83-636: Charles Altamont Doyle (25 March 1832 – 10 October 1893) was an illustrator, watercolourist and civil servant. A member of an artistic family, he is remembered today primarily for being the father of author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle , creator of fictional character Sherlock Holmes . Born in London, Doyle was the son of artist John Doyle , a political cartoonist known as H.B., and Marianna (Conan) Doyle. The family had seven children, and three of his older brothers were artists: James William Edmund Doyle , Richard "Dickie" Doyle , and Henry Edward Doyle . The family
166-405: A "sort of bucolic phantasmagoria: mammoth lilypads and leafy branches, giant birds and mammals, sinister blossoms sheltering demons and damsels alike". Doyle created these illustrations to both protest his confinement and provide evidence of his sanity. He sent the drawings to his family as proof that he had been wrongfully committed, writing "Keep steadily in view that this Book is ascribed wholly to
249-562: A Poison" in the British Medical Journal , a study which The Daily Telegraph regarded as potentially useful in a 21st-century murder investigation. Doyle was the doctor on the Greenland whaler Hope of Peterhead in 1880. On 11 July 1880, John Gray's Hope and David Gray's Eclipse met up with the Eira and Leigh Smith . The photographer W. J. A. Grant took a photograph aboard
332-561: A book on the war, The Great Boer War , as well as a short work titled The War in South Africa: Its Cause and Conduct , in which he responded to critics of the United Kingdom's role in that war, and argued that its role was justified. The latter work was widely translated, and Doyle believed it was the reason he was knighted (given the rank of Knight Bachelor ) by King Edward VII in the 1902 Coronation Honours . He received
415-453: A booklet Is Spiritualism Based on Fraud? , in which he laid out evidence refuting Doyle's arguments and claimed that Doyle had been duped into believing in spiritualism through deliberate mediumship trickery. His Last Bow (story) " His Last Bow. The War Service of Sherlock Holmes ", later titled " His Last Bow: An Epilogue of Sherlock Holmes ", is one of 56 short stories about Sherlock Holmes written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle . It
498-457: A contemporaneous report by the Sunday Express quoted Doyle as saying "I should have to see it again before passing a definite opinion on it" and "I have my doubts about the whole thing". In 1920, Doyle and the noted sceptic Joseph McCabe held a public debate at Queen's Hall in London, with Doyle taking the position that the claims of spiritualism were true. After the debate, McCabe published
581-587: A gasp of horror at what Sherlock Holmes is doing in 'His Last Bow'. Having by patient hard work established his credentials with the Germans and being in a perfect position to go on feeding them false information for the rest of the war, Holmes for no reason whatsoever blows his own cover and destroys everything. Why, for God's sake? Why? How I wish I could reach into that room and shout at Holmes: 'Stop! What are you doing? Are you crazy?'. Alas, this story with its monumental blunder must remain forever as it is. Conan Doyle had
664-647: A goalkeeper for Portsmouth Association Football Club , an amateur side, under the pseudonym A. C. Smith. Doyle was a keen cricketer, and between 1899 and 1907 he played 10 first-class matches for the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). He also played for the amateur cricket teams the Allahakbarries and the Authors XI alongside fellow writers J. M. Barrie , P. G. Wodehouse and A. A. Milne . His highest score, in 1902 against London County ,
747-501: A level intended to discourage them, but found they were willing to pay even the large sums he asked. As a result, he became one of the best-paid authors of his time. In December 1893, to dedicate more of his time to his historical novels, Doyle had Holmes and Professor Moriarty plunge to their deaths together down the Reichenbach Falls in the story " The Final Problem ". Public outcry, however, led him to feature Holmes in 1901 in
830-668: A man", and in his 1924 autobiography, he remarked, "It is no wonder that after the study of such a character [viz., Bell] I used and amplified his methods when in later life I tried to build up a scientific detective who solved cases on his own merits and not through the folly of the criminal." Robert Louis Stevenson was able to recognise the strong similarity between Joseph Bell and Sherlock Holmes: "My compliments on your very ingenious and very interesting adventures of Sherlock Holmes. ... can this be my old friend Joe Bell?" Other authors sometimes suggest additional influences—for instance, Edgar Allan Poe 's character C. Auguste Dupin , who
