Time has little meaning for me so my apologies if the gap has been overlong since I last communicated. You will notice that the heading has changed and this is as the result of suggestions that some of you found allusions to heaven off-putting.
Semantics aside I have been very heartened recently by news from Bristol where the annual crime writing, Crimefest, will be happening soon. For a few years now one of the awards made there has been for a non-fiction crime book – biographical or analytical – and this year, I believe, four of the eight books on the shortlist have Sherlock Holmes as their subject.
This is doubly pleasing to me first because the organisers of the fest very generously have called it the HRF Keating (or Harry) award and secondly because Conan Doyle and Sherlock Holmes were always dear to my heart – indeed there is in existence a light but deeply researched volume called ‘Sherlock Holmes, The Man and His World’ which I wrote in my prime.
And, in my declining years, I read and reread Julian Barnes’ factional novel, ‘Arthur and George’ a book which I found near to perfection. Down the decades writers have shown their appreciation of both Conan Doyle and of his creation and I would like to think that being short-listed will ensure success for this year’s batch of writers.
