The Mystery of Cloomber (review 3 january 1889)
The Mystery of Cloomber is an article published in The Evening News (Portsmouth) on 3 january 1889.
This is a review of Arthur Conan Doyle's novel : The Mystery of Cloomber (1888).
Editions
- The Evening News (Portsmouth) (3 january 1889 [UK])
- Hampshire Telegraph and Sussex Chronicle (5 january 1889 [UK])
Review
This, the latest work from the facile pen of Dr. Conan Doyle, of Southsea, which had the good fortune of making its first appearance in the columns of the Pall Mall Budget, may be most fittingly described as a fascinating story. Nothing delights the novel reader of the present day more than mystery, and when, as in the book under review, it is hedged round by the forces of the supernatural, he is more than satisfied. There is little doubt that the influence of Madame Blavatsky, Mr. A. P. Sinnett, and others of the occult school is making itself far more widely felt than many people imagine, and Dr. Doyle, in presenting the most attractive side of the new, or rather the old philosophy — au existence of at least twenty thousand years being claimed for it — is doing more to arouse public interest than any purely technical book on the subject is capable of accomplishing. But, apart altogether from its value in this respect, "The Mystery of Cloomber," simply as a story, is well worth reading. It is far removed from the well-worn track affected by novelists, the plot is striking and original, the incidents new and strange, and the climax weirdly tragical. To attempt a synopsis of the story in these columns would be unfair to both author and reader, as its real charm consists its the terrible mystery surrounding the unhappy General Hatherstone, a mystery that impels one to read on almost without stopping until its solution is reached. In our opinion the construction of this story is an improvement upon that of "The Study in Scarlet," which, although deservedly popular, lacks dramatic sequence, and it will add materialty to the growing reputation of Dr. Doyle. It is published in a cheap form by Messrs. Ward and Downey.