913-522: A medical practice at 1 Bush Villas in Elm Grove, Southsea . The practice was not successful. While waiting for patients, Doyle returned to writing fiction. Doyle was a staunch supporter of compulsory vaccination and wrote several articles advocating the practice and denouncing the views of anti-vaccinators . In early 1891, Doyle embarked on the study of ophthalmology in Vienna. He had previously studied at
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#1732859352766996-509: A member of the Portsmouth Literary and Philosophical Society, Doyle began a series of investigations into the possibility of psychic phenomena and attended about 20 seances, experiments in telepathy, and sittings with mediums. Writing to spiritualist journal Light that year, he declared himself to be a spiritualist, describing one particular event that had convinced him psychic phenomena were real. Also in 1887 (on 26 January), he
1079-531: A platonic relationship with her while his first wife was still alive, out of loyalty to her. Most of Doyle's family including his mother were aware of the relationship, but it appears to have remained unknown to Louisa. Jean outlived her husband and died during wartime on 27 June 1940. Doyle fathered five children. He had two with his first wife: Mary Louise (1889–1976) and Arthur Alleyne Kingsley, known as Kingsley (1892–1918). He had an additional three with his second wife: Denis Percy Stewart (1909–1955), who became
1162-463: A rich treasure: naval signals. Von Herling leaves just before Altamont arrives. Von Bork's housekeeper has turned her light off and retired. Altamont shows Von Bork a package. Altamont disparages Von Bork's safe, but Von Bork proudly says that its construction and the double combination lock make it impenetrable. He tells Altamont that the combination is "August 1914". Altamont, mentioning cases in which several German informants have ended up in prison,
1245-706: A search for Sir Denis Nayland Smith , believed to have been kidnapped by Fu Manchu ; thus, Van Ash combines the worlds created by Conan Doyle and Sax Rohmer . The story is continued in Robert Ryan 's 2015 novel A Study in Murder , the third in his "Dr Watson" detective series, in which Von Bork torments Dr Watson, now a prisoner of war in Germany, and arranges for him to be exchanged for Sherlock Holmes so that he can exact his revenge. Peter Brown wrote "Anyone having any knowledge or experience of actual intelligence work could not help
1328-667: A search for poltergeists in Devon. Doyle was also a member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn . Doyle and the spiritualist William Thomas Stead (who would die on the Titanic ) were led to believe that Julius and Agnes Zancig had genuine psychic powers, and they claimed publicly that the Zancigs used telepathy . However, in 1924, the Zancigs confessed that their mind reading act had been
1411-494: A trick; they published the secret code and all other details of the trick method they had used under the title "Our Secrets!!" in a London newspaper. Doyle also praised the psychic phenomena and spirit materialisations that he believed had been produced by Eusapia Palladino and Mina Crandon , both of whom were also later exposed as frauds. In 1916, at the height of the First World War, Doyle's belief in psychic phenomena
1494-669: A wide knowledge of many subjects - evidently, intelligence work was not one of them. There were in 1916 England some people he could have profitably consulted on the subject." In the game The Great Ace Attorney 2: Resolve the Fourth Episode of the game is titled: "Twisted Karma and His Last Bow" A silent short film based on the story was released in 1923 as part of the Sherlock Holmes film series by Stoll Pictures . Eille Norwood played Sherlock Holmes and Hubert Willis played Dr. Watson. The 1942 American film Sherlock Holmes and
1577-414: Is actually Sherlock Holmes in disguise, and the chauffeur who brought him is Dr. Watson . Now past their heyday, they have nonetheless caught several spies (Holmes is actually responsible for the imprisoned agents of whom "Altamont" spoke), and fed the Germans some thoroughly untrustworthy intelligence. Holmes had retired from detective work, spending his days beekeeping in the countryside, but returned after
1660-416: Is distrustful of Von Bork and refuses to deliver the naval codes until he receives payment. Von Bork refuses to pay until he has examined Altamont's intelligence data. Altamont hands him the package. Von Bork finds that it is a book titled Practical Handbook of Bee Culture , hardly what he expected. Even less expected is the chloroform -soaked rag that is held in his face by Altamont a moment later. Altamont
