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Biography

Childhood and youth

Arthur Conan Doyle was born into an Irish Catholic family known for its achievements in the arts and literature. The name Conan was given to him in honor of his mother’s uncle, artist and writer Michael Edward Conan. Father - Charles Altemont Doyle (1832-1893), an architect and artist, on July 31, 1855, at the age of 23, married 17-year-old Mary Josephine Elizabeth Foley (1837-1920), who passionately loved books and had a great talent as a storyteller. From her, Arthur inherited his interest in knightly traditions, exploits and adventures. " Real love to literature, my penchant for writing comes, I believe, from my mother,” Conan Doyle wrote in his autobiography. - “Vivid images of the stories she told me in early childhood, completely replaced in my memory memories of specific events in my life of those years.”

The family of the future writer experienced serious financial difficulties- solely because of the strange behavior of his father, who not only suffered from alcoholism, but also had an extremely unbalanced psyche. School life Arthur attended Godder Preparatory School. When the boy was nine years old, wealthy relatives offered to pay for his education and sent him for the next seven years to the Jesuit private college Stonyhurst (Lancashire), from where the future writer suffered hatred of religious and class prejudice, as well as physical punishment. The few happy moments of those years for him were associated with letters to his mother: he retained the habit of describing current events to her in detail for the rest of his life. In addition, at the boarding school, Doyle enjoyed playing sports, mainly cricket, and also discovered his talent as a storyteller, gathering peers around him who spent hours listening to stories made up on the go.

They say that while studying in college, Arthur's least favorite subject was mathematics, and he got it pretty bad from his fellow students - the Moriarty brothers. Later, Conan Doyle's memories of his school years led to the appearance of the image of a “genius” in the story “Holmes’s Last Case.” underworld" - Professor of Mathematics Moriarty.

In 1876, Arthur graduated from college and returned home: the first thing he had to do was rewrite his father’s papers in his name, who by that time had almost completely lost his mind. The writer subsequently spoke about the dramatic circumstances of Doyle Sr.’s imprisonment in a psychiatric hospital in the story “The Surgeon of Gaster Fell” (English: The Surgeon of Gaster Fell, 1880). Art studies (to which he was predisposed family tradition) Doyle chose a medical career - largely under the influence of Brian C. Waller, a young doctor to whom his mother rented a room in the house. Dr. Waller was educated at the University of Edinburgh: Arthur Doyle went there to study further education. Among the future writers he met here were James Barry and Robert Lewis Stevenson.

Beginning of a literary career

As a third-year student, Doyle decided to try his hand at the literary field. His first story, “The Mystery of Sasassa Valley,” created under the influence of Edgar Allan Poe and Bret Harte (his favorite authors at that time), was published by the university Chamber's Journal, where Thomas Hardy's first works appeared. That same year, Doyle's second story " American history"(eng. The American Tale) appeared in the magazine London Society .

From February to September 1880, Doyle spent seven months as a ship's doctor in Arctic waters aboard the whaling ship Hope, receiving a total of 50 pounds for his work. “I boarded this ship as a big, clumsy youth, and walked down the gangway as a strong, grown man,” he later wrote in his autobiography. Impressions from the Arctic journey formed the basis of the story “Captain” North Star“” (eng. Captain of the Pole-Star). Two years later he made a similar voyage to the West Coast of Africa on board the Mayumba, which sailed between Liverpool and west coast Africa.

Having received a university diploma and a bachelor's degree in medicine in 1881, Conan Doyle began practicing medicine, first jointly (with an extremely unscrupulous partner - this experience was described in The Notes of Stark Munro), then individually, in Portsmouth. Finally, in 1891, Doyle decided to make literature his main profession. In January 1884 the magazine Cornhill published the story "The Message of Hebekuk Jephson." On those same days he met future wife Louise "Tuey" Hawkins; the wedding took place on August 6, 1885.

In 1884, Conan Doyle began work on a social and everyday novel with a crime-detective plot, “Girdleston Trading House” about cynical and cruel money-grubbing merchants. The novel, clearly influenced by Dickens, was published in 1890.

In March 1886, Conan Doyle began - and already in April basically completed - work on “A Study in Scarlet” (originally intended to be called A Tangled Skin, and the two main characters were named Sheridan Hope and Ormond Sacker). Ward, Locke & Co bought the rights to the novel for £25 and published it in their Christmas edition. Beeton's Christmas Annual 1887, inviting the writer's father Charles Doyle to illustrate the novel.

In 1889, Doyle's third (and perhaps strangest) novel, The Mystery of Cloomber, was published. The story of the "afterlife" of three vengeful Buddhist monks - the first literary evidence of the author's interest in the paranormal - subsequently made him a staunch follower of spiritualism.

Historical cycle

In February 1888, A. Conan Doyle completed work on the novel The Adventures of Micah Clark, which told the story of the Monmouth Rebellion (1685), the purpose of which was to overthrow King James II. The novel was released in November and was warmly received by critics. From this moment on, a conflict arose in Conan Doyle's creative life: on the one hand, the public and publishers demanded new works about Sherlock Holmes; on the other hand, the writer himself increasingly sought to gain recognition as the author of serious novels (primarily historical ones), as well as plays and poems.

The first serious historical work Conan Doyle's novel "The White Squad" is considered. In it, the author turned to a critical stage in the history of feudal England, taking as a basis a real historical episode of 1366, when there was a lull in the Hundred Years’ War and “white detachments” of volunteers and mercenaries began to emerge. Continuing the war on French territory, they played a decisive role in the struggle of contenders for the Spanish throne. Conan Doyle used this episode for his artistic purpose: he resurrected the life and customs of that time, and most importantly, presented knighthood, which by that time was already in decline, in a heroic aura. “White Squad” was published in the magazine Cornhill(whose publisher James Penn declared it “the best historical novel since Ivanhoe”), and was published as a separate book in 1891. Conan Doyle always said that he considered him one of his best works.

With some allowance, the novel “Rodney Stone” (1896) can also be classified as historical: the action here takes place at the beginning of the 19th century, Napoleon and Nelson, playwright Sheridan are mentioned. Initially, this work was conceived as a play with the working title “House of Temperley” and was written under the famous British actor Henry Irving at that time. While working on the novel, the writer studied a lot of scientific and historical literature (“History of the Navy”, “History of Boxing”, etc.).

