Arthur Conan Doyle: A Life in Letters
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Review
‘Fairly hums with Conan Doyle’s trademark enthusiasm.’ Independent on Sunday
‘Superbly edited by three Conan Doyle scholars, (it) sheds new light on the writer's work and inner life, as well as his various love affairs and spiritualist crises…“A Life in Letters” is a monument to the enduring popularity of the occupant of 221b Baker Street and greatest investigator of all…This plum pudding of a book is essential reading to fans of Conan Doyle.’ Financial Times
‘The selected letters…convey an almost physical presence of the author, with his strange mixture of kindness and carelessness, overbearing self-confidence and depressive self-doubt.’ Economist
Financial Times
'A monument to [Holmes's] enduring popularity...essential reading.'
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
Arthur Conan Doyle's literary turn of mind showed itself early. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Arthur Conan Doyle's literary turn of mind showed itself early. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is the first book of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's private letters. It provides an intimate and unvarnished view of the famous author that should appeal to both serious Holmesians and casual readers interested in Conan Doyle.
These letters reveal details of everyday life not mentioned in biographies, and clarify events that many biographers tend to gloss over. We also learn some new things about the Sherlock Holmes stories, including the fact that two prominent Holmes fans encouraged Conan Doyle to continue writing them when he might have stopped.
As a Conan Doyle researcher, I produce FAQs and web checklists of Conan Doyle manuscripts and archival materials. I'd expected this to be purely a reference book but I ended up reading it straight through. Conan Doyle's style is very readable, and the editors provide excerpts from his autobiography and other details for a smoothly-flowing narrative that's interesting and engaging.
This book is an essential resource for every library. Anyone doing research on Conan Doyle or Sherlock Holmes will want to consult this volume. Even if you've already read a biography about Conan Doyle, you should read this book of his uncensored letters. You're certain to learn something new and get a fresh perspective on the creator of Sherlock Holmes.
These letters reveal details of everyday life not mentioned in biographies, and clarify events that many biographers tend to gloss over. We also learn some new things about the Sherlock Holmes stories, including the fact that two prominent Holmes fans encouraged Conan Doyle to continue writing them when he might have stopped.
As a Conan Doyle researcher, I produce FAQs and web checklists of Conan Doyle manuscripts and archival materials. I'd expected this to be purely a reference book but I ended up reading it straight through. Conan Doyle's style is very readable, and the editors provide excerpts from his autobiography and other details for a smoothly-flowing narrative that's interesting and engaging.
This book is an essential resource for every library. Anyone doing research on Conan Doyle or Sherlock Holmes will want to consult this volume. Even if you've already read a biography about Conan Doyle, you should read this book of his uncensored letters. You're certain to learn something new and get a fresh perspective on the creator of Sherlock Holmes.
1 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I read this book only recently to see whether or not Doyle was a gullible person (contrary to his Sherlock Holmes) as many authors, like Ruth Brandon in her book (1983) "The Spiritualists," judge him. The relevant material appears in the last chapter of the book, His Last Crusade.
His last quoted letter (of 27 December 1920) in the book appears in the last of the chapter, in which he wrote about his psychic experience with a medium, Mrs. Roberts, in Dunedin, New Zealand. Doyle apparently received a message from his dying mother in England through the medium. His mother Mary Doyle died on 30 December 1920.
Skeptics may be right to say that Doyle was gullible to have the psychic experience through the medium; if he was not, he did not receive the message.
Doyle believed in afterlife and hence, he did his last crusade to the end of his life at 71. If there really is an afterlife, the weight of Doyle's soul, if measured by Dr. Duncan MacDougall, might have weighed at more than 21 grams. By the way (if you do not mind), I recently published a technical paper to show theoretically the validity of MacDougall's experiment of measuring the change in weight at the moment of death in the Journal of Scientific Exploration, Vol. 24, pp. 5-39; the Journal is on sale at amazon.com.
His last quoted letter (of 27 December 1920) in the book appears in the last of the chapter, in which he wrote about his psychic experience with a medium, Mrs. Roberts, in Dunedin, New Zealand. Doyle apparently received a message from his dying mother in England through the medium. His mother Mary Doyle died on 30 December 1920.
Skeptics may be right to say that Doyle was gullible to have the psychic experience through the medium; if he was not, he did not receive the message.