1743-705: Is mentioned, disparagingly, by Holmes in A Study in Scarlet . Dr. (John) Watson owes his surname, but not any other obvious characteristic, to a Portsmouth medical colleague of Doyle's, Dr. James Watson. A sequel to A Study in Scarlet was commissioned, and The Sign of the Four appeared in Lippincott's Magazine in February 1890, under agreement with the Ward Lock company. Doyle felt grievously exploited by Ward Lock as an author new to
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#17328593527661826-546: Is part of a compound surname rather than a middle name. However, his baptism entry in the register of St Mary's Cathedral , Edinburgh, gives "Arthur Ignatius Conan" as his given names and "Doyle" as his surname. It also names Michael Conan as his godfather. The catalogues of the British Library and the Library of Congress treat "Doyle" alone as his surname. Steven Doyle, publisher of The Baker Street Journal , wrote: "Conan
1909-618: Is the last chronological installment of the series. The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes , set before the story, was published later. Holmes' patriotic passage has been widely quoted, and was later used in the final scene of the Basil Rathbone film Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror (1942), loosely based on "His Last Bow", though set during World War II. The events leading up to and beyond this story were described in Sherlock Holmes and
1992-592: The Crichton Royal , Dumfries , after many years of psychiatric illness. Beginning at an early age, throughout his life Doyle wrote letters to his mother. Many of them were preserved. Supported by wealthy uncles, Doyle was sent to England, to the Jesuit preparatory school Hodder Place , Stonyhurst in Lancashire, at the age of nine (1868–70). He went on to Stonyhurst College , which he attended until 1875. While Doyle
2075-499: The Eira of Doyle along with Smith, the Gray brothers, and ship's surgeon William Neale, who were members of the Smith expedition. That expedition explored Franz Josef Land , and led to the naming, on 18 August, of Cape Flora, Bell Island , Nightingale Sound, Gratton ("Uncle Joe") Island, and Mabel Island. After graduating with Bachelor of Medicine and Master of Surgery (M.B. C.M.) degrees from
2158-624: The Napoleonic Wars and features a character Gregory Brewster, written for Henry Irving ; The House of Temperley , the plot of which reflects his abiding interest in boxing; The Speckled Band , adapted from his earlier short story " The Adventure of the Speckled Band "; and an 1893 collaboration with J. M. Barrie on the libretto of Jane Annie . While living in Southsea , the seaside resort near Portsmouth , Doyle played football as
2241-579: The Netherlands , leaving only him and his elderly English housekeeper. Von Bork's associate, Baron von Herling, a German diplomat from the Embassy of Germany, is impressed by his acquisition of vital British military secrets, and tells Von Bork that he will be received in Berlin as a hero. Von Bork says that he is waiting for one last transaction with his Irish-American informant, Altamont, who will arrive shortly with
2324-681: The Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh. While studying, Doyle began writing short stories. His earliest extant fiction, "The Haunted Grange of Goresthorpe", was unsuccessfully submitted to Blackwood's Magazine . His first published piece, " The Mystery of Sasassa Valley ", a story set in South Africa, was printed in Chambers's Edinburgh Journal on 6 September 1879. On 20 September 1879, he published his first academic article, " Gelsemium as
2407-551: The Spiritualists' National Union to accept an eighth precept – that of following the teachings and example of Jesus of Nazareth . He was a member of the renowned supernaturalist organisation The Ghost Club . In 1919, the magician P. T. Selbit staged a séance at his flat in Bloomsbury , which Doyle attended. Although some later claimed that Doyle had endorsed the apparent instances of clairvoyance at that séance as genuine,
2490-575: The Beast (late 1860s), The Queens of Society (1872), and Our Trip to Blunderland (1877) a parody of Lewis Carroll . Although he exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy, Doyle was not as successful an artist as he wanted, and had depression and alcoholism . His paintings, which were generally of fairies, such as In the shade or A Dance Around The Moon , or similar fantasy scenes, reflected his mood, becoming more macabre over time. In 1876 he
2573-592: The English Amateur billiards championship in 1913. While living in Switzerland, Doyle became interested in skiing, which was relatively unknown in Switzerland at the time. He wrote an article, "An Alpine Pass on 'Ski ' " for the December 1894 issue of The Strand Magazine , in which he described his experiences with skiing and the beautiful alpine scenery that could be seen in the process. The article popularised
Charles Altamont Doyle - Misplaced Pages Continue
