Background

Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle was born on May 22, 1859 in Edinburgh, Scotland, to Charles Altamont Doyle, a Victorian artist and Mary Foley.

Doyle's family was affluent and well respected but his father was a heavy drinker and hence Arthur was supported by his wealthy uncles. His mother was well read. When Arthur was a child, she sparked his imagination with the great stories she narrated.

Education

From 1868, Arthur Conan Doyle began to attend Hodder Place (now Stonyhurst St Mary's Hall), a Roman Catholic Jesuit preparatory school and later went to Stonyhurst College. He subsequently went to the Stella Matutina Jesuit School in Feldkirch, Austria.

In the year 1876, he enrolled at the medical school at the University of Edinburgh. During this period he also did many jobs and first began writing short stories. One of his earliest unpublished works of fiction was 'The Haunted Grange of Goresthorpe'.

Doyle completed his Doctor of Medicine degree (an advanced degree in Scotland beyond the usual medical degrees) on the subject of tabes dorsalis in 1885.

Career

Doyle’s first publication 'The Mystery of Sasassa Valley' appeared on September 6, 1879, and was published in the Chambers’s Edinburgh Journal. That year, his non-fiction work, 'Gelsemium as a Poison' was also published.

In 1880, Doyle was employed as a physician abode the Greenland whaler 'Hope of Peterhead'. Following his graduation, he became a ship surgeon abode the 'SS Mayumba'. In 1882, he set up an independent medical practice at 1 Bush Villas in Elm Grove, Southsea. His practice did not prove to be very successful and he began writing stories while waiting for patients.

In 1887, his piece 'A Study in Scarlet' was first published in the Beeton's Christmas Annual. The piece received good reviews and first introduced the characters, 'Sherlock Holmes' and 'Dr John Watson'. In 1888, 'A Study in Scarlet' was published in a book form. This was one of the first novels of that time to use the magnifying glass as an investigative tool. The following year, his historical novel, 'Micah Clarke' appeared.

In 1889, his novel 'The Mystery of Cloomber' was published while the year 1890 saw the publication of 'The Firm of Girdlestone', which was later made into a silent film of the same name. In 1890, Arthur went on to study ophthalmology in Vienna, after which he moved to London. He later set up a practice as an ophthalmologist at No. 2 Devonshire Place.

In 1890, his second 'Sherlock Holmes' novel, 'The Sign of the Four' came out. It first appeared in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine and later published in book form by Spencer Blackett. In 1892, he published, 'The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes', which consisted of a series of twelve stories, featuring his well-known detective character, 'Sherlock Holmes'.

In 1893, his historical novel, 'The Refugees' was published. The following year, he published the novelette, 'The Parasite' and 'The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes'. In the latter book Sherlock Holmes dies. The same year, along with J. M. Barrie, he co-authored the comic opera, 'Jane Annie, or The Good Conduct Prize'. It opened at the Savoy Theatre in London.

In 1895, Doyle published his epistolary novel titled, 'The Stark Munro Letters'. In 1896, his 'Sherlock Holmes' short story titled, 'The Field Bazaar' was published. The same year, his Gothic mystery novel, 'Rodney Stone' was published. It was later made into a silent film titled, 'The House of Temperley'. The same year, his short story collection, 'The Exploits of Brigadier Gerard' was published.

In 1898, his novel, 'The Tragedy of the Korosko' appeared. This was published earlier in a monthly UK publication, 'The Strand Magazine'. The following year, he came out with the novel, 'A Duet, with an Occasional Chorus'. In 1900, came his non-fiction book on the Boer War, 'The Great Boer War'. The same year between March and June, Doyle served as a volunteer doctor in the Langman Field Hospital at Bloemfontein. After two years, Doyle published a 'Sherlock Holmes' series novel titled, 'The Hound of the Baskervilles'.

In 1905, he came out with a series of 13 'Sherlock Holmes' stories titled, 'The Return of Sherlock Holmes'. In this collection, the character 'Sherlock Holmes' reappeared after many years. In 1906, his historical novel, 'Sir Nigel' was published. The book was about the early period of the Hundred Years' War. The following year, his book, 'Through The Magic Door' was published.

In 1912, he introduced the novel, 'The Lost World'. This was the first novel in which the character of 'Professor Challenger' appeared. The next year, a second 'Professor Challenger' novel, 'The Poison Belt' was published.

In 1915, Doyle presented his final 'Sherlock Holmes' novel titled, 'The Valley of Fear'. After two years, his book, 'His Last Bow', which was a collection of 7 'Sherlock Holmes' stories, was published.

