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Arthur & George

3.64 of 5 stars 3.64 · rating details · 6,279 ratings · 749 reviews

As boys, George, the son of a Midlands vicar, and Arthur, living in shabby genteel Edinburgh, find themselves in a vast and complex world at the heart of the British Empire. Years later—one struggling with his identity in a world hostile to his ancestry, the other creating the world’s most famous detective while in love with a woman who is not his wife–their fates become i...more

Paperback, 445 pages

Published January 9th 2007 by Vintage International (first published January 1st 2005)

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Dec 14, 2007 Kay rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: british_lit, victoriana, favorites, nonfiction

I give five stars sparingly, so I was torn between giving and "four" and a "five" here. Ultimately, though, when I considered that I'd put aside all other tasks one weekend to devote to finishing this book, I decided that this was five-star material.

The last book I'd read by Barnes, England, England was a bit of a disappointment -- it came off, it seemed to me, like second-rate Tom Sharpe. But this book was a different matter. I especially liked the way it unfolded, alternating from one central...more

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Feb 22, 2011 Hayes rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Hayes by: giftie from Bettie

Shelves: read-in-2011

Beautifully written, the language kept me reading eagerly all the way through; however, this story is based on a true event in Arthur Conan Doyle's life and the ending, just like real-life endings, fizzled out. I wasn't really expecting a wrapped-up case like in a mystery novel, but I was left unsatisfied, wanting to know more.

Which might not be a bad thing. I have Arthur Conan Doyle: A Life in Letters which I will read a little sooner than I had anticipated to try to to remedy this.

Barnes does...more

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Aug 12, 2009 Ken-ichi rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: snoot

Old review from 2006

Way outside of my normal range of reading here, but hey, that's what the Christmas book stack is all about. Apparently it's a pseudohistorical novel about Arthur Conan Doyle, George Edalji, and the 'Great Wyrly Outrage' animal mutilation hearings. In turn-of-the-century Britain, they lacked the foresight to blame such things on aliens from outer space, so they instead turned their suspicions upon the home-grown variety.

I have this problem with most non-genre fiction. If a boo...more

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Apr 16, 2009 Heidi rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-mystery, own-paperback, good-book-disappointing-ending, study-heidi, own-hardback, family-room, written-review

What is better, a so-so book with a great ending, or a good book with a disappointing one? The latter for me, but I was let down, after enjoying this story all the way through, to have it end with such a whimper. Later I read that the story was true all the way, which did make me more understanding. It is about a miscarriage of justice in the early 20th century. George, a young solicitor of Indian origin, is falsely accused of killing a slew of horses in his area, and convicted. His defense is p...more

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Jun 28, 2008 Neil rated it 4 of 5 stars

I don't go for whodunnits so much, mostly because I have such a poor head for plot that by the time the mystery is revealed, I've long forgotten who these people are that are now being identified as the criminals. This piece of historical fiction is no different in that regard, but the mystery of who committed the crime is only a small part of what Barnes is trying to do.

The other topics that the book tackles--changing definitions of masculinity and honor in early 20th century England, the strug...more

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Apr 03, 2008 Stephanie rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Arthur and George is a novelization of the relationship between the very famous Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and the not so famous George Edalji. It is a true story and the book reads much like a journalistic account of a miscarriage of justice taken on by an indignant Doyle. From my “extensive” research (wikipedia and a short google search), the author Barnes seems to stick pretty close to the facts. His contribution to this story seems to be in the fleshing out of the two men’s characters and their...more Arthur and George is a novelization of the relationship between the very famous Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and the not so famous George Edalji. It is a true story and the book reads much like a journalistic account of a miscarriage of justice taken on by an indignant Doyle. From my “extensive” research (wikipedia and a short google search), the author Barnes seems to stick pretty close to the facts. His contribution to this story seems to be in the fleshing out of the two men’s characters and their motivations. In fact the first 240-ish pages of the 386-page novel is set up. We are introduced to each man separately and are led on an examination of their lives leading up to the point where their paths intertwine and the plot really begins.

This is a very British book and cultural identity is definitely a theme. George is half Indian (his father is from Bombay) who identifies himself as wholly British and rejects any notion that the things that happen to him are a result of race prejudice. Arthur is also a bit of a half-breed – half Scottish, half Irish – who seems to revel in his difference while what the world sees is a quintessential English gentleman. This idea of what it is to be “British” comes up several times in the novel and Barnes seems to view his fellow countryman with reluctant and exasperated affection.

