Michael Coren’s The Life of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle offers a thorough and engaging look at the life of the man behind Sherlock Holmes. Coren chronicles Doyle’s journey from a medical student in Edinburgh to one of the most famous writers of his time, exploring both his literary achievements and his lesser-known interests, including spiritualism and political activism.

The book’s strength lies in its detailed narrative and accessible style. Coren balances the well-known aspects of Doyle’s career with intriguing insights into his personal life, shedding light on his passions, beliefs, and the contradictions that shaped him. The anecdotes are often entertaining, and the writing captures the energy of Doyle’s era, giving readers a sense of the social and cultural context in which he lived and worked.

However, the biography occasionally feels uneven. Certain sections—particularly those covering Doyle’s spiritualist pursuits—can feel overlong, while some aspects of his literary development and character are treated more cursorily than they deserve. The pacing suffers in places, and the analysis of Doyle’s work, though present, is less rigorous than a reader might hope from a comprehensive biography.

The Life of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is an enjoyable and informative read for fans of Sherlock Holmes or Victorian literature, but its uneven focus and occasional lack of depth keep it from being truly exceptional.

This does everything a biography should do – it describes the life and work of its subject. Clearly and accessibly written, well-researched, balanced and fair. But, as another Goodreads reviewer puts it, it’s no more than serviceable. It’s a curiously flat account of a very interesting man and I never felt that I was really getting to know Conan Doyle in any meaningful way. For me personally, there was also too much detail about the Sherlock Holmes stories (as well as too many spoilers). If I want to know the plots, then I can read them for myself. And I also found the lengthy expositions about Conan Doyle’s spiritualist activities rather tedious. All in all, adequate but uninspiring.