Arthur Conan Doyle

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Lore & Background

Doyle entered the University of Edinburgh Medical School in 1876, where he became a pupil of Joseph Bell, whose deductive processes became the chief model for Holmes. He began writing while still a student, and in October 1879 his first work, "The Mystery of the Sasassa Valley," was published in Chambers's Journal. In July 1891 Doyle published the short story "A Scandal in Bohemia" in The Strand Magazine—a story which, according to his biographer Andrew Lycett, "would change his life," as it introduced Holmes and Watson to a wide audience. The duo had previously appeared in Doyle's first novel, A Study in Scarlet, published in Beeton's Christmas Annual in 1887. The story in The Strand was one in a series of six, published in successive months. They were well received by the public, and the editors commissioned a further six stories, then another series of twelve. Doyle, fearful of having his other work overshadowed, killed Holmes off in December 1893 in "The Adventure of the Final Problem." He also wrote four full-length Holmes works, as well as adventure novels and nine historical works of fiction. In 1912 he began the adventure series featuring Professor Challenger, who first appeared in The Lost World.

Reader's Guide

Doyle's significance lies in his creation of Sherlock Holmes, a character who has continued to capture the imagination of the public. He wrote over 200 stories and articles, four volumes of poetry, and a series of stage works—his first was Jane Annie, an unsuccessful attempt at a libretto to an operetta, which he wrote with J. M. Barrie. Doyle was an enthusiastic supporter of the Boer War, and wrote two histories of the events. During the First World War he also wrote extensively on that conflict, both short articles and a six-volume history. Following the close successive deaths of his son and his brother, Doyle turned to spiritualism and wrote extensively on the subject. His biographer Owen Dudley Edwards writes that at the time of Doyle's death in July 1930, while the writer "most wanted to be remembered as a champion of spiritualism and as a historical novelist, it is Sherlock Holmes who has continued to capture the imagination of the public."

Did You Know?

• Doyle's first published work was 'The Mystery of the Sasassa Valley' in Chambers's Journal in October 1879.
• Joseph Bell, a teacher at the University of Edinburgh Medical School, was the chief model for Sherlock Holmes.
• Doyle killed off Sherlock Holmes in December 1893 in 'The Adventure of the Final Problem.'
• Doyle wrote two histories of the Boer War and a six-volume history of the First World War.
• After the deaths of his son and brother, Doyle turned to spiritualism and wrote extensively on the subject.

The Phantom Manuscript of 1942

The claim electrified the Holmes world, yet doubt surfaced quickly. His half-sister Jean insisted the manuscript was not their father's work. After Whitaker produced a carbon copy and corroborating testimony, the Doyle family conceded in 1949 that Whitaker was the true author.

Completing the Canon

Adrian Conan Doyle's most significant literary project unfolded in 1952 and 1953, when he set out to write the Sherlock Holmes tales his father had referenced in existing stories but never actually composed. For six of these adventures he collaborated with the celebrated mystery writer John Dickson Carr, who had published an authorized biography of Sir Arthur in 1949. The book has been reissued several times since, and its premise of filling gaps in the original canon has inspired other authors to craft their own stories around the same internal references.

Guardian of a Name

After his mother Jean died in 1940, Adrian assumed the role of literary executor for his father's estate and defended that legacy with fierce, sometimes combative energy. The confrontation escalated when the BBC commissioned an anniversary talk from Pearson; Adrian declared that if it aired, the Corporation would never broadcast another Sherlock Holmes story. The BBC backed down.

The Playboy and the Foundation

Born on 19 November 1910, Adrian was the youngest son of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and his second wife, Jean. He grew up alongside full sister Jean, full brother Denis, and half-siblings Mary and Kingsley. His adult life, as biographer Andrew Lycett characterized it, blended the glamorous with the reckless: Adrian was depicted as a racing car driver, big-game hunter, explorer, and writer, yet also as a "spendthrift playboy" who, together with Denis, treated the family estate as a "milch-cow." He married Anna C. Anderson, a Danish-born woman, and after his mother's death in 1940 he stepped into the executor role. In 1965 he founded the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Foundation in Switzerland, an institutional gesture that formalized stewardship of his father's literary legacy. Adrian died on 3 June 1970, and the executor position passed to his sister Jean.