In 1892, the “French-Canadian” adventure novel “Exiles” and the historical play “Waterloo” were completed. main role in which the famous actor Henry Irving played in those years (who acquired all rights from the author). In the same year, Conan Doyle published the story "Doctor Fletcher's Patient", which a number of later researchers consider as one of the author's first experiments with detective genre. This story can be considered historical only conditionally - among minor characters it features Benjamin Disraeli and his wife.

Sherlock Holmes

At the time of writing The Hound of the Baskervilles in 1900, Arthur Conan Doyle was the highest paid author in world literature.

1900-1910

In 1900, Conan Doyle returned to medical practice: as a field hospital surgeon, he went to the Boer War. The book he published in 1902, “The Anglo-Boer War,” met with warm approval from conservative circles, brought the writer closer to government spheres, after which he acquired the somewhat ironic nickname “Patriot,” which he himself, however, was proud of. At the beginning of the century, the writer received the title of nobility and knighthood and twice took part in local elections in Edinburgh (both times he was defeated).

On July 4, 1906, Louise Doyle, with whom the writer had two children, died of tuberculosis. In 1907, he married Jean Leckie, with whom he had been secretly in love since they met in 1897.

At the end of the post-war debate, Conan Doyle launched extensive journalistic and (as they would say now) human rights activities. His attention was drawn to the so-called “Edalji case,” which centered on a young Parsi who was convicted on trumped-up charges (of mutilating horses). Conan Doyle, taking on the “role” of a consulting detective, thoroughly understood the intricacies of the case and, with just a long series of publications in the London Daily Telegraph newspaper (but with the involvement of forensic experts), proved his charge’s innocence. Beginning in June 1907, hearings on the Edalji case began to be held in the House of Commons, during which the imperfections of the legal system, deprived of such an important instrument as the court of appeal, were exposed. The latter was created in Britain - largely thanks to the activity of Conan Doyle.

In 1909, events in Africa again came into Conan Doyle's sphere of public and political interests. This time he exposed Belgium's brutal colonial policy in the Congo and criticized the British position on this issue. Conan Doyle's letters The Times this topic had the effect of a bomb exploding. The book "Crimes in the Congo" (1909) had the same powerful resonance: It was thanks to her that many politicians were forced to become interested in the problem. Conan Doyle was supported by Joseph Conrad and Mark Twain. But Rudyard Kipling, a recent like-minded person, greeted the book with restraint, noting that, while criticizing Belgium, it indirectly undermined British positions in the colonies. In 1909, Conan Doyle also became involved in the defense of the Jew Oscar Slater, who was unjustly convicted of murder, and achieved his release, albeit after 18 years.

Relationships with fellow writers

In literature, Conan Doyle had several undoubted authorities: first of all, Walter Scott, on whose books he grew up, as well as George Meredith, Mine Reid, R. M. Ballantyne and R. L. Stevenson. The meeting with the already elderly Meredith in Box Hill made a depressing impression on the aspiring writer: he noted for himself that the master spoke disparagingly about his contemporaries and was delighted with himself. Conan Doyle only corresponded with Stevenson, but he took his death seriously, as a personal loss.

In the early 1890s, Conan Doyle established friendly relations with managers and staff of the magazine The Idler: Jerome K. Jerome, Robert Barr and James M. Barry. The latter, having awakened in the writer a passion for theater, attracted him to (ultimately not very fruitful) collaboration in the dramaturgical field.

In 1893, Doyle's sister Constance married Ernst William Hornung. Having become relatives, the writers maintained friendly relations, although they did not always see eye to eye. Main character Hornunga, Raffles' "noble burglar," closely resembled a parody of Holmes's "noble detective."

A. Conan Doyle also highly appreciated the works of Kipling, in whom, in addition, he saw a political ally (both were fierce patriots). In 1895, he supported Kipling in disputes with American opponents and was invited to Vermont, where he lived with his American wife. Later, after Doyle's critical publications on England's policies in Africa, relations between the two writers became cooler.

Doyle's relationship with Bernard Shaw, who once described Sherlock Holmes as "a drug addict without a single pleasant quality," was strained. There is reason to believe that the Irish playwright took the former’s attacks on the now little-known author Hall Kane, who abused self-promotion, personally. In 1912, Conan Doyle and Shaw entered into a public squabble on the pages of newspapers: the first defended the crew of the Titanic, the second condemned the behavior of the officers of the sunken liner.

1910-1913

In 1912, Conan Doyle published the science fiction novel The Lost World (subsequently adapted into films), followed by The Poison Belt (1913). The main character of both works was Professor Challenger, a fanatic scientist endowed with grotesque qualities, but at the same time humane and charming in his own way. At the same time, the last detective story, “The Valley of Horror,” appeared. This work, which many critics tend to underestimate, is considered by Doyle's biographer J. D. Carr to be one of his strongest.

1914-1918

Doyle becomes even more embittered when he becomes aware of the torture that English prisoners of war were subjected to in Germany.

...It is difficult to develop a line of conduct regarding the Red Indians European descent who torture prisoners of war. It is clear that we ourselves cannot torture the Germans at our disposal in the same way. On the other hand, calls for good-heartedness are also meaningless, for the average German has the same concept of nobility as a cow has of mathematics... He is sincerely incapable of understanding, for example, what makes us speak warmly of von Müller of Weddingen and our other enemies who are trying at least to some extent preserve a human face...

Soon Doyle calls for the organization of “retribution raids” from the territory of eastern France and enters into a discussion with the Bishop of Winchester (the essence of whose position is that “it is not the sinner who is to be condemned, but his sin”): “Let sin fall on those who force us to sin. If we wage this war, guided by Christ’s commandments, there will be no point. If we, following a well-known recommendation taken out of context, had turned the “other cheek,” the Hohenzollern empire would have already spread across Europe, and instead of the teachings of Christ, Nietzscheanism would have been preached here,” he wrote in The Times December 31, 1917.

In 1916, Conan Doyle toured British battlefields and visited the Allied armies. The result of the trip was the book “On Three Fronts” (1916). Realizing that official reports significantly embellished the real state of affairs, he, nevertheless, refrained from any criticism, considering it his duty to maintain the morale of the soldiers. In 1916, his work “The History of the Actions of British Troops in France and Flanders” began to be published. By 1920, all 6 of its volumes were published.

Doyle's brother, son and two nephews went to the front and died there. This was a great shock for the writer and left a heavy mark on all his further literary, journalistic and social activities.

