When exploring Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s works, people become invested in his complex life, accomplishments, writing style, and his many inspirations. People learn how and why he wrote, and the vast number of novels and short stories he wrote.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was born on May 22nd, 1859 in Scotland. Initially, his family was pretty well off, but eventually faced financial troubles. This caused the majority of his childhood to be poor. These financial troubles were caused by his dad, Charles Altamont Doyle, who was a severe alcoholic. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s mother was a storyteller. He was the oldest of 9 siblings growing up. This consisted of him having 7 sisters and one brother, Innes. Innes earned a Distinguished Service Order, an award given to only the most prestigious of soldiers, before passing away during the b Spanish flu pandemic. Sir Arthur married Louisa Hawkens, a sister of one of his patients. The two of them went on to have 2 kids. They had a very loving relationship, until tragically, she passed away of tuberculosis. After her death, Arthur remarried. He married Jean Jackie. They went on to have 3 kids. In Arthur’s free time, he was very involved in writing and medicine. Arthur tragically passed away at the age of 71 on July 7th, 1930, due to a heart attack. He was initially buried at Windlesham, but was moved to Minsted so he could lie next to Jean. None of his kids had any offspring of his own, so he has no living descendants.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is still remembered to this day due to his wide variety of career accomplishments. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle went to Edinburgh University in 1881, and got his degree in medicine. This landed him a job as both a surgeon and a medical officer for a whaling boat. Sir Arthur was also a highly respected soldier in the South African Boer War. In fact, he was so respected that he was awarded an English Knighthood, an award that is used to recognize a person’s significance to a country, used as inspiration for citizens. He has far more career accomplishments as a writer. He is known for his countless works of literature. In fact, he has written over 1,200 works which include essays, pamphlets, articles, letters to the press, poems, interviews, and plays. His first story was called “The Mystery of Sussasa Valley.” He published it in 1879. Also, he has written more than 300 fictions, including 24 novels. Sir Arthur is most famous for his Sherlock Holmes series. Sir Arthur’s first Sherlock Holmes novel was “A Study in Scarlet” which is a murder mystery novel involving the famous Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson. He published this novel in 1887. Although these works were extremely famous, he was still extremely famous before and after writing these. Also, Arthur decided to run for parliament twice during his lifetime. Although he wasn’t successful either time, him just running is a huge accomplishment that shows how diverse of a person he was. Arthur is well remembered even after his death, as his books have kept relevance throughout the generations.
The reason why Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was so popular was because of his complex writing style. Arthur wrote many plays, romance, and poems. In order to maximize these stories, Sir Arthur utilized suspense and exposition in order to elaborate and deepen his stories. He used these skills in order to write his popular science fiction novels. Another fascinating aspect of his writing is his clear and direct writing style. This style leaves all readers satisfied with the story, not upset with any holes in the plot. This type of writing allows all questions to be answered in the story.
All of these writing styles and accomplishments wouldn’t have been possible without Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s inspirations. He had many inspirations throughout his life that shaped his writing career. His first inspiration was his mother. Sir Arthur’s mother, Mary Doyle, was one of his biggest inspirations. Her countless stories allowed Sir Arthur to become fascinated with story-telling, and want to carry it on. Throughout his life, Sir Arthur was deeply invested in spiritualization. He believed that the dead are able to communicate to the living. This inspired him to hint at the supernatural in his book. Although it is always proven false, and that the supernatural events are always explained, he still has the characters first believe in it because he believes in it. His next inspiration was fellow writers. For example, the two writers he was most inspired by were Edgar Allen Poe and Bret Harte. These writers showed Sir Arthur how to develop a complex story, and how to keep the readers engaged from beginning to end.
Overall, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s great works have rich histories that provide insight into how he was able to craft such exquisite stories. Looking into his personal life will provide information on how he got into writing. