Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 1859 1930 Early Life

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 1859 -1930

Early Life • May 22, 1859, in Edinburgh, Scotland • Father was a chronic alcoholic • Mother, Mary Doyle, was passionate about books and a talented storyteller; her stories influenced her son • Educated in England, where he realized his talent for storytelling • Graduated at age 17 • After returning home, he committed his father to a lunatic asylum, which inspired The Surgeon of Gaster Fell

Career • Decided to pursue medical career • During studies at the University of Edinburgh, he met many authors • Became a ship’s surgeon during his third year of study and traveled to the Arctic Circle; inspired Captain of the Pole Star • Brief stint as doctor in Plymouth; inspired The Stark Munro Letters • Opens his own practice in Portsmouth • Marries Louisa Hawkins in 1885

Career • Publishes the novel that makes him famous, A Study in Scarlet, in 1888; introduced Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson • Became more well-known in America • Published Sherlock Holmes stories in The Strand magazine • Abandons medical career in 1891 • Writes The Final Problem in 1893 about the death of Sherlock Holmes

Career • After publishing The Final Problem, 20, 000 readers cancelled subscriptions to The Strand • Volunteered as a medical doctor during the Boer War; wrote The Great Boer War • Tried unsuccessfully to enter politics • Wrote The Hound of the Baskervilles, inspired by local folklore surrounding prison in Dartmoor • Knighted in 1902 by King Edward VII • Published The Return of Sherlock Holmes in The Strand in 1903

Career • Wife Louisa dies in 1906; remarries in 1907 to Jean Leckie • The Valley of Fear published in 1914 • Offered to enlist in WWI, but was denied; wrote The British Campaign in France and Flanders • Became deeply involved with Spiritualism and the occult • Dies July 7, 1930

Spiritualism • Spiritualism involves belief in: life after death, communication with ghosts, fairies, and the occult • Sir Arthur Conan Doyle believed in psychic powers and joined the British Society for Psychical Research in 1893 • Lectured on Spiritualism; also wrote various books and articles on the subject • Investigated supposed hauntings and sightings of fairies

Sherlock Holmes • First introduced in A Study in Scarlet • Character inspired by Dr. Joseph Bell • The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes was dedicated to Bell • Doyle wrote to Bell: “You are yourself Sherlock Holmes and well you know it. ”

Sherlock Holmes Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes Matt Frewer • Appeared in four novels, fifty-six short stories in five collections, and three plays • First known film featuring Sherlock Holmes is Sherlock Holmes Baffled • Over 60 films and television shows featuring Sherlock Holmes Peter Cushing Robert Downey Jr. as Sherlock Holmes

• http: //www. sherlockholmesonline. org/ • http: //www. sherlockian. net/acd/ • http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=XWjgt 9 Pz YEM&feature=related: //www. sherlockholmes online. org/index. htm • http: //www. siracd. com/life_spirit. shtml