I found the first part of the book interesting but it dragged a little. Once the plot takes off it became more engrossing and takes on more of a mystery type feel. Barnes’ characterization of the two men is interesting and he manages to make George sort of cold and difficult to like while still producing a feeling of indignation in the reader at his ill treatment. The narrative is written with an almost journalistic style, detached unidentified 3rd person, occasionally swooping in to give a closer view of each character’s internal life. I’m not sure I really liked this tone – I think it was a main reason I failed to engage with the first part of the book.

This is one of three books by Julian Barnes that has been shortlisted for the Booker prize and the writing is good. “The anchovy eggs were dispatched and Blanch Anson could sense the male restiveness farther down the table. They were eager for the curtained study, the poked fire, the lit cigar, the glass of brandy, and the opportunity, in as civilized a way as possible, to tear great lumps out of one another. She could scent, above the odours of the table, something primitive and brutal in the air. She rose, and bade the combatants good night.” This passage to me illustrates the richness of the descriptive prose, the undercurrent of mocking wit, and the “britishness” that I speak of above.

Overall, I would recommend it. If I could I would've given it 3 1/2 stars.
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Feb 08, 2008 Steve rated it 4 of 5 stars

What a great premise for a work of historical fiction. Take a larger-than-life figure known to all, make him larger still, and overlay his story on top of one with little fame but deserving of more. The acclaimed character was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who turned out to be even more intriguing than his detective stories would suggest. From early days in Mam’s kitchen listening to chivalric tales of adventure, to heroics in sports and at war, Arthur liked thinking of himself as an honorable knight...more

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Jun 23, 2007 Trevor rated it 4 of 5 stars

I couldn't decide whether this book fell under the "loved it" or "it was amazing" category. I finally settled on "loved it" but only because I want to try (try) to keep my "it was amazing" books to an exclusive few. However, I must say that I was amazed by the book. Barnes writing was smooth and effortless to read. At the same time it was penetrating, and he could articulate feelings and contradictions with clarity.
The story was wonderful. It is about Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock...more

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Jun 10, 2007 Maureeen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: fans of sherlock holmes, historical novels, british humour, criminal justice, philosophy

The novel reflects the reserve of the English people. Insights are profound, and there is serious philosophical reflection, but it is all understated. For this reason, this novel is excellent for both people looking for an entertaining read, and people who expect an intellectual stimulation. Irony and astute observation make for a novel that is often incredibly funny. Barnes renders the cahracters in an endearing manner, I as a reader found myself immensely concerned with their outcomes. This wi...more

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Dec 25, 2007 Karl Steel rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: postmedieval_fiction

Since I find all spiritualism either risible or of only historical interest, Barnes' attention to Doyle's spiritualist fervor transformed my affectionate interest for Doyle into disgust and impatience. But while watching yet another 'Christmas Carol' this holiday--since this is what one does with the in-laws--I realized the weirdness of early twentieth century English spiritualism loosened the syrupy anglophilic nostalgia of the holiday. It wasn't all carols and parlor games, unless you want to...more

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Sep 29, 2008 Peter rated it 4 of 5 stars

Completely charming. I'm glad I didn't know this was historical fiction before I picked it up, because I never would have. I thought I hated historical fiction the way I thought I hated musicals, before I got dragged to see Stephen Sondheim's 'Into The Woods', which was ten kinds of excellent.

Anyway, great read. Tiny flaws - a few poorly-concealed chunks of historical research, and some anachronistic psychologizing - don't damage the central core of this book, which is pure old-school novel-wri...more

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May 07, 2012 Kate added it · review of another edition

Julian Barnes recounts the tale of the real-life Great Wyrley Outrages – where a small town outside Birmingham saw a number of animals gorily murdered and the blame fall at the door of the mild-mannered son of the parson, George Edalji, until Arthur Conan Doyle himself became involved in the case. Two men of very different temperaments and extremely different backgrounds, Arthur and George are quietly but significantly bound together by this mystery.

Coming to this novel without having read any B...more Julian Barnes recounts the tale of the real-life Great Wyrley Outrages – where a small town outside Birmingham saw a number of animals gorily murdered and the blame fall at the door of the mild-mannered son of the parson, George Edalji, until Arthur Conan Doyle himself became involved in the case. Two men of very different temperaments and extremely different backgrounds, Arthur and George are quietly but significantly bound together by this mystery.

Coming to this novel without having read any Barnes before, I was slightly apprehensive of finding this unlikely partnership to be a Holmes and Watson double act, and was relieved that this is an entirely different kind of a novel. Meticulously researched, it instead traces how the lives of both men brought them to meeting in such bizarre circumstances, and the unlikely but important effects that they have on one another’s life. Fans of Sherlock Holmes will be frustrated, as Barnes skims lightly over any mention of Doyle’s writing him, apart from to acknowledge his growing antipathy towards his most famous creation.

Doyle is desperate to be the champion of somebody other than his detective, whom he cannot kill off, whether that is his mother, his wife, his lover or poor George Edalji. For his part, George merely wants the world to be a much simpler, more comprehensible place than it is. A stickler for the law and a lover of railway timetables, the atmosphere of quiet racism and official prejudice that he encounters is more perplexing than intimidating.

The novel has a lot to say about Englishness – both what Doyle and Edalji’s notions of it are, and how it is at odds with the England they find themselves pitted against at various stages of their lives. However, the thing I liked most about it was its picture of two very different lives, almost taken at an arbitrary cross-section, and showing the ways two men try to make them mean something. If it is a little slow-moving in parts, thanks to the subject matter and also to the painstaking research that Barnes has obviously done to recreate a faithful portrait of 19th century England, then I found the end an exceptionally moving coda to that stately pace throughout. Sometimes the distanced narrative can feel a little forced – moments of crisis seem to be met with the same steadfast observation as more mundane affairs – but perhaps this is just as truthful a recognition of the way that people often don’t react as they would in a novel – moments of tragedy creep up on us when we are unprepared to recognise them until later.

But there is something about this tone, and Barnes’s extensive research, that made me find it hard to love this book, however much I liked it.(less)

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Apr 03, 2013 Robyn rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: kindle, library

Well-written, very interesting. Encourages me to actually read Barnes' The Sense of an Ending, which I've had but not gotten around to since it was short-listed for a Booker Prize.

A bit dangerous, I always feel, to novelize real people and events, because readers will take Barnes' portrayal as at least partially accurate. Even the most careful reader will subconsciously think of the way ACD conducted himself in these fictionalized conversations and private thoughts as being representative of th...more

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Dec 17, 2012 Louisa Wood rated it 3 of 5 stars

I thought this started really well but ultimately was too long, and ended very oddly indeed. It took too long for the characters to cross paths; and the 'resolution' of the mystery was wholly unsatisfying. Meanwhile the various side-stories of both characters each met with neat and tidy conclusions, wrapped up with a bow. I couldn't finish the last 50 pages which from flicking through were largely about a seance held to converse with Arthur after his passing. Bizarre, to say the least. Now, to b...more

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Jun 06, 2012 Cameling rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction

Historical fiction about lives of the renown Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and a lesser known individual, solicitor George Edalji. One was the son of a strong mother who drove in him a deep sense of family history, honor and chivalry. The other was the son of a pastor who instilled in him a strong rooting in religion and what it means to be an Englishman....despite his mixed heritage.
One goes on to study medicine and become a world famous writer, but loves a woman not his wife. The other, on his way to...more

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Apr 23, 2012 Nenia Campbell rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: x-2005s

We know Arthur Conan Doyle as the creator and chronicler of the illustrious Sherlock Holmes. However, Arthur & George gives us a (fictional) peek at the man behind the novel, replete with mystery, racism, violence, murder, and the hypocrisy of an entire nation.

George is a Parsee Indian, whose family was converted to Christianity in Scotland - where his father met his Scottish mother, as a matter of fact. They are upper-class, and yet still looked down upon by the local farmers and their boys...more We know Arthur Conan Doyle as the creator and chronicler of the illustrious Sherlock Holmes. However, Arthur & George gives us a (fictional) peek at the man behind the novel, replete with mystery, racism, violence, murder, and the hypocrisy of an entire nation.

George is a Parsee Indian, whose family was converted to Christianity in Scotland - where his father met his Scottish mother, as a matter of fact. They are upper-class, and yet still looked down upon by the local farmers and their boys, who snidely refer to the children as half-caste. What he lacks socially, however, George makes up for in bookish intelligence. At a very young age, he becomes a prosperous lawyer who deals in railway cases.

