Tales for a Winter's Night

by Arthur Conan Doyle

Overview

This work brings together eight Arthur Conan Doyle mystery classics. When first gathered into one volume in 1908, the book was entitled Round the Fire Stories, since the author recommended that they be read ideally "'round the fire upon a winter's night." According to Barzun & Taylor in A Catalogue of Crime, "As one reads 'The Man with the Watches,' 'The Lost Special,' 'The Jew's Breastplate,' 'The Black Doctor' and the rest, one marvels again at Doyle's natural gift of storytelling and one relishes his ingrained habit of giving clues, even when they serve narrative and are not to be used for ratiocination. These stories are worth reading even around a radiator."

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780897333092
Publisher:	Chicago Review Press, Incorporated
Publication date:	08/30/2005
Edition description:	Reissue
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) was born of Irish parentage in Scotland. He studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh, but he also had a passion for storytelling. His first book introduced that prototype of the modern detective in fiction, Sherlock Holmes. Despite the immense popularity Holmes gained throughout the world, Doyle was not overly fond of the character and preferred to write other stories. Eventually popular demand won out and he continued to satisfy readers with the adventures of the legendary sleuth. He also wrote historical romances and made two essays into pseudoscientific fantasy: The Lost World and The Poison Belt.

Date of Birth:

May 22, 1859

Date of Death:

July 7, 1930

Place of Birth:

Edinburgh, Scotland

Place of Death:

Crowborough, Sussex, England

Education:

Edinburgh University, B.M., 1881; M.D., 1885

Editorial Reviews

"Eight brief, pleasantly convoluted mysteries..." — Los Angeles Times
 

From the Publisher

"Offers a family or group of friends a cozy and fun respite from television."

LA Times

Sutherland is the perfect narrator for these tales…His voice possesses just the right amount of wonder and creepiness. Conan Doyle imbues these cleverly plotted stories with twists, turns, and clues, much like those in his Sherlock Holmes canon…A historical yet timeless classic.”

AudioFile

Sutherland is the perfect narrator for these tales, which are noteworthy in that they do not feature Sherlock Holmes. His voice possesses just the right amount of wonder and creepiness. Conan Doyle imbues these cleverly plotted stories with twists, turns, and clues, much like those in his Sherlock Holmes canon. One of the best stories is the requisite locked-room mystery (in this case a museum), which offers a plausible conclusion. Suther-land’s delivery is just right for Conan Doyle’s Victorian style--which sometimes approaches melodrama. Yet his conversational tone enables listeners to be privy to all sorts of shenanigans and attempts to put things right. A historical yet timeless classic. S.G.B. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine

JUN/JUL 02 - AudioFile