1918-1930

At the end of the war, as is commonly believed, under the influence of shocks associated with the death of loved ones, Conan Doyle became an active preacher of spiritualism, which he had been interested in since the 1880s. Among the books that shaped his new worldview was “ Human personality and her future life after bodily death" by F. W. G. Myers. Conan Doyle's main works on this topic are considered to be “A New Revelation” (1918), where he talked about the history of the evolution of his views on the question of the posthumous existence of the individual, and the novel “The Land of Mists” (eng. The Land of Mist, 1926). The result of his many years of research into the “psychic” phenomenon was the fundamental work “The History of Spiritualism” (English: The History of Spiritualism, 1926).

Conan Doyle refuted claims that his interest in spiritualism arose only at the end of the war:

Many people had not encountered Spiritualism or even heard of it until 1914, when the angel of death came knocking on many homes. Opponents of Spiritualism believe that it was the social cataclysms that shook our world that caused such an increased interest in psychic research. These unprincipled opponents stated that the author's advocacy of Spiritualism and his friend Sir Oliver Lodge's defense of the Doctrine was due to the fact that both of them had lost sons in the 1914 war. The conclusion followed from this: grief darkened their minds, and they believed in what they would never have believed in peacetime. The author many times refuted this shameless lie and emphasized the fact that his research began in 1886, long before the outbreak of the war.
Arthur Conan Doyle. History of spiritualism. Chapter 23. Spiritualism and War

Among Conan Doyle's most controversial works of the early 1920s is the book The Coming of the Fairies, 1921, in which he tried to prove the authenticity of photographs of the "Cottingley fairies" and put forward own theories regarding the nature of this phenomenon. In addition, in 1923, the writer spoke out in favor of the existence of the “curse of the pharaohs.”

In 1924, Conan Doyle's autobiographical book Memoirs and Adventures was published. The writer’s last major work was the science fiction novel “Marakotova Abyss” (1929).

Last years

The writer spent the entire second half of the 1920s traveling, visiting all continents, without stopping his active journalistic activity. Having visited England only briefly in 1929 to celebrate his 70th birthday, Doyle went to Scandinavia with the same goal - to preach “... the revival of religion and that direct, practical spiritualism, which is the only antidote to scientific materialism.” This last trip undermined his health: spring next year he spent in bed surrounded by loved ones.

At some point there was an improvement: the writer immediately went to London to, in a conversation with the Home Secretary, demand the repeal of the laws that persecuted New Forest mediums.

Family

In 1885, Conan Doyle married Louisa "Tue" Hawkins; She suffered from tuberculosis for many years and died in 1906.

In 1907, Doyle married Jean Leckie, with whom he had been secretly in love since they met in 1897. His wife shared his passion for spiritualism and was even considered a rather powerful medium.

Doyle had five children: two from his first wife - Mary and Kingsley, and three from his second - Jean Lena Annette, Denis Percy Stewart (17 March 1909 - 9 March 1955; in 1936 he became the husband of the Georgian princess Nina Mdivani) and Adrian ( subsequently also a writer, author of a biography of his father and a number of works complementing the canonical cycle of short stories and tales about Sherlock Holmes).

) Doyle helps the mysterious stranger Jack Sparks in the fight against the forces of evil trying to seize power over the world.

In a much more traditional vein, facts from the writer’s life were used in the British television series “Death Rooms: The Mysteries of the Real Sherlock Holmes” (eng. Murder Rooms: The Dark Beginnings of Sherlock Holmes, 2000), where young medical student Arthur Conan Doyle becomes an assistant to Professor Joseph Bell (the prototype of Sherlock Holmes) and helps him solve crimes.

The character Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is present in the British TV series Mister Selfridge and the Canadian mini-series, where he was played by actor Stephen Mangan. In the series, Doyle and his friend Harry Houdini (Michael Weston), together with Constable Adelaide Stratton (Rebecca Liddiard), investigate murders allegedly committed by the paranormal. The series depicts Doyle's family and his return to the character of Sherlock Holmes, influenced by the events of the series.

Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle born on May 22, 1859 in the capital of Scotland, Edinburgh, in the family of an artist and architect.

After Arthur reached the age of nine, he went to Hodder Boarding School, a preparatory school for Stonyhurst (a large boarding Catholic school in Lancashire). Two years later, Arthur moved from Hodder to Stonyhurst. It was during these difficult years at boarding school that Arthur realized he had a talent for writing stories. On last year teaching, he publishes a college magazine and writes poetry. In addition, he was involved in sports, mainly cricket, in which he achieved good results. Thus, by 1876 he was educated and ready to face the world.

Arthur decided to go into medicine. In October 1876, Arthur became a medical student at the University of Edinburgh. While studying, Arthur was able to meet many future famous authors, such as James Barry and Robert Louis Stevenson, who also attended the university. But his greatest influence was one of his teachers, Dr. Joseph Bell, who was a master of observation, logic, inference and error detection. In the future, he served as the prototype for Sherlock Holmes.

Two years after starting his studies at the university, Doyle decides to try his hand at literature. In the spring of 1879 he writes short story"The Secret of the Sasassa Valley", which is published in September 1879. He sends a few more stories. But only “An American's Tale” can be published in the London Society magazine. And yet he understands that this way he too can make money.

Twenty years old, while studying in his third year at university, in 1880, a friend of Arthur invited him to accept the position of surgeon on the whaler Nadezhda under the command of John Gray in the Arctic Circle. This adventure found a place in his first story concerning the sea ("Captain of the Polar Star"). In the fall of 1880, Conan Doyle returned to his studies. In 1881, he graduated from the University of Edinburgh, where he received a bachelor's degree in medicine and a master's degree in surgery, and began to look for work. The result of these searches was the position of ship's doctor on the ship "Mayuba", which sailed between Liverpool and the west coast of Africa, and on October 22, 1881, its next voyage began.

He left the ship in mid-January 1882 and moved to England to Plymouth, where he worked with a certain Cullingworth, whom he met during his final courses in Edinburgh. These first years of practice are well described in his book “Letters from Stark to Monroe,” which, in addition to describing life in large quantities The author's thoughts on religious issues and forecasts for the future are presented.

Over time, disagreements arise between former classmates, after which Doyle leaves for Portsmouth (July 1882), where he opens his first practice. Initially there were no clients and therefore Doyle has the opportunity to devote his free time literature. He writes several stories, which he publishes in the same 1882. During 1882-1885, Doyle was torn between literature and medicine.

One day in March 1885, Doyle was invited to consult on the illness of Jack Hawkins. He had meningitis and was hopeless. Arthur offered to place him in his home for his constant care, but Jack died a few days later. This death made it possible to meet his sister Louisa Hawkins, to whom he became engaged in April and married on August 6, 1885.

