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Arthur Conan Doyle: A Life in Letters
More than seventy-five years after his death, the famed creator of Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle, remains one of the world's best-loved authors. This candid, never-before-published volume of letters sheds light on Conan Doyle's fascinating career, not only as an author but as a physician, sportsman, war correspondent and crusader for social justice. From his troubled marriage to his controversial Spiritualist beliefs and from his early whale-hunting days to later celebrity, each chapter of Conan Doyle's life was as gripping as any of his own adventure tales. Gracefully written and warmly revealing, these letters illuminate Conan Doyle's life, character and career as never before.
706 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
October 5, 2011
As someone who read the entire collection of Sherlock Holmes as a teenager, I was biased towards his creator even before picking up this rare book of Arthur Conan Doyle’s letters, primarily to his mother, over a 50 year period.
Doyle was a man of immense stamina, perseverance and self-absorption. Doctor, writer, playwright, cricketer, politician, war correspondent, lecturer, volunteer soldier, businessman, inventor, investor, philanthropist, country squire, spiritualist, and political advisor are some of the titles that stick to him. However, while all the others could be considered “dabblings” or “strivings”, it was as a writer of popular fiction that Doyle effortlessly left his mark on the world. Sherlock Holmes, modeled on his teacher Dr. Joseph Bell, became his cash cow, his nemesis and a creation larger than Doyle. And despite the author’s attempts to throw Holmes off the Reichenbach Falls and re-invent himself as a “serious” writer of historical fiction, that attempt failed by popular demand, and Doyle lives on in posterity under Holmes’ shadow, much like his alter ego Dr. Watson.
The letters could have been distilled to the most important ones, because there was a lot of unnecessary detail. One also has to make allowance for the fact that a son, so devoted to his mother and always wanting her approval, would couch even the most depressing news in a positive light. And yet, glimpses of the private Doyle appear in these letters: the lean years when he struggled to make it as a doctor and had to account for every penny, his devotion to his first wife, Touie, who was dying of tuberculosis while he went from strength to strength in his writing career, the support and generosity he afforded his large but less affluent family, the struggle in consumption-ridden hospitals he served in during the Boer War, the private sufferings when many of his family were killed in the Great War including his eldest son, the struggle with his mother on the issues of empire, spiritualism and adultery, views she held contrary to his. The last aspect arose from Doyle's relationship with Jean Leckie who ultimately became his second wife after being his mistress for several years while the ailing Touie was still alive.
What was interesting for me was that Doyle too had to earn his stripes and put in his time before his writing career took off - 10 years. And yet a hundred years ago, the short story writer/novelist was at the pinnacle of earning power, in relative terms, and that was Doyle’s payoff for his hard work. It is also worth noting that his life was not one of achieving all his goals: his medical career fizzled, he failed at political office twice, his invention of the Autowheel was ahead of its time, his plays had mixed success, and his historical novels were overshadowed by Sherlock Holmes. Doyle’s final retreat into Spiritualism was his way of coming to terms and keeping in touch with his family who had predeceased him; and here too his efforts at championing this cause garnered indeterminate results.
In the end, one could conclude that Doyle achieved one goal – the one we all aspire for – he lived a “full, varied, and useful life,” one he had always desired, as he revealed to his dear “Mam” once.
Doyle was a man of immense stamina, perseverance and self-absorption. Doctor, writer, playwright, cricketer, politician, war correspondent, lecturer, volunteer soldier, businessman, inventor, investor, philanthropist, country squire, spiritualist, and political advisor are some of the titles that stick to him. However, while all the others could be considered “dabblings” or “strivings”, it was as a writer of popular fiction that Doyle effortlessly left his mark on the world. Sherlock Holmes, modeled on his teacher Dr. Joseph Bell, became his cash cow, his nemesis and a creation larger than Doyle. And despite the author’s attempts to throw Holmes off the Reichenbach Falls and re-invent himself as a “serious” writer of historical fiction, that attempt failed by popular demand, and Doyle lives on in posterity under Holmes’ shadow, much like his alter ego Dr. Watson.
The letters could have been distilled to the most important ones, because there was a lot of unnecessary detail. One also has to make allowance for the fact that a son, so devoted to his mother and always wanting her approval, would couch even the most depressing news in a positive light. And yet, glimpses of the private Doyle appear in these letters: the lean years when he struggled to make it as a doctor and had to account for every penny, his devotion to his first wife, Touie, who was dying of tuberculosis while he went from strength to strength in his writing career, the support and generosity he afforded his large but less affluent family, the struggle in consumption-ridden hospitals he served in during the Boer War, the private sufferings when many of his family were killed in the Great War including his eldest son, the struggle with his mother on the issues of empire, spiritualism and adultery, views she held contrary to his. The last aspect arose from Doyle's relationship with Jean Leckie who ultimately became his second wife after being his mistress for several years while the ailing Touie was still alive.
What was interesting for me was that Doyle too had to earn his stripes and put in his time before his writing career took off - 10 years. And yet a hundred years ago, the short story writer/novelist was at the pinnacle of earning power, in relative terms, and that was Doyle’s payoff for his hard work. It is also worth noting that his life was not one of achieving all his goals: his medical career fizzled, he failed at political office twice, his invention of the Autowheel was ahead of its time, his plays had mixed success, and his historical novels were overshadowed by Sherlock Holmes. Doyle’s final retreat into Spiritualism was his way of coming to terms and keeping in touch with his family who had predeceased him; and here too his efforts at championing this cause garnered indeterminate results.
In the end, one could conclude that Doyle achieved one goal – the one we all aspire for – he lived a “full, varied, and useful life,” one he had always desired, as he revealed to his dear “Mam” once.
October 19, 2019
I will love Sir Arthur Conan Doyle forever for giving us Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson but must I say...his life was boring. Or maybe I just wasn’t in the mood for a biography sort of auto-biography (yes, these are letters from ACD himself). We may never know.
June 2, 2008
I heard about this book on NPR, and was so excited! I'm somewhat of a ACD geek, and had heard that his letters were lost/hidden. I'd always longed to read them, but I thought I'd just be picking around and reading a few. Who wants to read a whole book of letters to his mother? Me, that's who! I haven't been able to put it down! There's so much people don't know about Doyle (he introduced skiing to Europe! He influenced Winston Churchill to enter politics! He could have been a professional cricket star!) and he's such a brilliant personality, it's fascinating to read.
