Conan Doyle and the Parson's Son: The George Edalji Case

Using a combination of newspaper cuttings and articles, Public Records information and other documents, this book gives a detailed account of the events leading to the arrest, trial and conviction of George Edalji - a South Staffordshire solicitor sentenced to 7 years penal servitude for maiming a horse in 1903. The author describes in great detail the background to what became one of the great miscarriages of justice of the 20th century. This was a pre-conceived campaign by the police authorities involving bigotry, fabrication of evidence and complete disregard for the true facts - a veritable stitch-up. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle became an interested party after hearing about the case and his investigations were carried out in the manner of his great fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. Conan Doyle 'lifted the lid' on the despicable goings-on behind the case and he summarised the whole episode as a dark stain on the administrative annals of this country. Gordon Weaver provides a very detailed analysis of a disturbing chapter in English legal and social history and the devastating effect on the victim, George Edalji, and his family