After marriage, Doyle was actively involved in literature. One after another, his stories “The Message of Hebekuk Jephson,” “The Gap in the Life of John Huxford,” and “The Ring of Thoth” were published in the Cornhill magazine. But stories are stories, and Doyle wants more, he wants to be noticed, and for this he needs to write something more serious. And so in 1884 he wrote the book “ Trading house Girdlestone." But the book did not interest publishers. In March 1886, Conan Doyle began writing a novel that would lead to his popularity. In April, he finishes it and sends it to Cornhill to James Payne, who in May of the same year speaks very warmly about it, but refuses to publish it, since, in his opinion, it deserves a separate publication. Doyle sends the manuscript to Arrowsmith in Bristol, and in July a negative review of the novel arrives. Arthur does not despair and sends the manuscript to Fred Warne and Co. But they weren’t interested in their romance either. Next come Messrs. Ward, Locky and Co. They reluctantly agree, but set a number of conditions: the novel will be published no earlier than next year, the fee for it will be 25 pounds, and the author will transfer all rights to the work to the publisher. Doyle reluctantly agrees, as he wants his first novel to be judged by readers. And so, two years later, the novel “A Study in Scarlet” was published in Beaton’s Christmas Weekly for 1887, which introduced readers to Sherlock Holmes. The novel was published as a separate edition in early 1888.

The beginning of 1887 marked the beginning of the study and research of such a concept as “life after death.” Doyle continued to study this question for the rest of his life.

As soon as Doyle sent out A Study in Scarlet, he began a new book, and at the end of February 1888 he completed the novel Micah Clark. Arthur has always been drawn to historical novels. It was under their influence that Doyle wrote this and a number of other historical works. While working on The White Company in 1889, in the wake of positive reviews for Micah Clark, Doyle unexpectedly receives an invitation to lunch from the American editor of Lippincott's Magazine to discuss writing another Sherlock Holmes work. Arthur meets him and also meets Oscar Wilde and eventually agrees to their proposal. And in 1890, “The Sign of Four” appeared in the American and English editions of this magazine.

The year 1890 was no less productive than the previous one. By the middle of this year, Doyle is finishing The White Company, which James Payne takes up for publication in Cornhill and declares it the best historical novel since Ivanhoe. In the spring of 1891, Doyle arrived in London, where he opened a practice. The practice was not successful (there were no patients), but at this time stories about Sherlock Holmes were written for the Strand magazine.

In May 1891, Doyle fell ill with influenza and was near death for several days. When he recovered, he decided to leave medical practice and devote himself to literature. By the end of 1891, Doyle became a very popular person in connection with the appearance of the sixth Sherlock Holmes story. But after writing these six stories, the editor of the Strand in October 1891 asked for six more, agreeing to any conditions on the part of the author. And Doyle asked for, as it seemed to him, the same amount, 50 pounds, having heard about which the deal should not have taken place, since he no longer wanted to deal with this character. But to his great surprise, it turned out that the editors agreed. And stories were written. Doyle begins work on "Exiles" (finished in early 1892). From March to April 1892, Doyle vacationed in Scotland. Upon his return, he began work on The Great Shadow, which he completed by the middle of that year.

In 1892, Strand magazine again proposed writing another series of stories about Sherlock Holmes. Doyle, in the hope that the magazine will refuse, sets a condition - 1000 pounds and... the magazine agrees. Doyle is already tired of his hero. After all, every time you need to invent new story. Therefore, when at the beginning of 1893 Doyle and his wife go on vacation to Switzerland and visit the Reichenbach Falls, he decides to put an end to this annoying hero. As a result, twenty thousand subscribers canceled their subscription to Strand magazine.

This frantic life may explain why the previous doctor did not pay attention to the serious deterioration in his wife's health. And over time, he finally finds out that Louise has tuberculosis (consumption). Although she was given only a few months, Doyle begins his belated departure and manages to delay her death by more than 10 years, from 1893 to 1906. He and his wife move to Davos, located in the Alps. In Davos, Doyle is actively involved in sports and begins writing stories about foreman Gerard.

Due to his wife’s illness, Doyle is very burdened by constant travel, as well as by the fact that for this reason he cannot live in England. And then suddenly he meets Grant Allen, who, ill like Louise, continued to live in England. Therefore, Doyle decides to sell the house in Norwood and build luxury mansion at Hindhead in Surrey. In the fall of 1895, Arthur Conan Doyle goes to Egypt with Louise and spends the winter of 1896 there, where he hopes for a warm climate that will be beneficial for her. Before this trip he finishes the book "Rodney Stone".

In May 1896 he returned to England. Doyle continues to work on "Uncle Bernak", which was begun in Egypt, but the book is difficult. At the end of 1896, he began writing “The Tragedy of Korosko,” which was created on the basis of impressions received in Egypt. In 1897, Doyle came up with the idea of resurrecting his archenemy Sherlock Holmes to correct his financial situation, which has worsened somewhat due to the high costs of building a house. At the end of 1897, he wrote the play Sherlock Holmes and sent it to Beerbohm Tree. But he wanted to significantly remake it to suit himself, and as a result, the author sent it to Charles Froman in New York, and he, in turn, handed it over to William Gillett, who also wanted to remake it to his liking. This time the author gave up on everything and gave his consent. As a result, Holmes was married, and a new manuscript was sent to the author for approval. And in November 1899, Hiller's Sherlock Holmes was well received in Buffalo.

Conan Doyle was a man with the highest moral principles and did not change throughout life together Louise. However, he fell in love with Jean Leckie when he saw her on March 15, 1897. They fell in love. The only obstacle that held Doyle back from his love affair was the health condition of his wife Louise. Doyle meets Jean's parents, and she, in turn, introduces her to his mother. Arthur and Jean meet often. Having learned that his beloved is interested in hunting and sings well, Conan Doyle also begins to become interested in hunting and learns to play the banjo. From October to December 1898, Doyle wrote the book "Duet with a Random Choir", which tells the story of the life of an ordinary married couple.

When the Boer War began in December 1899, Conan Doyle decided to volunteer for it. He was considered unfit for military service, so he is sent there as a doctor. On April 2, 1900, he arrived on site and set up a field hospital with 50 beds. But there are many times more wounded. For several months in Africa, Doyle saw large quantity soldiers who died from fever, typhus, than from war wounds. Following the defeat of the Boers, Doyle sailed back to England on 11 July. He wrote a book about this war, “The Great Boer War,” which underwent changes until 1902.