Arthur, meanwhile, is a half-Scottish, half-Irish blend who ends up moving to England with his family. The death of his father lives their family without a provider, and Arthur without a solid male role model. Despite his intelligence, he has somewhat of a reputation as being a cad and a womanizer. All of this changes when he meets the love of his life, Louise, whom he refers to affectionately as Touie. But even this is not meant to be, as she soon develops a severe case of tuberculosis.

The book's plot culminates in a trial and its aftereffects when George is (falsely) imprisoned for mysterious acts of brutality against local livestock. The town seems determined of his guilt, despite a staggering lack of evidence. And Arthur, despite his love and duty for his dying wife, soon finds himself bewitched, bewildered, and bothered by a very modern, very attractive young Englishwoman named Jean, which soon results in a "platonic" extramarital affair.

I was impressed at how the two end up meeting, and how their correspondence and collaboration ends up resolving their respective troubles in a rather unexpected way. I won't say how, of course, because I wouldn't want to spoil the ending, but I really enjoyed this book a lot. I don't usually like books written in the present tense, but in the case of Arthur and George, it really drives the pace of the book in a fitting way.

My one criticism was at the end, where the author started waxing on the topics of spiritism and mysticism. I'm a psychology major, see, and I've read too many cases of brilliant men coming into ruin for dipping their toes in that shady, sketchy field known as pseudo-science. Had he trimmed this section off, the book would have been much the better for it.(less)

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Mar 27, 2012 Cian O hAnnrachainn rated it 4 of 5 stars

Julian Barnes is a master at constructing a novel. Not too much revealed at one time, just enough to keep the pages turning as the reader seeks to discover the story. And what a story.

The real-life case of injustice receives a fictional treatment, and the result is well worth reading. In well-crafted prose, Mr. Barnes examines the prejudice that sent an innocent Englishman to prison, a tale that resonates today. Just as it happened at the turn of the Nineteenth Century, the famous writer Sir Art...more

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Feb 29, 2012 Luigi rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

When I started this book I hadn't realised that the novel revolved around the true events which involved Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in clearing the name of George Edalji, an introverted solicitor wrongly convicted of slashing ponies and cows and being the writer of anonymous letters, whose father was a Church of England vicar of Parsee origin.
The life of the two main protagonists from youth to adulthood is charted in alternate chapters until the narrative reaches the point where their worlds intermi...more

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Jan 29, 2012 Karen maslen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Arthur and George grow up worlds and miles apart in late nineteenth-century Britain: Arthur in shabby-genteel Edinburgh, George in the vicarage of a small Staffordshire village. Arthur becomes a doctor, and then a writer; George a solicitor in Birmingham. Arthur is to become one of the most famous men of his age, George remains in hardworking obscurity. But as the new century begins, they are brought together by a sequence of events which made sensational headlines at the time as The Great Wyrle...more

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Nov 04, 2011 Michael Bennett rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: british, booker, shortlist, signed, fiction, 2006, impac

