Teller of Tales; The Life of Arthur Conan Doyle

New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1999. First Edition [Stated], First Printing [Stated]. Hardcover. Very good/Very good. xv, [1], 472, [6] pages. Illustrations. Bibliography. Index. Inscribed on half-title. DJ has slight wear and soiling. Name and address of Eric B. Dezenhall stamped on fep. This is believed to be the Eric B. Dezenhall who is an American crisis management consultant, author, and founder of Washington D.C.-based public relations firm Dezenhall Resources. His aggressive tactics on behalf of his clients have made him a quoted pundit on crisis communications. Dezenhall worked in President Ronald Reagan's White House communications office. Dezenhall writes both non-fiction and novels. Dezenhall's novels include Turnpike Flameout, Shakedown Beach, Money Wanders, Jackie Disaster, and Spinning Dixie. Daniel Stashower is an American author and editor of mystery fiction and historical nonfiction. Stashower has received awards and recognition for several of his works. Teller of Tales was the 1999 Agatha Award winner for best nonfiction, the 2000 Edgar Award winner for best critical/biographical work, a 2000 Anthony Award nominee for best critical nonfiction work, and a 2000 Macavity Award nominee for best nonfiction. The mystery novel The Adventure of the Ectoplasmic Man was a 1986 Edgar Award nominee for best first novel. The short story "A Deliberate Form of Frenzy" was nominated for the 1998 Agatha Award for best short story. Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle KStJ, DL (22 May 1859 - 7 July 1930) was a British writer best known for his detective fiction featuring the character Sherlock Holmes. Originally a physician, in 1887 he published A Study in Scarlet, the first of four novels about Holmes and Dr. Watson. In addition, Doyle wrote over fifty short stories featuring the famous detective. The Sherlock Holmes stories are generally considered milestones in the field of crime fiction. Doyle is also known for writing the fictional adventures of Professor Challenger and for propagating the mystery of the Mary Celeste. He was a prolific writer whose other works include fantasy and science fiction stories, plays, romances, poetry, non-fiction and historical novels. Doyle was also a fervent advocate of justice and personally investigated two closed cases, which led to two men being exonerated of the crimes of which they were accused. The first case, in 1906, involved a shy half-British, half-Indian lawyer named George Edalji who had allegedly penned threatening letters and mutilated animals in Great Wyrley. Police were set on Edalji's conviction, even though the mutilations continued after their suspect was jailed. Apart from helping George Edalji, Doyle's work helped establish a way to correct other miscarriages of justice, as it was partially as a result of this case that the Court of Criminal Appeal was established in 1907. The second case, that of Oscar Slater, a Yekke and gambling-den operator convicted of bludgeoning an 82-year-old woman in Glasgow in 1908, excited Doyle's curiosity because of inconsistencies in the prosecution case and a general sense that Slater was not guilty. He ended up paying most of the costs for Slater's successful appeal in 1928.