Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

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Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
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Sir Arthur Conan DoyleLIFE

• Was a British author
• Born in Edinburgh, Scotland on May 22, 1859
• Studied medicine at University of Edinburgh (Met
  Dr. Joseph Bell)
• Opened own practice (not successful)
• In down time, began writing stories

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LIFE, continued

• Was very athletic (footballaka soccer,
  cricket, golf)
• Married Louise Hawkins (died of TB in 1906) - had
  2 children
• Married Jean Leckie in 1907 - 3 children
• Wrote an article about the Boer War
• Was knighted in 1902
• Wrote many historical articles and nonfiction
  works.

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DEATH

• Found clutching his chest in the hall of his home
  in East Sussex, England
• Died of heart attack on July 7, 1930,
• aged 71
• His tombstone in New Forest, Hampshire
  reads
• STEEL TRUE
• BLADE STRAIGHT
• ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE
• KNIGHT
• PATRIOT, PHYSICIAN MAN OF LETTERS

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WORK

• THE CANON (of Sherlock Holmes)
• 4 novels 56 short stories
• First NOVEL A Study in Scarlet (included
  Sherlock Holmes Dr. Watson)
• First book of SHORT STORIES (1892) The
  Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
• Originally published short stories monthly in the
  Strand Magazine
• Second collection (1894) The Memoirs of Sherlock
  Holmes

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SHERLOCK HOLMES

• A FICTIONAL character
• Based on Conan Doyles medical professor Dr.
  Joseph Bell (gifted surgeon, great observational
  and deduction skills)
• Lived at 221b Baker Street, London (landlady Mrs.
  Hudson)
• Assistant, Narrator, Foil of stories Dr. John
  Watson
• Many readers thought HOLMES was REAL!

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DEATH OF HOLMES

• After two novels and 24 short stories, Conan
  Doyle grew tired of Holmes and wanted to spend
  his time with more important work - so he
  killed him off in the short story The Final
  Problem in 1893.
• How? In a battle with his nemesis Professor
  Moriarty - they both fall to their deaths at the
  Reichenbach Falls
• Readers were OUTRAGED!
• Wore black armbands
• Sent death threats to Conan Doyle
• Placed memorials at the Reichenbach Falls

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THE RETURN OF HOLMES

• Eventually, Conan Doyle DID decide to bring back
  Holmes, and he did so in a story called The
  Adventure of the Empty House.
• Apparently, Holmes had faked his own death to
  fool Moriartys henchmen.
• Conan Doyle went on to write 32 more stories and
  one more novel before officially retiring his
  famous detective.

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QUIRKY STUFF

• ACD wrote a book called The Coming of the Fairies
  (1921).
• He was CONVINCED that fairies existed and proved
  it by adding photographs.
• The photographs were actually FAKED by two young
  girls - the fairies were actually paper
  cutouts!

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THE COTTINGLEY FAIRIES
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Modern Connections HOUSE HOLMES?

• Hmmm
• The names are similar.
• Both are BRILLIANT - always solving cases by
  observation and intelligence.
• Both have sidekicks Wilson Watson
• Notice the address behind Wilson?

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Sherlock Holmes in Film

• The Guinness Book of World Records has
  consistently listed Sherlock Holmes as the "most
  portrayed movie character" with more than 70
  actors playing the part in over 200 films

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BUT THEN

• Then, while vacationing in 1901, ACD was playing
  golf with his friend BERTRAM FLETCHER ROBINSON.
• Robinson told him of a local legend about Squire
  Richard Cabell, a monstrously evil man, whose
  death came at the mouths of a pack of huge,
  fire-breathing hounds (called Black Shucks)

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WHAT?

• Conan Doyle could NOT pass this up and he
  didnt really want to invent a new detective, so
  to his readers joy, he made Holmes his main
  character once again.
• Incidentally, he did not bring Holmes back to
  life (yet), but set this story at an earlier time
  in Holmes life.

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BASKERVILLE HALL

• Cromer Hall in Norfolk, England was the
  inspiration for BASKERVILLE HALL.

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GRIMPEN MIRE

• Fox Tor in Dartmoor. The swampy land that lies
  beneath it, Fox Tor Mires, is said to have been
  the inspiration for Grimpen Mire in the novel The
  Hound of the Baskervilles.