November 27, 2024
I love the era, I love the author, so with joy, I am absorbing the contents of his voluminous correspondence. The history of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and his protagonist consulting Detective Sherlock Holmes have captivated readers over the years, so there is little that has not been noted about this writer that has not been illustrated in many forms.
My review of his letters is limited to items of interest to me that gave me pause for reflection. The entirety of this book is unique because it is a compilation of letters from Doyle and most of the correspondence is written to his mother, she is his rock.
The one fault I find in this very interesting correspondence is that it is a one-way conversation, and I don’t see Doyle as always being fourth right. Instead, he is always positive and optimistic, particularly to his mother. Though tedious at times and throughout the narrative there is a consistent reference to another Doyle book called “Memories and Adventures”. It seems that the editors of “A life in Letters” seek clarification or acquiescence in this other book; should it have been read before or after “A life in letters”?
In Doyles letters to his mother, he seems to enjoy communicating with her and he is religious about staying in touch. He seems to be a rough and ready guy who loves a rowdy game of football (soccer) and jokes about his injuries. Yet, is he keeping a stiff upper lip, for his mother? I wonder!
Even in Academics, he studies hard and achieves much success. That’s what the letters say as told to his mother, but what does he really feel and suffer? We will never know.
The correspondence is a delight, it is prewar and there is an air of “Hail Britania” and just good times. This is just before and during the First World War that will kill a generation of British men and plunge the Country into a great depression with most doing without essentials. During the war years and even the depression to come, scarcity existed for many essentials. People would turn the heat on for an hour or two just to warm up the house before it was turned off to save electricity.
The first chapter is titled “the School Boy”. The contents of this chapter interest me very much. It is a British tradition and maybe even German tradition to send children to a boarding school. This subject captivates and terrorizes me. That topic has come up in many biographies. Churchill’s biographers and many others speak to the experience. I read of this practice in a recent biography of Louis Auchincloss, of the great Vanderbilt family. He states, little children are taken from the comfort and protection of mothers, governesses and put into a boarding school to be harassed by bullies and sadistic teachers and headmasters. Every one of my readings in this venue talks of the terror and loneliness these children experience, as they cry themselves to sleep at night. Yet throughout the late nineteenth Century and early twentieth century this practice persisted. In a recently read biography of Ronald Reagan, his children were sent off to boarding schools by his second wife who was a unfit mother and did not want to deal with them. Does this practice make a child stronger? Does the philosophy of “what doesn’t kill you make you stronger, apply here”; this reader has no answers. I have listed here some quotes from authors who have experienced the boarding school life: Justin Webb, a broadcaster, said, the moment when his chemistry master pulled a pistol, declared it loaded and waved it in the air was “probably”, the worst point of his boarding-school career. Winston Churchill would recall the floggings, done until pupils “bled freely” and screamed loudly. Winston, a lonely child cried himself to sleep at night, missing his mother. George Orwell in his book “Such, Such Were the Joys”, he writes of being beaten so violently that his headmaster broke his riding crop while “reducing me to tears”.
Doyle seems to have thrived in his boarding school experience, at least that is what he told his mother! I am envious of the camaraderie, enjoyed with his friends and their shared adventures. I do question if I had or have the determination or drive to excel at the subjects he studied. Languages including Greek, Latin and math taught by an instructor with a switch that seems to be a grind of focus and study that Doyle thrived in. He is obviously an intelligent man.
After college, it is medical school in Edinburgh, he went into medicine because he had no other prospects and his mother’s boarder (lover) a doctor counseled Doyle as well as supported him. The doctor helped Doyle gain admission to his former medical school and supplied him with an occasional pound or two of support.
After the formal part of medical training the next phase was as a medical assistant to a fully certified Doctor. There is some humor in this because he encountered many people with interesting ideocracies.
Doyle must be admired for his intellect and motivation to excel at everything he did from academics, sports and his writing and speaking prowess.
His love for his mother always shines through in the letters. He sends money home to help her even when he was just starting out and always short of money.
He started his own practice at Southsea. Southsea is a seaside resort and a geographic area of Portsmouth. During this period, Doyle is religious about keeping in touch with his mother every few days! These letters to his mother are always upbeat, yet the reader is aware that the establishment of his practice is quite slow, and the first few years see money coming in only in dribs and drabs, yet he remains optimistic in his correspondence. A point that I ponder and wonder why? Is that his mother sends him money and clothing. Why? he is an adult and a professional man. While he is just starting out in his profession, he seems to have more than her and I wonder where the mothers’ money comes from.
His profession seems to be a means of earning a living, while his real passion is literature, and he became quite successful at being published by magazines while slowly building a medical practice.
By March of 1886 Doyle is married, he passes his medical exam and starts work on his first Sherlock Holmes story. This is the first appearance of the famous consulting detective. I was puzzled by the casual attitude of Doyle in talking of Holmes. What I realized is that Holmes is just another character in his literary career. Doyle was a man of letters, he published short stories, poems, and a successful book called “The White Company”, so Holmes is just another story in his effort to master his literary skills and make some money.
The character he developed had its genius drawn from people like Dr. Joseph Bell, an instructor Doyle encountered during medical training. Bell was a very astute observer of people who could tell much about a person just from observation. Doyle also acknowledges that Edgar Allen Poe’s detective Dupin greatly influenced the building of the persona of Sherlock Holmes. Also, interesting is that Doyle acknowledges that Robert Louis Stevenson influenced the development of his character Sherlock Holmes. The first appearance of Holmes is in “The Study in Scarlet”. The Strand magazine had requested a mystery from him to be serialized in the magazine. My previous readings on this subject Illustrated that it was a smash hit, and Strand readers could not wait for the next installment. Yet, Doyle seems satisfied by the acceptance but ready to move on with other literary projects, so he killed off Holmers at the Reichenbach Falls in the northern Swiss Alps. He obviously did not realize what he created. In all matters money talks the loudest, so, when the US based Colliers weekly offered an enormous sum for Doyle to do at least 6 Holmes stories, he found a way to bring him back from the grave.
As his literary success grew, in 1891 he elected to give up medicine. Sherlock Holmes and his other works provided an adequate source of income and writing was his true passion. It was amazing how prolific his writing had become. He created story after story, poetry and stage plays. He obviously had a very fertile and creative mind.
