GET EDALJI
by Rose H. Schmollek
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A book review by Stephen Ross
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GET EDALJI is a superb new book by Rose H. Schmollek. It is an outstanding and definitive work. Based on comprehensive historical and forensic research undertaken over several years, it is a thorough and detailed criminal case analysis of the Edalji affair. Spoiler: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wouldn’t like this book, but Sherlock Holmes would.
What was the Edalji affair?
It’s a complicated cobweb of events. It begins in Great Wyrley.
Great Wyrley is a village in Staffordshire, the West Midlands. It sits almost in the middle of England. At the beginning of the 20th Century, it was infamous. In 1903, it was the location of what became known in the papers, and history, as the Great Wyrley Outrages—a series of brutal slashings of horses, cows, and sheep. A 27-year-old local solicitor, George Edalji, was convicted of one of the attacks (on a pony) and was sentenced to seven years hard labour at his majesty’s pleasure.
It gets more complicated.
George Edalji was the son of the local parson, and the parson’s household had, since 1888, been subject to an ongoing campaign of poison pen letters (many threatening, many vile), fake newspaper announcements, and many other harassments. Blame fell upon a member of the parson’s household staff, a maid. She was subsequently brought before the court, where she pleaded guilty—in exchange for being given probation (she couldn’t afford a defence lawyer, and she maintained her innocence until her death).
The police sergeant investigating, however, was convinced George Edalji had been responsible for the letters and other annoyances. Others at Scotland Yard shared this view. In short: The constabulary wanted to get Edalji.
It gets even more complicated.
Poison pen letters weren’t just sent to the vicarage, but to others, including the police. And the letters (self purportedly) were written by a variety of authors, with one stating he was a member of the “Wyrley Gang,” the group responsible for the animal mutilations. This writer wrote that George Edalji was himself a Wyrley Gang member.
In short: Because of the existing, long running suspicion of George Edalji (the poison pen letters), and some circumstantial evidence connecting him to the maiming of the pony, he was arrested, tried, and convicted of animal mutilation.
George’s mother began an earnest campaign to free her son from gaol. The premise of her argument was that no firm evidence had been presented, and that George’s innocence had been clouded in the court’s view by their belief he was responsible for the poison pen letters, of which there was also no firm evidence. Her position saw more than 10,000 people sign a petition and a flurry of discussion in the legal world.
In short: George Edalji was paroled three years into his sentence, and his case led to the establishment of the British Court of Appeal.
However, George Edalji was not granted a pardon.
And the poison pen letters continued.
Enter, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
One of the key reasons the Great Wyrley Outrages are so famous is because of Doyle. Sir Arthur took an interest in the case. He met with George Edalji, investigated the events, and subsequently campaigned for George’s pardoning. In Doyle’s opinion, George Edalji could not possibly have committed the attack on the pony. Doyle was also sceptical of handwriting experts who claimed George had written some of the letters. In Doyle’s eyes, George Edalji was an innocent man wrongly accused of all crimes. Given that Doyle was the creator of Sherlock Holmes, and, in that first decade of the 20th Century, was at the height of his celebrity, most people took Doyle’s word for it. Who are we to argue with a doctor, a knight, and the creator of one of literature’s greatest detectives?
Doyle was successful in his endeavour, to some extent—Edalji was pardoned, but he was not granted a full pardon (he was never acquitted, which Doyle wanted, and he was never compensated for his prison time).
What transpired at Great Wyrley took place more than a century ago. Looking back from today, the events appear as a great tangled cobweb that spans several decades. Many books have attempted to unravel it, including one by Doyle himself. Over the years, there have been films, television series, and countless journalistic investigations. Most favour Doyle’s conclusions. Who are we to argue with a doctor, a knight, and the creator of one of literature’s greatest detectives?
GET EDALJI reopens the case. It undertakes a fresh, up-to-date examination of the events, and it draws different conclusions to those of Doyle. It uncovers evidence that others who have written about the case have not. It untangles the web.
The research presented in this book is rich and detailed. It is a criminal case analysis worthy of Sherlock Holmes; it has his tenacity and attentiveness. The Edalji affair is a tremendously complex series of events, spanning many years, and involving dozens of people. GET EDALJI admirably presents these events and persons clearly and consistently. If you come to this story without any prior knowledge, you won’t get lost in a myriad of details.
Sherlock Holmes frequently solved his mysteries through the behaviour of man, by giving consideration to human psychology. This book does, too. Our understanding of the mind and its workings has evolved enormously since Doyle’s day. Things he was oblivious to in his time are readily observed and understood 120 years later. GET EDALJI sheds light on these. It is sensitive, equally, to the racial attitudes and prejudices prevalent in Victorian/Edwardian England. Edalji was of mixed race.
The ace in the hole of the research are the many letters at the heart of the case—modern forensics has been applied to their texts. Dr Isabel Picornell, a leading authority in forensic linguistics has made a detailed study of the letters and her findings are presented in this book.
This is a delight of a book to hold and touch (see the photos). All books should come with such lavish presentation: supplements, hard-bound encasement. The pages, too, are populated with a variety of illustrations, photographs, and many newspaper clippings. There is attention to detail here. It’s immersive.
GET EDALJI was written by Rose H. Schmollek—a pseudonym for author Petra Weber. Petra chose the pseudonym (it’s also an anagram) as a nod to the many people—an international team—who helped her in the book’s research. Petra Weber is the author of 17 crime novels and short stories (written under a different pseudonym) and is the publisher of KrimiKiosk, a popular true crime podcast.
The book’s title, “GET EDALJI,” can be read three ways. (1) Literally, Get Edalji. As many in law enforcement at the time wanted to. (2) It’s the man’s name: George E.T. Edalji. (3) Get, i.e., understand, Edalji. Clever.
I recommend you get GET EDALJI. Immerse yourself in the social fabric of England 120 years ago and a mystery will you find intriguing and puzzling. It’s definitely a three-pipe problem, as Sherlock Holmes would say.
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Stephen Ross
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