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Sir Arthur Conan Doyle1859-1930
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
• 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
Basil Rathbone as Sherlock
Holmes
Robert Downey Jr. as Sherlock
Holmes
Peter Cushing
Matt Frewer
• http://www.sherlockholmesonline.org/• http://www.sherlockian.net/acd/• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X
Wjgt9PzYEM&feature=related://www.sherlockholmesonline.org/index.htm
• http://www.siracd.com/life_spirit.shtml