Alistair Duncan's Blog, page 74

Was Conan Doyle ungrateful towards Sherlock Holmes?

It is hardly a revelation to state that Arthur Conan Doyle disliked Sherlock Holmes. To him Holmes was always a means to an end. Initially, in 1886*, he created Holmes simply to show that he could make a better job of a detective novel than those who had come before him. Following this, during his South Norwood years (1891-1894), Holmes was the means by which Conan Doyle established his credentials as an author and started to earn the big money. Conan Doyle felt restricted by Holmes
It was at this point that the resentment towards Holmes began as Conan Doyle found himself unable to write what he wanted to write because of the demand for Holmes adventures. It was a demand he initially found difficult to resist as he felt a typically Victorian patriarchal responsibility towards the fiscal health of his family. On the one hand Holmes was standing in the way of his development as an author. On the other Holmes promised financial stability for his young family. Thus when he first toyed with the idea of finishing Holmes he was successfully dissuaded by his mother. When he considered the idea again he went through with it. Holmes's "death"
Subsequently, in 1897, Holmes was resurrected in play form with the aim being to help cover some of the building and other costs associated with Undershaw, his home in Hindhead. Eventually, in his latter years, Conan Doyle used Holmes to effectively bankroll his travels in the cause of promoting spiritualism which was rather amusing given that Holmes would, with his logical outlook, have dismissed the subject entirely. Perhaps that was Conan Doyle reminding his creation who was boss. Arthur Conan Doyle - prisoner of Holmes?
Is it right for us to be critical of Conan Doyle for using Holmes this way? The answer is probably no. Only someone in a similar position, such as Agatha Christie, knows what it is like when the public demands more of a character that you don’t like as much (in Christie’s case this was Poirot). In the end we got the extra stories that we craved. Is the reason for these stories being created something that we need to be concerned about or should be just be grateful that they were written?

*ACD wrote A Study in Scarlet in 1886 but it was not published until 1887.


For more information on Arthur Conan Doyle and his time at Undershaw please refer to my book, An Entirely New Country which is available through all good bookstores including Amazon USA, Amazon UK, Classic Specialities, and in all electronic formats including iTunes, Kobo, Nook and Kindle .
The Norwood Author  is available from all good bookstores, in many formats worldwide including Waterstones UK, Amazon UK,  Amazon USA, Barnes and Noble, Amazon Kindle, iBooks for the iPad/iPhone, Kobo Books, Nook.
Close to Holmes is available from all good bookstores, in many formats worldwide including Amazon USA,  Barnes and Noble,  Amazon UK,  Waterstones UK,  Amazon Kindle,  Kobo,  Nook  and iBooks for the iPad/iPhone.
Eliminate the Impossible is available from all good bookstores, in many formats worldwide including Amazon USA, Barnes and Noble, Amazon UK, Waterstones UK, Amazon Kindle, Kobo, Nook and iBooks for the iPad/iPhone.

Conan Doyle and the other world

Two of the most controversial areas of Arthur Conan Doyle's life were spiritualism and fairies. He is praised for his literary work (especially Sherlock Holmes) but he is mocked in greater measure for his belief in mediums and fairies.
The Cottingley Fairies
Now I don't believe in either of these things but, at the same time, I think the tendency to mock Conan Doyle is unfair.

In the aftermath of the slaughter of the First World War there were hundreds (or thousands) of people who sought comfort in the idea that the loved ones who had been taken from them had endured in another world. This was a perfectly human reaction and, in some respects, a belief in the ability to contact the dead is no stranger than some of the beliefs of any widely accepted religion today. It is true that these people were preyed upon by mediums (some who knew they were fakes and others who genuinely believed themselves to have powers) but it still gave them an outlet for their grief and hope for the future (albeit a false hope).

Conan Doyle's interest in the subject had started a lot earlier of course during his time in Portsmouth but it was not until after the Great War that he started to make it the main purpose of his life. This may well have been driven, to a certain extent, by the loss of his son Kingsley.

ACD with the "spirit" of his son KingsleyIt was a belief that was to cost him dear. He was mocked and publicly taken to task, often through the pages of the press. It was a belief that ultimately destroyed the friendship between him and Harry Houdini.

