While this wasn’t the most gripping telling there was a lot of info I found interesting. A history of the Sherlock Holmes Conan-Doyle created and how he became what he is now.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

Did not care for this book while other fans of Sherlock might find it quite interesting. Not all books match with all readers.

Enjoyed this book a couple of years ago...hope sales were strong! It wasn’t the greatest narrative but it was just an enjoyable read.

Interesting historical account of how the Sherlock Holmes series has fascinated the world since its inception. I enjoy reading the backstory of major literary works and ideas. This book is so thorough yet stays engaging enough to keep the reader's attention. This is the type of stuff that people wouldn't know because it isn't common knowledge. For instance, I wasn't aware that Conan Doyle created the character of Sherlock Holmes based on a teacher he had while in medical school. He would listen to this doctor use deductive reasoning to diagnose patients in the late 1800's and found it a quirky trait to give the detective in the stories he wrote. Holmes wasn't received well at first, but Bostrom provides the whole story, from birth to present day. The uniqueness of this book is in the way he chose to focus on the cultural aspect of Sherlock Holmes. As a big fan of current Sherlock Holmes television shows and movies, I was drawn to this book just out of curiosity. I never did much research on this topic, and I feel this was a great way for someone like me to learn why Holmes is so timeless. Bostrom's writing style is a little sensationalized but I think it fits the subject matter; Arthur Conan Doyle liked to be a little over the top and that's why a lot of people love Holmes and Watson. Overall, I really liked this book. I feel it gives fans an accurate account of how Holmes became a cultural icon around the world.

Was delighted to have included this title in The Globe and Mail newspaper's December holiday gift books package (2017).

It is a look at Homes from his humble beginnings with Conan Doyle, to his transference to the silver screen, and a look at his modern-day metamorphosis.

Strictly for fans of Sherlock Holmes and all things associated as with being over 500 pages plus, those with a passing interest will quickly find themselves down a veritable rabbit hole, wondering where the exit is.

Mattias Boström's "From Holmes to Sherlock" provides a detailed examination of the entire Sherlock Holmes phenomenon, starting with how Doyle developed the character in the first place and ending with the amazing BBC program, Sherlock with Benedict Cumbertbatch and Martin Freeman. In between, Bostrom covers the creation of everything Sherlockian. The subtitle of this book is "The Story of the Men and Women Who Created an Icon" and that completely sums up the book. If you're a fan, and interested in the backstory behind the entire mythology of Sherlock Holmes, then this book totally is for you.

“From Holmes to Sherlock” eBook was published in 2017 and was written by Mattias Boström (http://www.mattiasbostrom.se). Mr. Boström has published two books, both dealing with Sherlock Holmes.

I categorize this novel as ‘G’. This book gives a brief (about the first 1/3) biography of Arthur Conan Doyle focusing mostly on his publications around Sherlock Holmes. After Doyle’s death, it pickes up the many activities of the Doyle estate as they (his children) try to control the intellectual property both to maximize their profit, but also to see that the material is treated in a respectable way.

The last part of the book deals with the Holmes legacy after the Doyle children have passed. Here we hear about the discussion and effort that went into the Robert Downey Holmes movies, the BBC Sherlock series as well as the Elementary program on US TV. Many plays, movies, TV programs and novels are touch upon over the 140 or so period of years covered by the book.

I enjoyed the 12.5 hours I spent reading this 608 page non-fiction book. While it is non-fiction it reads well keeping you far more engaged than most publications of this kind. I have read all of the original Holmes stores written by Doyle, as well as a few by other authors. Not to mention the many movies I have seen over the years. i learned a lot about both the real Arthur Conan Doyle as well as the character of Sherlock Holmes. This is certainly a book I would recommend to anyone interested the either. I think the cover art is a good choice. I give this book a 4 out of 5.

Further book reviews I have written can be accessed at https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/.

My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31181778-john-purvis).

LOVED THIS! I love all things Sherlock, so getting to see this sort of history was fantastic.