2656-550: The Foreign Minister and the Premier came to him. Holmes has been on this case for two years, and it has taken him to Chicago, Buffalo , and Ireland, where he learnt to play the part of a bitter Irish-American, even gaining the credentials of a member of a secret society. He identified the security leak through which British secrets were reaching the Germans, and then set out to apprehend the receiving agents themselves. The housekeeper
2739-610: The Holmes oeuvre, The Lost World . His historical novels include The White Company and its prequel Sir Nigel , set in the Middle Ages . He was a prolific author of short stories, including two collections set in Napoleonic times and featuring the French character Brigadier Gerard . Doyle's works for the stage include Waterloo , which centres on the reminiscences of an English veteran of
2822-580: The Irish Easter Rising , Casement was found guilty of treason against the Crown, and was sentenced to death. Doyle tried, unsuccessfully, to save him, arguing that Casement had been driven mad, and therefore should not be held responsible for his actions. As the First World War loomed, and having been caught up in a growing public swell of Germanophobia , Doyle gave a public donation of 10 shillings to
2905-549: The London Times . He also wrote The Doings of Raffles Haw . After visiting Venice and Milan , he spent a few days in Paris observing Edmund Landolt, an expert on diseases of the eye. Within three months of his departure for Vienna, Doyle returned to London. He opened a small office and consulting room at 2 Upper Wimpole Street, or 2 Devonshire Place as it was then. (There is today a Westminster City Council commemorative plaque over
2988-462: The Napoleonic soldier Brigadier Gerard , as well as plays, romances, poetry, non-fiction, and historical novels. One of Doyle's early short stories, " J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement " (1884), helped to popularise the mystery of the brigantine Mary Celeste , found drifting at sea with no crew member aboard. Doyle is often referred to as "Sir Arthur Conan Doyle" or "Conan Doyle", implying that "Conan"
3071-544: The Pole-Star" and " J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement ", both inspired by Doyle's time at sea. The latter popularised the mystery of the Mary Celeste and added fictional details such as that the ship was found in perfect condition (it had actually taken on water by the time it was discovered), and that its boats remained on board (the single boat was in fact missing). These fictional details have come to dominate popular accounts of
3154-622: The Portsmouth Eye Hospital in order to qualify to perform eye tests and prescribe glasses. Vienna had been suggested by his friend Vernon Morris as a place to spend six months and train to be an eye surgeon. But Doyle found it too difficult to understand the German medical terms being used in his classes in Vienna, and soon quit his studies there. For the rest of his two-month stay in Vienna, he pursued other activities, such as ice skating with his wife Louisa and drinking with Brinsley Richards of
3237-540: The Railway Maniac (1994, ISBN 978-0-7490-0546-7 ), by Barrie Roberts . The end of Nicholas Meyer 's 1993 novel The Canary Trainer ties into "His Last Bow", with Edward Grey and H. H. Asquith approaching Holmes to request he come out of retirement to investigate a man named Von Bork. Ten Years Beyond Baker Street by Cay Van Ash is set during Holmes's undercover search for Von Bork; it tells how he divides his time between his counter-espionage task and
3320-552: The Rifle Clubs Committee of the National Rifle Association . In 1901, Doyle was one of three judges for the world's first major bodybuilding competition, which was organised by the "Father of Bodybuilding", Eugen Sandow . The event was held in London's Royal Albert Hall . The other two judges were the sculptor Sir Charles Lawes-Wittewronge and Eugen Sandow himself. Doyle was an amateur boxer. In 1909, he
3403-756: The US in Collier's in the same month. The story was published with three illustrations by Alfred Gilbert (best known as sculptor of the Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain ) in the Strand , and with five illustrations by Frederic Dorr Steele in Collier's . It was included in the short story collection His Last Bow , which was published in the UK and the US in October 1917. The story
Charles Altamont Doyle - Misplaced Pages Continue
3486-960: The University of Edinburgh in 1881, he was ship's surgeon on the SS Mayumba during a voyage to the West African coast. He completed his Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degree (an advanced degree beyond the basic medical qualification in the UK) with a dissertation on tabes dorsalis in 1885. In 1882, Doyle partnered with his former classmate George Turnavine Budd in a medical practice in Plymouth , but their relationship proved difficult, and Doyle soon left to set up an independent practice. Arriving in Portsmouth in June 1882, with less than £10 (£1300 in 2023 ) to his name, he set up