As his wealth accumulated, he began to travel. His wife had been diagnosed with tuberculosis, a fatal lung disease in that era, so he sought places with good air qualities. The dry air of Egypt provided the answer in 1896 and he and his wife Louise Hawkins, aka Touie, went on an Egyptian adventure and his letters illustrated his enjoyment and surprise at finding Egypt as an English tourist destination. His reputation gave him access to the “rich and famous’ of the touring nationals and they both enjoyed the sites and the partying that the trip provided, while at the same time seeing the curative effects of Egypt’s desert air. These were interesting letters home.
A series of letters were exchanged between Doyle and his mother regarding his expressed interest in joining the fight in the Boer war. He was forty and she was adamant that he should not go and become cannon fodder, which she saw as a waste of his gifts and if misfortune happened a great loss to his wife and children. The back and forth between the two presented a clear picture of the issues surrounding Britain’s involvement in this war. His mother’s position seemed quite informed and basically stated that it was the usual case of the rich sending the poor to fight to safeguard the economic interests of the rich. She pointed out that Cecil Rhodes an English mining magnate and politician in southern Africa wanted the British army to safeguard his diamond and gold mines from the Boers with the blood of English soldiers, (the Boers were descendants of the proto-Afrikaans-speaking Free Burghers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 17th, 18th century), Doyles countered that it was his patriotic duty. He also acknowledged a wonder lust for adventure; But this reader sees more in this effort. Doyle had fallen for a beautiful young girl, Jean Leckie, and he felt the emotional stress of a sickly wife and a beautiful young girl whom he could not present to the world. He was an honorable man of principal and while he could not give up either woman the stress was great. The opportunity to literally run away was there in a war in South Africa.
This issue was resolved when a friend mentioned that a group of doctors were going to South Africa to build a hospital in support of the enormous casualties that the war created.
He volunteered as a surgeon and was selected to join this group. The narrative surrounding the trip and experiences of this war was excellent and added to this reader’s pleasure.
Upon his return, the same issues were waiting for him. His sister had discovered his love interest outside of his marriage and she did not react well. He did get support from his mother but what these letters did not explain was the reaction of his wife, Touie.
He continued to send her to healthy climates, and he was devoted to her wellbeing. But they no longer traveled together, and he found ways to be with Jean Leckie, but usually with a chaperon, yes, he was an honorable and very principled man.
Touie had to know, just female intuition would have told her that there was someone else but not a word is mentioned in any letter about Touie’s reaction to the second woman. This issue highlights my earlier point that these letters are of interest, yet other voices are missing in this book. On her death bed Touie told her daughter that Doyle would remarry and mentioned Jean Leckie, so she did know.
World War One brought out the best in Doyle. He wanted to fight but was rejected because of age. Yet, he did everything in his power to help his Country. Including sacrificing his son, Kingsley.
When I read the prose that came from him and others, I become emotional. Things said like Foreign Secretary Edward Grey remarking, “The lamps are going out all over Europe; she shall not see them lit again in our lifetime”. Doyle had Sherlock remark, on the eve of war: “There is an east wind coming, Watson,” and when Watson, prosaic as ever replied, I think not Holmes, it is very warm” his comrade replied Good old Watson! You are one fixed point in a changing age. There’s an east wind coming all the same, such a wind as never blew on England yet. It will be cold and bitter, Watson, and a good many of us may wither before its blast. But its God’s own wind none the less, and a cleaner, better, stronger land will lie in the sunshine when the storm has cleared. Prose like this is why I love Arthur Conan Doyle and this period in history.
His interest in Spiritualism grew stronger during this war. He tried to communicate with his fallen son and others. He became financial about the subject and traveled extensively preaching about spiritualism. I believe Doyle went over the top at this stage of his life. Regarding the subject of spiritualism, I am agnostic, who is to know what the answers are regarding religion and faith in a God. He claims to have spoken to his dead son, and he received a message from his mother at the time of her death. He believed God chose him to speak to people about Spiritualism.
I have experienced a conversation with my dead father through a world renown medium. a mystic named Baba Vanga who doled out predictions from her rural Bulgarian village. I went to her remote farmhouse and sat with her in the dining room. She said my father was in the room and I believed her. I talk to my dead mother often and often feel her presence. My wife went into our dining room one day and could smell her grandmother, that was the day the lady died. Did she visit her granddaughter for the last time, who is to know! My point is Doyle was a very spiritual man who loved his son and mother. Is what he experienced real or a physiological event occurring in his mind to deal with the tragic losses caused by the war, who is to know.
This book of letters covers a great deal of English history and Doyle was actively involved in this history. It amazed me the access this man had to power and the influential leaders in government. His letters point to his dining with and communicating with prime Ministers and Foreign Secretary on a frequent basis. These men also called on him to perform tasks for the government. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was not just the writer who created a fictional consulting detective. He was a prolific writer of plays, poetry, fiction, and a chronicler of English history while also being a lecturer on many subjects. Doyle was the definition of “A Renaissance Man” a man who is skilled at all tasks he attempts and has wide-ranging knowledge in many fields.
My review of his letters is limited to items of interest to me that gave me pause for reflection. The entirety of this book is unique because it is a compilation of letters from Doyle and most of the correspondence is written to his mother, she is his rock.
The one fault I find in this very interesting correspondence is that it is a one-way conversation, and I don’t see Doyle as always being fourth right. Instead, he is always positive and optimistic, particularly to his mother. Though tedious at times and throughout the narrative there is a consistent reference to another Doyle book called “Memories and Adventures”. It seems that the editors of “A life in Letters” seek clarification or acquiescence in this other book; should it have been read before or after “A life in letters”?
In Doyles letters to his mother, he seems to enjoy communicating with her and he is religious about staying in touch. He seems to be a rough and ready guy who loves a rowdy game of football (soccer) and jokes about his injuries. Yet, is he keeping a stiff upper lip, for his mother? I wonder!
Even in Academics, he studies hard and achieves much success. That’s what the letters say as told to his mother, but what does he really feel and suffer? We will never know.
The correspondence is a delight, it is prewar and there is an air of “Hail Britania” and just good times. This is just before and during the First World War that will kill a generation of British men and plunge the Country into a great depression with most doing without essentials. During the war years and even the depression to come, scarcity existed for many essentials. People would turn the heat on for an hour or two just to warm up the house before it was turned off to save electricity.