From Holmes to Sherlock: The Story of the Men and Women Who Created an Icon is an extensive, non-fiction work by Mattias Bostrom which seems to cover the history of Sherlock Holmes from preconception to the present age. It was an exhaustive read and required a lengthy time commitment to complete. Although I was interested in the topic, the amount of minute details and seemingly irrelevant material made the book feel overwhelming at times. Full Disclosure: I was allowed to read a copy of this book for free as a member of NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased review. The opinions I have expressed are my own and I was not influenced to give a positive review.

Holmesian scholarship tends to fall into one of two camps. Some authors concentrate on how the stories were written and the life of the author (The Man Who Created Sherlock Holmes: The Life and Times of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is among the best), while others take Holmes' world as if it were nonfiction and delve into Victorian crime and related topics (the classic, of course, is The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes).

This book splits the difference by focusing not just on how the stories were written, but on how and why we got all the additions and elaborations of Holmesian mythology. While it's not the first to attempt this, the field is uncrowded so there's plenty of room for a new attempt, and this one is the most up-to-date.

Unfortunately, the research is often tedious, as if the point is to illustrate the author's diligence rather than stimulate the reader's interest. From my point of view, there was excessive attention paid to economics of publishing and copyright law (the attention paid to peripheral publishing events in Sweden that did not affect Doyle or the legend of Sherlock are presumably explained by the fact the book was originally written in Swedish by a Swedis publisher). Moreover there are extended passages that do not seem germane to any of the ideas in the book. My guess is these things were done to make the work understandable to someone not familiar with the story of Arthur Conan Doyle's life, and also not familiar with details of the Sherlock Holmes stories, illustrations, plays, movies, parodies and extensions. But this is both too broad a task for a single volume, and too unstructured to sustain a consistent perspective or style.

Equally unfortunate, the tedious research is not authoritative. The author imagines scenes, including not just direct quotes but thoughts and feelings of the participants, then qualifies them with sentences like, "Something along those lines occurred the day Sidney Paget received the order for the illustrations to accompany six new short stories by A. Conan Doyle." That particular scene was pure speculation on the part of the author--and not very convincing speculation--to explain why Sidney Paget ended up doing the illustrations for which the publisher thought he was hiring Walter Paget. These sorts of inventions make this a book "suggested by actual events" rather than nonfiction.

For all its flaws, the book is a decent overview of Doyle and the Holmes legend, there is no single book I know that covers the same material. I think most readers would prefer to get two books, one concentrating on Doyle and one on the legend. There are many authoritative and highly readable versions of both types.

4.5 Stars

" Here, though the world explode, these two survive / And it is always eighteen ninety-five" (Vincent Starrett)
I feel i have just emergerd from a parallel world. I thought i would wait a bit before writing this review, organize my ideas better, but i guess better do it in the heat of the moment.

I am not exactly what is called a Sherlockian or a Holmesian, i am an average fun of the Great Detective, occasionally reading the original stories or some particularly good pastiches, following the most interesting adaptations, not exactly immersed in his world, i was not even aware that he was inspired by a real person in Sir Arthur's life. I was however very intrigued by this book and when i saw it was available for request in NetGalley i did not think twice about it.

I was afraid a bit that i would get bored along the way, i mean the book is quite long and honestly what can there be in Holmes world to fill all these pages. But what a surprise i found, such an amazing surprise actually. I am now wondering how come the book was not longer.
Anyway, i knew before reading this book that there are a lot of societies that practically worship Mr Holmes, i had no idea how huge this phenomenon was, and most important i did not know that this phenomenon started from the first short stories that Sir Arthur wrote about him.

I liked how the book was structured, starting with the life of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and how he came to write about Sherlock Holmes, and how this character was treated and developped during his lifetime. I was actually fascinated by Conan Doyle, let's just say it takes a genius to make a genius. He was not was i imagined him to be, and in fact it is no longuer a surprise for me that Holmes came from him. He was himself full of contradictions, eccentricities...
The other major part of the book is how the character was "handled"since the death of Author, with all the copyright issues, the pastiches, the theatre/series/films adaptation, and the people that gravitated around Sherlock Holmes and John H.Watson.