My first introduction to Julian Barnes was the vastly different, yet also compelling, “The History of the World in 10½ Chapters”. Though I quite enjoyed it (gave it four stars on this site), I never quite got around to reading anything else in his respectably large body of works. But this summer while holidaying in Europe (a turn of phrase intended to trick you into believing that I this is something I do often) I had the opportunity to find an autographed copy of Arthur & George and combine...more My first introduction to Julian Barnes was the vastly different, yet also compelling, “The History of the World in 10½ Chapters”. Though I quite enjoyed it (gave it four stars on this site), I never quite got around to reading anything else in his respectably large body of works. But this summer while holidaying in Europe (a turn of phrase intended to trick you into believing that I this is something I do often) I had the opportunity to find an autographed copy of Arthur & George and combined it in a 3/20₤ (or something along those lines) at Hatchard’s, London’s oldest bookstore (for the curious I matched it with Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell – also signed- and Ali Smith’s The Accidental). I am a sucker for autographed books, and also for the Booker prize (the astute among you may have noticed that all three of those books were shortlisted –though none won- in recent years) and so the universe was clearly aligning to push me back towards Julian Barnes (also the British trade paperback is a beautiful specimen, a wonderful, understated design). I should also add that I did have some mild trepidation with the book. I am a fan of current, modern fiction, and that fandom also entails books set in the contemporary world, I am not a fan of the period piece, or (generally) historical novels (which may explain the dearth of classics in my library –in both electronic and paper forms). I knew that it was set at the turn of the 20th century, and that it was based on real events, and that the Arthur found in the title referred to the author of the Sherlock Holmes books, none of which I had, at the time, read. So I was hesitant. But the reviews were so overwhelmingly positive, I had enjoyed History of the World, and my faith in the Booker is so strong (particularly the shortlist, I have a woefully poor track record in both predicting and agreeing with the Booker judges on their ultimate selections in recent years). That all these elements together were enough for me to crack its spine (though I am anal enough that this is merely figurative, I do my best to keep the spines in pristine shape). And from the very minute that I, carefully, opened it, I was hooked. The writing is sparse and neat, and clean. It is extremely smooth, and he does an incredible job of letting the story tell itself. Normally it is the writing much less than the plot itself that endears me to a book, and this book was only slightly different in that it was the specific, spare, and fluid language that gave the story such wonderful room to grow. It is an interesting story, and Barnes does a spectacular job of endearing us to the characters while still providing us a realistic picture of two historical figures that includes their shortcomings and eccentricities (of which both have many). I have no hesitation recommending this book to almost anyone, for though it has a specific time and place it is a universal story, and the writing is so good that it is not merely a story about a fight for justice, or a portrait of a famous writer (though it does an excellent job of both of those, keeping in mind that this is not simply a Conan Doyle biography). This is an excellent book and (taking nothing away from John Banville) was certainly Booker worthy. I am having a hard time coming up with more ways to say it (my fault not the book, or author’s) but it is excellent, I can only hope that the rest of Barnes’ work is half as good, as I will definitely be going back to visit some of his older books in search of even a hint of this same brilliance.(less)

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Oct 30, 2011 Tony rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction-mainstream

ARTHUR & GEORGE. (2011). Julian Barnes. *****.
This is a marvelously written novel about two very different men, Arthur and George (duh). Arthur turns out to be Arthur Conan Doyle, and George is George Edalji. Do not be put off by the beginning of this novel, where the author fleshes out his two men using the see-saw technique that seems so popular these days. Once through this, the story can really begin. Basically, it is the tale of the righting of an injustice towards a man, George, wrong...more

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Aug 31, 2011 Alan rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Arthur & George OBSERVER
by Julian Barnes
Jonathan Cape £17.99, pp360

Julian Barnes has always fancied a detective yarn. In the 1980s, he used to have a go at them himself, under the pseudonym of Dan Kavanagh, who wrote calculatedly hard-boiled tales about Duffy, a bisexual ex-cop on the trail of vice and murder in Soho. At the time, Barnes used to explain this sideline by saying it came from a different part of his head from the grown-up cleverness of Flaubert's Parrot or A History of the Worl...more

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May 12, 2011 Book Concierge rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This novel is based on a true case in England that did, in fact, involve the two parties of the title – George Edalji, who was erroneously charged and convicted of a heinous crime, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who brought his fame, resources, deductive reasoning and tenacity to correcting a gross injustice.

Their stories are told in alternating chapters, giving the reader a clear background on each character – their similarities and differences. Edalji was the English-born son of a Parsee and his...more

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Feb 11, 2011 Tyler Jones rated it 4 of 5 stars

George and Arthur are two men whose childhood experiences have led them down very different paths. George, an extremely introverted small town vicar's son, is doomed to forever be an outsider. Arthur - talented, athletic and supremely self-confident, almost by accident becomes one of his country's most famous writers. When George is arrested for a brutal and senseless crime the lives of both men intersect and are irrevocably changed.

Not a great deal can be said about the plot without spoiling mu...more

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Dec 11, 2010 Monthly Book Group rated it 4 of 5 stars

Introducing the book, the proposer said it had been a difficult read for him, and at one stage he had doubted whether he would finish it. One reason for the difficulty in getting to grips with the book had been the feeling of incredulity at the character of George, and the unbelievable injustice which had happened to him. Only when 2/3rds through did the structure of the book make sense and where it was going become clearer. He was struck by the strong similarities of the challenges facing Arthu...more Introducing the book, the proposer said it had been a difficult read for him, and at one stage he had doubted whether he would finish it. One reason for the difficulty in getting to grips with the book had been the feeling of incredulity at the character of George, and the unbelievable injustice which had happened to him. Only when 2/3rds through did the structure of the book make sense and where it was going become clearer. He was struck by the strong similarities of the challenges facing Arthur and George - e.g. their outsider status, moral dilemmas and how their behaviour appeared to wider society. He had been impressed by Julian Barnes’ fluent style and in the end had much enjoyed the book.

