Don’t ignore Arthur


There are some people like me who love Sherlock Holmes and are very interested in his creator. Then there are others for whom Conan Doyle is, at most, the literary agent and they have no interest in him beyond that.

Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) so much more than an agent

The latter group need to think on this simple fact. The people who believed in Holmes and regarded Conan Doyle as little more than a Holmes writing machine caused, in no small part, Sherlock Holmes’s death.

It was the public’s obsession with Holmes and the constant demand for new stories that led to Conan Doyle feeling suffocated and frustrated. These feelings directly led to the decision to send Holmes to Reichenbach.

Fortunately Conan Doyle resurrected Holmes and did not kill him again prior to his own death. This means that Holmes can never die but this does not, in my opinion, free people of an obligation to show respect to Conan Doyle (and perhaps attempt to learn a little about him) and not be so quick to dismiss or relegate him to little more than a supporting role.



Eliminate the Impossible is available from all good bookstores, in many formats worldwide including Amazon USA, Barnes and Noble, Amazon UK, Waterstones UK, Amazon Kindle, Kobo, Nook and iBooks for the iPad/iPhone.


For more information on Arthur Conan Doyle and his time at Undershaw please refer to my book, An Entirely New Country which is available through all good bookstores including Amazon USA, Amazon UK, Classic Specialities, and in all electronic formats including iTunes, Kobo, Nook and Kindle .

Comments

  1. Although I agree with you for the most part, and the majority of Sherlockians follow the tenants you suggest, it is the interest in Holmes that has kept much of the other writings Doyle did alive.
    I love the Gerard writings as well as the Challenger papers (which was one of the first science fiction movies ever made)
    Arthur Conan Doyle in some ways fell victim to what many actors do when giving up a character that has made them famous for fear of being type cast. But such is the nature of fame; not always fair. Basil Rathbone suffer the same fate in many ways.
    I always look forward to your posts, thanks.

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