In 1918 a collection of short stories titled 'Danger! And Other Stories' and a non-fiction work, 'The New Revelation' made an appearance. The following year, he published his book, 'The Vital Message'.

In 1919, the work of poetry titled, 'The Guards Came Through, and Other Poems' rose to view. In the following years, he came out with the non-fiction works, 'The Coming of the Fairies' and 'The Case for Spirit Photography'.

In 1924, the author came into sight with the 'Sherlock Holmes' short story, 'How Watson Learned the Trick'. After three years, he published his final collection of 12 Sherlock Holmes' short stories, 'The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes'.

In 1926, Doyle added to his 'Professor Challenger' series novel, 'The Land of Mist', which was published by Hutchinson & Co. The same year, he came out with his non-fiction book, 'The History of Spiritualism'.

In 1928, he authored the 'Professor Challenger' short story titled, 'When the World Screamed'. The following year another 'Professor Challenger' short story, 'The Disintegration Machine' was published in Stand Magazine.

Achievements

• 

  Doyle is the creative genius behind the popular fictional character 'Sherlock Holmes', on whom he authored more than 60 detective stories. His notable work, 'Stories of Sherlock Holmes' is widely read, and is generally considered a milestone in the field of crime fiction.
  
  In 1902 Doyle was knighted, receiving the title of the Knight Bachelor. The next year he was made the Knight of Grace of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem. He was also the Knight of the Order of the Crown of Italy, the citation he had received in 1895. Doyle was, as well, a recipient of the Queen's South Africa Medal in 1901 and of the Order of the Medjidie – 2nd Class from the Ottoman Empire in 1907.
  
  In Doyle's honour, there is a statue is built in Crowborough, where he resided for almost 23 years, and a statue of Sherlock Holmes in Picardy Place, Edinburgh, close to the house where Doyle was born.

Works

More photos

• book

  • The Sign of the Four

    (First published in 1890, The Sign of Four is Sir Arthur C...)

    1890
  • The White Company

    (A historical adventure set during the Hundred Years' War ...)

    1891
  • The Tragedy of the Korosko

    (A group of European tourists are enjoying their trip to E...)

    1898
  • Study in Scarlet

    (A Study in Scarlet was the very first Sherlock Holmes novel.)

    1887
  • The Hound of the Baskervilles

    (Sir Charles Baskerville is dead. His body was discovered ...)

    1902
  • The Valley of Fear

    (Sherlock Holmes Book 7)

    1915
  • Arthur Conan Doyle

    (The Best Works)

  • The Complete Sherlock Holmes

    ((2 Volumes))

  • The Lost World 1912
  • Adventures of Sherlock Holmes 1892
  • The Adventure of the Dying Detective 1913
  • The Adventures of Gerard 1903
  • The War in South Africa Its Cause and Conduct 1900
  • The Great Shadow and Other Napoleonic Tales 1892
  • Through the Magic Door 1907
  • Beyond the City 1892
  • The Adventure of the Devil's Foot 1910
  • The Parasite 1894
  • When the World Screamed 1928
  • Uncle Bernac: A Memory of the Empire 1896
  • Danger! and Other Stories 1918
  • The Captain of the Polestar 1890
  • The Poison Belt 1913
  • Tales of Terror and Mystery 1922
  • The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans 1908
  • The Last Galley: Impressions and Tales 1910
  • The Doings of Raffles Haw 1891
  • The Vital Message 1919
  • The Cabman's Story: The Mysteries of a London 'Growler'
  • The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge 1908

• Other Work

  • The Adventure of the Red Circle 1911

Religion

In his youth, Doyle rejected the Catholic faith and became an agnostic. He supported Christian Spiritualism and became a part of the Spiritualists’ National Union.

Politics

Following the Boer War in South Africa at the turn of the 20th century and the condemnation from some quarters over the United Kingdom's role, Doyle wrote a short work titled The War in South Africa: Its Cause and Conduct, which argued that the UK's role in the Boer War was justified.

He stood for Parliament twice as a Liberal Unionist—in 1900 in Edinburgh Central and in 1906 in the Hawick Burghs—but although he received a respectable vote, he was not elected.

Doyle was a supporter of the campaign for the reform of the Congo Free State, led by the journalist E. D. Morel and diplomat Roger Casement. In 1909 he wrote The Crime of the Congo, a long pamphlet in which he denounced the horrors of that colony.

