Arthur Conan Doyle short. Biography of Arthur Conan Doyle

Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle was born on May 22, 1859 in the capital of Scotland, Edinburgh, in the family of an artist and architect.

After Arthur reached the age of nine, he went to boarding school Hodder, a preparatory school for Stonyhurst (a large closed Catholic school in Lancashire). Two years later, Arthur moved from Hodder to Stonyhurst. It was during those difficult years at boarding school that Arthur realized he had a talent for storytelling. In his senior year, he publishes a college magazine and writes poetry. In addition, he played sports, mainly cricket, in which he achieved good results. Thus, by 1876 he was educated and ready to face the world.

Arthur decided to take up medicine. In October 1876, Arthur became a student at the Medical University of Edinburgh. While studying, Arthur was able to meet many future famous authors such as James Barry and Robert Louis Stevenson, who also attended the university. But he was most influenced by one of his teachers, Dr. Joseph Bell, who was a master of observation, logic, inference, and error detection. In the future, he served as the prototype for Sherlock Holmes.

Two years after starting his studies at the university, Doyle decides to try his hand at literature. In the spring of 1879 he writes a short story, "The Secret of the Sesassa Valley", which is published in September 1879. He sends out a few more stories. But only The American's Tale gets published in the London Society. And yet he understands that this is how he, too, can make money.

Twenty years old, in his third year at university, in 1880, a friend of Arthur offered him a position as a surgeon on the whaler Hope under the command of John Gray in the Arctic Circle. This adventure found a place in his first story concerning the sea ("Captain of the North Star"). In the autumn of 1880, Conan Doyle returned to work. In 1881 he graduated from the University of Edinburgh, where he received a Bachelor of Medicine and a Master of Surgery, and began to look for work. The result of these searches was the position of a ship's doctor on the Mayuba ship, which sailed between Liverpool and the west coast of Africa, and on October 22, 1881, its next voyage began.

He leaves the ship in mid-January 1882, and moves to England in Plymouth, where he works together with a certain Kallingworth, whom he met in his last years of study in Edinburgh. These first years of practice are well described in his book Stark Monroe's Letters, which, in addition to describing life, presents in large numbers the author's reflections on religious issues and forecasts for the future.

Over time, disagreements arise between former classmates, after which Doyle leaves for Portsmouth (July 1882), where he opens his first practice. Initially, there were no clients, and therefore Doyle has the opportunity to devote his free time to literature. He writes several stories, which he publishes in the same 1882. During 1882-1885 Doyle was torn between literature and medicine.

On a March day in 1885, Doyle was invited to give advice on the illness of Jack Hawkins. He had meningitis and was hopeless. Arthur offered to put him in his house for constant care, but a few days later Jack died. This death made it possible to meet his sister Louise Hawkins, to whom they became engaged in April, and on August 6, 1885 they were married.

After his marriage, Doyle actively engaged in literature. One after another in the magazine "Cornhill" his stories "Message of Hebekuk Jephson", "A Gap in the Life of John Huxford", "The Ring of Thoth" are published. But stories are stories, and Doyle wants more, he wants to be noticed, and for this you need to write something more serious. And so, in 1884, he wrote the book Girdlestone Trading House. But the book did not interest publishers. In March 1886, Conan Doyle began writing a novel that brought him popularity. In April, he finishes it and sends it to Cornhill to James Payne, who in May of the same year speaks very warmly of him, but refuses to publish it, since, in his opinion, he deserves a separate publication. Doyle sends the manuscript to Arrowsmith in Bristol, and in July a negative review of the novel arrives. Arthur does not despair and sends the manuscript to Fred Warne and K0. But their romance was not interested either. Next come Messrs. Ward, Locky, and K0. They reluctantly agree, but set a number of conditions: the novel will be released no earlier than next year, the fee for it will be 25 pounds, and the author will transfer all rights to the work to the publisher. Doyle reluctantly agrees, as he wants his first novel to be given to the readers. And so, two years later, in Beaton's Christmas Weekly for 1887, the novel A Study in Scarlet was published, which introduced readers to Sherlock Holmes. The novel was published as a separate edition in early 1888.

The beginning of 1887 marked the beginning of the study and research of such a concept as "life after death." Doyle continued to study this question throughout his later life.

As soon as Doyle sends A Study in Scarlet, he starts a new book, and at the end of February 1888 he finishes the novel Micah Clark. Arthur has always been attracted to historical novels. It is under their influence that Doyle writes this and a number of other historical works. Working in 1889 on a wave of positive reviews of "Micah Clark" on "The White Company", Doyle unexpectedly receives an invitation to dinner from the American editor of Lippincots Magazine to discuss writing another work about Sherlock Holmes. Arthur meets with him, and also meets Oscar Wilde and eventually agrees to their proposal. And in 1890, The Sign of the Four appears in the American and English editions of this magazine.

