched. By the end of the book, the reader cannot help but believe that the author has literally left no page unturned! From personal letters and early manuscripts to interviews, photos, and much more - the author was incredibly thorough. It must be said that this is likely now THE definitive history of Sherlock Holmes.

It is worth noting, and perhaps this is the only minor criticism I have, that the book is a translation. There are often times where transitions from page to page, or even paragraph to paragraph, seem to jump around awkwardly. It is clear that the writer is trying to employ literary devices to keep the reader engaged. But sometimes the transitions are jolting, awkward, or on a few occasions even seem confusingly juxtapositional. Otherwise, the diction, vocabulary, and grammar are an absolute pleasure to read!

Conclusion
This book is very long and certainly requires time and dedication to get through. However, if you are at all a fan of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, you will enjoy this journey through their historical presence. The intricacies of all the behind-the-scenes work that has gone into keeping this beloved partnership relevant is astounding and nothing short of miraculous. Do I recommend this book? "Elementary, my dear Watson!" Of course I do!… (mais)

So you’ve read all the Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle. You’ve enjoyed the vintage art of Sidney Paget and Frederic Dorr Steele that helped shape the image of Sherlock Holmes. You’ve watched Basil Rathbone in 14 films and maybe heard some of the radio plays written and produced by Edith Meiser. You’ve watched all the television episodes featuring Ronald Howard, Douglas Wilmer, Peter Cushing, Jeremy Brett, Benedict Cumberbatch or Jonny Lee Miller. You were astounded when the long thought lost 1916 film ‘Sherlock Holmes’ with William Gillette was rediscovered and released to DVD a couple years ago. You may have read biographies of Arthur Conan Doyle, touching on his inspiration for Holmes via Joseph Bell, or his investigation of real life crimes, or guides to the actors who have played Holmes, or perhaps some of the beautifully illustrated surveys detailing art and artifacts associated with Sherlock Holmes. You may have heard about the Baker Street Irregulars and the role of Vincent Starrett, Christopher Morley and others in their establishment, read their publication The Baker Street Journal, the involvement of Presidents Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman, or know something about the squabbles between Doyle’s heirs and the BSI, or that the BSI didn’t allow women members until 1991. You may be a member of a local Sherlock Holmes scion society or book club. You’ve probably read any number of published pastiches including Ellery Queen’s The Misadventures of Sherlock Holmes or Nick Meyer’s game changing The Seven-Per-Cent Solution, Mitch Cullin’s A Slight Trick of the Mind, or more recent anthologies by Laurie King and Les Klinger, the last of which resulted in a huge public court case firmly putting the character (if not all the stories) of Sherlock Holmes in the public domain. You may have listened to podcasts by the Baker Street Babes celebrating the remarkable international success of the BBC’s Sherlock, or attended one of the conventions, all of which have contributed to a global popularity, shift and resurgence in one of the oldest fandoms ever encountered. Hell, you are probably even familiar with the ubiquitous tent joke. Or maybe you’ve not read or seen any of it and just have some vague curiosity about Sherlock Holmes? In any event, what you’re probably wondering is how can I see the ‘big picture’? How does it all fit together? How does a simple detective character, created in 1887, manage to stay in the public eye and be a pop culture sensation, taking the world by storm, some 130 years later?

Mattias Boström’s unique, incredibly ambitious and wide ranging volume ‘From Holmes to Sherlock: The Story of the Men and Women Who Created an Icon’ aims to answer that question. This isn’t a straight-up history, nor is it a biography of any one individual, instead it is an examination of the entire Sherlock Holmes phenomenon; tracing the steps from inception in the mind of Arthur Conan Doyle right through to the people and events that shaped the latest film and television extravaganzas, all presented in a chronological narrative form. The book is exactly what it claims to be in the subtitle, it is literally ‘The Story of the Men and Women Who Created an Icon.’ By utilizing the narrative story form, rather than a dry historical format, Boström makes the reader part of the events as they unfold and gives us a better sense of the key players as what they are, or were; real live human beings with all the foibles, quirks and flaws that implies. While it reads like a work of fiction, almost a literary mystery, it is a rich tapestry, filled with real-world heroes and villains, and Boström, using a wealth of facts as foundation (Boström and Matt Laffey have been exhaustively researching newspaper archives for mentions of Holmes and Conan Doyle for a series of books, currently up to three volumes, called ‘Sherlock Holmes and Conan Doyle in the Newspapers’, published by Wessex Press), extrapolates and provides us with scenes that make us privy to the thoughts and motivations behind their actions. The chatty, almost gossipy style, is engaging, almost deceptively masking the wealth of information the reader is being handed, but never loses the thread of the story at its heart. While you will meet an almost bewildering array of people and cover 130 years worth of events, vignettes, tales of greed and heartbreak, Boström puts it all together in a cohesive form that is never less than compelling and will have you turning pages at the pace of a Dan Brown thriller. Whether you’re familiar with the elements of the history of Sherlock Holmes in print and media, or a complete newcomer, I guarantee you’ll learn something new in this monumental work that explores the ‘big picture’ of the Sherlock Holmes phenomenon and how it came to be.

