Sherlock Holmes is known the world over for being an excellent detective with an equally cunning nemesis, Professor Moriarty. He was created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. This quirky, genius detective has not been forgotten. From The Great Mouse Detective to Sherlock, we know his name well.
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| The Great Mouse Detective |
Who is Sherlock? If you don't know, he is a detective with exceptional logic skills, a mind palace, and a sidekick known as Watson, Dr. John Watson. Dr. Watson is a war veteran with a cane and mustache, as well as a medical doctor. Professor Moriarty is a perpetual criminal problem for this pair who has his hand in most of the crime in England. *Spoiler Alert Coming!* There is a famous scene where the pair both fall to their deaths fighting each other, and then both of them come back to life. Why? Because of the public outcry against killing Sherlock off and financial problems for Doyle.
The Author
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was born in Edinburgh Scotland in the year 1859, May 22nd. His father was an alcoholic and his mother read him books and told him stories so well it somewhat obscured real life. He shared his mother's talent at telling stories. Upon returning from his education he helped sign his troubled father into an asylum. From here he went into medical training. Much like Holmes, whom he created, he was exceptional at logic, diagnosis, observation, and deduction. Once his works started to be published he learned he could make money off of them.
When offered a medical position on a whaling ship, he accepted the adventure. That experience inspired Captain of the Pole Star. He was no stranger to travel. He also experienced Africa (though he wasn't as thrilled with it). He returned to England as quickly as possible to start his own, two-room, practice. He had one foot in writing and another in medical practice after that. This is where he was when he began writing Sherlock Holmes.
The Beginning of Sherlock Holmes
He was doing well by the time The Sign of Four was out there for the world to see. He was known better in The United States, surprisingly, than in England. He had a good married and family life, thriving medical practice, and great success in writing. He was still restless. After trying Ophthalmology, and seeing not one person in the door, The Strand magazine picked up the Sherlock Holmes stories and he collaborated with an illustrator. That is when Holmes was made most famous.
After almost dying of influenza, he gave up trying to juggle medical and literary, and stuck with literary so he could be his own master. In 1892 he became a father to Kingsley, and the man was overjoyed. Around this time he tried to kill off Sherlock Holmes, to his audience's shock. The Strand magazine subscriptions plummeted. He didn't consider Holmes his best work, as weird as it sounds, and Holmes overshadowed what he considered his best.
Doyle threw himself into his favorite work, not noticing his wife's health, until she was diagnosed with Tuberculosis. He devoted himself to her and kept her alive well past the time they had predicted. He explored life beyond the afterlife by joining the Society for Psychical Research, something his current depression may have drawn him to.
Since this blog is mostly about Sherlock and Doyle, let's skip forward. He gave the script rights to playwright William Gillette, told him to do whatever he wanted, and got a result that was anything but what was written in the pages of his stories.
Sherlock's Return
He resurrected Holmes after he got a story idea based on the Devonshire Moors, realizing he already wrote the character he was trying to invent. Frustrated readers now got more of what they wanted in The Hounds of Baskervilles. Sherlock Holmes continued after that.
Curiously, he helped solve crimes, as himself, when George Edalji was convicted of slashing horses and cows, but had such poor eyesight he couldn't have done it. Doyle pointed this out to the Scotland Yard. He saved several people from injustice more than once.
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| The Cottingley Fairies, what Doyle took for truth |
I mentioned before, in a blog previous to this, that Doyle's second wife was a medium. She trance wrote, to be exact, and mostly because he got her into the occult after the toll the wars took on him. He was also into fairy lore. He found pictures that looked untampered, all of two fairies with a few teenage girls. His interest progressed into the occult after more of his family died. Press mocked and the clergy didn't like it, but he was undeterred. This point in his life was less fiction and more spiritualism writing. He did tours for spiritualism. He died of heart problems. His last word were to his wife.
This man is a fascinating subject, and the website I used has even more information, so feel free to look into my sources. I could write so much more, but it'd be an extra long blog. I hope you enjoyed it, Sherlock fans!
Pictures:
BBC
itunes-apple
Litquotes
Sources:
https://www.arthurconandoyle.com/
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