3569-526: The Voice of Terror starring Basil Rathbone is credited as an adaptation of this story. "His Last Bow" was adapted as part of the storyline in the 1986 Soviet film The Twentieth Century Approaches , the final entry in the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson film series. An episode of the animated television series Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century was based on the story. The episode, titled "The Secret Safe", aired in 2001. "His Last Bow"
3652-671: The accolade from the King in person at Buckingham Palace on 24 October of that year. He stood for Parliament twice as a Liberal Unionist : in 1900 in Edinburgh Central , and in 1906 in the Hawick Burghs , but was not elected. He served as a Deputy-Lieutenant of Surrey beginning in 1902, and was appointed a Knight of Grace of the Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem in 1903. Doyle
3735-461: The activity and began the long association between Switzerland and skiing. In 1885 Doyle married Louisa (sometimes called "Touie") Hawkins (1857–1906). She was the youngest daughter of J. Hawkins, of Minsterworth , Gloucestershire, and the sister of one of Doyle's patients. Louisa had tuberculosis . In 1907, the year after Louisa's death, he married Jean Elizabeth Leckie (1874–1940). He had met and fallen in love with Jean in 1897, but had maintained
3818-444: The anti-immigration British Brothers' League . In 1914, Doyle was one of fifty-three leading British authors—including H. G. Wells , Rudyard Kipling and Thomas Hardy —who signed their names to the "Authors' Declaration", justifying Britain's involvement in the First World War. This manifesto declared that the German invasion of Belgium had been a brutal crime, and that Britain "could not without dishonour have refused to take part in
3901-516: The effects of long term drinking. Nonetheless, he continued to paint. He completed illustrations for the July 1888 edition of his son's first Sherlock Holmes novel A Study in Scarlet . During his period at the asylum he continued to work, producing volumes of drawings and watercolours in sketchbooks with fantasy themes such as elves, faerie folk, and scenes of death and heavenly redemption. His accompanying notes featured wordplay and visual puns, described as
3984-429: The eve of war, its publication during the First World War , and its patriotic themes, the story has been interpreted as a propaganda tool intended to boost morale for British readers. On the eve of the First World War, the German agent Von Bork is getting ready to leave England with his vast collection of intelligence , gathered over a four-year period. His wife and household have already left Harwich for Flushing in
4067-655: The faith and became an agnostic . One source attributed his drift away from religion to the time he spent in the less strict Austrian school. He also later became a spiritualist mystic . From 1876 to 1881, Doyle studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh Medical School ; during this period he spent time working in Aston (then a town in Warwickshire , now part of Birmingham ), Sheffield and Ruyton-XI-Towns , Shropshire. Also during this period, he studied practical botany at
4150-461: The front door.) He had no patients, according to his autobiography, and his efforts as an ophthalmologist were a failure. Doyle initially struggled to find a publisher. His first work featuring Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, A Study in Scarlet , was written in three weeks when he was 27 and was accepted for publication by Ward Lock & Co on 20 November 1886, which gave Doyle £25 (equivalent to £3,500 in 2023) in exchange for all rights to
4233-498: The incident, and Doyle's alternative spelling of the ship's name as the Marie Celeste has become more commonly used than the original spelling. Between 1888 and 1906, Doyle wrote seven historical novels, which he and many critics regarded as his best work. He also wrote nine other novels, and—later in his career (1912–29)—five narratives (three of novel or novella length) featuring the irascible scientist Professor Challenger . The Challenger stories include his best-known work after
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#17328593527664316-483: The mutilations continued after their suspect was jailed. Apart from helping George Edalji, Doyle's work helped establish a way to correct other miscarriages of justice, as it was partially as a result of this case that the Court of Criminal Appeal was established in 1907. The story of Doyle and Edalji was dramatised in an episode of the 1972 BBC television series, The Edwardians . In Nicholas Meyer's pastiche The West End Horror (1976), Holmes manages to help clear