Two fact were really fascinating for me. The first is that this final image, this immortal image of Sherlock Holmes we all have was not only Sir Arthur's creation, the first actore who brought Holmes to theatre, the first one to personnify Holmes gave him many of the features he became famous for. The second fact, is that Mr Holmes led two separate parallel lives in UK and USA ever since he was created.

I found it very interesting how the Mr Matthia Bostöm talked about the "life" of Sherlock Holmes, how he was immortalized, developped even monetized especially by the sons of Sir Arthur, in a way that made him more real than ever. It is really amazing that this fictif person made a very real impact on many lives, he even shaped some lives in a way that would not have happened without him.
It is a disturbing thing to say about a litterary character that was created 120 years ago. But it is very real.
Another funny fact was the way Mr Holmes took over the lives of anyone who invested a bit more time in him than the average, starting with Sir Arthur and how he even laothed Holmes at moments for not allowing him to get away. It was funny and interesting, Sir Arthur owed his fame to Mr Holmes and at the same time he was not allowed by the thousands of fan to leave him behind, "to kill him off" as he tried to do so many times and write about other things. Similar situations happened to actors who succeeded in playing the role of Sherlock, they never quite got out of that brand, each decade had its own figure of Sherlock, and in this one it is definitely Benedict Cumberbatch. I really believe Sir Arthur would have enjoyed watching it, he was already ahead of his time.

If anything, this book made me pile more books to read in my already full list, so many interesting books about Sherlock Holmes were written and i feel curious about them. I am now more curious about the original stories than i ever was, and i forsee a lot of digging into the world on Mr Holmes in my near future.

I started this review with a quote that made me pause during my reading of the book, it is by one of the "hard-core" Sherlockian of America, it was written during the WWII and i believe it will always be acurate when it comes to the Great detective and his faithful friend Dr Watson.
" Here, though the world explode, these two survive / And it is always eighteen ninety-five"

From Holmes to Sherlock by Matthias Bostrom
Being a fan of Sherlock Holmes both books and TV I thought i would give this a go.
I found it quite enjoyable and informative., reading about how the stories have come back time and time again to entertain us all. It was nice to read about CD's time in Portsmouth and i enjoyed the way it links right up to current times and the many films, TV series and actors that have been involved.
It did get rather dull in the middle parts when it is just about all the many liable cases and who was seeing who, one thing for sure CD's son was clearly in it just for the money. However a nice read for any fan.
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Bostrom and Gallagher's From Holmes to Sherlock (Mysterious Press 2017) is a thorough and detailed account of the life and adventures of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and his iconic detective, Sherlock Holmes. In fact, at 608 pages, it is one of the longest biographies not about scientists or historic figures I've ever read. Besides being a fascinating account of Doyle's creation of the character many swore was alive, it is also a fascinating historic exploration of publishing and a writers life in the late 1800s-early 1900s.

A few interesting details that caught my attention:

"Most of Conan Doyle’s stories followed a defined template. Usually they began with Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson each sitting in an easy chair in the flat at 221b Baker Street. A client would arrive and be received by the landlady, Mrs. Hudson. Sherlock Holmes would make quick deductions after observing small details about the person in question—something about his or her clothes, hands, or posture. Watson and the client would be astounded by his perceptive capacity, but only until he explained to them just how simple it had been to arrive at that conclusion. The client would then present his or her case, which was often a sequence of events so odd, or else seemingly insignificant, that the police would simply have laughed at it."
Doyle invented Sherlock Holmes through short stories.
Doyle wrote at a blistering place. He could write one story in just a few weeks.
Doyle was a successful ophthalmologist before and during his writing career.
As the Holmes franchise (not really a word they used back then, but it applies) grew, Doyle planned to kill off the consulting detective so he could concentrate on both his doctor career and on other characters. He didn't though because his mother prevailed upon him to keep Holmes alive. He did eventually do away with him several times in the fictional character's long and storied career:
 
"Almost ten years had passed since Conan Doyle had killed off Holmes. He was of the opinion that had he not done so, Holmes would have killed him off instead."

