The doctor, the detective and Arthur Conan Doyle1997

It has been said that if Arthur Conan Doyle had never written or done anything else of note but create Sherlock Holmes he would still be famous today, but that without his celebrated detective he might well have been forgotten. Such a circumstance would have been an unjust fate, for Conan Doyle's own life was as exciting and fascinating as that of any ripping yarn hero. Born into an illustrious Roman Catholic family, he suffered a difficult, poverty-stricken childhood with an alcoholic father. After training as a doctor, he abandoned medicine to pursue a literary career which brought him great wealth: he was the first block-buster popular novelist. No adventure or opportunity passed Arthur Conan Doyle by: he took a voyage on an Arctic whaler, was an all-round sportsman and inveterate...