This isn't the only occasion where ACD spoke up against Victorian mores and prejudice -- he also investigated the charges against his friend George Edalji with an aim to clear him, after all ...
Still on my TBR (though I do own a copy) -- I'm a bit wary about Julian Barnes, even though I'm interested in his take on the story.
Did you ever read ACD's "The Adventure of the Yellow Face"? That's another example of ACD's publicly taking a stance on a controversial issue -- to the point that his publisher insisted on changing the ending in a single, but significant word, which makes almost all the difference in displaying prevailing attitudes.
Yes, I have read it, but it has been a few years since...
Since its another one of the Holmes stories, Troy and I are sure to cross it again soon.
Barnes can be hit or miss. I've not been rushing to read this one either, but there is some temptation every time I see the book simply because of the topic.
I have a couple on the TBR: Andrew Lycett's Conan Doyle: Man Who Created Sherlock Holmes and Michael Sims' Arthur & Sherlock: Conan Doyle and the Creation of Holmes. The former was a book sale buy and the latter a freebie from Bloomsbury, so I have no information about either of them as to whether they're considered 'good' or not.
Did you ever read ACD's "The Adventure of the Yellow Face"? That's another example of ACD's publicly taking a stance on a controversial issue -- to the point that his publisher insisted on changing the ending in a single, but significant word, which makes almost all the difference in displaying prevailing attitudes.
Since its another one of the Holmes stories, Troy and I are sure to cross it again soon.
Barnes can be hit or miss. I've not been rushing to read this one either, but there is some temptation every time I see the book simply because of the topic.