03/09/2026
Another great review. This one is from Roger Johnson of The Sherlock Holmes Society of London :-
"Sherlock Holmes is a character recognised world-wide as an outstandingly rational thinker. His creator, Arthur Conan Doyle wrote many remarkable books and essays which demonstrate his own rational nature, and he applied his logical reasoning to matters that most of us believe to be impossible, such as communication with the dead, which he firmly believed to be not merely possible but demonstrably true. So, is it any wonder that he accepted as fact the claim of two young girls to have seen and actually photographed fairies?
F.R. Maher’s novel began as a play, first staged at the Edinburgh Festival in 2024. She had already researched the case and published her findings in The Secret of the Cottingley Fairies, published in 2017; the play gave her the chance to pit the great detective’s scepticism against his creator’s – well, shall we call it gullibility? If you get the chance to see the play then do so. I’d welcome the opportunity to see it again. Meanwhile the story is well told in Ms Maher’s novel.
Holmes and Watson are living characters, contemporary with Conan Doyle – whom they nevertheless recognise as the person to whom they owe their existence. Neither the author nor the detective will give way. On the back of the dust-jacket we’re told that Sherlock Holmes and the Man Who Believed in Fairies “is a gripping tale of rivalry, pride, and the fine line between genius and delusion.” It’s also thought-provoking and very entertaining!”
Roger Johnson, Sherlock Holmes Society of London