The year 1890 was no less productive than the previous one. By the middle of this year, Doyle is finishing The White Company, which James Payne takes up for publication at Cornhill and declares it to be the best historical novel since Ivanhoe. In the spring of 1891, Doyle arrived in London, where he opened a practice. The practice was not successful (there were no patients), but at that time stories about Sherlock Holmes were being written for the Strand magazine.

In May 1891, Doyle falls ill with influenza and is dying for several days. When he recovered, he decided to leave the practice of medicine and devote himself to literature. Towards the end of 1891, Doyle becomes a very popular person in connection with the appearance of the sixth story about Sherlock Holmes. But after writing these six stories, the editor of the Strand in October 1891 requested six more, agreeing to any conditions on the part of the author. And Doyle asked for, as it seemed to him, such an amount, 50 pounds, having heard about which the deal should not have taken place, since he no longer wanted to deal with this character. But to his great surprise, it turned out that the editors agreed. And the stories were written. Doyle begins work on The Exiles (finished in early 1892). From March to April 1892, Doyle rests in Scotland. Upon his return, he began work on The Great Shadow, which he completed by the middle of that year.

In 1892, the Strand again offered to write another series of stories about Sherlock Holmes. Doyle, in the hope that the magazine will refuse, puts up a condition - 1000 pounds and ... the magazine agrees. Doyle was already tired of his hero. After all, every time you need to come up with a new story. Therefore, when at the beginning of 1893 Doyle and his wife go on vacation to Switzerland and visit the Reichenbach Falls, he decides to put an end to this annoying hero. As a result, twenty thousand subscribers unsubscribed from the Strand magazine.

This frantic life may explain why the former doctor did not pay attention to the serious deterioration in his wife's health. And over time, he finally learns that Louise has tuberculosis (consumption). Although she was given only a few months, Doyle begins a belated departure, and he manages to delay her death by more than 10 years, from 1893 to 1906. Together with his wife, they move to Davos, located in the Alps. In Davos, Doyle is actively involved in sports, starting to write stories about Brigadier Gerard.

Due to the illness of his wife, Doyle is very burdened by constant traveling, and also by the fact that for this reason he cannot live in England. And suddenly he meets Grant Allen, who, ill like Louise, continued to live in England. Therefore, Doyle decides to sell the house in Norwood and build a luxurious mansion in Hindhead in Surrey. In the autumn of 1895, Arthur Conan Doyle travels with Louise to Egypt, and during the winter of 1896 is where he hopes for a warm climate that will be good for her. Before this trip, he is finishing the book "Rodney Stone".

In May 1896 he returned to England. Doyle continues to work on "Uncle Bernac", which was started in Egypt, but the book is difficult. At the end of 1896, he began to write "The Tragedy with" Korosko ", which was created on the basis of impressions received in Egypt. In 1897, Doyle came up with the idea to resurrect his sworn enemy Sherlock Holmes to improve his financial situation, which had deteriorated somewhat due to the high costs of building a house. At the end of 1897 he writes the play Sherlock Holmes and sends it to Beerbom Tree. But he wanted to significantly remake it for himself, and as a result, the author sent it to New York to Charles Froman, who, in turn, handed it over to William Gillet, who also wished to remake it to his liking. This time, the author waved his hand at everything and gave his consent. As a result, Holmes was married, and a new manuscript was sent to the author for approval. And in November 1899, Hitler's Sherlock Holmes was well received in Buffalo.

Conan Doyle was a man of the highest moral standards and did not cheat on Louise during their life together. However, he fell in love with Jean Lecky when he saw her on March 15, 1897. They fell in love. The only obstacle that kept Doyle from a love affair was the state of health of his wife Louise. Doyle meets Jean's parents, and in turn introduces her to his mother. Arthur and Jean often meet. Having learned that his beloved is fond of hunting and sings well, Conan Doyle also begins to get involved in hunting and learns to play the banjo. From October to December 1898, Doyle wrote the book "Duet with a Random Chorus", which tells the story of the life of an ordinary married couple.

When the Boer War began in December 1899, Conan Doyle decided to volunteer for it. He was considered unfit to serve in the army, so he goes there as a doctor. On April 2, 1900, he arrives at the scene and sets up a field hospital with 50 beds. But the number of wounded is many times greater. For several months in Africa, Doyle saw more soldiers die of fever, typhus than of war wounds. After the defeat of the Boers, Doyle sailed back to England on 11 July. About this war he wrote the book "The Great Boer War", which underwent changes until 1902.

