The Great Boer War: The Final Edition Covering the Entire Conflict 1899-1902

by Arthur Conan Doyle

Overview

A great writer's take on the war of his time

Several famous British novelists at the turn of nineteenth and twentieth centuries departed from the kinds of books that had brought them fame to write factual accounts of the momentous events of their own times. Most were writers of historical fiction and some were enthusiastic collectors of military history and staunch supporters of British imperialism, so it was perhaps inevitable that they would write of the unfolding events of empire. Notable among these authors were Rudyard Kipling, John Buchan and the author of this Boer War history, the famous creator of Sherlock Holmes and Brigadier Gerard, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. One might expect that Doyle would show a jingoistic bias towards all matters British and there certainly is an element of that within these pages, but in the main he took his role as historian seriously and produced a comparatively well balanced work on the Boer political position and their abilities as a military force. However, irrespective of perspective, Conan Doyle's book displays a reliable skill in penmanship that is both distinctive and entertaining. He began this substantial book while the war was being fought, but this edition represents its fourth and final edition completed in 1904 some time after the last shot had been fired. It comprehensively covers the entire conflict and the text includes five useful campaign maps. This is an essential addition to the library of the history of the Boer War as well as for those who simply enjoy Conan Doyle's craft. Available in softcover and hardcover with dust jacket.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780857063625
Publisher:	Leonaur Ltd
Publication date:	10/05/2010
Pages:	512
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 1.14(d)

About the Author

A prolific author of books, short stories, poetry, and more, the Scottish writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) is best known for the creation of one of literature’s most vivid and enduring characters: Sherlock Holmes. Through detailed observation, vast knowledge, and brilliant deduction, Holmes and his trusted friend, Dr. Watson, step into the swirling fog of Victorian London to rescue the innocent, confound the guilty, and solve the most perplexing puzzles known to literature.

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