Академический Документы
Профессиональный Документы
Культура Документы
Of
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
By Haley Oliphant
Table of Contents:
Dear Reader ------------------------------------------------------------------- 1
The Prolific Writer ----------------------------------------------------------- 2
The Excerpt from the Diary ------------------------------------------------3
The Aspects of the Character --------------------------------------------- 4
A Study inInk? -------------------------------------------------------------- 5
The Case of the Peculiar Fan Mail -------------------------------- 6 - 7
The Final Problem ----------------------------------------------------------- 8
Notes --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9
Bibliography ------------------------------------------------------------------- 10
Dear Reader,
I have always been a fan of mystery novels the warped minds of
murderers, the ingenious plots, the constant twists and turns. I really wanted to
write about someone who was really famous in the realm of mystery books. My
first thought was Sherlock Holmes, but of course hes a fictional character...then I
thought to look to the author. Sherlock Holmes had to come from somewhere,
right? And I discovered so much more about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle than I ever
thought I would.
When I first began researching Doyle, I only knew he was the author of
Sherlock Holmes. I didnt know when he was born, when he died, his history,
nothing. Yet, I knew he was this amazing person that had really given birth to
modern-day fiction. Before his mystery novels, authors would have characters
merely stumble upon the right facts at the right moments to solve mysteries.
There was no deduction, no observation, it was just purely coincidental. After Sir
Arthur Conan Doyle wrote his first mystery novel, however, there was no way the
world could go back to that. There was finally a basis for the genre of Mystery.
The question that frequented my mind the most was, How in the world
did Doyle come up with Sherlock Holmes? This question was answered very
gradually, and over time I saw that the basis of Sherlock Holmes was Doyle
himself. It was also startling to realize that Doyle was a lot like me. I began
wondering if he had the same thought process as I do, if he loved psychology,
criminology, and to my greatest pleasure, he did! Its truly amazing how much we
are alike, but I will say that I can only hope to be as skilled in observation as he
was.
Researching Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a lot harder than it seems. There
were virtually no biographies about him in the library system, and the few web
search results that turned up were all about Sherlock Holmes. I was lucky enough
to get the book, The Real World of Sherlock Holmes: The True Crimes Investigated
by Arthur Conan Doyle, which explored how Sherlock Holmes came about, and
the psychology behind Doyles writing. I was also able to find a few websites with
tidbits of good information that I could piece together and later make into a
genre, but it took a lot of effort.
I learned so much about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle from this research. Even
though I had limited resources, they were effective. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a
dabbler and boy did he dabble! His poor relationship with his father was his
driving force to be a successful person. If you want to learn more information,
keep reading!
I think the strongest connection I made was that Doyle was the starting
point for all modern-mystery literature. He was Sherlock Holmes, and he started
something that would entertain millions for many years to come. Without him,
there would be no Monk, Psych, Criminal Minds, Nancy Drew, Case Closed. They
wouldnt exist if it werent for Doyles ideas! He is an awe-inspiring writer who
was able to create a whole new genre of fiction. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is the
father of Mystery.
who burns to know who Jack the Ripper is. And heres a group of people
who believe their neighbors are starving maiden aunts to death in
sealed attics!
DR. JOSEPH BELL
Calm down, Doyle. Its just a few fans whove had too much
to drink and read too many of your Sherlock novels.
SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE
I am calm, Joseph its just this fan letter business is
such a nuisance. I mean look at this mess! This ones
even addressed to Sherlock Holmes at 221B Baker Street!
This is madness!
Notes
Piece 1 The Prolific Writer:
Throughout his life, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle dabbled in many things from spiritualism
to sports. It is my opinion that his greatest impact on the world was through his writing, and
that he enjoyed it the most. Doyle gave up his medical career to become a writer, and also was
asked on countless occasions to look into real-life cases as a criminologist.
Bibliography
Costello, Peter. The Real World of Sherlock Holmes: The True Crimes Investigated
by Arthur Conan Doyle. 1st Edition. Great Britain: Carroll and Graf
Publishers, Inc., 1991. xi-35. Print.
The Official Website of the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Literary Estate. Dover
Publications Inc., 2000. Web. 28 Mar 2012.
<http://www.sherlockholmesonline.org/index.htm>.
"The Death of Sherlock Holmes." The Chronicles of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle ~
Sherlock Holmes is Just the Beginning.... N.p., 2012. Web. 20 Mar 2012.
<http://www.siracd.com/index.shtml>
Oldman, David. "Sport." Arthur Conan Doyle the Prolific Writer. Westminster
Libraries Database, n.d. Web. 29 Mar 2012.
<http://www.westminsteronline.org/conandoyle/Sport.html>.