In 1902, Doyle finished work on another major work about the adventures of Sherlock Holmes (The Hound of the Baskervilles). And almost immediately there is talk that the author of this sensational novel stole his idea from his friend journalist Fletcher Robinson. These conversations are still going on.

Doyle was knighted in 1902 for services rendered during the Boer War. Doyle continues to be weary of stories about Sherlock Holmes and Brigadier Gerard, so he writes "Sir Nigel", which, in his opinion, "is a high literary achievement."

Louise died in Doyle's arms on July 4th, 1906. After nine years of secret courtship, Conan Doyle and Jean Lecky are married on September 18, 1907.

Before the outbreak of the First World War (August 4, 1914), Doyle joins a detachment of volunteers, which was completely civilian and was created in case the enemy invaded England. During the war, Doyle lost many people close to him.

In the autumn of 1929, Doyle went on his last tour of Holland, Denmark, Sweden and Norway. He was already sick. Arthur Conan Doyle died on Monday, July 7, 1930.

😉 Greetings to the respectable audience on the site "Ladies and Gentlemen"! Friends, let's continue to study the success stories of great people. In the article "Arthur Conan Doyle: biography, interesting facts" about the main stages of the writer's life and work.

Biography of Arthur Conan Doyle

Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (1859-1930) was a famous English writer. Creator of more than seventy books: short stories, novels, novellas, poems. Works of adventure, sci-fi, humorous genres.

He was born in Father Charles Altamont Doyle - a talented artist, worked as a clerk. Due to his passion for alcohol and unstable mentality, the family did not live well.

1868 Wealthy relatives sent Arthur to study at a school in Hodder. At the age of eleven, he moves to the next stage of education - a Catholic school in Stonyhurst. The school taught seven subjects and practiced harsh punishments.

The guy diversifies the difficult period of study by writing stories that other students will like. He enjoyed outdoor activities, especially cricket and golf. Sports accompanied him all his life, here you can add cycling, billiards.

The beginning of the creative path

1876 ​​- Arthur enters the medical university, choosing a career as a doctor despite the fact that the family devoted itself to literature and art. Simultaneously with his studies, he worked in a pharmacy, helping the family financially. I read a lot and continued to write.

1879 - The story "The Secret of the Sesassa Valley" brought Doyle his first income from literary creativity. By this time, he becomes the mother's only support, as the sick father is admitted to the hospital.

1880 - he is sent as a surgeon to sail on the ship Nadezhda, which is engaged in whale fishing. Seven months of work brought him 50 pounds.

1881 - becomes a bachelor of medicine, but practice was necessary to become a doctor.

1882 - worked as a doctor in Plymouth, then moved to Portsmouth, where his first practice appears. At first there was little work, which gave him the opportunity to write for the soul.

Writing career

Doyle continues his literary activity. Fame brings him published "A Study in Scarlet". The characters Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson become the heroes of new stories.

In 1891, Doyle said goodbye to medicine and immersed himself in the writer's work. His popularity is gaining momentum after the release of the next work "The Man with the Split Lip". The magazine that publishes stories about Sherlock Holmes asks the author to write six more stories about this character, paying the amount of 50 pounds.

After some time, Arthur begins to become weary of the cycle, believing that these works distract him from writing other serious works, but he fulfills the agreement on writing stories.

A year later, the magazine again asks him to write a series of stories about Sherlock. The author's fee is 1000 pounds. The fatigue associated with finding a plot for a new story prompts Arthur to "murder" the protagonist. After the completion of the cycle about the famous detective, 20 thousand readers refuse to purchase the magazine.

In 1892, the play "Waterloo" was released on the stage of theaters. The operetta Jane Annie, or the Prize for Good Conduct, based on his second play, failed. Doubting his ability to write plays, Doyle agrees to lecture on literary subjects throughout England.

• 1894 - Conducts lectures in the cities of the United States. In subsequent years, he writes a lot, but pays special attention to the health of his wife Louise;
• 1902 - The Hound of the Baskervilles is published. At the same time, King Edward VII awarded Conan Doyle the title of knight for his participation as a military doctor in the Boer War;
• 1910 - the next works "Motley Ribbon" and others appear on the stage.

Over the next years, he continues to write literary works, political essays. Visits America, Holland and other countries. The most popular were works about Sherlock Holmes, although he himself considered historical novels his achievement.

Arthur Conan Doyle: biography (video)

Personal life

The writer was married twice. His first wife, Louise Hawkins, died of tuberculosis in 1906. A year later, Doyle married Jean Lecky, with whom he had been secretly in love since 1897. He was the father of five children.

in Wikisource.

