The Old Horse - Conan Doyle close to death

In 1930, after he collapsed at home, Arthur Conan Doyle drew a sketch called “The Old Horse”. The title referred to him and in the drawing he depicted the eponymous horse pulling a cart into which he had placed all his life’s achievements and the various significant life steps along the way.

The most recent step in the journey depicted Conan Doyle as he was – in his sick bed. He clearly did not expect it to be his death bed.

The contents of the cart are interesting as they give an insight into how Conan Doyle felt about his achievements. The size of the packages gives a good indication as to how big a part of his life he considered things to be. The package for Sherlock Holmes who was a regular part of his life from 1886 to 1927 was of a similar size to that given to his experiences in the Langman Hospital in South Africa which covered only a few months. As close to death as he turned out to be Conan Doyle was not prepared to see Sherlock Holmes in the same terms as the rest of the world saw him.

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 .

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

Close to Holmes 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.

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.