The first chapter is titled “the School Boy”. The contents of this chapter interest me very much. It is a British tradition and maybe even German tradition to send children to a boarding school. This subject captivates and terrorizes me. That topic has come up in many biographies. Churchill’s biographers and many others speak to the experience. I read of this practice in a recent biography of Louis Auchincloss, of the great Vanderbilt family. He states, little children are taken from the comfort and protection of mothers, governesses and put into a boarding school to be harassed by bullies and sadistic teachers and headmasters. Every one of my readings in this venue talks of the terror and loneliness these children experience, as they cry themselves to sleep at night. Yet throughout the late nineteenth Century and early twentieth century this practice persisted. In a recently read biography of Ronald Reagan, his children were sent off to boarding schools by his second wife who was a unfit mother and did not want to deal with them. Does this practice make a child stronger? Does the philosophy of “what doesn’t kill you make you stronger, apply here”; this reader has no answers. I have listed here some quotes from authors who have experienced the boarding school life: Justin Webb, a broadcaster, said, the moment when his chemistry master pulled a pistol, declared it loaded and waved it in the air was “probably”, the worst point of his boarding-school career. Winston Churchill would recall the floggings, done until pupils “bled freely” and screamed loudly. Winston, a lonely child cried himself to sleep at night, missing his mother. George Orwell in his book “Such, Such Were the Joys”, he writes of being beaten so violently that his headmaster broke his riding crop while “reducing me to tears”.
Doyle seems to have thrived in his boarding school experience, at least that is what he told his mother! I am envious of the camaraderie, enjoyed with his friends and their shared adventures. I do question if I had or have the determination or drive to excel at the subjects he studied. Languages including Greek, Latin and math taught by an instructor with a switch that seems to be a grind of focus and study that Doyle thrived in. He is obviously an intelligent man.
After college, it is medical school in Edinburgh, he went into medicine because he had no other prospects and his mother’s boarder (lover) a doctor counseled Doyle as well as supported him. The doctor helped Doyle gain admission to his former medical school and supplied him with an occasional pound or two of support.
After the formal part of medical training the next phase was as a medical assistant to a fully certified Doctor. There is some humor in this because he encountered many people with interesting ideocracies.
Doyle must be admired for his intellect and motivation to excel at everything he did from academics, sports and his writing and speaking prowess.
His love for his mother always shines through in the letters. He sends money home to help her even when he was just starting out and always short of money.
He started his own practice at Southsea. Southsea is a seaside resort and a geographic area of Portsmouth. During this period, Doyle is religious about keeping in touch with his mother every few days! These letters to his mother are always upbeat, yet the reader is aware that the establishment of his practice is quite slow, and the first few years see money coming in only in dribs and drabs, yet he remains optimistic in his correspondence. A point that I ponder and wonder why? Is that his mother sends him money and clothing. Why? he is an adult and a professional man. While he is just starting out in his profession, he seems to have more than her and I wonder where the mothers’ money comes from.
His profession seems to be a means of earning a living, while his real passion is literature, and he became quite successful at being published by magazines while slowly building a medical practice.
By March of 1886 Doyle is married, he passes his medical exam and starts work on his first Sherlock Holmes story. This is the first appearance of the famous consulting detective. I was puzzled by the casual attitude of Doyle in talking of Holmes. What I realized is that Holmes is just another character in his literary career. Doyle was a man of letters, he published short stories, poems, and a successful book called “The White Company”, so Holmes is just another story in his effort to master his literary skills and make some money.
The character he developed had its genius drawn from people like Dr. Joseph Bell, an instructor Doyle encountered during medical training. Bell was a very astute observer of people who could tell much about a person just from observation. Doyle also acknowledges that Edgar Allen Poe’s detective Dupin greatly influenced the building of the persona of Sherlock Holmes. Also, interesting is that Doyle acknowledges that Robert Louis Stevenson influenced the development of his character Sherlock Holmes. The first appearance of Holmes is in “The Study in Scarlet”. The Strand magazine had requested a mystery from him to be serialized in the magazine. My previous readings on this subject Illustrated that it was a smash hit, and Strand readers could not wait for the next installment. Yet, Doyle seems satisfied by the acceptance but ready to move on with other literary projects, so he killed off Holmers at the Reichenbach Falls in the northern Swiss Alps. He obviously did not realize what he created. In all matters money talks the loudest, so, when the US based Colliers weekly offered an enormous sum for Doyle to do at least 6 Holmes stories, he found a way to bring him back from the grave.
As his literary success grew, in 1891 he elected to give up medicine. Sherlock Holmes and his other works provided an adequate source of income and writing was his true passion. It was amazing how prolific his writing had become. He created story after story, poetry and stage plays. He obviously had a very fertile and creative mind.
As his wealth accumulated, he began to travel. His wife had been diagnosed with tuberculosis, a fatal lung disease in that era, so he sought places with good air qualities. The dry air of Egypt provided the answer in 1896 and he and his wife Louise Hawkins, aka Touie, went on an Egyptian adventure and his letters illustrated his enjoyment and surprise at finding Egypt as an English tourist destination. His reputation gave him access to the “rich and famous’ of the touring nationals and they both enjoyed the sites and the partying that the trip provided, while at the same time seeing the curative effects of Egypt’s desert air. These were interesting letters home.
A series of letters were exchanged between Doyle and his mother regarding his expressed interest in joining the fight in the Boer war. He was forty and she was adamant that he should not go and become cannon fodder, which she saw as a waste of his gifts and if misfortune happened a great loss to his wife and children. The back and forth between the two presented a clear picture of the issues surrounding Britain’s involvement in this war. His mother’s position seemed quite informed and basically stated that it was the usual case of the rich sending the poor to fight to safeguard the economic interests of the rich. She pointed out that Cecil Rhodes an English mining magnate and politician in southern Africa wanted the British army to safeguard his diamond and gold mines from the Boers with the blood of English soldiers, (the Boers were descendants of the proto-Afrikaans-speaking Free Burghers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 17th, 18th century), Doyles countered that it was his patriotic duty. He also acknowledged a wonder lust for adventure; But this reader sees more in this effort. Doyle had fallen for a beautiful young girl, Jean Leckie, and he felt the emotional stress of a sickly wife and a beautiful young girl whom he could not present to the world. He was an honorable man of principal and while he could not give up either woman the stress was great. The opportunity to literally run away was there in a war in South Africa.
This issue was resolved when a friend mentioned that a group of doctors were going to South Africa to build a hospital in support of the enormous casualties that the war created.