Doyle also wrote historical novels (“The White Squad” and others), plays (“Waterloo”, “Angels of Darkness”, “Fires of Fate”, “Motley Ribbon”), poems (collections of ballads “Songs of Action” (1898) and "Songs of the Road"), autobiographical essays ("The Notes of Stark Monroe" or "The Mystery of Stark Monroe") and "everyday" novels ("Duet accompanied by an occasional choir"), libretto of the operetta "Jane Annie" (1893, co-authored).

Biography

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was born into an Irish Catholic family, noted for their accomplishments in the arts and literature. The name Conan was given to him in honor of his father's uncle, artist and writer Michel Conan. Father - Charles Altamont Doyle, architect and artist, at the age of 23 married 17-year-old Mary Foley, who was passionately fond of books and had a great talent for storytelling. From her, Arthur inherited his interest in chivalric traditions, deeds and adventures. “The real love for literature, the penchant for writing comes from me, I think, from my mother,” wrote Conan Doyle in his autobiography. - "The vivid images of the stories that she told me in early childhood completely replaced in my memory the memories of specific events in my life of those years."

The family of the future writer experienced serious financial difficulties - solely because of the odd behavior of his father, who not only suffered from alcoholism, but also had an extremely unbalanced psyche. Arthur's school life was spent at the Godder Preparatory School. When the boy was 9 years old, rich relatives offered to pay for his education and sent him to the Jesuit closed college Stonyhurst (Lancashire) for the next seven years, from where the future writer took out hatred of religious and class prejudice, as well as physical punishment. The few happy moments of those years for him were associated with letters to his mother: he did not part with the habit of describing in detail to her the current events of his life for the rest of his life. In addition, at the boarding school, Doyle enjoyed playing sports, mainly cricket, and also discovered his talent for storytelling, gathering around him peers who listened to stories they made up on the go for hours.

A. Conan Doyle, 1893. Photograph by G. S. Burro

As a third-year student, Doyle decided to try his hand at the literary field. His first story "The Secret of the Sesas Valley" (eng. The Mystery of Sasassa Valley), influenced by Edgar Allan Poe and Bret Harth (his favorite authors at the time), was published by the university Chamber's Journal where the first works of Thomas Hardy appeared. In the same year, Doyle's second short story "American History" (eng. The American Tale) appeared in a magazine London Society .

In 1884, Conan Doyle began work on The Girdlestone Trading House, a social and everyday novel with a crime-detective plot (written under the influence of Dickens) about cynical and cruel money-grubber merchants. It was published in 1890.

In 1889, Doyle's third (and perhaps most bizarre) novel, The Clumber Mystery, was published. The Mystery of Cloomber). The story of the "afterlife" of three vengeful Buddhist monks - the first literary evidence of the author's interest in the paranormal - subsequently made him a staunch follower of spiritualism.

Historical cycle

In February 1888, A. Conan Doyle completed work on the novel The Adventures of Micah Clark, which told of the Monmouth Rebellion (1685), the purpose of which was to overthrow King James II. The novel was published in November and was warmly received by critics. From that moment on, a conflict arose in the creative life of Conan Doyle: on the one hand, the public and publishers demanded new works about Sherlock Holmes; on the other hand, the writer himself was increasingly striving to gain recognition as the author of serious novels (primarily historical ones), as well as plays and poems.

The first serious historical work of Conan Doyle is the novel The White Squad. In it, the author turned to a critical stage in the history of feudal England, taking as a basis the real historical episode of 1366, when a lull came in the Hundred Years War and "white detachments" of volunteers and mercenaries began to appear. Continuing the war in France, they played a decisive role in the struggle of pretenders for the Spanish throne. Conan Doyle used this episode for his artistic purpose: he resurrected the life and customs of that time, and most importantly, presented chivalry in a heroic halo, which by that time was already in decline. The White Squad was published in Cornhill magazine (whose publisher James Penn declared it "the best historical novel since Ivanhoe"), and was published as a separate book in 1891. Conan Doyle has always said that he considers it one of his best works.

With some assumption, the novel Rodney Stone (1896) can also be classified as historical: the action takes place here at the beginning of the 19th century, Napoleon and Nelson, playwright Sheridan are mentioned. This work was originally conceived as a play with the working title The House of Temperley and was written under the well-known British actor Henry Irving at the time. In the course of working on the novel, the writer studied a lot of scientific and historical literature (“History of the Navy”, “History of Boxing”, etc.).

In 1892, the “French-Canadian” adventure novel “The Exiles” and the historical play “Waterloo” were completed, in which the famous actor Henry Irving played the main role in those years (who acquired all rights from the author).

