The Real Sherlock

An Audible Original

By: Lucinda Hawksley

Narrated by: Lucinda Hawksley

Length: 2 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

Sherlock Holmes is the most portrayed fictional character of all time, and he has been reimagined by actors, playwrights and directors over centuries - but who is the creator behind the detective?

Conan Doyle’s own life was often stranger than fiction, and his most famous characters’ stories and personalities bear more than a passing resemblance to his own life and his closest friends.

Biographer and broadcaster Lucinda Hawksley gains unprecedented access to a treasure trove of Doyle’s never-before-seen personal letters and diaries. This is a chance for Sherlock fans to see their detective hero and his creator as they’ve never seen them before. Through interviews with Doyle aficionados, academics, actors and family members, we explore Doyle’s travels and sailing adventures across the globe, his pioneering work as a doctor, his life in the Freemasons and his fights against miscarriages of justice. As well as his many triumphs, we will also explore the challenges he faced, from the death of his first wife and son to the initial rejection he faced as an author.

We will also look beyond Sherlock to Doyle’s other great works including his fantasy and science fiction novels and hear how one of his most famous, The Lost World, part-inspired Michael Crichton’s book of the same name, which became the successful Jurassic Park film franchise.

©2019 Audible, Ltd (P)2019 Audible, Ltd

Not as interesting as Sherlock

This certainly had some interesting moments in the second half. It was not nearly as interesting as a Sir Arthur Conan Doyle work. However, I learned some interesting things and as a result will read The Lost World.

Very BBC

There is much to tell about the life of the famed author, so holding up an inkwell for a listening audience takes time away from the story itself. that said, the story is fascinating and I would have liked more.

Desperately needed an editor

There is some good information in this book, but it is difficult to sort out from the meaningless chatter about Doyle's inkwell and nightshirt and from the constant repetition of information. It really needed an editor of any kind.

I'm a fan of Sherlock, I would not pay for this

it was interesting but it felt like it was just an audio track from a TV documentary. It's skipped around his life and kept repeating the same intros to who was speaking.

Interesting look inside

Hadn’t known much about Arthur Conan Doyle and I enjoyed the mixture of interviews with his family, the actors, the historians and the excerpts from his work. I’d recommend this.

Sherlock

you have to be a big fan and not so much of sherlock but of Doyle. if you are great if not blah

love Doyle's stories

This was a great background into an author that I throughly enjoy. Well worth the listen.

An interesting read

A collection of interviews with "worlds most renowned" scholars on Arthur Conan Doyle. The author tends to repeat herself a lot.

Nice Little Podcasst

This is a very interesting and thoughtful podcast on Conan Doyle. I really enjoyed it and learned a lot. I recommend a listen.

Wonderful and Informative

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Nice production. great narration and flow. Appreciated the information from reputable sources