Bottom line: I cannot recommend this highly enough, as ‘From Holmes to Sherlock: The Story of the Men and Women Who Created an Icon’ is likely the most important work connected to Sherlock Holmes to be published in 2017 and a must-read for anyone with an interest in the character, the history or the fandom surrounding him.

Note: Review based on an uncorrected proof provided on January 7, 2017. As such no remarks regarding typos (there aren't many) or irregularities in style (this work has been translated from Swedish) have been noted in this review as they may be corrected before publication.
… (mais)

Even though Sherlock Holmes was a fictional character, he has taken on a life of his own that has only become larger since his creation by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. In this meticulously researched book, the reader becomes acquainted with Doyle, his genius and his foibles. The author explains how Doyle felt about Holmes, why he killed him off and why he resurrected him. We learn about Doyle’s family and his descendants. Also discussed are the many pastiches and other works about Holmes along with the problems concerning the copyright laws in various countries. Included, too, are the actors in films and movies who gave life to Holmes. Though nonfiction, the prose in the book flows like a novel, and is quite interesting whether you consider yourself a fan of Sherlock Holmes or not.… (mais)

From Holmes to Sherlock is a large book, with a massive scope, but don't let that scare you. Mattias Boström has created a wonderful narration of the history of one of the greatest literary characters of all time. With short chapters Mattias draws the reader along on an entertaining walk through history.

Ostensibly the book is about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the man who created Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. Mattias takes us back to the early days in Doyle's life, touching on his time in medical school (learning under Dr. John Bell), and then his foray into medicine in Portsmouth. Luckily for the literary world the young Dr. Doyle had few clients, which allowed him time to write. Mattias explores Doyle's early writing career, including many of his other (non-Holmes) short stories and novels. The book explores the first publications of Sherlock Holmes, and the growing interest in the character not only in England but in Europe and America. Throughout the narrative of Doyle, Mattias weaves in the stories of other people - from artists, publishers, and actors - who would be so influential in making Doyle's creation become the phenomenon that he has become.

One aspect of Mattias's book that I enjoyed was that he continues the story of what has happened with Sherlock Homes after Conan Doyle's death. We get to see, even while Conan Doyle was alive, how the character of Holmes grew at times beyond the author's ability to control him. And after his death, the control and attempt to profit from Holmes passed onto Conan Doyle's heirs. Learning about all of the intrigue, the ideas, and the infighting among Conan Doyle's sons was quite interesting and added a lot to my knowledge of the Sherlock Holmes legend.

Mattias continues his narration through to the most recent iterations of Sherlock Holmes in print and in TV and movies, touching on the BBC series Sherlock, and the Sherlock Holmes movies staring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law. But throughout the narration we learn about the other great actors who have portrayed Holmes and Watson, each doing their part to make the character their own while attempting to retain the feel of the original Conan Doyle stories. We also learn about many of the Sherlockian fan clubs that have sprung up around the world to honor the character and the author. I was particularly interested to learn about a fan club created by John Bennett Shaw, who lived in Santa Fe. Shaw was a dedicated collector of all things Holmes, and he created a dubious fan club for Holmes' arch nemesis, Prof. James Moriarty. And ever year Shaw would host an "Unhappy Birthday Party" for Moriarty in the town of Moriarty, New Mexico. I found this bit of information so wonderfully exciting because I happen to live only 30 miles from Moriarty, NM.

This is a wonderful book that not only focuses on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the man and the author, but also on his best known creation. How Mr. Holmes (from the early days) to Sherlock (today) is a narrative that spans many different stories and Mattias Boström has done an excellent job of taking the threads of all of these narratives into a single whole. Worth the time to read and explore for any Sherlock Holmes fan.

(Note: I read the English translation of the book by Michael Gallagher.)… (mais)