Sherlock Holmes

1900-1910

In 1900, Conan Doyle returned to medical practice: as a military field hospital surgeon, he went to the Boer War. The book The Anglo-Boer War, published by him in 1902, met with warm approval from conservative circles, brought the writer closer to government spheres, after which the somewhat ironic nickname "Patriot" was established behind him, which he himself, however, was proud of. At the beginning of the century, the writer received a noble and knighthood and twice in Edinburgh took part in local elections (both times he was defeated).

In the early 90s, Conan Doyle developed friendly relations with the leaders and employees of the magazine "Idler": Jerome K. Jerome, Robert Barr and James M. Barry. The latter, having awakened in the writer a passion for the theater, attracted him to (not very fruitful in the end) cooperation in the dramatic field.

In 1893, Doyle's sister Constance married Ernst William Hornung. Having become relatives, the writers maintained friendly relations, although they did not always see eye to eye. Hornung's protagonist, the "noble burglar" Raffles, was very reminiscent of a parody of the "noble detective" Holmes.

A. Conan Doyle highly appreciated the works of Kipling, in which, in addition, he saw a political ally (both were fierce patriots). In 1895, he supported Kipling in disputes with American opponents and was invited to Vermont, where he lived with his American wife. Later (after Doyle's critical publications on England's African policy), relations between the two writers became cooler.

Strained was Doyle's relationship with Bernard Shaw, who once spoke of Sherlock Holmes as "a drug addict who has not a single pleasant quality." There is reason to believe that the attacks on the first (now little-known author) Hall Kane, who abused self-promotion, were taken personally by the Irish playwright. In 1912, Conan Doyle and Shaw entered into a public altercation in the pages of newspapers: the first defended the crew of the Titanic, the second condemned the behavior of the officers of the sunken liner.

Conan Doyle, in his article, called on the people to express their protest in a democratic way, during the elections, noting that not only the proletariat, but also the intelligentsia with the middle class, for whom Wells does not feel sympathy, are experiencing difficulties. Agreeing with Wells on the need for land reform (and even supporting the creation of farms on the sites of abandoned parks), Doyle rejects his hatred of the ruling class and concludes: “Our worker knows that he, like any other citizen, lives in accordance with certain social laws. , and it is not in his interests to undermine the well-being of his state by sawing the branch on which he himself sits.

1910-1913

In 1912, Conan Doyle published The Lost World, a science fiction story (subsequently filmed more than once), followed by The Poisoned Belt (1913). The protagonist of both works was Professor Challenger, a fanatic scientist endowed with grotesque qualities, but at the same time human and charming in his own way. At the same time, the last detective story "Valley of Terror" appeared. A work that many critics tend to underestimate, Doyle's biographer J. D. Carr considers it one of his strongest.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, 1913

1914-1918

Doyle becomes even more embittered when he becomes aware of the torture that English prisoners of war were subjected to in Germany.

... It is difficult to work out a line of conduct in relation to the red-skinned Indians of European origin who torture prisoners of war. It is clear that we ourselves cannot similarly torture the Germans at our disposal. On the other hand, appeals to good-heartedness are also meaningless, because the average German has the same concept of nobility that a cow has of mathematics ... He is sincerely incapable of understanding, for example, what makes us speak warmly of von Müller of Weddingen and our other enemies who are trying to at least to some extent retain a human face ...

Doyle soon calls for the organization of "retribution raids" from the territory of eastern France and enters into a discussion with the Bishop of Winchester (the essence of whose position is that "it is not the sinner who is condemned, but his sin"): "Let the sin fall on those who force sin us. If we wage this war, guided by Christ's commandments, there will be no sense. Were we, following a well-known recommendation taken out of context, to turn the “second cheek”, the Hohenzollern empire would have already spread over Europe, and instead of the teachings of Christ, Nietzscheanism would be preached here,” he wrote in The Times, December 31, 1917.

Conan Doyle refuted claims that his interest in spiritualism arose only at the end of the war:

Many people did not encounter or even hear about Spiritualism until 1914, when the angel of death knocked on many houses. Opponents of Spiritualism believe that it was the social cataclysms that shook our world that caused such an increased interest in psychic research. These unprincipled opponents claimed that the author's defense of Spiritualism and his friend Sir Oliver Lodge's defense of the Teaching were explained by the fact that both of them lost sons who died in the war of 1914. From this followed the conclusion: grief clouded their minds, and they believed in what they would never have believed in peacetime. The author refuted this shameless lie many times and emphasized the fact that his research began in 1886, long before the start of the war.. - ("History of Spiritualism", chapter 23, "Spiritualism and War")

Among the most controversial works of Conan Doyle in the early 1920s is The Apparition of the Fairies ( The Coming of the Fairies, 1921), in which he tried to prove the truth of the photographs of the Cottingley fairies and put forward his own theories regarding the nature of this phenomenon.