During wider discussion, the consensus was that Julian Barnes had produced a very fine novel. He had a fluent, low key, easy writing style. The structure - while somewhat challenging - made sense in the end.

There was much discussion of how close to what had actually happened the book was. Some of those present were aware of, or had researched, the background and confirmed the general accuracy. One member, with Home Office experience, commented on the background of chief constables and judges in the early 20th century, the role of the Home Office in wrongful conviction cases, and Conan Doyle’s achievement in getting the Court of Appeal set up in England in 1908 following the cases of George and also Oscar Slater. There was some discussion of the effect on the reader of knowing the book was a broadly true story.

Other issues raised in discussion were the nature of the trial (the account of which some found disproportionate to the rest of the book) and the police role in “evidence” gathering. The racism of the police and wider local society was commented upon, in particular George’s somewhat naïve refusal to see racism as a factor in his treatment. Arthur was particularly non-racist for his time. A parallel was drawn between George’s view of how society viewed him and Arthur’s in the matter of his relations with Jean Leckie.

This is an extract from a review at: http://www.monthlybookgroup.com/ Our reviews are also to be found at http://monthlybookgroup.blogspot.com/

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Oct 25, 2010 Judith rated it 4 of 5 stars

What a fascinating book this turned out to be! The "Arthur" in the title is none other than Arthur Conan Doyle, and the "George" a rather minor character in his life. However, the book is structured brilliantly, going back and forth between the lives of these two men from early childhood until their critical meeting and association about midway through their lives. Quite amazingly, the book is based on a real life story and utilizes letters and newspaper articles written at the time to bring aut...more

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Aug 10, 2010 Roland rated it 5 of 5 stars

In his acknowledgements, Barnes gives credit to many – the biggest credit should go to him, of course. The research he has conducted for this wonderful book provides him with a wealth of knowledge which informs the book subtly at most times. There are occasions when one feels there was a scrap of paper with information he had not used up to the point of writing a section and felt a pity to dismiss, but these are few and far between.
The story itself must have been a godsend for a writer as intere...more In his acknowledgements, Barnes gives credit to many – the biggest credit should go to him, of course. The research he has conducted for this wonderful book provides him with a wealth of knowledge which informs the book subtly at most times. There are occasions when one feels there was a scrap of paper with information he had not used up to the point of writing a section and felt a pity to dismiss, but these are few and far between.
The story itself must have been a godsend for a writer as interested in and talented in describing the way different personalities interact.
Here we have Arthur (Conan Doyle, of Sherlock Holmes fame), a big man in every sense of the word. County class cricketer, prolific writer, champion of many causes (if not the female vote!), and yet a small boy to the end when it comes to wanting to please his mother, "the mam".
On the other hand, meet George Edalji (not pronounced "ee-DAL-ji" as he will not tire of telling you), son of an Anglican vicar of Parsee origin. George has never left his district (near Birmingham), let alone seen India. He is nearly blind, studious, pedantic. He becomes a solicitor at law and still shares a bedroom with his father at the age of twenty-five. He could be an inconspicuous, perhaps slightly boring, man, if it wasn't for the fact that his skin is dark – and that he is sentenced to three years in gaol for slitting a pony and writing vile, anonymous letters. Of course he is innocent, and yet the way things slide from his and everybody else's hands on the road to penitentiary is unbelievably well written, but never unbelievable. There is an absolute highlight late in the book when Arthur has become George's helper in trying to win back his reputation (and his right to practise law). Arthur has just about solved the case as it really was Sherlock Holmes style when in one of the "George"-chapters, the lawyer sees through Doyle's case and how the writer's conclusions are as spurious as the ones which led to his own sentence.
What is true and what only seems so is very important in Arthur & George – what do you expect in a book about the creator of the detective who died and came back. The question of what can be known and what it is possible to believe is added further significance in the description of Doyle's growing interest in spiritualism. (At Doyle's farewell – for want of a better word, for it certainly is no funeral service – in Albert Hall, some ten thousand spectators are in attendance as a medium distributes messages from those from the other side until she is finally proud to announce that "He is here" – Sir Arthur's spirit come to say good-bye, as it were. George is present, and almost won over by the medium at one point until he finds his bearings again in the real world.)
This is a very cleverly crafted, but never manicured novel. Only the way in which present simple and past tense alternate – clearly in order to transport some form of meaning – eludes this reader. Help welcome.(less)