In 1902, Doyle completed work on another major work about the adventures of Sherlock Holmes (The Hound of the Baskervilles). And almost immediately there is talk that the author of this sensational novel stole his idea from his friend, journalist Fletcher Robinson. These conversations are still ongoing.

In 1902, Doyle was awarded a knighthood for services rendered during the Boer War. Doyle continues to be burdened by stories about Sherlock Holmes and Brigadier Gerard, so he writes Sir Nigel, which, in his opinion, “is a high literary achievement.”

Louise died in Doyle's arms on July 4, 1906. After nine years of secret courtship, Conan Doyle and Jean Leckie married on September 18, 1907.

Before the outbreak of the First World War (August 4, 1914), Doyle joined a detachment of volunteers, which was entirely civilian and was created in the event of an enemy invasion of England. During the war, Doyle lost many people close to him.

In the fall of 1929, Doyle went on a final tour of Holland, Denmark, Sweden and Norway. He was already sick. Arthur Conan Doyle died on Monday, July 7, 1930.

Arthur Conan Doyle short biography famous English writer, the creator of Sherlock Holmes in this article.

Arthur Conan Doyle biography briefly

Sir Arthur Igneshus Conan Doyle was born May 22, 1859 in Edinburgh in a family of Irish Catholics who had achievements in art and literature. His mother, Mary Foley, had a passion for books and a talent for writing. From her he inherited a love of adventure and the gift of a storyteller. The writer's father, Charles Altemont Doyle, had a weakness for alcohol and was characterized by unbalanced behavior, which caused the family to experience serious financial difficulties. The boy's education was paid for by wealthy relatives. Upon reaching the age of 9, he was sent to the Jesuit private college Stonyhurst (Lancashire), from where he endured hatred of religious and class prejudice, as well as physical punishment.

Returning home, he transferred all the papers of his father, who by that time had completely lost his mind, to his name. Later, Arthur wrote about the dramatic events associated with his father in the story “The Surgeon of Gaster Marshes.” Soon, he entered the University of Edinburgh to study medicine. His choice was influenced by a young doctor, B.C. Waller, who was a guest in their house. At the university, the future writer met J. Barry.

Doyle's first story was called "The Mystery of the Valley of Sass" and was written under the influence of the works of E. A. Poe and B. Hart. Soon his second story, “American History,” was published. IN 1880 for some time he served as a ship's doctor on a whaling ship. He later described his impressions from this trip in “Captain of the Polar Star.” A year later, he received a bachelor's degree in medicine and began practicing medicine in earnest.

Beginning with 1890 years, he devoted himself entirely to literature. During this period, the following works appeared: “The Sign of Four”, “Girdleston Trading House”, “A Study in Scarlet”, “The White Squad”, “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes”, etc. It was the stories about the observant London detective Sherlock Holmes and his friend Watson that brought the writer the greatest popularity. Readers were attracted by the detective's irony and his spiritual aristocracy. They demanded from the author more and more adventures of his favorite character. Doyle's medical knowledge came in handy again in 1900, when he participated in the Boer War.

With the outbreak of the First World War, Doyle wrote many articles on military theme. The writer died July 7, 1930 years as a result of a heart attack. A few years before this, he managed to publish an autobiographical book, “Memories and Adventures.”

Personal life Arthur Conan Doyle

In 1885, Conan Doyle married Louisa "Tue" Hawkins; She suffered from tuberculosis for many years and died in 1906.

In 1907, Doyle married Jean Leckie, with whom he had been secretly in love since they met in 1897. His wife shared his passion for spiritualism and was even considered a rather powerful medium.

Doyle had five children: two from his first wife - Mary and Kingsley, and three from his second - Jean Lena Annette, Denis Percy Stewart and Adrian

, children's writer, crime writer

Biography [ | ]

Childhood and youth[ | ]

Arthur Conan Doyle was born into an Irish Catholic family known for its achievements in the arts and literature. The name Conan was given to him in honor of his mother’s uncle, artist and writer Michael Edward Conan. Father - Charles Altemont Doyle (1832-1893), an architect and artist, on July 31, 1855, at the age of 23, married 17-year-old Mary Josephine Elizabeth Foley (1837-1920), who passionately loved books and had a great talent as a storyteller. From her, Arthur inherited his interest in knightly traditions, exploits and adventures. “My true love for literature, my penchant for writing, I believe, comes from my mother,” Conan Doyle wrote in his autobiography. - “Vivid images of the stories that she told me in early childhood completely replaced in my memory memories of specific events in my life of those years.”

The family of the future writer experienced serious financial difficulties - solely because of the strange behavior of his father, who not only suffered from alcoholism, but also had an extremely unbalanced psyche. Arthur's school life was spent at Godder Preparatory School. When the boy was nine years old, wealthy relatives offered to pay for his education and sent him for the next seven years to the Jesuit private college Stonyhurst (Lancashire), from where the future writer suffered hatred of religious and class prejudice, as well as physical punishment. The few happy moments of those years for him were associated with letters to his mother: he retained the habit of describing current events to her in detail for the rest of his life. In addition, at the boarding school, Doyle enjoyed playing sports, mainly cricket, and also discovered his talent as a storyteller, gathering peers around him who spent hours listening to stories made up on the go.

They say that while studying in college, Arthur's least favorite subject was mathematics, and he got it pretty bad from his fellow students - the Moriarty brothers. Later, Conan Doyle's memories of his school years led to the appearance in the story “Holmes's Last Case” of the image of the “genius of the criminal world” - mathematics professor Moriarty.

In 1876, Arthur graduated from college and returned home: the first thing he had to do was rewrite his father’s papers in his name, who by that time had almost completely lost his mind. The writer subsequently spoke about the dramatic circumstances of Doyle Sr.’s imprisonment in a psychiatric hospital in the story “The Surgeon of Gaster Fell” (English: The Surgeon of Gaster Fell, 1880). Doyle chose a medical career over art (to which his family tradition predisposed him) - largely under the influence of Brian C. Waller, a young doctor to whom his mother rented a room in the house. Dr. Waller was educated at the University of Edinburgh: Arthur Doyle went there for further education. Future writers he met here included James Barry and Robert Louis Stevenson.

Beginning of a literary career[ | ]

As a third-year student, Doyle decided to try his hand at the literary field. His first story, The Mystery of Sasassa Valley, influenced by Edgar Allan Poe and Bret Harte (his favorite authors at that time), was published by the university Chamber's Journal, where the first works of Thomas Hardy appeared. That same year, Doyle's second story, "The American Tale," appeared in the magazine London Society .