4399-592: The name Altamont as an alias. In 1924 he mounted an exhibition of his father's works at the Brook Galleries in London, where they were praised by George Bernard Shaw . The Doyle Diary, containing a facsimile of works from a sketchbook he created from March to July 1889 while at Montrose, was published in 1978. This brought Doyle's work to wider attention and appreciation. [REDACTED] Media related to Charles Altamont Doyle at Wikimedia Commons Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle KStJ , DL (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930)
4482-498: The name of a shy Parsi Indian character wronged by the English justice system. Edalji was of Parsi heritage on his father's side. The story was fictionalised in Julian Barnes 's 2005 novel Arthur and George , which was adapted into a three-part drama by ITV in 2015. The second case, that of Oscar Slater —a Jew of German origin who operated a gambling den and was convicted of bludgeoning an 82-year-old woman in Glasgow in 1908—excited Doyle's curiosity because of inconsistencies in
4565-437: The night" on 10 October 1893. He was buried in the High Cemetery in Dumfries. His son, Arthur Conan Doyle, remembered his father with affection, describing him in his autobiography as "...full of the tragedy of unfulfilled powers and of underdeveloped gifts. He had his weaknesses, as all of us have ours, but he had also some very remarkable and outstanding virtues". In the Sherlock Holmes story " His Last Bow " (1917), Holmes uses
4648-460: The novel The Hound of the Baskervilles . Holmes's fictional connection with the Reichenbach Falls is celebrated in the nearby town of Meiringen . In 1903, Doyle published his first Holmes short story in ten years, " The Adventure of the Empty House ", in which it was explained that only Moriarty had fallen, but since Holmes had other dangerous enemies—especially Colonel Sebastian Moran —he had arranged to make it look as if he too were dead. Holmes
4731-438: The one fixed point in a changing age. There's an east wind coming all the same, such a wind as never blew on England yet. It will be cold and bitter, Watson, and a good many of us may wither before its blast. But it's God's own wind none the less, and a cleaner, better, stronger land will lie in the sunshine when the storm has cleared." "His Last Bow" was first published in the UK in The Strand Magazine in September 1917, and in
4814-456: The poor showing of British troops in the Boer War had led him to believe that the general population needed training in marksmanship. He was a champion of "miniature" rifle clubs, whose members shot small-calibre firearms on local ranges. These ranges were much cheaper and more accessible to working-class participants than large "fullbore" ranges, such as Bisley Camp , which were necessarily remote from population centres. Doyle went on to sit on
4897-425: The present war". Doyle was also a fervent advocate of justice and personally investigated two closed cases, which led to two men being exonerated of the crimes of which they were accused. The first case, in 1906, involved a shy half-British, half-Indian lawyer named George Edalji , who had allegedly penned threatening letters and mutilated animals in Great Wyrley . Police were set on Edalji's conviction, even though
4980-455: The produce of a MADMAN. Whereabouts would you say was the deficiency of intellect? Or depraved taste?" At other times he was more contented, contributing drawings and articles to the asylum's newsletter and sketching the staff. On 23 January 1892 he was admitted as a patient to the Royal Edinburgh Hospital , and was treated there until 26 May 1892. In May 1892 he was moved to the Crichton Royal Institution , Dumfries . He died from "a fit during
5063-440: The prosecution's case and a general sense that Slater was not guilty. He ended up paying most of the costs for Slater's successful 1928 appeal. Doyle had a longstanding interest in mystical subjects and remained fascinated by the idea of paranormal phenomena, even though the strength of his belief in their reality waxed and waned periodically over the years. In 1887, in Southsea, influenced by Major-General Alfred Wilks Drayson ,
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#17328593527665146-603: The publishing world, and so, after this, he left them. Short stories featuring Sherlock Holmes were published in the Strand Magazine . Doyle wrote the first five Holmes short stories from his office at 2 Devonshire Place. Doyle's attitude towards his most famous creation was ambivalent. In November 1891, he wrote to his mother: "I think of slaying Holmes, ... and winding him up for good and all. He takes my mind from better things." His mother responded, "You won't! You can't! You mustn't!" In an attempt to deflect publishers' demands for more Holmes stories, he raised his price to