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Dec 07, 2009 Charles Matthews rated it 3 of 5 stars

Of all the products of the Victorian imagination, Sherlock Holmes may be the most enduring. He not only begat countless progeny -- quirky sleuths and keen-eyed gumshoes of all ages, genders and ethnicities – but he also continues to fire the imaginations of writers who don't usually produce detective stories, such as Michael Chabon and Mitch Cullin, both of whom recently produced novels – Chabon's The Final Solution and Cullin's A Slight Trick of the Mind -- about an aged Holmes encountering the...more Of all the products of the Victorian imagination, Sherlock Holmes may be the most enduring. He not only begat countless progeny -- quirky sleuths and keen-eyed gumshoes of all ages, genders and ethnicities – but he also continues to fire the imaginations of writers who don't usually produce detective stories, such as Michael Chabon and Mitch Cullin, both of whom recently produced novels – Chabon's The Final Solution and Cullin's A Slight Trick of the Mind -- about an aged Holmes encountering the horrors of World War II.

Julian Barnes is the latest to fall under the Holmesian spell, with his new novel, Arthur & George, which was short-listed for this year's Man Booker Prize. The Arthur of the title is Holmes' creator, Arthur Conan Doyle, who grew exasperated with the public's enthusiasm for the detective. He tried to bump Holmes off by tossing him over the Reichenbach Falls, but was forced to resuscitate him for further adventures. The sly irony of Arthur & George is that Doyle assumes the role of Holmes, adopting his methods and mannerisms to solve a mystery.

The George of Barnes' title is less well-known than the Arthur, but he was also a real person: George Edalji, a young lawyer who became the chief suspect in a series of mysterious livestock mutilations near the town in Staffordshire where he lived. His mother was Scottish; his father, Shapurji, was born in Bombay and became a clergyman in the Church of England and was appointed vicar of the parish of Great Wyrley.

As you might expect, an Indian vicar in a provincial parish attracted the wrong kind of attention. In 1892, the family began to be subjected to a series of harassing pranks -- anonymous letters, unsolicited packages and the like. The local constabulary suspected that the adolescent George, who was 16 when the harassment began, was the perpetrator of the pranks, which abruptly ceased in 1896. George completed his legal studies and began work as a solicitor. In 1903, he was still living with his family when someone began mutilating cattle and horses on nearby farms.

This time, the police were certain that he was guilty, and George was arrested, tried and sentenced to seven years in prison. Barnes makes George just enigmatic enough that we understand why people might think him guilty, while at the same time evoking our sympathy, heightening the pain and poignancy as he suffers a serious injustice. He served three years of the sentence before he was released, whereupon he set out to establish his innocence and regain his livelihood. His case attracted the attention of Doyle, who set out to right the wrongs he believed had been done to Edalji.

Arthur's conflicted relationship with the creature of his imagination provides some delicious moments as he assumes the mantle of Holmes – even casting his private secretary in the role of Watson – to solve the case. Arthur meets with the chief constable of Great Wyrley, who asserts that George must be guilty because he's a "half-breed." Convinced that his presentation of the evidence has overwhelmed Arthur's attempts to exonerate George, the chief constable crows to his wife, "Sherlock Holmes baffled! … I have taught him a thing or two about the real world tonight." Exasperated by the chief constable's smugness, "Doyle wondered if he would ever cease being punished for having invented Sherlock Holmes." And later, when Arthur's zeal to unravel the case leads him to bend the law too much, George is the one to comment that it was "the fault of Sherlock Holmes. Sir Arthur had been too influenced by his own creation."

