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A Life in Letters
Penguin Press
November 2007
On Sale: November 1, 2007
720 pages
ISBN: 1594201358
EAN: 9781594201356
Hardcover
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Non-Fiction Biography
This remarkable annotated collection of Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle's previously unpublished private correspondence offers
unique insight into one of the world's most popular authors.
For the first time, Conan Doyle emerges from the shadow of
Sherlock Holmes, revealing a man whose character and
exploits rival that of his famous creation. In particular,
Conan Doyle's correspondence with his mother exposes his
endless search for fulfillment and success outside the
Holmes stories. At age sixteen Conan Doyle began studying medicine at
Edinburgh University. Just months shy of graduating, he made
the adventurous decision to accept a position as a surgeon
on a whaling ship heading to the Arctic. He returned to
Edinburgh, graduated, and struggled to establish his own
medical practice while simultaneously writing and promoting
his stories. He suffered years of disappointment as both
doctor and author; yet, to his amazement, just two months
after the first Sherlock Holmes short stories, he had
garnered such a following that he completely abandoned
medicine for literature. As the public clamored endlessly for Sherlock Holmes, Conan
Doyle explored other pursuits: He was a doctor during the
Boer War, a World War I correspondent, and the foremost
spokesman for Spiritualism. As his life changed, Doyle's
correspondence with his mother remained constant. In his
letters to "the Mam," Doyle shares the dismay he felt over
the critical reception of his other writing, and as his
irritation with the Holmes adventures mounts he announces
his desire to kill off the character. She is his confidante
and trusted counsel throughout her long life. The editors are known for their expertise and scholarship on
the works of Arthur Conan Doyle and Sherlock Holmes. Daniel
Stashower is an award-winning mystery novelist and author of
Teller of Tales, a widely praised biography of Conan Doyle.
Jon Lellenberg is the U.S. agent for the Conan Doyle estate
and author of The Quest for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Charles
Foley is the writer's great-nephew and executor of the
estate. Arthur Conan Doyle: A Life in Letters will be a
must-have collection for readers interested in the author,
Sherlock Holmes, and the Victorian era.
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