Arthur Conan Doyle : a life in letters

a Remarkable Annotated Collection Of Previously Unpublished Private Correspondence From The Creator Of Sherlock Holmes this Extraordinary Annotated Collection Of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Private Correspondence Offers Unique Insight Into One Of The World's Most Popular Authors. Detailing Conan Doyle's Life From His Beginnings As A Country Doctor To His Struggle With The Success Of Sherlock Holmes And His Ultimate Calling As The Foremost Spokesman For Spiritualism, Conan Doyle's Letters Expose His Innermost Thoughts On Literature, World Events, And Matters Of The Heart. Under The Stewardship Of Editors Renowned For Their Expertise On Both Conan Doyle's Life And The Sherlock Holmes Stories, This Remarkable Volume Reveals A Man Whose Character And Exploits Rival That Of His Famous Creation. the Barnes & Noble Review on November 22, 1891, After Writing Five Sherlock Holmes Stories Now Considered Enduring Classics Of The Mystery Genre, Arthur Conan Doyle Sat At His Desk Composing A Letter To His Mother. He Dipped His Pen In Ink And Scratched These Words Onto The Paper: I Think Of Slaying Holmes In The Sixth & Winding Him Up For Good & All. He Takes My Mind From Better Things. A collection of letters between Arthur Conan Doyle (author and creator of Sherlock Holmes) and his mother, covering most of his life, written between 1867 and the year of her death in 1921. Doyle was raised almost solely by his mother in Dickensian circumstances, (his father latterly suffered from dipsomania and epilepsy and so spent much of his later life in asylums). Since Sherlock Holmes's inception in 1887, he has been one of the best-known and widely read literary characters, and the subject of more radio and television shows and motion pictures than any other fictional character in history. Although Doyle and his Holmes continue to be much written about, talked about and adapted, this is the first time that this material, along with other personal papers, has ever been made available. Conan Doyle although most famously remembered for Holmes, was also a physician, sportsman, public figure, war correspondent, pioneer of science fiction, psychic investigator, and prominent spiritual missionary. These letters reveal fascinating portraits of Doyle: his trip to the Arctic aged 21 where he served as a ship's surgeon on a whaling ship; his unprofitable stint as a Harley Street doctor and his decision to abandon this in favour of writing, more money and the opportunity to help his mother to look after his many younger brothers and sisters; his friendships with J.M.Barrie (among others); his attempts to write material other than Holmes; and his involvement in the spiritualist movement – something that his mother, a devout Roman Catholic, was completely against. 'Mam' as he called her, was his most loyal confidant, and his letters functioned to a certain extent as confession and cleansing penance, until his mother's death in 1921. The collection is annotated by Daniel Stashower, award-winning mystery novelist and author of the recent Conan Doyle biography "Teller of Tales", and Jon Lellenberg, the U.S agent for the Conan Doyle estate. Dedication Introduction 1 - The Schoolboy (1867-1876) 2 - The Medical Student (1876-1882) 3 - The Struggling Doctor (1882-1884) 4 - Cracking the Oyster (1884-1890) 5 - ‘Author of Sherlock Holmes’ (1891-1893) 6 - Putting Holmes Behind Him (1894-1896) 7 - Country Life (1896-1898) 8 - War in South Africa (1899-1900) 9 - Politics and Honours (1900-1902) 10 - The Final Hindhead Years (1903-1907) 11 - Windlesham to the Outbreak of War (1907-1914) 12 - The World War (1914-1918) 13 - His Last Crusade (1918-1920) Epilogue Acknowledgments Index