Last years

Sir A. Conan Doyle's grave at Minstead

The writer spent the entire second half of the 1920s traveling, having visited all continents, without stopping his active journalistic activity. Having visited England only briefly in 1929 to celebrate his 70th birthday, Doyle went to Scandinavia with the same goal - to preach "... the revival of religion and that direct, practical spiritualism, which is the only antidote to scientific materialism." This last trip undermined his health: he spent the next spring in bed surrounded by loved ones.

At some point, there was an improvement: the writer immediately went to London in order to demand the repeal of the laws that persecuted mediums in a conversation with the Minister of the Interior. This effort proved to be the last: in the early morning of July 7, 1930, at his home in Crowborough, Sussex, Conan Doyle died of a heart attack. He was buried near his garden house. On the tombstone, at the request of the widow, a knightly motto was engraved: Steel True, Blade Straight("True as steel, as straight as a blade").

Family

Doyle had five children: two from his first wife, Mary and Kingsley, and three from his second, Jean Lena Anette, Denis Percy Stuart (March 17, 1909 - March 9, 1955; in 1936 he became the husband of the Georgian princess Nina Mdivani ) and Adrian.

In 1893, the famous writer of the early 20th century, Willie Hornung, became a relative of Conan Doyle: he married his sister, Connie (Constance) Doyle.

Works (selected)

The Sherlock Holmes series

• The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (collection of short stories, 1891-1892)
• Notes on Sherlock Holmes (collection of stories, 1892-1893)
• Hound of the Baskervilles (1901-1902)
• The Return of Sherlock Holmes (collection of short stories, 1903-1904)
• Valley of Terror (1914-1915)
• His farewell bow (collection of short stories, 1908-1913, 1917)
• The Sherlock Holmes Archive (collection of short stories, 1921-1927)

The English writer of Irish origin, who worked and created his works in England, is known throughout the world. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle made a huge contribution to English literature with his iconic hero Holmes. The whole life of a fictional character is known to his fans to the smallest detail, but what do we know about the writer himself?

Childhood of Arthur Igneishus

The Doyles gave their son the traditional triple name for those times - Arthur Igneyshus Conan. The future writer saw the light in a family of Irish immigrants. The birthplace of the great man was Edinburgh, Scotland, and the universe chose May 22, 1859 as the date of his birth.

Doyle's family was not poor. His grandfather was an excellent artist and also a silk merchant. Parents raised the boy in the best Catholic traditions and managed to give him a good education.

Charles Doyle (father) worked as a local illustrator, and was so good at his work that it was his drawings that adorned the work of Lewis Carroll, as well as Defoe. Even according to the sketches of Charles, stained-glass windows were made in a large temple in Glasgow.

Irish Mary Foley became the mother of the future writer, giving her husband seven more children. Mary was known as an educated woman. She devoted a lot of time to literature, and accustomed her children to long reading, as well as to adventure stories about knights.

It was to his mother that Doyle later addressed words of gratitude for his passion for literature..

When Arthur became a teenager, the well-being of his family was noticeably shaken. Charles, as the head of the family, understood that he had to adequately provide for his offspring, but he suffered from creative failure, dreamed of the glory of a great artist, and therefore drank a lot.

The green serpent killed Doyle's father. Several years of hard drinking led to the fact that the man's health deteriorated, and he died. After the death of the head of the family, Doyle's relatives took patronage over the widowed Mary and her children.

So Arthur was sent to study at Stonyhurst School. The Jesuit College was famous for its high educational standards, as well as strict discipline, which was often expressed in the flogging of students.

Arthur was not only flogged for infractions. He also could not find a common language with some classmates, for which he regularly received ridicule and cuffs. The young man was not given the exact sciences at all. Therefore, the Moriarty brothers, his classmates, often made fun of Arthur and fought with him.

Cricket became an outlet for Arthur in college. The boy played this game skillfully and recklessly. Even in his school years, the young man was known as an excellent storyteller. He made up stories, and the children listened to him with their mouths open in surprise.

While away from home, Doyle wrote long and detailed letters to his mother about what happened to him during the day. So he comprehended the science of a detailed and detailed presentation of the plot.

Literature and later life

At the age of six, Arthur Conan Doyle wrote the first story about a tiger and a traveler. Even then, the work of the young author was filled with pragmatism and realism unusual for children of his age. The tiger dined as a traveler and there was no happy ending.

In adulthood, the writer chose the profession of a doctor for himself. The prerequisites for this choice were the stories of the guest of his mother about how he had his own medical practice.

Doyle graduated from university and became an ophthalmologist. While studying at the university, Arthur quickly became friends with classmates Stevenson and Barry. These young people later also became famous writers.