5229-400: The school harsh, noting that, instead of compassion and warmth, it favoured the threat of corporal punishment and ritual humiliation. From 1875 to 1876, he was educated at the Jesuit school Stella Matutina in Feldkirch , Austria. His family decided that he would spend a year there in order to perfect his German and broaden his academic horizons. He was raised Catholic but later rejected
5312-426: The second husband of Georgian Princess Nina Mdivani ; Adrian Malcolm (1910–1970); and Jean Lena Annette (1912–1997). None of Doyle's five children had children of their own, so he has no living direct descendants. Doyle served as a volunteer physician in the Langman Field Hospital at Bloemfontein between March and June 1900, during the Second Boer War in South Africa (1899–1902). Later that year, he wrote
5395-464: The story. The piece appeared a year later in the Beeton's Christmas Annual and received good reviews in The Scotsman and the Glasgow Herald . Holmes was partially modelled on Doyle's former university teacher Joseph Bell . In 1892, in a letter to Bell, Doyle wrote, "It is most certainly to you that I owe Sherlock Holmes ... round the centre of deduction and inference and observation which I have heard you inculcate I have tried to build up
5478-433: Was E. W. Hornung , creator of the literary character Raffles ), as well as his two nephews, also died shortly after the war. His second book on spiritualism, The Vital Message , appeared in 1919. Doyle found solace in supporting spiritualism's ideas and the attempts of spiritualists to find proof of an existence beyond the grave . In particular, according to some, he favoured Christian Spiritualism and encouraged
5561-409: Was 43. He was an occasional bowler who took one first-class wicket, W. G. Grace , and wrote a poem about the achievement. His captaincy of the Authors XI lasted from 1899 to 1912, during which time his cricket scores were by far the most common entries in his diary. In 1900, Doyle founded the Undershaw Rifle Club at his home, constructing a 100-yard range and providing shooting for local men, as
5644-443: Was Arthur's middle name. Shortly after he graduated from high school he began using Conan as a sort of surname. But technically his last name is simply 'Doyle'." When knighted, he was gazetted as Doyle, not under the compound Conan Doyle. Doyle was born on 22 May 1859 at 11 Picardy Place, Edinburgh , Scotland. His father, Charles Altamont Doyle , was born in England, of Irish Catholic descent, and his mother, Mary (née Foley),
5727-445: Was Irish Catholic. His parents married in 1855. In 1864, the family scattered because of Charles's growing alcoholism. The children were temporarily housed across Edinburgh. Arthur lodged with Mary Burton , the aunt of a friend, at Liberton Bank House on Gilmerton Road, while studying at Newington Academy. In 1867, the family came together again and lived in squalid tenement flats at 3 Sciennes Place . Doyle's father died in 1893, in
5810-449: Was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for A Study in Scarlet , the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Holmes and Dr. Watson . The Sherlock Holmes stories are milestones in the field of crime fiction. Doyle was a prolific writer. In addition to the Holmes stories, his works include fantasy and science fiction stories about Professor Challenger , and humorous stories about
5893-470: Was a supporter of the campaign for the reform of the Congo Free State that was 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. He became acquainted with Morel and Casement, and it is possible that, together with Bertram Fletcher Robinson , they inspired several characters that appear in his 1912 novel The Lost World . Later, after
5976-517: Was dismissed from his job and given a pension; in 1881 Doyle's family sent him to Blairerno House, a "home for Intemperate Gentlemen". After several escapades, in 1885 he was sectioned after managing to "procure drink", and becoming aggressively excited, remaining confused and incoherent for several days afterwards. He was sent to Sunnyside, Montrose Royal Lunatic Asylum . While there, his depression grew worse, and he began experiencing epileptic seizures and problems with short-term memory loss due to
6059-472: Was dramatised by Edith Meiser as an episode of the American radio series The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes . The episode aired on 12 October 1932, with Richard Gordon as Sherlock Holmes and Leigh Lovell as Dr. Watson. The story was adapted for BBC radio in 1969 by Michael Hardwick , as part of the 1952–1969 radio series starring Carleton Hobbs as Holmes and Norman Shelley as Watson. "His Last Bow"
