The Sign of the Four by Stephanie Baudet

Although Holmes remained Doyle's most popular literary creation, Doyle wrote prolifically in other genres, including historical adventure, science fiction, and supernatural fiction. Having tired of Holmes's popularity, Doyle even tried to kill the great detective in 'The Final Problem' but was forced by an outraged public to resurrect him in 1903. Watson, provides a striking contrast to Holmes's brilliant intellect and, in Doyle's day at least, serves as a character with whom the reader can readily identify.

Although an 'amateur' private detective, he is frequently called upon by Scotland Yard for assistance. A brilliant, though somewhat eccentric, detective, Holmes employs scientific methods of observation and deduction to solve the mysteries that he investigates. Eventually, Doyle wrote three additional Holmes novels and five collections of Holmes short stories. Joseph Bell, as a model for Holmes's character. Doyle is reputed to have used one of his medical professors, Dr. When Doyle published the novel, A Study in Scarlet in 1887, Sherlock Holmes was introduced to an avid public. During his later years, Doyle became an avowed spiritualist.ĭoyle sold his first story, 'The Mystery of the Sasassa Valley,' to Chambers' Journal in 1879. As a Liberal Unionist, Doyle ran, unsuccessfully, for Parliament in 1903. Although he attempted to enter private practice in Southsea, Portsmouth, in 1882, he soon turned to writing in his spare time it eventually became his profession. Doyle was drawn to writing at an early age. He worked as a military physician in South Africa during the Boer War and was knighted in 1902 for his exceptional service. Born in Edinburgh, Doyle studied medicine from 1876 to 1881 and received his M.D. However, Doyle was, at best, ambivalent about his immensely successful literary creation and, at worst, resentful that his more 'serious' fiction was relatively ignored. The most famous fictional detective in the world is Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes.

The Sign of the Four by Stephanie Baudet