So far all I have read is the dust jacket. However, what stuck out to me there is that the tale is described as being "dramatic" but "lightly fictionalized." That is not necessarily a bad thing.
No one followed Holmes around every second of his 34 years and recorded what he did. With that being said, it is impossible to give a 100 percent accurate day by day account of Holmes' life. A light dusting of fiction sometimes means the author went above and beyond to get as close to the truth as possible and not embellish or insert his or her own opinion on what someone thought or did. However, it can also mean that the author considers "lightly fictionalized" merely getting names correct. Also, thankfully, nowhere have I noticed the two words historians dread.
BASED ON
Even though I hate seeing it happen, some authors choose to take the easy way out and put the words "based on" in the subtitle. Why? Because it means that the respective audience knows that just because something occurs in the story doesn't necessarily mean it occurred in real life. Therefore, the piece is not meant to be a learning experience. This also gives authors free reign to do no research and throw all historical accuracies out the window so they can write their own version of events with made up characters, incorrect dates, or, in the case of one example, ignore every first person account (including those written by Holmes), kill off characters at random, decrease the number of Pitezel children, and transform the skinny skirts of 1893 Chicago to the light up hoop skirts of a really bad Civil War reenactment. But I digress.
The reviews (13 in all) on Amazon, where the book currently holds four stars, go back and forth. One person gave it only one star and stated that the book was too long, filled with unnecessary information, and a work of pure fiction. Others gave it five stars for it's realistic feel and phenomenal writing.
I guess it's my turn to be the judge. Stay tuned.
Until next time.
XOXO, Kate
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