Doyle asked for exorbitant fees from his publisher when agreeing to continue writing the stories because he wanted to be turned down so he would have a good reason to quit the series. They just kept paying him whatever he asked.

That's just a bit. You'll have to read the book to find out the rest!

--will be posted to my blog, WordDreams, Sept. 8th (http://wp.me/p90mx-42R)

FROM HOLMES TO SHERLOCK by Mattias Bostrom is an impressive work of scholarship on an iconic character and his creators. This book contains 111 chapters, plus footnotes and a bibliography that together span about 70 pages. While there is an extensive index, there is no separate table of contents although the book is split into eight parts covering 1878 to 2016 and allowing true fans to enjoy the many, many details in relative chronological order or to simply focus on sampling a period of interest. Also included are eight pages of color photographs picturing Arthur Conan Doyle, Joseph Bell, William Gillette, and various celebrities who have portrayed Sherlock Holmes. Bostrom is a member of the Baker Street Irregulars and a recognized expert on his subject. FROM HOLMES TO SHERLOCK won the nonfiction award from the Swedish Crime Writers Academy and received a starred review from Booklist.

This was a thoroughly enjoyable read, more than I thought it would be—the matter of course I was definitely interested in, but the way the author gathered and presented his material gave the whole book a ‘storytelling’ side that kept me wanting to read, and read, and read. Much like Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories. A biography-slash-history book that is in itself a big story.

I won’t deny that some chapters towards the middle (the period between Conan Doyle’s death and the modern adaptations after the 1970s-80s) weren’t the most interesting for me, but even those didn’t detract from the book as a whole. It takes us through the genesis of the original Holmes & Watson stories, how they came to be, how their author perceived them, the conundrum of seeing them more successful than his ‘most serious’ works and of wanting to kill Holmes… How they gradually escaped his and his family’s grasp, in spite of efforts to keep a hand on them, because what Doyle gave birth to was bigger than him, bigger than just a handful of people, and wanted out, plain and simple.

I’ve read all the original stories (will read them again), yet I admit I’m lagging behind when it comes to movies. Well, now I know exactly what to catch up on, what to look for, and what kind of tone these adaptations’ would be—the movies with Basil Rathbone won’t be the same than the BBC Sherlock series, nor is their Holmes the one from the 1980s series with Jeremy Brett. I’d need half a lifetime to catch up on all this (and I’d want to catch up several times, for sure), but now at least I have a clearer view of ‘the bigger picture’.

Arthur Conan Doyle gave life to Holmes and took it away, but the Great Detective just won’t stay dead, will he? It’s all the readers and actors and directors and other authors that gave him a much, much longer life than expected.

Conclusion: Highly recommended!

https://www.wsj.com/articles/holmes-off-the-page-1501871305

For anyone interested in any aspect of Sherlock Holmes, there is something in this book for you. This is absolutely meticulously researched and covers every aspect of the Sherlock Holmes story I could think of, plus a lot more; indeed, the pages and pages of references and further reading at the end testify that this is an incredibly comprehensive study.

The book starts with the version of Sherlock Holmes probably most well-known to modern readers: Benedict Cumberbatch as the modern-day Sherlock created by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss. However, this is soon identified as being the current end point of a very long history of Sherlock Holmes, and Mattias Bostrom takes readers back to where it all began: a medical lecturer, Dr Joseph Bell, whose powers of observation happened to inspire a young Arthur Conan Doyle to create a detective with similar skills.

This detective captured the public imagination in such a way that Sherlock Holmes essentially overshadowed all of Doyle's other writing endeavours and became bigger than his creator. People began to believe the detective was real. created societies and clubs based on the stories and actually mourned his passing when Doyle killed him off (unsuccessfully, as Doyle was forced to resurrect him later). This led to the creation of a massive industry around Sherlock Holmes as people produced spin-off stories, plays, radio scripts, TV series, films, exhibitions and pretty much anything else you can think of to do with the character. Bostrom charts all of this in chronological order, beginning with the life of Doyle himself and then carrying on narrating the legacy after Doyle's death in 1930. It's a fascinating story, full of family feuds and a cast of hundreds who all play their roles in keeping Sherlock alive within the cultural consciousness up to the point that Cumberbatch takes on the role.