Doyle believed in afterlife and hence, he did his last crusade to the end of his life at 71. If there really is an afterlife, the weight of Doyle's soul, if measured by Dr. Duncan MacDougall, might have weighed at more than 21 grams. By the way (if you do not mind), I recently published a technical paper to show theoretically the validity of MacDougall's experiment of measuring the change in weight at the moment of death in the Journal of Scientific Exploration, Vol. 24, pp. 5-39; the Journal is on sale at amazon.com.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
9 reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Good Company
8 Dec 2007
Format:Hardcover
It took me about a week to read this volume, and it became a very comfortable companion. I felt the three editors, men with uniquely close relationships with the life of Arthur Conan Doyle, were intelligent commentators on the material that hovered outside the actual letters, and made good decisions on what the reader needs to understand the text. I have read several biographies over a lifetime of study of Dr. Doyle's most famous creation, but I never before felt a real sense of kinship with the author. All knowledge had been perceived through the filter of each biographer's particular prejudices, not to mention the inavailability of much family material including these letters. Reading this book, I felt the full strength of his personality and the familial forces that had shaped his principles and politics. What's more, his sometimes puckish, sometimes ponderous sense of humor was demonstrated clearly to me for the first time.
Everything about the book -- the photographs and drawings, the clear and handsome style of each page, the careful index -- gave further examples of the intelligent, thoughtful decisions by its editors and publishers. Let me recommend this book.
Everything about the book -- the photographs and drawings, the clear and handsome style of each page, the careful index -- gave further examples of the intelligent, thoughtful decisions by its editors and publishers. Let me recommend this book.
18 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Essential reading for Conan Doyle fans
3 Nov 2007
Format:Hardcover
This is the first book of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's private letters, many of which have never been published. It provides an intimate and unvarnished view of the famous author that should appeal to both serious Sherlockians and casual readers interested in Conan Doyle.
These letters reveal details of everyday life not mentioned in biographies, and clarify events that many biographers tend to gloss over. We also learn some new things about the Sherlock Holmes stories, including the fact that two prominent Holmes fans encouraged Conan Doyle to continue writing them when he might have stopped.
As a Conan Doyle researcher, I've produced FAQs and web checklists of Conan Doyle manuscripts and archival materials. I'd expected this to be purely a reference book but I ended up reading it straight through. Conan Doyle's style is very readable, and the editors provide excerpts from his autobiography and other details for a smoothly-flowing narrative that's interesting and engaging.
Anyone doing research on Conan Doyle or Sherlock Holmes will want to consult this volume. Even if you've already read a biography about Conan Doyle, you should read this book of his uncensored letters. You're certain to learn something new and get a fresh perspective on the creator of Sherlock Holmes.
These letters reveal details of everyday life not mentioned in biographies, and clarify events that many biographers tend to gloss over. We also learn some new things about the Sherlock Holmes stories, including the fact that two prominent Holmes fans encouraged Conan Doyle to continue writing them when he might have stopped.
As a Conan Doyle researcher, I've produced FAQs and web checklists of Conan Doyle manuscripts and archival materials. I'd expected this to be purely a reference book but I ended up reading it straight through. Conan Doyle's style is very readable, and the editors provide excerpts from his autobiography and other details for a smoothly-flowing narrative that's interesting and engaging.
Anyone doing research on Conan Doyle or Sherlock Holmes will want to consult this volume. Even if you've already read a biography about Conan Doyle, you should read this book of his uncensored letters. You're certain to learn something new and get a fresh perspective on the creator of Sherlock Holmes.
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Unpublished Letters of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
18 Nov 2007
Format:Hardcover
The presentation represents unique unpublished letters of
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The letters were written in the
1860s- some are dated others are not dated. There are
noted drawings and photos in the book including:
o drawings by John Doyle (the son)
o photo of Mary Kingsley Conan Doyle
o Conan Doyle as a country gentleman
o aboard "Eira" ship's master with Conan Doyle
The presentation describes how Conan Doyle dedicated the
Adventures of Sherlock Holmes to Joseph Bell who
reviewed the work glowingly in "The Bookman". Clearly,
Conan Doyle learned some of the medical technology from
Joseph Bell. Nonetheless, Conan Doyle attended medical
school where he picked up a considerable body of knowledge
applied in the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
This is a wonderful historical document for academicians,
literary buffs, English students, students of literature
and students of the historical period of the 1860s.
The work is worth acquiring as a gift to the student
in your house.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The letters were written in the
1860s- some are dated others are not dated. There are
noted drawings and photos in the book including:
o drawings by John Doyle (the son)
o photo of Mary Kingsley Conan Doyle
o Conan Doyle as a country gentleman
o aboard "Eira" ship's master with Conan Doyle
The presentation describes how Conan Doyle dedicated the
Adventures of Sherlock Holmes to Joseph Bell who
reviewed the work glowingly in "The Bookman". Clearly,
Conan Doyle learned some of the medical technology from
Joseph Bell. Nonetheless, Conan Doyle attended medical
school where he picked up a considerable body of knowledge
applied in the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
This is a wonderful historical document for academicians,
literary buffs, English students, students of literature
and students of the historical period of the 1860s.
The work is worth acquiring as a gift to the student
in your house.
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