Views

Doyle had a longstanding interest in mystical subjects. He experimented in telepathy and was fascinated by the paranormal, as well as belived in life after death and spirit communication. Doyle believed that many cases of diagnosed mental illness were the result of spirit possession. He travelled to Australia and New Zealand on spiritualist missionary work in 1920, and continued his mission all the way up to his death, speaking about his spiritualist conviction in Britain, Europe, and the United States.

Quotations: "A dog reflects the family life. Whoever saw a frisky dog in a gloomy family, or a sad dog in a happy one? Snarling people have snarling dogs, dangerous people have dangerous ones."

"When the spirits are low, when the day appears dark, when work becomes monotonous, when hope hardly seems worth having, just mount a bicycle and go out for a spin down the road, without thought on anything but the ride you are taking. "

"Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself, but talent instantly recognizes genius."

"When the impossible has been eliminated, all that remains no matter how improbable is possible."

"It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts."

"It has long been an axiom of mine that the little things are infinitely the most important."

"The most dangerous condition for a man or a nation is when his intellectual side is more developed than his spiritual. Is that not exactly the condition of the world today?"

"It may be that you are not yourself luminous, but that you are a conductor of light. Some people without possessing genius have a remarkable power of stimulating it."

Membership

Doyle was initiated as a Freemason (26 January 1887) at the Phoenix Lodge No. 257 in Southsea. He resigned from the Lodge in 1889, but returned to it in 1902, only to resign again in 1911. He was also a member of The Ghost Club, an organisation that believed in the supernatural. He was a founding member of the Hampshire Society for Psychical Research in 1889 and joined the London-based Society for Psychical Research in 1893.

Personality

Doyle played football as a goalkeeper for Portsmouth Association Football Club, and golf for clubs, being elected captain of the Crowborough Beacon Golf Club in Sussex for 1910. He also played cricket for the Marylebone Cricket Club and for the amateur cricket team the Allahakbarries alongside authors J. M. Barrie and A. A. Milne.

Interests

• Sport & Clubs

  football, golf, cricket

Connections

In 1885, Doyle married Louisa Hawkins. Unfortunately she contracted tuberculosis and died in 1906. They had two children.

After the death of his first wife, he married Jean Elizabeth Leckie. The two married in 1907 and had three children. They fell in love when his first wife was still alive.

Father:

Charles Altamont Doyle

Mother:

Mary Foley

Spouse:

Jean Leckie

child:

Arthur Alleyne Kingsley

Arthur Alleyne Kingsley Conan Doyle (November 15, 1892 - October 28, 1918) was the son and second child of Arthur Conan Doyle and Louisa Hawkins. He was usually called "Kingsley".

Kingsley wanted to devote his life to medicine (like the debut of his father) and started to study at St. Mary's Hospital School in London. But the First World War broke out and he interrupted his medical studies to serve in the army from 1914 to 1917.

child:

Jean Conan Doyle

Lena Annette Jean, Lady Bromet (21 December 21, 1912 - November 18, 1997), best known by her maiden name Dame Jean Conan Doyle, was a British military officer in the Women's Royal Air Force. She was the second daughter of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

child:

Mary Louise Conan Doyle

Mary Louise Conan Doyle aka Toots (January 28, 1889 - June 12, 1976) was the daughter and first child of Arthur Conan Doyle and Louisa Hawkins. Mary, aged 9, wrote A Visit to Heven which her father published privately in 200 copies. She worked as a journalist and musician.

child:

Adrian Conan Doyle

Adrian Malcom Conan Doyle (November 19, 1910 - June 3, 1970) is the fourth child of Arthur Conan Doyle (second child of second marriage).

child:

Denis Percy Stewart

Denis Percy Stewart Conan Doyle (March 17, 1909, Windlesham - March 9, 1955, India) is the third child of Arthur Conan Doyle (the first child of his second marriage).

Brother:

Innes Doyle

Sister:

Annette Doyle

late spouse:

Louisa Hawkins

Friend:

Vernon Morris

References

• Arthur and Sherlock: Conan Doyle and the Creation of Holmes
  2017
• The Life of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle This vivid biography, written by John Dickson Carr, a giant in the field of mystery fiction, benefits from his full access to the archives of the eminent Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to his notebooks, diaries, press clippings, and voluminous correspondence.
  2003
• The Man Who Created Sherlock Holmes: The Life and Times of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Though Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's name is recognized the world over, for decades the man himself has been overshadowed by his better understood creation, Sherlock Holmes, who has become one of literature's most enduring characters. Based on thousands of previously unavailable documents, Andrew Lycett, author of the critically acclaimed biography Dylan Thomas, offers the first definitive biography of the baffling Conan Doyle.
  2007
• The Adventures of Arthur Conan Doyle: A Biography
  2008