The Stark Munro Letters - (Edinburgh Edition of the Works of Arthur Conan Doyle) by James Machin (Hardcover)

About the Book

First scholarly edition of Conan Doyle's semi-autobiographical, epistolary novel originally published at the height of his initial fame, 1894-9.

Book Synopsis

This is the first scholarly edition of Arthur Conan Doyle's epistolary novel, originally serialised in the Idler, 1894-95, and long out of print. With its first-hand testimony of the life of a doctor at the outset of his career in the late nineteenth century, The Stark Munro Letters will appeal to anyone with an interest in medical history. It is based on his experiences during the eight years he spent as a General Practitioner, before becoming a professional author in 1890. By some way the most autobiographical of Conan Doyle's novels--written at the height of Holmes's popularity--it is also the most personal in terms of presenting his worldview during his formative years, including ruminations on moral philosophy, religion, science, and evolutionary theory. Moreover, it is entertaining and incredibly vivid--a contemporary critic described the mercurial Cullingworth as 'one of the finest characters Dr. Doyle has yet drawn'

Review Quotes

James Machin has given us the definitive edition of this most personal of Conan Doyle's fictions. His expertly edited and richly annotated volume will be a boon to scholars and a source of pleasure for all readers. Inventive, entertaining, and subtly wise, The Stark Munro Letters is ripe for rediscovery.--Stephen Arata, University of Virginia

An impressively responsible scholarly edition of a work which, with its intertwining of medicine, memoir, and malfeasance, is likely to become increasingly important to Victorian Scholars. Machin carefully assembles biographical, cultural, and historical contexts, offering thoughtful discussions of its genre, cultural moment, and position in Conan Doyle's oeuvre.--James Krasner, University of New Hampshire