Conan Doyle and HoudiniHoudini was as strong a sceptic as Conan Doyle was a believer. Amusingly, in his efforts to show Conan Doyle how mediums were simply tricking people, Houdini convinced Conan Doyle that he (Houdini) was also a medium and Houdini consistently failed to persuade Conan Doyle otherwise which escalated the breakdown of their friendship.

The biggest problem when looking at this area is the lack of an objective third-party view. All of Conan Doyle's biographers have either been pro or anti. If pro they have been as accepting of spiritualism as Conan Doyle and if negative they have been as sceptical as Houdini.

As I remarked in an article ("A Case of Biographical Identity"*), we need a biographer who can treat the subject with a truly even hand. One of the reasons I have shied away from biographing Conan Doyle's Crowborough years is that I know I could not be even-handed in this area and it is too big a part of his life during these years to skim.

* This article can be found in the Sherlock Holmes Society of London's Diamond Anniversary Journal Supplement.



For more information on Arthur Conan Doyle and his time at Undershaw please refer to my book, An Entirely New Country which is available through all good bookstores including Amazon USA, Amazon UK, Classic Specialities, and in all electronic formats including iTunes, Kobo, Nook and Kindle .
The Norwood Author  is available from all good bookstores, in many formats worldwide including Waterstones UK, Amazon UK,  Amazon USA, Barnes and Noble, Amazon Kindle, iBooks for the iPad/iPhone, Kobo Books, Nook.
Close to Holmes is available from all good bookstores, in many formats worldwide including Amazon USA,  Barnes and Noble,  Amazon UK,  Waterstones UK,  Amazon Kindle,  Kobo,  Nook  and iBooks for the iPad/iPhone.
Eliminate the Impossible is available from all good bookstores, in many formats worldwide including Amazon USA, Barnes and Noble, Amazon UK, Waterstones UK, Amazon Kindle, Kobo, Nook and iBooks for the iPad/iPhone.

Am I a Sherlockian or a Holmesian?

Mattias Boström talks about the two terms for describing Sherlock Holmes fans (and things that concern Sherlock Holmes): Sherlockian and Holmesian.


Mattias Boström on Sherlock Holmes and Conan Doyle can be found here:

http://blog.sherlockholmes.se
http://twitter.com/mattias221b
http://mattias221b.tumblr.com

For more information on Arthur Conan Doyle and his time at Undershaw please refer to my book, An Entirely New Country which is available through all good bookstores including Amazon USA, Amazon UK, Classic Specialities, and in all electronic formats including iTunes, Kobo, Nook and Kindle .
The Norwood Author  is available from all good bookstores, in many formats worldwide including Waterstones UK, Amazon UK,  Amazon USA, Barnes and Noble, Amazon Kindle, iBooks for the iPad/iPhone, Kobo Books, Nook.
Close to Holmes is available from all good bookstores, in many formats worldwide including Amazon USA,  Barnes and Noble,  Amazon UK,  Waterstones UK,  Amazon Kindle,  Kobo,  Nook  and iBooks for the iPad/iPhone.
Eliminate the Impossible is available from all good bookstores, in many formats worldwide including Amazon USA, Barnes and Noble, Amazon UK, Waterstones UK, Amazon Kindle, Kobo, Nook and iBooks for the iPad/iPhone.

The Tony & Freda Howlett Award

In 2009 The Sherlock Holmes Society of London began awarding The Tony & Freda Howlett Literary Award. The award has been presented each year since then to the society member (of at least two years standing) who has written the best book or article of a Sherlockian persuasion in the previous calendar year.


The first award  was deservedly presented to Bernard Davies for his two volume work Holmes and Watson Country: Travels in Search of Solutions. Sadly Bernard died the following year.


In 2010 the award went to Dr Amanda Field for her book England's Secret Weapon, an analysis of the Basil Rathbone films. I was short-listed with my book Close to Holmes.

In 2011 the award came to yours truly for The Norwood Author.


This year the award went to John Weber for his book Under the Darkling Sky.



I learned only recently that Mr Weber had succumbed to cancer. It was good to know that he did actually receive the award before his death and that it gave him great pleasure.