From February to September 1880, Doyle spent seven months as a ship's doctor in Arctic waters aboard the whaling ship Hope, receiving a total of 50 pounds for his work. “I boarded this ship as a big, clumsy youth, and walked down the gangway as a strong, grown man,” he later wrote in his autobiography. Impressions from the Arctic journey formed the basis of the story “” (English: Captain of the Pole-Star). Two years later, he made a similar voyage to the West Coast of Africa on board the Mayumba, which sailed between Liverpool and the West Coast of Africa.

Having received a university diploma and a bachelor's degree in medicine in 1881, Conan Doyle began practicing medicine, first jointly (with an extremely unscrupulous partner - this experience was described in The Notes of Stark Munro), then individually, in Portsmouth. Finally, in 1891, Doyle decided to make literature his main profession. In January 1884 the magazine Cornhill published the story "The Message of Hebekuk Jephson." During those same days, he met his future wife, Louise "Tuya" Hawkins; the wedding took place on August 6, 1885.

In March 1886, Conan Doyle began - and by April had largely completed - work on A Study in Scarlet (originally intended to be titled A Tangled Skin, and the two main characters were named Sheridan Hope and Ormond Sacker). Ward, Locke & Co bought the rights to the novel for £25 and published it in their Christmas edition. Beeton's Christmas Annual 1887, inviting the writer's father Charles Doyle to illustrate the novel.

Historical cycle[ | ]

Arthur Conan Doyle. 1893

In February 1888, A. Conan Doyle completed work on the novel The Adventures of Micah Clarke, which told the story of the Monmouth Rebellion (1685), the purpose of which was to overthrow King James II. The novel was released in November and was warmly received by critics. From this moment on, a conflict arose in Conan Doyle's creative life: on the one hand, the public and publishers demanded new works about Sherlock Holmes; on the other hand, the writer himself increasingly sought to gain recognition as the author of serious novels (primarily historical ones), as well as plays and poems.

Conan Doyle's first serious historical work is considered to be the novel "The White Squad". In it, the author turned to a critical stage in the history of feudal England, taking as a basis a real historical episode of 1366, when there was a lull in the Hundred Years' War and “white detachments” of volunteers and mercenaries began to emerge. Continuing the war on French territory, they played a decisive role in the struggle of contenders for the Spanish throne. Conan Doyle used this episode for his own artistic purpose: he resurrected the life and customs of that time, and most importantly, presented knighthood, which by that time was already in decline, in a heroic aura. "White Squad" was published in the magazine Cornhill(whose publisher James Penn declared it “the best historical novel since Ivanhoe”), and was published as a separate book in 1891. Conan Doyle always said that he considered it one of his best works.

In 1892, the “French-Canadian” adventure novel “” and the historical play “Waterloo” were completed, in which the main role was played by the then famous actor Henry Irving (who acquired all rights from the author). In the same year, Conan Doyle published the story “,” which a number of later researchers consider as one of the author’s first experiments with the detective genre. This story can be considered historical only conditionally - among the minor characters it contains Benjamin Disraeli and his wife.

Sherlock Holmes [ | ]

At the time of writing The Hound of the Baskervilles in 1900, Arthur Conan Doyle was the highest paid author in world literature.

1900-1910 [ | ]

On July 4, 1906, Louise Doyle, with whom the writer had two children, died of tuberculosis. In 1907, he married Jean Leckie, with whom he had been secretly in love since they met in 1897.

At the end of the post-war debate, Conan Doyle launched extensive journalistic and (as they would say now) human rights activities. His attention was drawn to the so-called "Edalji case", which centered on a young Parsi who was convicted on trumped-up charges (of mutilating horses). Conan Doyle, taking on the “role” of a consulting detective, thoroughly understood the intricacies of the case and, with just a long series of publications in the London Daily Telegraph newspaper (but with the involvement of forensic experts), proved his charge’s innocence. Beginning in June 1907, hearings on the Edalji case began in the House of Commons, during which the imperfections of the legal system, deprived of such an important instrument as the court of appeal, were exposed. The latter was created in Britain - largely thanks to the activity of Conan Doyle.

Conan Doyle's house in South Norwood (London)

In 1909, events in Africa again came into Conan Doyle's sphere of public and political interests. This time he exposed Belgium's brutal colonial policy in the Congo and criticized the British position on this issue. Conan Doyle's letters The Times this topic had the effect of a bomb exploding. The book “Crimes in the Congo” (1909) had an equally powerful resonance: it was thanks to it that many politicians were forced to become interested in the problem. Conan Doyle was supported by Joseph Conrad and Mark Twain. But Rudyard Kipling, a recent like-minded person, greeted the book with restraint, noting that, while criticizing Belgium, it indirectly undermined British positions in the colonies. In 1909, Conan Doyle also became involved in the defense of the Jew Oscar Slater, who was unjustly convicted of murder, and achieved his release, albeit after 18 years.

Relationships with fellow writers[ | ]

In literature, Conan Doyle had several undoubted authorities: first of all, Walter Scott, on whose books he grew up, as well as George Meredith, Mine Reid, Robert Ballantyne and Robert Louis Stevenson. The meeting with the already elderly Meredith in Box Hill made a depressing impression on the aspiring writer: he noted for himself that the master spoke disparagingly about his contemporaries and was delighted with himself. Conan Doyle only corresponded with Stevenson, but he took his death seriously, as a personal loss.

In the early 1890s, Conan Doyle established friendly relations with the magazine's managers and staff The Idler: Jerome K. Jerome, Robert Barr and James M. Barry. The latter, having awakened in the writer a passion for theater, attracted him to (ultimately not very fruitful) collaboration in the dramaturgical field.

In 1893, Doyle's sister Constance married Ernst William Hornung. Having become relatives, the writers maintained friendly relations, although they did not always see eye to eye. Hornung's protagonist, the "noble burglar" Raffles, closely resembled a parody of the "noble detective" Holmes.

Doyle's relationship with Bernard Shaw was strained, who once described Sherlock Holmes as "a drug addict who has not a single pleasant quality." There is reason to believe that the Irish playwright took the attacks of the former against the now little-known author Hall Kane, who abused self-promotion, personally. In 1912, Conan Doyle and Shaw entered into a public debate on the pages of newspapers: the first defended the crew of the Titanic, the second condemned the behavior of the officers of the sunken liner.

