The Man Who Created Sherlock Holmes: The Life and Times of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

A case could be made that the most famous character in fiction is Sherlock Holmes. Everybody knows him, if not from the original stories, then from the countless plays, movies, and parodies. There is an international fan club, and the great detective still gets mail at his 221B Baker Street address in London. But his creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, was not so enthusiastic. Surely Holmes was the making of Doyle as a literary man, but six years after Holmes first appeared, Doyle wrote in 1892, "I am weary of his name." The public enthusiasm over the detective was, in Doyle's view, keeping him from writing the better things for which he wanted to be known, among which were his books and pamphlets in defense of the new religion of spiritualism. He failed in many of his non-Sherlockian efforts, and thus his most recent biography is called _The Man Who Created Sherlock Holmes: The Life and Times of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle_ (Free Press) by Andrew Lycett. The author has made a specialty of literary biographies (Ian Fleming, Rudyard Kipling, Dylan Thomas) and has had a long battle with the complicated network of Doyle heirs (described here in an afterword) to produce a big and detailed portrait of a gifted and deeply conflicted author. Doyle was born in 1859 in Scotland, of Irish parents. He was all her life devoted to his "Mam", perhaps excessively even by Victorian standards. Many of his words quoted here are from letters to her. His father was insane and an alcoholic, incarcerated for years in mental institutions. Doyle abandoned his family's Catholicism and as a young man claimed agnosticism at a time when the term and the idea was a new one, before eventually claiming spiritualism. Though Lycett covers Doyles other literary works, it is Sherlock who will always be most important. Doyle killed Holmes off and remained a popular author without him, but not as popular and not as wealthy, and the reading world rejoiced to learn that Holmes's death was only apparent, not actual, when the stories resumed. Lycett writes, "Becoming a spiritualist so soon after creating the quintessentially rational Sherlock Holmes: that is the central paradox of Arthur's life." Lycett has examined the paradox thoroughly, but probably it can never be fully explained. Doyle never mixed spiritualism into the Holmes stories. When Holmes encountered superstition, it was always with the understanding that there were rational, material explanations for what people had misinterpreted as the doings of the supernatural. Lycett's book is excellent about Doyle's literary efforts and his eagerness to involve contemporary concerns into his fiction, even if he was careful not to mix his spiritualism with his famous detective. Lycett's extensive investigations into newly-available archives mean that we can know Doyle's whereabouts, budgets, and enthusiasms with sometimes day-to-day accuracy. Doyle was an anomaly in many ways, supporting and uprooting conservative Briti

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) was born in Edinburgh Scotland to native Irish parents. His father was a minor painter who died an alcoholic in a mental asylum. His formidable mother Mary was a smart and literate woman who relished telling tales to Arthur and his siblings. Arthur studied and graduated with a degree in medicine from Edinburgh University where his favorite teacher was Dr. Joseph Bell. Bell would be his inspiration for his famous detective creation along with Oliver Wendell Holmes. Doyle went on a ship to the Artic in his 20th year serving as the medical officer. He enjoyed travel and adventure throughout his life. He loved America and often visited our shores. In the 1880s he set up practice in Portsmouth becoming a prominent figure in the community. He married his first wife Louise with whom he had two children: Mary and Kingsley who died of disease in World War I. Doyle enjoyed sport all of his life indulging in cricket, skiing in Switzerland, tennis, bicycling, motoring and golf. He was a macho man's man who was also a patriot loving the British Empire. He was friendly with such writers as Kipling, Stevenson, Meredith and Hardy. In the 1880s and 1890's he produced his first Sherlock Holmes novels: "A Study in Scarlet" and "A Sign of Four." The Holmes short stories were produced in the Strand magazine and were wildly popular. Holmes pooh-poohed these tales wanting to write historical fiction in imitation of his idol Sir Walter Scott. In this genre the prolific doctor produced such works as "The White Company" He often sought to kill off Holmes but the last tale of the detective would not be published until late in his life due to the love the public had for the man in the deerstalker. Holmes was also played on the stage by William Gillette and was seen in silent and early talkie films. Doyle's wife Louise died from TB in 1906. The famous and wealthy author had already begun an affair with his second wife Jean Leckie with whom he was to marry and have three children. Doyle participated in the Boer War and visited the front in World War. His last years were spent as an evangelist for spiritualism. He died in 1930 known today almost exclusively for the Sherlock Holmes tales he so disdained in his lifetime. Andrew Lycett has authored several literary biographies including those of Dylan Thomas, Ian Fleming and Rudyard Kipling. He has written a good book on Doyle which is illustrated and researched being based on several of the recently released letters of Doyle. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a man of many contradictions. A scientist who loved spiritualism. A married and settled family man who committed adultery. An icon to boys who often was far from home and family. An Irish heritage person who opposed the home rule of the Emerald Isle. A brilliant observer of life who was often duped by spiritualistic charlatans. A born Roman Catholic who did not like organized religion. This book along with the recently publis