He volunteered as a surgeon and was selected to join this group. The narrative surrounding the trip and experiences of this war was excellent and added to this reader’s pleasure.
Upon his return, the same issues were waiting for him. His sister had discovered his love interest outside of his marriage and she did not react well. He did get support from his mother but what these letters did not explain was the reaction of his wife, Touie.
He continued to send her to healthy climates, and he was devoted to her wellbeing. But they no longer traveled together, and he found ways to be with Jean Leckie, but usually with a chaperon, yes, he was an honorable and very principled man.
Touie had to know, just female intuition would have told her that there was someone else but not a word is mentioned in any letter about Touie’s reaction to the second woman. This issue highlights my earlier point that these letters are of interest, yet other voices are missing in this book. On her death bed Touie told her daughter that Doyle would remarry and mentioned Jean Leckie, so she did know.
World War One brought out the best in Doyle. He wanted to fight but was rejected because of age. Yet, he did everything in his power to help his Country. Including sacrificing his son, Kingsley.
When I read the prose that came from him and others, I become emotional. Things said like Foreign Secretary Edward Grey remarking, “The lamps are going out all over Europe; she shall not see them lit again in our lifetime”. Doyle had Sherlock remark, on the eve of war: “There is an east wind coming, Watson,” and when Watson, prosaic as ever replied, I think not Holmes, it is very warm” his comrade replied Good old Watson! You are one fixed point in a changing age. There’s an east wind coming all the same, such a wind as never blew on England yet. It will be cold and bitter, Watson, and a good many of us may wither before its blast. But its God’s own wind none the less, and a cleaner, better, stronger land will lie in the sunshine when the storm has cleared. Prose like this is why I love Arthur Conan Doyle and this period in history.
His interest in Spiritualism grew stronger during this war. He tried to communicate with his fallen son and others. He became financial about the subject and traveled extensively preaching about spiritualism. I believe Doyle went over the top at this stage of his life. Regarding the subject of spiritualism, I am agnostic, who is to know what the answers are regarding religion and faith in a God. He claims to have spoken to his dead son, and he received a message from his mother at the time of her death. He believed God chose him to speak to people about Spiritualism.
I have experienced a conversation with my dead father through a world renown medium. a mystic named Baba Vanga who doled out predictions from her rural Bulgarian village. I went to her remote farmhouse and sat with her in the dining room. She said my father was in the room and I believed her. I talk to my dead mother often and often feel her presence. My wife went into our dining room one day and could smell her grandmother, that was the day the lady died. Did she visit her granddaughter for the last time, who is to know! My point is Doyle was a very spiritual man who loved his son and mother. Is what he experienced real or a physiological event occurring in his mind to deal with the tragic losses caused by the war, who is to know.
This book of letters covers a great deal of English history and Doyle was actively involved in this history. It amazed me the access this man had to power and the influential leaders in government. His letters point to his dining with and communicating with prime Ministers and Foreign Secretary on a frequent basis. These men also called on him to perform tasks for the government. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was not just the writer who created a fictional consulting detective. He was a prolific writer of plays, poetry, fiction, and a chronicler of English history while also being a lecturer on many subjects. Doyle was the definition of “A Renaissance Man” a man who is skilled at all tasks he attempts and has wide-ranging knowledge in many fields.
November 17, 2024
It's amazing, not only that Conan Doyle wrote letters constantly to his mother for over 54 years, but these letters were saved, and thus published in this book. This was one of those few hardback books that I treated myself to when it was published in 2007 and I've been dipping in and out of ever since. To be honest though, as interesting as this concept is, I found the letters a bit of a drag and certainly for the last half I skimmed most of it. I've already read his biography and an interesting history of Conan Doyle and The Strand magazine, so I probably wasn't learning anything new. But there's no denying that this is a remarkable collection.
October 8, 2014
A unusual and intimate look at the creator of Sherlock Holmes. I very much enjoyed learning more about Doyle's life through his own narrative, though I'm certain he never imagined the world would one day pour over his private letters. That in it's self makes them all the more intriguing.
January 10, 2018
What an intriguing human being! Who would have thought that an author best known for short mystery stories would be so active in the government, religion, and war. I had two problems with this book:
1. The device of learning about a person through their own letters is cute, but not a very cohesive way to tell a story. Too much repetition and unnecessary details. I enjoyed the paragraphs between the letters more than the letters.
2. I expected there to be more interaction between this biography and the Sherlock Holmes stories themselves. At times, the author included an excerpt from a Sherlock story if a particular detail were mentioned in both a letter and a story. However, these were only sprinkled in the early half of the book, and almost nonexistent later.
Next time I want to learn about a real person, I'll shy away from the "Life in Letters" format.
1. The device of learning about a person through their own letters is cute, but not a very cohesive way to tell a story. Too much repetition and unnecessary details. I enjoyed the paragraphs between the letters more than the letters.
2. I expected there to be more interaction between this biography and the Sherlock Holmes stories themselves. At times, the author included an excerpt from a Sherlock story if a particular detail were mentioned in both a letter and a story. However, these were only sprinkled in the early half of the book, and almost nonexistent later.
Next time I want to learn about a real person, I'll shy away from the "Life in Letters" format.
December 31, 2018
An epistolary look into the life of Arthur Conan Doyle, with most of the letters being from him to his mother. Some others appear, such as those written to some of his siblings, other doctors, and some from his son Kingsley during WWI.
Overall, it was very informative and entertaining but, since a majority of the letters were to his mother, some of the letters were very similar to each other. As a result, the pacing was uneven. While some portions of the book were very engaging, others dragged along. I was also disappointed that the excerpts from his literature that tied back to actual life events included in the beginning of the book all but disappeared about halfway through. It was neat to see how the real-life experiences and events tied to the fictional ones.
Overall, it was very informative and entertaining but, since a majority of the letters were to his mother, some of the letters were very similar to each other. As a result, the pacing was uneven. While some portions of the book were very engaging, others dragged along. I was also disappointed that the excerpts from his literature that tied back to actual life events included in the beginning of the book all but disappeared about halfway through. It was neat to see how the real-life experiences and events tied to the fictional ones.
August 15, 2021
Well worth the time. An interesting man to say the least and as eloquent a letter writer as he was elsewhere. He certainly "lived" life with great zeal. I found this to be a vivid way to get to know the man. There's a lot of details which perhaps some will not care about, but I nevertheless found of interest.
