The Narrative of John Smith

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Nov 25, 2011 ARCHIVES  |  Entertainment  |  COLUMNS

Conan Doyle
British Library
ISBN NA
$15

Reviewed by Yvonne Zipp

This fall features many new works on Arthur Conan Doyle and his most famous creation, including a lost novel by the author himself.

3. In 1883, Conan Doyle mailed his first novel to a publisher - only to have it vanish en route. Rather than solve The Case of the Missing Masterpiece, however, he wrote later, "I must in all honesty confess that my shock at its disappearance would be as nothing to my horror if it were suddenly to appear again - in print." Alas for Conan Doyle. For the first time, the British Library is publishing "The Narrative of John Smith" ($15), which it acquired in 2004. Unfortunately, it's not an exciting whodunit, but rather the musings of a middle-age character laid up for a week with gout. Although this early effort might not be as embarrassing as the author feared, it's for completists only.

Yvonne Zipp reviews books for The Washington Post and the Christian Science Monitor.

Copyright 2011 Washington Post Writers Group
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