I love Sherlock Holmes. He is one of the greatest characters in fiction -- so realistic, in fact, that many people insist he was a genuine person. So it seemed to make sense that I would like his creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. But I didn't. That is no fault of Andrew Lycett, the author of The Man Who Created Sherlock Holmes. Lycett's biography is outstanding in every way -- well researched (utilizing letters of Doyle's that have only just become available), well organized, and beautifully written. He also does his job superbly, as the reader comes to know Doyle intimately. And there's the rub, for Arthur Conan Doyle is not a very likable man. He started out well enough. Doyle was eager to be successful, as his father was an alcoholic who rarely contributed to his family's finances. Young Arthur therefore needed to help his family. He earned his medical degree and wrote stories to supplement his income. Once he introduced Sherlock Holmes in 1888, Doyle realized he could earn more as a writer than as a Doctor. After years of writing tales of Sherlock Holmes, Doyle grew tired of the great detective. Doyle also felt his other writings were being overlooked. So he killed Holmes off. But Holmes was his cash cow, his guaranteed moneymaker, so Doyle eventually brought him back, much to the delight of readers throughout the world. It is Lycett's illuminations of Holmes and the background he gives for each of the stories and novels that are the most interesting part of a very interesting book. Doyle befriended many writers and celebrities, including Rudyard Kipling, P.G. Wodehouse, Harry Houdini, Thomas Hardy and several others. He was well liked, successful, and fairly humble. That all began to change in 1894, when his wife Louise became seriously ill with tuberculosis. Doyle avoided her, taking lecture trips and holidays without her or their two children. He met and fell in love with a woman fifteen years his junior, and devoted a great deal of time to this relationship. Doyle insisted their relationship was entirely platonic, but Lycett finds this hard to swallow. Doyle and his new love spent the next decade waiting for Louise to die. When she finally did in 1906, their marriage followed soon after, and they quickly began a family of their own. Once this happened, Doyle essentially ignored the two children from his first marriage, shipping them off to boarding school, and not even allowing them to come home for Christmas. At least part of Doyle's indifference was prompted by his second wife Jean. Doyle had always had a belief in spiritualism, which was not so strange, as it was quite a popular phenomenon in his time. But when his son from his first marriage and his younger brother were killed in World War I, Doyle's belief in spiritualism -- the idea that one can commune with the spirits of the dead -- caused him to lose touch with reality. Doyle became a bit of a pompous bore. He refused to

Most know Sir Arthur Conan Doyle only for his literary creation Sherlock Holmes, the detective that was born over one century ago, and does not show any signs of aging. In an effort to expand knowledge of Holmes creator, Andrew Lycett wrote this simply outstanding biographical work that is a must have for mystery readers as well as personal history fans. I was aware of some of the details and influences of Doyle prior to recieving this book as a gift at Christmas, but the insights/perspective gained on Doyle make this book a treasure. Fans of the great detective are always on the the lookout for good material, and this book must be counting among their list. Other recommended reading would include The Crime Doctor, which includes new work by David Jacobs and provides complimentary insights to Lycett's book on the life of EW Hornung (also the creator of Raffles), and brother-in-law to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who so greatly influenced this work by Hornung in his creation of Doctor John Dollar, the physician-sleuth.

Mr. Lycett has written the complete and definitive account of Arthur Conan Doyle's life. The creator of Sherlock Holmes, Mr. Doyle found himself imprisoned by the fame of his creation and wanted to be known for other things -- that was not to be. Few today know of his "new age" spiritualism which became more fervent after the death of his son in World War I. Contacting the dead became an obsession with him. Some may know of his "Lost World" novel which predates "Jurassic Park" by 80 years. Fewer still are aware of his two successful campaigns to free unjustly convicted men from prison, using his gifts of deductive reasoning. Mr. Doyle was a remarkable man in whom the spiritual and the rational resided side by side. The biography is illustrated and a tad long, especially by the time the reader reaches the 1920's. Overall a fascinating read.