There was so much in the book that was a revelation to me, such as the obsessiveness of fans throughout the character's history, the frankly shocking approach to Doyle's legacy by some of his children and the sheer number of times the character has been represented or reinvented in some way. The book is really quite eye-opening, especially if you are reading this as a casual fan rather than a Sherlock obsessive! However, this is one of the challenges of the book: it is detailed to the point of exhaustion for the casual reader in places. The way the narrative skips around between different strands of the story is also slightly difficult at times; although commendably varied for the reader and logically ordered, it was a little mind-boggling sometimes recalling who everyone was!

In summary, this is an excellent book for anyone with an interest in Arthur Conan Doyle or his most famous creation. It will open your mind to the phenomenon of Sherlock Holmes and his impact on popular culture from Victorian times up to the modern day, but it may leave you slightly overwhelmed with the sheer volume of information on offer.

<b>**I received a digital copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.**</b>

<b>Introduction</b>
Have you ever wondered about the extended history of Sherlock Holmes? He is one of the most enduring and oddly endearing literary characters of all time. But how did he come to life? What was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's inspiration? What magic endears him to centuries of young and old alike? These questions (and much, MUCH more) are all answered in this book. Read on and get to know Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson as you never have before!

<b>The story</b>
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a struggling doctor with a penchant for writing. One day he put pen to paper and - voila! - Sherlock Holmes was born. The many adventures of Sherlock Holmes would eventually become Conan Doyle's primary source of income, spanning decades and bringing millions in royalties. Generations of men and women worldwide were captivated by this character and his unique ability to solve crimes through observation and deduction. Despite Conan Doyle's repeated attempts to leave Holmes behind him and move on to more "serious" writing, Holmes endured, even after his creator's death. The silhouette of Sherlock Holmes - that hat and pipe and pointed features - have been featured in every type of media and in countless advertisements in every country in the world. Conan Doyle's legacy even helped his children live in luxury, despite their completely incompetent efforts to manage the estate. Actors and Holmes enthusiasts have helped to shape his character throughout the years, keeping him relevant and much beloved. Each generation has seen efforts to modernize Holmes and Watson, some with great success. And so it is that the title of this book (and obviously the content itself) takes the reader from Holmes, the stoic but brilliantly eccentric Victorian detective, to Sherlock, the modern "consultant" that helped launch Benedict Cumberbatch to international stardom.

<b>Literary analysis</b>
This book is extremely well researched. By the end of the book, the reader cannot help but believe that the author has literally left no page unturned! From personal letters and early manuscripts to interviews, photos, and much more - the author was incredibly thorough. It must be said that this is likely now THE definitive history of Sherlock Holmes.

It is worth noting, and perhaps this is the only minor criticism I have, that the book is a translation. There are often times where transitions from page to page, or even paragraph to paragraph, seem to jump around awkwardly. It is clear that the writer is trying to employ literary devices to keep the reader engaged. But sometimes the transitions are jolting, awkward, or on a few occasions even seem confusingly juxtapositional. Otherwise, the diction, vocabulary, and grammar are an absolute pleasure to read!

<b>Conclusion</b>
This book is very long and certainly requires time and dedication to get through. However, if you are at all a fan of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, you will enjoy this journey through their historical presence. The intricacies of all the behind-the-scenes work that has gone into keeping this beloved partnership relevant is astounding and nothing short of miraculous. Do I recommend this book? "Elementary, my dear Watson!" Of course I do!

An intriguing and extensive volume on the history of Sherlock Holmes from Conan Doyle's student days and the original inspiration for Holmes to the present day TV series.

Along the way we get biographies of Conan Doyle himself, his children, and the many others who have played a part in this story from actors who have made the part their own to the founders and members of the various Sherlock Holmes societies, to authors who have written books about or featuring the famous detective.

It make for great reading, full of engaging anecdotes. Pretty much throughout he let the actions of the people speak for themselves without judgement. This is great because with so many people acting over so many years, it would be easy to make negative judgements spoil the history.

I loved it!