I wonder what 2013 will bring....


For more information on Arthur Conan Doyle and his time at Undershaw please refer to my book, An Entirely New Country which is available through all good bookstores including Amazon USA, Amazon UK, Classic Specialities, and in all electronic formats including iTunes, Kobo, Nook and Kindle .
The Norwood Author  is available from all good bookstores, in many formats worldwide including Waterstones UK, Amazon UK,  Amazon USA, Barnes and Noble, Amazon Kindle, iBooks for the iPad/iPhone, Kobo Books, Nook.
Close to Holmes is available from all good bookstores, in many formats worldwide including Amazon USA,  Barnes and Noble,  Amazon UK,  Waterstones UK,  Amazon Kindle,  Kobo,  Nook  and iBooks for the iPad/iPhone.
Eliminate the Impossible is available from all good bookstores, in many formats worldwide including Amazon USA, Barnes and Noble, Amazon UK, Waterstones UK, Amazon Kindle, Kobo, Nook and iBooks for the iPad/iPhone.

Looking for a festive gift? Help a struggling author.

The festive season is approaching so here is a blatant attempt to sell you my books if you have not already partaken.

The older titles My latest effort
All four can be purchased in eBook editions as well as paperback and good deals are to be found through the likes of Amazon, Book Depository, Play.com and others. The links for all four books are at the foot of this page.

Go on...you know you want to.

For more information on Arthur Conan Doyle and his time at Undershaw please refer to my book, An Entirely New Country which is available through all good bookstores including Amazon USA, Amazon UK, Classic Specialities, and in all electronic formats including iTunes, Kobo, Nook and Kindle .
The Norwood Author  is available from all good bookstores, in many formats worldwide including Waterstones UK, Amazon UK,  Amazon USA, Barnes and Noble, Amazon Kindle, iBooks for the iPad/iPhone, Kobo Books, Nook.
Close to Holmes is available from all good bookstores, in many formats worldwide including Amazon USA,  Barnes and Noble,  Amazon UK,  Waterstones UK,  Amazon Kindle,  Kobo,  Nook  and iBooks for the iPad/iPhone.
Eliminate the Impossible is available from all good bookstores, in many formats worldwide including Amazon USA, Barnes and Noble, Amazon UK, Waterstones UK, Amazon Kindle, Kobo, Nook and iBooks for the iPad/iPhone.

A reminder re blog comments

Hi all. I notice that I have turned off my FAQ page so I shall state this now for the benefit of some people who have recently commented on my blog.

I do not post comments that contain advertising. So if you attempt to plug something and include a link to it that will be deemed advertising and will be deleted.

I shall reinstate my FAQ page asap so that my comment rules are available.

Did Sidney Paget expose a secret in his artwork?

I don’t often do this but I thought I would have a go at “playing the game”. Whilst articles in this vein can be entertaining, my personal feeling is that they add little in the long-term to Sherlockian knowledge. If you build an entire hypothesis on the idea that the stories were real then it simply cannot last. As Holmes might say “how can you build on such quicksand?”
However, in the spirit of entertainment rather than scholarship, I present this idea to you. Did Sidney Paget inadvertently give away a secret in his artwork?
Holmes always described his brother Mycroft as lacking energy and stated that he could only be a detective if it could be done from the comfort of an armchair. Was he, in fact, pulling Watson’s leg?
In 1894 the chronicles of a new detective began being published. The first seven of these appeared in The Strand and were illustrated by Sidney Paget. The detective in question went by the name of Martin Hewitt but was he in fact Mycroft Holmes trying his hand at some more physically demanding detective work?
The pictures below of Mycroft and Hewitt would seem to suggest so.
Mycroft Holmes (left) Martin Hewitt (right). One and the same?
 Food for thought?