During the student period, Arthur was seriously interested in the work of Poe and Garth. He studied in detail the style of the writers, and then he himself created his works "American History" and "The Secret of the Sesas Valley".

From 1881 and for 10 years, Doyle was engaged only in medical practice. Then he set aside his white coat for pen and ink. In 1886, under the light hand of a doctor and now a writer, A Study in Scarlet came out.

With this story, a new era in literature began. After all, now the world has recognized a new hero, whom Conan Doyle named Sherlock Holmes. There is an opinion among writers and researchers that the creator copied the image of a brilliant detective from the real doctor Joseph Bell.

Bell was Doyle's professor at the university. He made a strong impression on many students. After all, this doctor had a powerful logical thinking. He could accurately characterize a person by their cigarette butts, their shoes, or even the dirt on their trousers. Worshiped by Doyle, Bell was able to accurately distinguish truth from falsehood, able to recognize the smallest details of a situation and build logical conclusions from them.

Sherlock Holm became such a popular character because he was shown as an ordinary person with no mystical superpowers, but with a brilliant mind and developed flair, which is so necessary for a successful detective.

"A Scandal in Bohemia", as well as other 12 stories about a detective and his doctor friend, were included in a large collection about Sherlock Holmes and brought unprecedented fame and good money to their creator.

After working on his main character for a long time, the author got so tired of him that he decided to finish him off. However, fans flooded Doyle with threatening letters and demanding the return of their beloved hero. Doyle had to obey them.

Of great interest in the work of Arthur is his second character - Watson. A military doctor who never managed to find a place for himself in civilian life, agrees with Sherlock in his views on his work, but does not approve of the simple life of a detective. The exact image of both the antagonist and the friend, ready at any moment to come to the aid of the eccentric Holmes, became the perfect complement to the storyline of stories about the great detective.

Doyle's personal life and activities

Outwardly, the famous writer looked quite impressive and presentable. A powerful man went in for sports until his old age. There are versions that it was Doyle who taught the Swiss to ski, and was also one of the first to use motor vehicles.

During his life, the author managed to work both as a ship's doctor and as an employee on a dry cargo ship. In his youth, Arthur sailed to the shores of Africa. There he learned a lot of new and interesting things about the life and customs of other peoples, different from the British and other Europeans.

In the First World War, Doyle rushed to the front, but they did not take him. Then he began to send articles on military subjects to The Times, which were invariably accepted and printed.

Doyle's first wife was Louise Hawkins. In this marriage, the couple had two children. Unfortunately, in 1906, Arthur's wife died of consumption. A year later, the writer was comforted in the arms of his longtime lover. The chosen one was Jean Lecky. In this union, Doyle had three more offspring.

Arthur's last child Adrian became his father's personal biographer.

In adulthood, the writer turned from realism to spiritualism. He became interested in esotericism. He personally organized spectacular seances. The second wife fully shared the magical research of her husband, and was also a fairly strong medium.

In addition to séances, Doyle was also related to the Freemasons. He entered their lodge several times and left it at will.

Communication with the dead was necessary for Doyle in order to find out the answers to many questions, as well as to understand whether there is life after death. The unusual hobby of the writer only enriched his worldview, without spoiling his sharp mind.

The Social Life of Arthur Doyle

Doyle maintained various relationships with other writers. During his youth and maturity, the author was not ranked among the classics of world literature, so some fellow writers looked down on him.

In 1893, a Doyle relative married the author Hornung. The writers were friends, although sometimes they argued among themselves, not seeing eye to eye.

Doyle talked with Kipling for a while, but later they disagreed on the influence of English culture on the people of Africa, and moved away from each other.

Arthur had a very strained relationship with Shaw. Bernard regularly criticized the main character Doyle, considering the writer's works childish and frivolous. Doyle reciprocated Shaw and parried all his attacks with the same barbs.

Doyle was friends with Herbert Wells, as well as with university friends who retained common interests with the author and converged with him on political and cultural issues.

Analysis of the writer's work

The detective genre became the leading literary movement for Arthur Conan Doyle. If before the birth of the writer's works, the authors made their characters a little mystical and divorced from reality, then Doyle managed to create the image of Sherlock in such a way that he was perceived as a living and real person.

This literary device was invented by the writer due to the fact that he paid great attention to small and almost imperceptible details. Reading about Holmes, one might think that such a person once lived in a neighboring street, and his genius abilities were only the capabilities of his brain, which Sherlock managed to develop to incredible sharpness.

The heroes of Doyle's novels are characters who can be described as strong-willed, ambitious, ambitious, lively, impetuous, inquisitive and persistent people. These qualities, in part, belong to the author of immortal works.

Last years and writer's death

Arthur Conan Doyle lived a rich and original life. He remained an active person until his death. In recent years, before leaving, the writer traveled all over the world.

