The story is also tightly strung with a lot of suspense, making it read as a great entertainment.Īrthur and George, by Julian Barnes. The dialogue is especially wonderful, with Barnes capturing two distinct personalities with every intonation, pause and emphasis - it’s almost musical.

Barnes so expertly draws the two characters of George and Arthur that you feel like you’re there with them every step of the way. Surely there can be no one better suited to the task. Edalji seeks out the famous author to help him clear his name. George Edalji was charged with the crime, even though it was painfully obvious that he was innocent.Įnter Arthur Conan Doyle, the brilliant and relentlessly energetic creator of Sherlock Holmes. During these animal mutilations the creatures were 'ripped' - slashed through their underbelly. In 1903 a series of animal 'slashings' - horses, sheep and cows - took place in the parish of Great Wyrley. The family were the victim’s of an anonymous letter writing campaign that created all sorts of terrible stress for them. George Edalji was a half Indian solicitor and son of a vicar. The two men’s lives come together when George appeals to Arthur for help. Arthur is famous, one of the big men of the age, while George achieves an unfortunate notoriety when he would rather remain anonymous. The two characters of the title are very different. Julian Barnes’s 2005 novel Arthur and George is a fictionalised account of a true British crime from the turn of the 20th century. Julian Barnes's fictional account of a shocking true crime from around the turn of the century is a triumph of the imagination and a great entertainment.

Arthur & George by Julian Barnes