reply to post by solve
You may also like this then .
I'm a huge fan of the Pendergast series ,by Lincoln and Child .
Their next installment is about a real life meeting between Conan Doyle and Oscar Wilde .
It's fascinating .
~~~~~~~~~
One evening, about eighteen months ago, I was in my library, leafing idly through a series of books on nineteenth-century England. In one of them, I
was astounded to learn that Oscar Wilde had dined with Arthur Conan Doyle in a London hotel in 1889. It seemed remarkable —almost too good to be
true—that the flower of English decadence had supped with the author of the immortal Sherlock Holmes. I couldn’t imagine two more disparate
people. And yet not long after that meeting, Wilde published The Picture of Dorian Gray. And Doyle’s nascent Holmes stories saw the detective
morphing into a keener, cooler, more ineffable fellow—with a certain addiction. Could these two have possibly influenced each other’s writing?
“I immediately grabbed the phone to call Doug. He researched the fateful meeting and discovered that the answer to my question was yes. He told me
that some scholars believe Wilde, a fan of Sherlock Holmes, may have made suggestions to Doyle about how to sharpen the detective's character--and
Doyle for his part may have given Wilde crucial information which he used to spectacular effect in Dorian Gray.
"This was pure gold. We knew there had to be a Pendergast story in here somewhere. We began brainstorming—and an extraordinary idea for a novel
came to us. We never looked back.”
On the basis of that, Linc immediately wrote the first chapter of what would prove to be our next novel. The chapter takes place in 1889. It is
Linc’s reconstruction of what Wilde and Doyle talked about during that momentous London dinner. Now, we are delighted to share with you—our
special newsletter subscribers—the conclusion to that chapter of WHITE FIRE. The chapter following will bring the reader to the present day—and to
Pendergast’s greatest mystery yet.
…Wilde looked at Doyle with something like amusement. “Did you think that I do not recognize the face of horror when I stare into it? I was once
told a story so dreadful, so distressing in its particulars and the extent of its evil, that now I truly believe nothing I hear could ever frighten me
again.” “How interesting,” Doyle replied a little absently. Wilde regarded him, a small smile forming on his large, pale features. “Would you
care to hear it? It is not for the faint of heart.” The way Wilde phrased this, it sounded like a challenge. “By all means.” “It was told to
me during my lecture tour of America a few years back.” Wilde paused, wetting his thick, red lips with a delicate sip of wine. “Here, lean in a
little closer, that’s a good fellow, and I’ll tell it you exactly as it was told to me…” Ten minutes later, a diner at the restaurant in the
Langham Hotel would have been surprised to note—amid the susurrus of genteel conversation and the tinkle of cutlery—a man in the dress of a
country doctor by the name of Doyle abruptly rise from his table, very pale. Knocking over his chair in his agitation, one hand to his forehead, the
young man staggered from the room, nearly upsetting a waiter’s tray of delicacies. And as he vanished in the direction of the gentlemen’s toilet
area, his face displayed a perfect expression of revulsion and horror.
More to come! Until next time, be well, take care, and as always thank you so much for your continued interest and support.
All best, Doug & Linc