6142-556: Was first published in September 1917 in The Strand Magazine and collected as the last of an anthology of eight stories titled His Last Bow: Some Reminiscences of Sherlock Holmes the following month. The narration is in the third person , instead of the first person narration usually provided by the character of Dr. Watson, and it is a spy story, rather than a detective mystery. Due to its portrayal of British and German spies on
6225-681: Was initiated as a Freemason at the Phoenix Lodge No. 257 in Southsea. (He resigned from the Lodge in 1889, returned to it in 1902, and resigned again in 1911.) In 1889, he became a founding member of the Hampshire Society for Psychical Research; in 1893, he joined the London-based Society for Psychical Research ; and in 1894, he collaborated with Sir Sidney Scott and Frank Podmore in
6308-884: Was invited to referee the James Jeffries – Jack Johnson heavyweight championship fight in Reno, Nevada . Doyle wrote: "I was much inclined to accept ... though my friends pictured me as winding up with a revolver at one ear and a razor at the other. However, the distance and my engagements presented a final bar." Also a keen golfer, Doyle was elected captain of the Crowborough Beacon Golf Club in Sussex for 1910. He had moved to Little Windlesham house in Crowborough with Jean Leckie, his second wife, and resided there with his family from 1907 until his death in July 1930. He entered
6391-446: Was nine or ten), seven of whom survived childhood, including Arthur Conan Doyle , John Francis Innes Hay (known as Innes or Duff), and Jane Adelaide Rose (known as Ida). To support his growing family, in addition to full-time employment Doyle continued to produce illustrations for at least 23 books, as well as several designs for journals. These included editions of The Pilgrim's Progress (1860) and Robinson Crusoe (1861), Beauty and
6474-455: Was not unhappy at Stonyhurst, he said he did not have any fond memories of it because the school was run on medieval principles: the only subjects covered were rudiments, rhetoric , Euclidean geometry , algebra , and the classics. Doyle commented later in his life that this academic system could be excused only "on the plea that any exercise, however stupid in itself, forms a sort of mental dumbbell by which one can improve one's mind". He found
6557-578: Was of Irish background but Doyle was born and raised in England. Similarly to his elder brother Richard, he had no formal training, apart from lessons in his father's studio. In 1849 Doyle moved to Edinburgh , to take up a post at the Scottish Office of Works, where he was employed as an assistant surveyor. On 31 July 1855, he married Mary Foley (1837–1920), his landlady's daughter. Together they became parents to several children (sources debate whether it
6640-427: Was one of Holmes' agents: the light that she switched off was the signal to Holmes and Watson that the coast was clear. Holmes and Watson take Von Bork and the evidence to Scotland Yard . In reference to the impending War, Holmes says, "There's an east wind coming, Watson." Watson misinterprets the meaning of the words and says, "I think not, Holmes. It is very warm", to which Holmes replies: "Good old Watson! You are
6723-638: Was prompted by the death of his son Kingsley, but Doyle began presenting himself publicly as a spiritualist in 1916, and Kingsley died on 28 October 1918 (from pneumonia contracted during his convalescence after being seriously wounded in the 1916 Battle of the Somme ). Nevertheless, the war-related deaths of many people who were close to him appear to have even further strengthened his long-held belief in life after death and spirit communication. Doyle's brother Brigadier-general Innes Doyle died, also from pneumonia, in February 1919. His two brothers-in-law (one of whom
6806-570: Was strengthened by what he took to be the psychic abilities of his children's nanny, Lily Loder Symonds. This and the constant drumbeat of wartime deaths inspired him with the idea that spiritualism was what he called a "New Revelation" sent by God to bring solace to the bereaved. He wrote a piece in Light magazine about his faith and began lecturing frequently on spiritualism. In 1918, he published his first spiritualist work, The New Revelation . Some have mistakenly assumed that Doyle's turn to spiritualism
6889-416: Was ultimately featured in a total of 56 short stories —the last published in 1927—and four novels by Doyle, and has since appeared in many novels and stories by other authors . Doyle's first novels were The Mystery of Cloomber , not published until 1888, and the unfinished Narrative of John Smith , published only posthumously, in 2011. He amassed a portfolio of short stories, including "The Captain of
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