While in Scandinavia, Doyle felt unwell. Having recovered a little, he left there for his native England. There he tried to negotiate with the minister so that adherents of spiritualistic sessions would stop being prosecuted by law, but his attempt was once again unsuccessful.

Today, a modest tombstone over the grave of Arthur Conan Doyle is located in the New Forest. Prior to this, the writer was buried near his house..

After the death of the prose writer, his papers were discovered, among them were unfinished works, correspondence with influential people in Great Britain and personal letters.

Interesting facts about Arthur Conan Doyle

Fate more than once presented Doyle with surprises, tested him for strength, but the best-selling author always showed character and won many social battles of that time. Things to know about Arthur Conan Doyle:

• Doyle played on the football team as a young man under the pseudonym Smith;
• The writer received the title of "sir" for his scientific work on the war in South Africa and its causes;
• The main topic of dispute for Shaw and Doyle was the sunken Titanic;
• The writer was not accepted into the army due to weight problems;
• It was Doyle who took part in the development of the military uniform of the English soldiers;
• According to historical data, Arthur died in his own garden with a flower in his hand;
• In dealing with people, the author always behaved politely and respectfully, not dividing people according to class or wealth;
• The idea of ​​the Channel Tunnel belongs to Arthur Conan Doyle.

Even today England is proud that such a great creative figure as Arthur Doyle lived and worked on its land. This brilliant man made a huge contribution to literature, criminology and the social life of Great Britain, for which he was awarded many awards. Sir Doyle had a hand in the development of many useful things, for example, he came up with the basis of body armor for the military. He left a huge mark on history, and his works continue to be filmed again and again, as proof that they are outside of time and outside of the only era in which they were created. Until the end of his life, the pragmatist and realist Doyle remained a bit of a child at heart. He believed in fairies and mysticism, wanting to know that the otherworld exists and can push the boundaries of existing reality.

Arthur Conan Doyle was born on May 22, 1859, in Edinburgh, into an intelligent family. Love for art and literature, in particular, was instilled in young Arthur by his parents. The whole family of the future writer was related to literature. Mother, moreover, was a great storyteller.

At the age of nine, Arthur went to study at the Jesuit closed college Stonyhurst. The teaching methods there corresponded to the name of the institution. Coming out of there, the future classic of English literature forever retained an aversion to religious fanaticism and physical punishment. The talent of the storyteller was awakened precisely during the training. Young Doyle often entertained his classmates on gloomy evenings with his stories, which he often made up on the go.

In 1876 he graduated from college. Contrary to family tradition, he preferred the career of a doctor to art. Doyle received further education at the University of Edinburgh. There he studied with D. Barry and R. L. Stevenson.

The beginning of the creative path

Doyle searched for himself in literature for a long time. While still a student, he became interested in E. Poe, and wrote several mystical stories himself. But they did not have much success, due to their secondary nature.

In 1881, Doyle received a medical degree and a bachelor's degree. For some time he was engaged in medical activities, but he did not feel much love for his chosen profession.

In 1886, the writer created his first story about Sherlock Holmes. A Study in Scarlet was published in 1887.

Doyle often fell under the influence of his venerable colleagues in the pen. Several of his early stories and novellas were written under the influence of the work of C. Dickens.

creative flourishing

Detective stories about Sherlock Holmes made Conan Doyle not only famous outside of England, but also one of the highest paid writers.

Despite this, Doyle always got angry when he was introduced as "Sherlock Holmes' dad." The writer himself did not attach much importance to the stories about the detective. He devoted more time and effort to writing such historical works as "Micah Clark", "Exiles", "White Party" and "Sir Nigel".

Of the entire historical cycle, readers and critics liked the novel The White Squad the most. According to the publisher, D. Penn, he is the best historical canvas after "Ivanhoe" by W. Scott.

In 1912, the first novel about Professor Challenger, The Lost World, was published. A total of five novels were created in this series.

Studying a brief biography of Arthur Conan Doyle, you should know that he was not only a novelist, but also a publicist. From his pen came a cycle of works dedicated to the Anglo-Boer War.

last years of life

throughout the second half of the 1920s. The writer spent the 20th century on a journey. Without stopping his journalistic activities, Doyle traveled to all continents.

Arthur Conan Doyle died on July 7, 1930, in Sussex. The cause of death was a heart attack. The writer was buried in Minstead, in the New Forest National Park.

Other biography options

• There were many interesting facts in the life of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. By profession, the writer was an ophthalmologist. In 1902, for his service as a military doctor during the Boer War, he was knighted.
• Conan Doyle was fond of spiritualism. This, rather specific interest, he retained until the end of his life.
• The writer highly appreciated creativity