For more information on Arthur Conan Doyle and his time at Undershaw please refer to my book, An Entirely New Country which is available through all good bookstores including Amazon USA, Amazon UK, Classic Specialities, and in all electronic formats including iTunes, Kobo, Nook and Kindle .
The Norwod Author  is available from all good bookstores, in many formats worldwide including Waterstones UK, Amazon UK,  Amazon USA, Barnes and Noble, Amazon Kindle, iBooks for the iPad/iPhone, Kobo Books, Nook.
Close to Holmes is available from all good bookstores, in many formats worldwide including Amazon USA,  Barnes and Noble,  Amazon UK,  Waterstones UK,  Amazon Kindle,  Kobo,  Nook  and iBooks for the iPad/iPhone.
Eliminate the Impossible is available from all good bookstores, in many formats worldwide including Amazon USA, Barnes and Noble, Amazon UK, Waterstones UK, Amazon Kindle, Kobo, Nook and iBooks for the iPad/iPhone.

Radio documentary

I have to confess to being surprised that there has been not one comment on the recently posted radio documentary. I felt it needed another airing as it featured a lot of good contributions. I believe one of the contributors to have died since it was recorded which is a shame as I think I would have liked to have met him.

If you have any comments do let me know. You never know, we might be able to persuade James Hodder to make a follow-up.

For more information on Arthur Conan Doyle and his time at Undershaw please refer to my book, An Entirely New Country which is available through all good bookstores including Amazon USA, Amazon UK, Classic Specialities, and in all electronic formats including iTunes, Kobo, Nook and Kindle .
The Norwod Author  is available from all good bookstores, in many formats worldwide including Waterstones UK, Amazon UK,  Amazon USA, Barnes and Noble, Amazon Kindle, iBooks for the iPad/iPhone, Kobo Books, Nook.
Close to Holmes is available from all good bookstores, in many formats worldwide including Amazon USA,  Barnes and Noble,  Amazon UK,  Waterstones UK,  Amazon Kindle,  Kobo,  Nook  and iBooks for the iPad/iPhone.
Eliminate the Impossible is available from all good bookstores, in many formats worldwide including Amazon USA, Barnes and Noble, Amazon UK, Waterstones UK, Amazon Kindle, Kobo, Nook and iBooks for the iPad/iPhone.

The Legacy of Sherlock Holmes - Documentary

In April 2010 I travelled to a studio in the West End to be interviewed by James Hodder (Twitter ID @radiohodder) of Resonance 104.4FM. My contribution, along with others including Andrew Lycett, went into a documentary entitled The Legacy of Sherlock Holmes. It was broadcast in 2011 and I have been given permission by James Hodder to post it here.

I've done a bit of work to it and turned it into a small movie in order to upload it. The credits contain a full list of contributors. If you get an error first time re-load the page and try again.




Eliminate the Impossible is available from all good bookstores, in many formats worldwide including Amazon USA, Barnes and Noble, Amazon UK, Waterstones UK, Amazon Kindle, Kobo, Nook and iBooks for the iPad/iPhone.

For more information on Arthur Conan Doyle and his time at Undershaw please refer to my book, An Entirely New Country which is available through all good bookstores including Amazon USA, Amazon UK, Classic Specialities, and in all electronic formats including iTunes, Kobo, Nook and Kindle .

Inspector Bradstreet – The cricketing inspector

A slightly misleading title I grant you. 
One of the Scotland Yarders to appear more than once in the canon is Inspector Bradstreet. In my earlier article on Inspector Lestrade I questioned where Conan Doyle got the name from. With Bradstreet there is a plausible theory that I first mentioned in my book The Norwood Author .
The Paget Bradstreet and Bradstreet as portrayed by Denis Lil
The Man with the Twisted Lip was the first story to feature Bradstreet and it was the first story Conan Doyle completed after his move from central Londonto South Norwood. Is it purely coincidence that the local Norwoodpapers mentioned a member of the Norwood Cricket Club that went by the name of Bradstreet? A club that Conan Doyle joined and played for from 1891 – 1894.
What do we think?


Eliminate the Impossible is available from all good bookstores, in many formats worldwide including Amazon USA, Barnes and Noble, Amazon UK, Waterstones UK, Amazon Kindle, Kobo, Nook and iBooks for the iPad/iPhone.

For more information on Arthur Conan Doyle and his time at Undershaw please refer to my book, An Entirely New Country which is available through all good bookstores including Amazon USA, Amazon UK, Classic Specialities, and in all electronic formats including iTunes, Kobo, Nook and Kindle .