Enjoyable guide to the world of Inspector Lestrade. Very well written. A delightful read. This book was provided to me in exchange for my honest opinion. Definitely a must read.

An Overview Of Society And Times Of Lestrade....
An overview of the world in which Lestrade lived - that is to say the society and times of the Inspector - the Victorian and Edwardian eras, those he knew, places he frequented, people he met, the society framework within which he was functioning. Engaging, interesting and certainly throws some light on the background of the Inspector. A companion book, if you like, to the series of mysteries featuring Lestrade. Enjoyable, well researched reading.

this book gives those who read this series of mystery novels a perspective of the times in which Lestrade worked. If you are a fan of the series it's a great reference tool, it's also a very good read.

M J Trow is the author of the seventeen book series about Sholto Lestrade, named after the copper in the Sherlock Holmes stories. Trow wrote this book to give those who read the series a perspective of the times (Victorian) in which Lestrade worked. If you are a fan of the books it's a great reference, or if you just would like a summary of the last twenty years of the Queen Victoria reign, it's a very good read.

The World of inspector Lestrade is a Book of Musings from a time long ago ..
"A must read for any mystery fan of the Sherlock Holmes time period.. "

Written as a companion to the Inspector Lestrade series, The World of Inspector Lestrade can easily stand on its own.  Anyone who has read Sherlock Holmes or has any interest in victorian England will enjoy this book.  I have not read any of the Inspector Lestrade books, but I really enjoyed reading about the people, places and things that Lestrade would have encountered as he solved crimes.  

(NetGalley ebook -  I received a complimentary advanced reader copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)

The Lestrade canon features the great and not so good of Britain when London stood at the heart of the Empire, the biggest in the world on which the sun never set. The novels on which this book is based are genuine whodunnits, with gallows humour and laugh-out-loud moments. Here you will find all the little peccadilloes that Lestrade took for granted. This is history as it really was – and I bet you wish you’d paid more attention at school now!

Trow does a great job of presenting historical fact in small bits to keep things interesting. Even if you have never read any of the Lestrade stories you will still find the historical context of the time period interesting. Trow covers relevant topics of the time period ranging from key figures of the time period, to social movements, to the new stories that gripped the world.

A guide to the history and characters of MJ Trow's ever-popular 'Lestrade' mystery series.

I must say upfront that I have never read the Lestrade mysteries or the Sherlock Holmes novels. I have loved the films though and when the synopsis for this book said it was a guide, I was hoping that it was more of a story behind the story and I’m sorry to say it is not. The style of this book is more like a fun lecture about the events of the Victorian time during the years 1879 through 1936. There is a long section for Jack the Ripper and The House that Jack built for Ripper fans. Quite a bit of insight is given on the people of the time and what they thought, the jobs they worked and what was going on in the government.

Ultimately, there was no mystery to be solved or personal story in this book (not that it ever said there was), but it was a fun historical read all the same.

The world simply cannot get enough of the most famous detective. Countless pastiches out there prove this regularly, but M.J. Trow in an attempt to be original spun the canon around and turned Sherlock into a laughable egotistical idiot and Watson into an incompetent punching bag. The star of Trow’s books is Lestrade, Sholto Lestrade, a serious and diligent detective who gets the job done. I actually read the first book in this series some time ago and found it enjoyable enough, but didn’t continue with the series, mainly because unlike book one the rest weren’t readily available as freebies plus I don’t generally read series anyway. But this…this one is more of a who’s who in the world of Lestrade. It’s obviously meant to be as a companion to the series and definitely does its best to entice the reader into reading Lestrade books, in fact every chapter is dedicated to a book, it gives an alluring preview and then proceeds to present the historical facts. Which is what lured me in. Trow isn’t just a mystery author, he’s actually taught and wrote extensively in a historical nonfiction field and he seems to specialized in Victorian age, so yeah…fun. This is something that’s probably a constant bane of historical fiction authors, getting their facts right, leave it to a professional then and he’ll tell you all about it. In his own inimitable way. Which, objectively speaking, isn’t for everyone. Trow is an opinionated man and his opinions are…well, very much his own. I’m not actually going to go into the fine detail on where they diverge with mine (mainly because he seems like the sort of person who comments on disagreeable reviews and I absolutely hate when authors engage with their readers that way) but let’s just say his views on colonialism alone might alienate some audiences. And this is the weird thing…sometimes you end up just reviewing the book, sometimes you inevitably kinda sorta also review the author. This is especially the case with nonfiction, because the genre allows for more of a personality infusion if you will and Trow infuses…and infuses…and infuses. Normally I prefer nonfiction told in an engaging accessible humorous way…makes it easier to digest. In this book Trow might have gone ever so slightly over the top with the laughs and opinions. I mean, how many times can the man put down a monarch’s intelligence over the course of one quite small book. Basically here is very much the case of an author being so opinionated about his subjects, that it makes the book seem entirely too biased. I would have preferred more balanced accounts, but then again…this isn’t really a serious work of historical nonfiction, more like brief accounts of the times...all set to promote a book series. To be perfectly fair, Trow isn’t unfunny, he can be quite amusing in his own way, but there is such…arrogance, is it? Not sure. Let’s just say that it doesn’t matter what is said here, because even if I loved every word he wrote, I’d still never be as huge of a fan of Trow’s as Trow is. So there’s that. A nice size ego, for sure. Well, one would have to…being that insulting to the canon, even if only in jest. But anyway, the book was a pretty fun way to armchair visit the bygone era, lots of entertaining facts and bios and tales. And a fairly quick read too. Your enjoyment will highly depend on your appreciation of Trow’s jocularity, which I found quite trying at times. Thanks Netgalley.

As this title lets you know, this is the book of the world at the time of Lestrade. The book gives you the people, the inventions, the culture and the changes that happen from before he was born to his death. It is based around England but there are some clues to what is happening in other countries as well. A very interesting collection.

An entertaining and informative books that helps to have a better understanding of the world of the novels.
Recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book, all opinions are mine.

This is a very entertaining book. I have read a couple of the Inspector Lestrade books, and whilst it has some references to the books, it can be a stand alone book of the times, written in a humorous fashion which puts into perspectives people, places and events according to M J Trow. A not easily put down read.