Perhaps best of all are his thoughts about his own writing, Holmes and his ambivalent feelings towards him (which was a surprise given his public statements), and his nevertheless considerable pride and care in which he took to make them as good as they could be.
A remarkable life of a remarkable man.
Perhaps best of all are his thoughts about his own writing, Holmes and his ambivalent feelings towards him (which was a surprise given his public statements), and his nevertheless considerable pride and care in which he took to make them as good as they could be.
A remarkable life of a remarkable man.
December 20, 2023
Interesting to learn about Conan Doyle's life through his correspondence. The letters span from early boyhood to late in life and are supplemented with short biographical notes, photos, and excerpts from his published work which may have taken inspiration from events mentioned in his letters. As a casual fan of Sherlock Holmes, I enjoyed absorbing the mundanities of life at the time and also now feel inspired to pick up Conan Doyle's historical novels.
February 23, 2018
It was very interesting to learn more about personality and values of Conan Doyle. I found it funny that he didn't much like Sherlock being his most popular work, and I've found some other books I want to read by him. An insightful work of his life in letters to his mother.
December 30, 2020
Could have really done with a ruthless edit. A lot of repitative entries that could have been dropped without the text suffering. Saying that, it was a very interesting look at Doyle in his own words. You get a detailed thought process from childhood onwards so there can be no complaints about thoroughness. If you live and breath Arthur Conan Doyle you'll probably enjoy it more than I.
October 25, 2019
It was a very interesting biography about Sir Conan Doyle. I liked that there were his most famous stories also inside this book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 21, 2019
Very informative though one has to sift through a lot of irrelavant material if one is looking for something more specific.
March 2, 2022
I gave up. It became a struggle to read. It is fairly boring to me. He leaves so much out of his letters.
August 29, 2023
So neat to see Doyle's letters!
August 17, 2010
A Life in Letters is a weighty book. At times completely riveting, at others utterly boring, it almost exclusively contains letters written by Doyle to his mother over a period of 50 years. Insight is provided into all of the chapters of a truly unique life, from schoolboy to Spiritualist missionary via doctor, whaler, author, war correspondent, sportsman, army volunteer, politician, businessman, husband and father. The title of the book could not be more apt. Conan Doyle truly lived his life; working hard, playing hard, and sucking at the marrow of every last day, and it's all presented here in great detail.
But that's not to say he didn't grapple with life's mundanities too. Unfortunately, these are a little too well represented throughout the book. The schoolboy years at times become nothing more than a string of letters to "The Mam" requesting money, clothes and food. Later, as Doyle struggles to set up a medical practice, finances begin to dominate and the letters begin to resemble account books, with their constant tallies of income and expenses. It's unfair to blame the author for writing boring private letters; self-professed "scrawls" that he never intended to be seen by his readers. These 700 pages contain his not-for-public-consumption writings, and why would he feel any compulsion to hold back the mundane details that his correspondents wanted?
In fact, it is the editors that have chosen to give information that, for me, often became repetitive. While this increases the book's value as a reference work, it harms the fascinating narrative that is its true appeal. I would have liked to read a shortened version. A more personal account of the major events of an amazing life, a truly uncensored (or at least less censored) autobiography. That book is in here; you just have to read a lot of other things to get to it. Another weakness appears when considering the lack of variety in Doyle's recipients. It's unfortunate that most of the letters that survive to be published are to his mother. There's no denying that a dutiful son would emphasise and gloss over certain aspects of his life when writing to his mum, and it would be fascinating to see the variations in tone and detail that might come in letters to friends, lovers, brothers, sisters, etc.
The book really shines when Doyle writes one of his longer letters, perhaps describing a particularly momentous event or period. I found the sections on The Boer War completely fascinating, for example. Doyle sees the best and worst of humanity, and describes it unflinchingly.
There's a review quote on the back of this book that describes Conan Doyle as a strange mixture of "kindness and carelessness, overbearing self-confidence and depressive self-doubt." I'd say that was 75% right. I never particularly got the impression of a man who lacked confidence or self-belief. In fact, that's one of the qualities that make him so interesting, if a little frustrating at times.
It's impossible to learn so much about a man's inner life without finding some things that are hard to understand and accept. Conan Doyle is no different. I was particuarly struck by the way he continued a 7 year affair with a woman while his wife slowly wasted away from typhoid. His seeming nonchalance is jarring at times, and his confusion at his sister's unfavourable reaction when she discovers the truth is telling. Doyle doesn't seem able to see it from her point of view. He does not believe his affair to be any kind of betrayal.
Of course, we all like to think that we would do things differently, but where this book excels is in its unflinching presentation of Doyle's very human flaws in all their detail. We all lack fundamental self-awareness at certain important points in life, and he is no different. From an observer's point of view, it's easy to see why his affair was upsetting, but to a man in love, things are much different. It would be harsh to judge him too unfairly.
Doyle's Spiritualist beliefs are another odd facet of his character, and A Life in Letters addresses them fully. It was interesting to read about the beliefs that seemed so contrary to his scientific background. Telling, perhaps, that his faith was only truly galvanised and made public around the time of the First World War. Doyle's losses (several family members including a brother and a son) reflected those of the nation, and it's difficult not to see Spiritualism primarily as a way for those in grief to maintain a wishful connection to those they had lost.
I really enjoyed reading this book; I just didn't enjoy every last page. If you can avoid getting put off by the length, and persist when things get repetitive, you'll find the story of a unique, inspiring, and fascinating man who occasionally touched at greatness.
But that's not to say he didn't grapple with life's mundanities too. Unfortunately, these are a little too well represented throughout the book. The schoolboy years at times become nothing more than a string of letters to "The Mam" requesting money, clothes and food. Later, as Doyle struggles to set up a medical practice, finances begin to dominate and the letters begin to resemble account books, with their constant tallies of income and expenses. It's unfair to blame the author for writing boring private letters; self-professed "scrawls" that he never intended to be seen by his readers. These 700 pages contain his not-for-public-consumption writings, and why would he feel any compulsion to hold back the mundane details that his correspondents wanted?
