Beyond the City
by Arthur Conan Doyle 
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Conan Doyle departs quite drastically from his male-centric Sherlock Holmes in Beyond the City; it deals with ideas of women's liberation in Victorian England. Three families are drawn together in the countryside by a series of misfortunes, romantic ideas and intriguing events..
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It's hard to believe that Arthur Conan Doyle was even paying attention to this book as he was writing it. One of the protagonists is profoundly dissatisfied with the occupation of stockbroker, and Conan Doyle spends pages emphasizing how unsuited he is for an indoor, money-grubbing life... and then never refers to it again. Apparently, marrying a woman whom he admires somehow changes his essential nature. In addition, the subplot in which women's rights is played for laughs is extremely dated. I might keep this book because the cover is red.
This is another gem of a little known short novel by Conan Doyle, centring on the relationships between three neighbouring families in a London suburb, observed ruefully by two aged spinsters whose father used to own the land on which all these houses all now stand. It is very funny, and there are some interesting discussions on female emancipation, with which Conan Doyle appears to have a basic philosophical sympathy while satirising, though quite affectionately, the "fanatic" excesses to which they tend to go. Despite initial tensions between the households, the financial ruin of the young man in the one of the households due to embezzling of funds by his business partner brings the families together as they try to help him, and the show more story ends with a double marriage. A nice, upbeat read to distract me on a blisteringly hot day. show less
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3,989+ Works 169,312 Members
The most famous fictional detective in the world is Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. However, Doyle was, at best, ambivalent about his immensely successful literary creation and, at worst, resentful that his more "serious" fiction was relatively ignored. Born in Edinburgh, Doyle studied medicine from 1876 to 1881 and received his M.D. in show more 1885. He worked as a military physician in South Africa during the Boer War and was knighted in 1902 for his exceptional service. Doyle was drawn to writing at an early age. Although he attempted to enter private practice in Southsea, Portsmouth, in 1882, he soon turned to writing in his spare time; it eventually became his profession. As a Liberal Unionist, Doyle ran, unsuccessfully, for Parliament in 1903. During his later years, Doyle became an avowed spiritualist. Doyle sold his first story, "The Mystery of the Sasassa Valley," to Chambers' Journal in 1879. When Doyle published the novel, A Study in Scarlet in 1887, Sherlock Holmes was introduced to an avid public. Doyle is reputed to have used one of his medical professors, Dr. Joseph Bell, as a model for Holmes's character. Eventually, Doyle wrote three additional Holmes novels and five collections of Holmes short stories. A brilliant, though somewhat eccentric, detective, Holmes employs scientific methods of observation and deduction to solve the mysteries that he investigates. Although an "amateur" private detective, he is frequently called upon by Scotland Yard for assistance. Holmes's assistant, the faithful Dr. Watson, provides a striking contrast to Holmes's brilliant intellect and, in Doyle's day at least, serves as a character with whom the reader can readily identify. Having tired of Holmes's popularity, Doyle even tried to kill the great detective in "The Final Problem" but was forced by an outraged public to resurrect him in 1903. Although Holmes remained Doyle's most popular literary creation, Doyle wrote prolifically in other genres, including historical adventure, science fiction, and supernatural fiction. Despite Doyle's sometimes careless writing, he was a superb storyteller. His great skill as a popular author lay in his technique of involving readers in his highly entertaining adventures. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Arthur Conan Doyle has a Legacy Library. Legacy libraries are the personal libraries of famous readers, entered by LibraryThing members from the Legacy Libraries group.
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Beyond the City
- Original title
- Beyond the City
- Original publication date
- 1891-12
- First words
- "If you please, mum," said the voice of a domestic from somewhere round the angle of the door, "number three is moving in."
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)As he goes back every evening from the crowds of Throgmorton Street to the tree-lined peaceful avenues of Norwood, so he has found it possible in spirit also to do one's duties amidst the babel of the City, and yet to live beyond it.
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- Members
- 111
- Popularity
- 291,791
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (3.08)
- Languages
- English, Spanish
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 71
- ASINs
- 11
