Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of Einstein's Daughter (Symonds)

Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of Einstein's Daughter 
Tim Symonds, 2014
MX Publishing
206 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781780925721


Summary
In 1986 Einstein’s first son, Hans Albert Einstein, investigated an old shoebox tucked away on the top shelf of a wardrobe. It contained several dozen yellowed letters in German type, exchanges between Albert and Mileva. Italian, Swiss, German and Austro-Hungarian postmarks reflected their peripatetic life. Letters dated between early 1901 and 1903 mention a daughter they refer to as Lieserl. After September 1903 her name never appears again, anywhere.

Lieserl remains a subject of mystery and speculation. Researchers regularly trek to Serbia to conduct investigations. They comb through registries, synagogues, church and monastery archives throughout the Vojvodina region, the place of her birth and short life, but to no avail.

In The Mystery of Einstein’s Daughter Holmes exclaims, ‘the most ruthless effort has been made by public officials, priests, monks, friends, family and relatives by marriage, to seek out and destroy every document with Lieserl’s name on it. The question is—why? (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• Birth—1937
• Where—London, England, UK
• Education—B.A., University of California-Los Angeles
• Currently—lives in Sussex, England


Tim Symonds was born in London. He grew up in Somerset, Dorset and Guernsey. After several years working in the Kenya Highlands and along the Zambezi he emigrated to the United States. He studied at Göttingen and at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa in Political Science.

He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.

Sherlock Holmes And The Mystery Of Einstein’s Daughter was written in a converted oast house near Rudyard Kipling’s old home, Bateman’s in Sussex and in the forests and hidden valleys of the High Weald. The plot is based on an original research paper published by Tim Symonds, entitled "A Vital Detail In The Story Of Albert Einstein."

The author’s other detective novels include Sherlock Holmes and The Case of the Bulgarian Codex and Sherlock Holmes and The Dead Boer at Scotney Castle. (From the author.)

Book Reviews
[T]o remove the duo of Holmes and Watson from their original context is to me rather disturbing and also removes much of their real appeal as characters. Thankfully, the author of this novel, Tim Symonds, places his Holmes and Watson in a context that I could fully see Conan Doyle approving of and one that draws the reader into an exciting mystery. What makes the Symonds’ book work is the author’s keen sense of timing and his expansive knowledge of history and period traditions and culture.... Symonds’ command of historical detail cannot be overstated: The man has been able to gather a wealth of compelling details about everything from restaurants of the period to the spectre of scarlet fever and weaves all of this into the narrative. While the novel is of course fiction, the supporting details when sourced from history are fully accurate and the reader will learn many fascinating things about England, Serbia, and the general state of life at the time just by reading this very engrossing mystery.... Any complaints? Well, perhaps the book could have been longer, and that isn’t just to say it was so good I didn’t want it to end, though it was in fact that good.... Tim Symonds’ take on Sherlock Holmes is a fine one, and one of very few worthy of Conan Doyle’s characters found in contemporary post-canonical writing concerning Holmes and Watson. Highly recommended.
InSerbia 

Discussion Questions
1. The novel is closely based on a real life event in Einstein's youth, during his time at the Zurich Polytechnic. How many people know Einstein sired an illegitimate daughter, and what was her fate?

2. Taking Sherlock Holmes out of his "comfort zone" of London left him with a fast learning track to go along in deepest Serbia. How much research do you think an author needs to do to get the facts and atmosphere right, in this case Serbia in 1905?  (Answer, it took Tim Symonds 3 years and about 30 books)

3. How well does it work for a fictitious character, Sherlock Holmes, to investigate a real and larger-than-life character like Albert Einstein?  The author found it really interesting because millions in the world truly believe Holmes existed while millions can imagine Einstein as some figment of the world of science's collective mind
(Questions courtesy of the author.)

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