In fact, it is the editors that have chosen to give information that, for me, often became repetitive. While this increases the book's value as a reference work, it harms the fascinating narrative that is its true appeal. I would have liked to read a shortened version. A more personal account of the major events of an amazing life, a truly uncensored (or at least less censored) autobiography. That book is in here; you just have to read a lot of other things to get to it. Another weakness appears when considering the lack of variety in Doyle's recipients. It's unfortunate that most of the letters that survive to be published are to his mother. There's no denying that a dutiful son would emphasise and gloss over certain aspects of his life when writing to his mum, and it would be fascinating to see the variations in tone and detail that might come in letters to friends, lovers, brothers, sisters, etc.
The book really shines when Doyle writes one of his longer letters, perhaps describing a particularly momentous event or period. I found the sections on The Boer War completely fascinating, for example. Doyle sees the best and worst of humanity, and describes it unflinchingly.
There's a review quote on the back of this book that describes Conan Doyle as a strange mixture of "kindness and carelessness, overbearing self-confidence and depressive self-doubt." I'd say that was 75% right. I never particularly got the impression of a man who lacked confidence or self-belief. In fact, that's one of the qualities that make him so interesting, if a little frustrating at times.
It's impossible to learn so much about a man's inner life without finding some things that are hard to understand and accept. Conan Doyle is no different. I was particuarly struck by the way he continued a 7 year affair with a woman while his wife slowly wasted away from typhoid. His seeming nonchalance is jarring at times, and his confusion at his sister's unfavourable reaction when she discovers the truth is telling. Doyle doesn't seem able to see it from her point of view. He does not believe his affair to be any kind of betrayal.
Of course, we all like to think that we would do things differently, but where this book excels is in its unflinching presentation of Doyle's very human flaws in all their detail. We all lack fundamental self-awareness at certain important points in life, and he is no different. From an observer's point of view, it's easy to see why his affair was upsetting, but to a man in love, things are much different. It would be harsh to judge him too unfairly.
Doyle's Spiritualist beliefs are another odd facet of his character, and A Life in Letters addresses them fully. It was interesting to read about the beliefs that seemed so contrary to his scientific background. Telling, perhaps, that his faith was only truly galvanised and made public around the time of the First World War. Doyle's losses (several family members including a brother and a son) reflected those of the nation, and it's difficult not to see Spiritualism primarily as a way for those in grief to maintain a wishful connection to those they had lost.
I really enjoyed reading this book; I just didn't enjoy every last page. If you can avoid getting put off by the length, and persist when things get repetitive, you'll find the story of a unique, inspiring, and fascinating man who occasionally touched at greatness.
January 3, 2021
This book consists of letters that Conan Doyle wrote during his life. They are mostly to his mother and a few to family and friends. These letters also show that His father, although very talented, was addicted to drink and in his latter days committed to an institution. That must be why he wrote to his mother in a letter in March 1915: “ So long as I keep non-alcoholic the easier I do my work. The more I live the more I realize that alcohol shortens life and spoils it”. He was a very caring person as can be seen from all the letters he wrote to his mother and all the gifts that he gave her. He also cared a lot for all his family. It was a great shock to him that his brother Innes and his son Kingsley died from the flu epidemic after surviving the war.
From these letters it emerges that Conan Doyle was a remarkable man but not a perfect man.
He was remarkable because of a wide range of interests. He was a doctor and an author. He excelled in different sports, notably cricket and golf. He was a traveller and an orator. He wrote books and stories in several different genres. He wrote historical stories, detective stories, science fiction, books about the Boer war and World War One, short stories and articles for magazines. He wrote the Sherlock Holmes stories which influenced many authors to follow his example in writing detective fiction. Who can forget stories like “The Hound of the Baskervilles”, “The Sussex Vampire”, “The Redheaded League” and “The Speckled Band”. He was extremely active. As he said in one of his letters “I don’t rest easily”. He always had to be on the go. He even wrote a book while traveling on a ship with his family. That must be the reason why he also became an extremely rich man.
These letters also show some things that, to me, are incongruous. He criticized the Belgians for their “crimes in the Congo”, but praised the English for their war in South Africa. He wrote the intellectual Sherlock Holmes stories but also believed in the contact with the dead through a medium and the existence of fairies.
The editors are to be commended for arranging and publishing these letters. It gives the reader insight into the mind of a man who became a legend in his lifetime and who still gives his readers joy through his books, many of which are still available today. And the Sherlock Holmes books are still regularly republished and extremely popular. Sherlock Holmes is so popular that nearly every month other authors still write new stories about Holmes and Watson. People can’t seem to get enough of them. These letters show why. Conan Doyle had a way with words which was transferred to his stories.
From these letters it emerges that Conan Doyle was a remarkable man but not a perfect man.
He was remarkable because of a wide range of interests. He was a doctor and an author. He excelled in different sports, notably cricket and golf. He was a traveller and an orator. He wrote books and stories in several different genres. He wrote historical stories, detective stories, science fiction, books about the Boer war and World War One, short stories and articles for magazines. He wrote the Sherlock Holmes stories which influenced many authors to follow his example in writing detective fiction. Who can forget stories like “The Hound of the Baskervilles”, “The Sussex Vampire”, “The Redheaded League” and “The Speckled Band”. He was extremely active. As he said in one of his letters “I don’t rest easily”. He always had to be on the go. He even wrote a book while traveling on a ship with his family. That must be the reason why he also became an extremely rich man.
These letters also show some things that, to me, are incongruous. He criticized the Belgians for their “crimes in the Congo”, but praised the English for their war in South Africa. He wrote the intellectual Sherlock Holmes stories but also believed in the contact with the dead through a medium and the existence of fairies.
The editors are to be commended for arranging and publishing these letters. It gives the reader insight into the mind of a man who became a legend in his lifetime and who still gives his readers joy through his books, many of which are still available today. And the Sherlock Holmes books are still regularly republished and extremely popular. Sherlock Holmes is so popular that nearly every month other authors still write new stories about Holmes and Watson. People can’t seem to get enough of them. These letters show why. Conan Doyle had a way with words which was transferred to his stories.
February 12, 2014
I couldn't put it down. There is something voyeuristic about reading someone's private letters. I would go so far to say better than biography; this is the man by his own hand without reflection. What a magnificent life and such ability showing at an early age, clearly a genius. The compilers have worked very hard to give the book as close to a narrative thread as is possible with letters. The book is 686 pages and I was only felt let down by the last 50 pages where we dwelt on Conan Doyle's spiritualism. It is an area where I felt I discovered the man's intellectual Achilles heal. That said, turning to spiritualism as his main focus after the Great War may have been furthered by his own family losses. This book is not about Sherlock Holmes, it is about Conan Doyle, it is about an era, it is about genius. Perhaps, above all it is about an extraordinary relationship with his mother and the sense of duty he felt throughout his life, his father spending much of his middle and later years in an asylum.