Arthur & George is a juicily entertaining novel, with subtly drawn characters, a deft handling of the gradual revelations of the Edalji affair, and a superb evocation of the Victorian-Edwardian sensibility, done without pastiche or condescension. The novel sometimes slows down in the sections that deal with matters that have little to do with George's case, and it's hard to get satisfactory fictional closure when you're dealing with historical events. In place of an ending, Barnes gives us an overlong coda in which George attends a séance in the Royal Albert Hall after the death of Arthur, who had become a firm believer in spiritualism. But Barnes has spun a wholly engaging fiction out of the facts of the Edalji case, producing both an intriguing detective story and a penetrating study of two distinctly different characters: the brawny, outgoing Arthur and the solitary, introverted George -- opposites drawn together with a kind of magnetic inevitability.
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Nov 24, 2009 Margaret rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: arc, historical-fiction, authors-ab

In Arthur and George, Julian Barnes examines the confluence of the lives of two men: one, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, famous as the creator of Sherlock Holmes, the other an obscure (but equally historical) half-Indian solicitor, George Edalji. Barnes traces his protagonists’ lives in parallel narratives from childhood, showing George’s sheltered life with his parents, his education, and his beginnings as a solicitor, alongside Arthur’s bond with his family, his training as a doctor, and his unhappy...more

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Oct 13, 2009 Antoaneta Mitrusheva rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Книгата не успя да ме впечатли и не оправда очакванията, с които подходих към нея. А имах определени очаквания заради ето такива например откъси от публикации за стила на Джулиан Барнс и новата му книга: „Джулиан Барнс отдавна е признат за един от най-забележителните британски писатели. Запознатите с неговото творчество ще се насладят на оригиналността, остроумието и мъдростта на новата му книга за човешкото във всеки от нас, но в същото време “Артър и Джордж” несъмнено ще спечели на автора и хи...more Книгата не успя да ме впечатли и не оправда очакванията, с които подходих към нея. А имах определени очаквания заради ето такива например откъси от публикации за стила на Джулиан Барнс и новата му книга: „Джулиан Барнс отдавна е признат за един от най-забележителните британски писатели. Запознатите с неговото творчество ще се насладят на оригиналността, остроумието и мъдростта на новата му книга за човешкото във всеки от нас, но в същото време “Артър и Джордж” несъмнено ще спечели на автора и хиляди нови почитатели.”
Водещи в книгата са образите на сър Артър Конан Дойл и Джордж Ейдълджи. Първият няма нужда от представяне. Джордж пък е провинциален адвокат с индийски произход, израснал в семейството на викарий. Съдбите на двамата се пресичат заради несправедливо обвинение в извършване на престъпление. Обвиненият е Джордж, а писателят е този, който взима присърце идеята да докаже на всички невиносттта му. Направих паралел между тази книга и „Невинният” на Джордж Гришам, макар и в същността си книгите да са абсолютно различни. И в двата случая обаче сме изправени пред действителни случаи на несправедливо обвинение в извършването на престъпление, и в двете книги в основата на несправедливостта са предразсъдъците и предубежденията на разследващите. Образът на Джордж за мен бе много по-интересен от този на сър Артър Конан Дойл. Дерзанията на последния на моменти бяха откровено досадни – особено тези, свързани с романтичните му увлечения/по време на брака си той се влюбва в жена и изживява криза, разкъсван между морала и чувствата си/. Имаше и други моменти, които изглеждаха като кръпки в повествованието – излишни и не място. Това, което ми хареса все пак в книгата, е, че си изградих по-пълна представа за личността на Артър Конан Дойл, която личност познавах досега единствено опосредствано - чрез неговите книги. А той несъмнено е бил много интересна личност. Все пак си мисля, че Джулиан Барнс би могъл да се справи много по-добре с изграждането на образа му и с представянето на житейския му път.
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About Julian Barnes

Julian Patrick Barnes is a contemporary English writer of postmodernism in literature. He has been shortlisted three times for the Man Booker Prize--- Flaubert's Parrot (1984), England, England (1998), and Arthur & George (2005), and won the prize for The Sense of an Ending (2011). He has written crime fiction under the pseudonym Dan Kavanagh.

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“If a man cannot tell what he wants to do, then he must find out what he ought to do. If desire has become complicated, then hold fast to duty.” — 16 people liked it

“And that was all the part of it - the way you were obliged to live. You stifled a groan, you lied about your love, you deceived your legal wife, and all in the name of honour. That was the damned paradox of it - in order to behave well, you have to behave badly.” — 12 people liked it

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