1910-1913 [ | ]

Arthur Conan Doyle. 1913

In 1912, Conan Doyle published the science fiction story “The Lost World” (subsequently filmed more than once), followed by “The Poison Belt” (1913). The main character of both works was Professor Challenger, a fanatic scientist endowed with grotesque qualities, but at the same time humane and charming in his own way. At the same time, the last detective story, “The Valley of Horror,” appeared. This work, which many critics tend to underestimate, is considered by Doyle's biographer J. D. Carr to be one of his strongest.

1914-1918 [ | ]

Doyle becomes even more embittered when he becomes aware of the torture that English prisoners of war were subjected to in Germany.

...It is difficult to develop a line of conduct in relation to Red Indians of European descent who torture prisoners of war. It is clear that we ourselves cannot torture the Germans at our disposal in the same way. On the other hand, calls for good-heartedness are also meaningless, for the average German has the same concept of nobility as a cow has of mathematics... He is sincerely incapable of understanding, for example, what makes us speak warmly of von Müller of Weddingen and our other enemies who are trying at least to some extent preserve a human face...

Doyle's brother, son and two nephews went to the front and died there. This was a great shock for the writer and left a heavy mark on all his further literary, journalistic and social activities.

1918-1930 [ | ]

At the end of the war, as is commonly believed, under the influence of shocks associated with the death of loved ones, Conan Doyle became an active preacher of spiritualism, which he had been interested in since the 1880s. Among the books that shaped his new worldview was “Human Personality and Its Subsequent Life after Corporeal Death” by F. W. G. Myers. Conan Doyle's main works on this topic are considered to be “A New Revelation” (1918), where he talked about the history of the evolution of his views on the question of the posthumous existence of the individual, and the novel “” (eng. The Land of Mist, 1926). The result of his many years of research into the “psychic” phenomenon was the fundamental work “The History of Spiritualism” (English: The History of Spiritualism, 1926).

Conan Doyle refuted claims that his interest in spiritualism arose only at the end of the war:

Many people had not encountered Spiritualism or even heard of it until 1914, when the angel of death came knocking on many homes. Opponents of Spiritualism believe that it was the social cataclysms that shook our world that caused such an increased interest in psychic research. These unprincipled opponents stated that the author's advocacy of Spiritualism and his friend Sir Oliver Lodge's defense of the Doctrine was due to the fact that both of them had lost sons in the 1914 war. The conclusion followed from this: grief darkened their minds, and they believed in what they would never have believed in peacetime. The author has refuted this shameless lie many times and emphasized the fact that his research began in 1886, long before the outbreak of the war.

Arthur Conan Doyle's grave at Minstead

The writer spent the entire second half of the 1920s traveling, visiting all continents, without stopping his active journalistic activity. Having visited England only briefly in 1929 to celebrate his 70th birthday, Doyle went to Scandinavia with the same goal - to preach “... the revival of religion and that direct, practical spiritualism, which is the only antidote to scientific materialism.” This last trip undermined his health: he spent the spring of the next year in bed, surrounded by loved ones.
At some point, there was an improvement: the writer immediately went to London to, in a conversation with the Minister of the Interior, demand the abolition of laws that persecuted mediums | ]
In 1885, Conan Doyle married Louisa "Tue" Hawkins; She suffered from tuberculosis for many years and died in 1906.
In 1907, Doyle married Jean Leckie, with whom he had been secretly in love since they met in 1897. His wife shared his passion for spiritualism and was even considered a rather powerful medium.
Doyle had five children: two from his first wife - Mary and Kingsley, and three from his second - Jean Lena Annette, Denis Percy Stewart (17 March 1909 - 9 March 1955; in 1936 he became the husband of the Georgian princess Nina Mdivani) and Adrian ( subsequently also a writer, author of a biography of his father and a number of works complementing the canonical cycle of short stories and tales about Sherlock Holmes).
Conan Doyle became a relative in 1893 famous writer early 20th century Willie Hornung: he married his sister, Connie (Constance) Doyle.

Participation in Freemasonry[ | ]

On January 26, 1887, he was initiated into the Phoenix Masonic Lodge No. 257 in Southsea. He resigned from the lodge in 1889, but returned to it in 1902, only to retire again in 1911. diary entries, drafts and manuscripts of the writer’s unpublished works. The cost of the find was about 2 million pounds sterling.

Film adaptations of works[ | ]

The vast majority of film adaptations of the writer’s work are dedicated to Sherlock Holmes. Other works of Arthur Conan Doyle were also filmed.

In works of art[ | ]

The life and work of Arthur Conan Doyle became an integral feature of the Victorian era, which naturally led to the emergence works of art, in which the writer acted as a character, and sometimes in an image very far from reality.
Death Rooms: Mysteries of the Real Sherlock Holmes" (eng. Murder Rooms: The Dark Beginnings of Sherlock Holmes, 2000), where young medical student Arthur Conan Doyle becomes an assistant to Professor Joseph Bell (the prototype of Sherlock Holmes) and helps him solve crimes.
The character Sir Arthur Conan Doyle appears in the British TV series Mr Selfridge and the Canadian mini-series Houdini.

The writer's life and work are recreated in Julian Barnes' novel Arthur and George, where literary father Sherlock Holmes himself is leading the investigation.

The episode of Conan Doyle's meeting with Oscar Wilde is played out in the novel "White Fire" Lincoln Child (Michael Weston) together with Constable Adelaide Stratton (Rebecca Liddiard) investigate murders allegedly committed by the paranormal. The series depicts Doyle's family and his return to the character of Sherlock Holmes, influenced by the events of the series.

Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle ( Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle was born on May 22, 1859 in the Scottish city of Edinburgh. Real name Arthur - Doyle. However, when the future writer learned about the death of his beloved uncle named Conan, Arthur took this surname as his middle name, and in later life used it as a pseudonym. Father famous writer, Charles Altamont Doyle, was an architect and artist with a somewhat strange character. Arthur's mother, Mary Foley, was five years younger than her husband and had an interest in chivalric traditions and was also a skilled storyteller.
Due to the strange behavior of their father, the Doyle family lived extremely poorly. When Arthur was 9 years old, he went to the closed Jesuit college Stonyhurst, Lancashire. His studies were paid for by wealthy relatives, but the boy had the most difficult memories of college - he forever hated physical punishment, as well as religious and class prejudices. However, it was in the boarding school that the future writer discovered his talent as a storyteller - he gathered his peers around him, telling them fascinating stories, and also wrote in detail about his life in letters to his mother.
When 17-year-old Arthur graduated from college in 1876 and returned home, the first thing he did was transfer all his father’s documents to himself, and Charles Doyle went to a psychiatric hospital. Arthur Conan Doyle did not intend to become a writer - he chose a medical career and entered the University of Edinburgh, where he met his future colleagues Robert Louis Stevenson and James Barry. Already in his third year, Arthur wrote the story “The Mystery of Sasassa Valley,” which was published in the university magazine “Chamber’s Journal.” A little later the magazine "London Society" published new story Doyle "American History" ("The American Tale").
In February 1880, Doyle, as a ship's doctor, set off on a journey through the Arctic seas on the whaling ship Nadezhda. During the seven months he spent on board, Arthur received only 50 pounds, but he collected material for a new story, "Captain of the Pole-Star." In 1881, Arthur Conan Doyle received his bachelor's degree in medicine and began practicing medicine. Nevertheless, he continued to write - for example, in January 1884, his story “J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement” about the events that took place on the ship “Mary Celeste” was published in Cornhill magazine. In the same year, Conan Doyle began work on the social and everyday novel "The Firm of Girdlestone", written under the influence of Dickens. The novel was published in 1890, and in 1891 Doyle decided to make literature his main profession. .
On August 6, 1885, Conan Doyle married Louise Hawkins. "A Study in Scarlet" was written in 1886 and published by Ward, Locke & Co. in the 1887 Christmas edition. A year later, another of Doyle’s novels, “The Mystery of Cloomber,” was published. The publication of this work shows that the author was already interested in spiritualism in those years - he thoroughly described the “afterlife” of vengeful Buddhist monks. In 1888, Doyle completed work on The Adventures of Micah Clarke, a historical novel about events in Great Britain in 1685. Soon another one saw the light historical novel Doyle - "The White Company". They described real events 1366, when there was a lull in the Hundred Years' War. The writer masterfully depicted the spirit of that time, recreating the heroism of the knightly era. The novel was first published in Cornhill magazine, and then published separately. Arthur Conan Doyle himself believed this work your best work.
In 1892, Conan Doyle had the idea to write "The Exploits" and "Adventures" of Brigadier Gerard. First story from new series, "Brigadier Gerard's Medal", was published in 1894, when the author read it from the stage during a trip to the United States of America. Soon the story was published in the American magazine Strand Magazine, and the writer continued working on the series. After "The Exploits of Brigadier Gerard", written with very great historical accuracy, Doyle began work on "The Adventures of Brigadier Gerard" - they were published in the same magazine in 1902-1903.
The first story in the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes series, "A Scandal in Bohemia," was published in Strand Magazine in 1891. The prototype of the legendary detective was Edinburgh University professor Joseph Bell. The writer created story after story, but in the end he began to be burdened by the character he created - Doyle was more interested in serious historical literature. In 1893, he wrote Holmes's Last Case, hoping to complete the series of stories, but readers demanded a continuation. As a result, in 1900, the story “The Hound of the Baskervilles” appeared, which is still considered a classic of the British detective story. The writer's contemporaries underestimated the importance of the character Doyle created - he was considered a parody of other works popular at that time. However, over time, it became clear that it is Sherlock Holmes who differs from other heroes like him in his uniqueness - he has remained relevant and in demand to this day.
In 1900, the writer went to the Boer War as a surgeon. In 1902, his book “The War in South Africa: Its Cause and Conduct” was published, after which Doyle received the nickname “Patriot” in political circles. He was also granted titles of nobility and knighthood. Doyle stood in Edinburgh's local elections twice, but was unsuccessful both times.
On July 4, 1906, Doyle's wife Louise died, and in 1907 he married again. This time his chosen one was Jean Leckie, with whom the writer had been secretly in love since they met in 1897.
Meanwhile, Arthur Conan Doyle began active human rights and journalistic activities. In particular, he drew public attention to the fact that in the UK there was no such important tool, as an appellate court. In 1907, he participated in the “Edalji case” and, with the help of forensic experts, proved the innocence of his ward, accused of causing mutilation to horses. In 1909, the writer's attention was attracted by the events taking place in the Congo. The result was the book "The Crime of the Congo", a sharp criticism of the British position. Doyle received support from Joseph Conrad and Mark Twain, and also attracted the attention of many British politicians to this problem.
In 1912, Conan Doyle wrote and published the science fiction story " lost World"("The Lost World"), followed in 1913 by "The Poison Belt". The main character of these works is the fanatical scientist, Professor Challenger. Also in 1913, Conan Doyle wrote the detective story "The Valley Horror" ("The Horror of the Heights"), which some consider one of the strongest works of the writer.
In 1911-1913, the writer was worried about current events of that time - Prince Henry's motor rally in Germany, the failure of Great Britain in Olympic Games 1912 and urgent retraining of the British cavalry. With the outbreak of the First World War, Doyle wanted to volunteer for the front, but his offer was rejected. Then he turned serious journalistic activity. Beginning on August 8, 1914, he published his letters in the British newspaper The Times. Doyle proposed creating a massive combat reserve, and even organized the first such detachment of 200 people in Crowborough. His plans even included creating a network of half a million volunteers throughout the United Kingdom. At the same time, he did not stop his journalistic activities, publishing his articles in The Daily Chronicle. In 1916, the writer visited the armies of the British allies and wrote the book “On Three Fronts,” in which he tried to maintain the morale of the soldiers. He also began work on "The British Campaign in France and Flanders: 1914", and completed it only by 1920.
During the war, the writer lost his brother, son and two nephews - they went to the front and died. Some believe that this is what led Doyle to become an ardent supporter of spiritualism, but the writer himself has repeatedly stated that he developed this hobby much earlier - back in the 1880s. The spirit of spiritualism permeates Doyle’s works written at this time - “The New Revelation” and “The Land of Mist”. The result of serious research on the topic afterlife became the writer’s work “The History of Spiritualism”, published in 1926.
In 1921, Conan Doyle's book "The Coming of the Fairies" was published, and in 1924, the autobiographical work "Memories and Adventures" was published. In 1929, the author wrote his last major work - the science fiction story "The Maracot Deep". In general, in the second half of the 1920s the writer traveled a lot, which undermined his health. On the morning of July 7, 1930, Arthur Conan Doyle died of a heart attack at his home in Crowborough, Sussex. He was buried not far from this house, and on the tombstone, at the request of the widow, the writer’s name, his date of birth and four words were engraved: “Steel True, Blade Straight” (“True as steel, straight as a blade”).