I laughed when Doyle in lamenting the publisher's placement of illustrative engravings said;
"Take the last of the Brigadiers also. My whole object is to give the reader a stunning shock by Napoleon lying dead at the crisis of the adventure. But the story is prefaced by a large picture of Napoleon lying dead, which simply knocks the bottom out of the whole thing from the Storytellers point of view."
I feel privileged to have been allowed access to these letters. I think the body of them will make most humans feel very humble indeed.
I laughed when Doyle in lamenting the publisher's placement of illustrative engravings said;
"Take the last of the Brigadiers also. My whole object is to give the reader a stunning shock by Napoleon lying dead at the crisis of the adventure. But the story is prefaced by a large picture of Napoleon lying dead, which simply knocks the bottom out of the whole thing from the Storytellers point of view."
I feel privileged to have been allowed access to these letters. I think the body of them will make most humans feel very humble indeed.
January 17, 2020
The book is fascinating because one can trace how a child (with simplistic grammar, spelling errors, and naïveté) evolved into a youth, and then into a grown man. There one can see very human moments which help one perceive ACD not only as a literary figure, but as a living being who liked to have fun and could do silly things.
There are many behind-the-scenes aspects of writing Holmes stories, like an amazing piece of information that Jean Leckie [ACD’s second wife, but at the time his sweetheart whom he couldn’t yet marry] gave ACD an idea about the plot of EMPT and Holmes’s dramatic reunion with Watson. Some 4 years later ACD and Jean could unite too.
The poignant and heartbreaking letters of the WWI period gave me a sense of ‘immediacy’, and for the first time I could regard it not as a far away historical event but a real tragedy in the lives of many people. After reading this book I think that there is no better way to learn history than to touch it through the letters.
Some traits of ACD’s character I admired and some found perplexing to say the least. The complexity of his personality is especially vivid in the letters.
There are many behind-the-scenes aspects of writing Holmes stories, like an amazing piece of information that Jean Leckie [ACD’s second wife, but at the time his sweetheart whom he couldn’t yet marry] gave ACD an idea about the plot of EMPT and Holmes’s dramatic reunion with Watson. Some 4 years later ACD and Jean could unite too.
The poignant and heartbreaking letters of the WWI period gave me a sense of ‘immediacy’, and for the first time I could regard it not as a far away historical event but a real tragedy in the lives of many people. After reading this book I think that there is no better way to learn history than to touch it through the letters.
Some traits of ACD’s character I admired and some found perplexing to say the least. The complexity of his personality is especially vivid in the letters.
December 23, 2012
Loved this book! I usually don't care for biographies, but this is no typical biography. It's a collection of Conan Doyle's letters from the time he was 8 years old in boarding school until a decade before his death. As readers, we learn about his life, in his own voice and through his own perceptions. We follow him through his years at school, his struggle to establish a medical practice, his early attempts as a short story writer, his success with Sherlock Holmes, his secret (but apparently chaste) romance during his first wife's fatal illness, and more. Most letters were written to his mother, and though we see only a few of her replies, we can see she was obviously a strong woman and significant influence in his life. The letters also contain fascinating details about life in the late 1800s/early 1900s.
April 16, 2012
I really enjoyed learning more about Arthur Conan Doyle through his own words via letters to his family (mostly his mother) and his friends. Even the smallest things that he wrote about help give the modern day reader an idea of what life was like during that time period. The authors who compiled the letters did a pretty good job of filling the reader in on what was likely going on during the time periods where there were no letters (mother may have been visiting Doyle - so no letters between them).
I would recommend this book to anyone who's a fan of Doyle and to anyone who is intested in British life in the mid-late 1800s and early 1900s.
I would recommend this book to anyone who's a fan of Doyle and to anyone who is intested in British life in the mid-late 1800s and early 1900s.
August 10, 2012
Only read some here and there. Very thorough. Found a new author to explore--Geo. Meredith. Arthur and Oscar Wilde got along alright the few times they met.
"Of all his novels, it (The White Company) gave him the most pleasure. He declared at the end of his life:
I was young and full of the first joy of life and action, and I think I got some of it into my pages. When I worte the last line, I remember that I cried: 'Well, I'll never beat that,' and threw the inky pen at the opposite wall, which was papered with duck's-egg green! The black smudge was there for many a day.
Dwight D. Eisenhower read it in his boyhood.
"Of all his novels, it (The White Company) gave him the most pleasure. He declared at the end of his life:
I was young and full of the first joy of life and action, and I think I got some of it into my pages. When I worte the last line, I remember that I cried: 'Well, I'll never beat that,' and threw the inky pen at the opposite wall, which was papered with duck's-egg green! The black smudge was there for many a day.
Dwight D. Eisenhower read it in his boyhood.
February 8, 2017
I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/14394004
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/14394004
April 7, 2012
I enjoyed the letters that gave me an insite into Conan Doyle's life and thoughts, but found a great many of the letters to be accounts of the money he either owed or made or sent to his mother. The fact that he wrote to his mother for over 50 years and had such a good relationship was very telling of what a thoughtful son he was! This was even after they had very diferrent ideas of religion, formal and spirtitful.
June 24, 2009
ACD is almost as interesting as his most famous creation, Sherlock Holmes. His personality comes through loud and clear in this selection of his letters: immensely self-assured and -confident, but also determined, open-minded, insistent on justice and fairness, and able to see his own flaws. Read this in conjunction with Julian Barnes's novel Arthur and George.
December 22, 2012
I nodded off as he was talking about money with his mother...again.
I did love his non-Holmes short stories - The Supernatural Tales of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is wonderful.
I did love his non-Holmes short stories - The Supernatural Tales of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is wonderful.
June 17, 2012
This was like reading someone's mail. It gave incredible insight into this complicated man and his daily affairs and feelings. The biggest thing about this was I realized how we no longer communicate in this indepth fashion. Shame on us.
June 3, 2016
Honestly, didn't finish this whole book ---- It is wonderful, all the letters Arthur Doyle EVER WROTE! But it's a lot to chew on at once...so I'm putting it on the shelf for awhile and will pick it back and keeping going when I'm in the mood for detail!
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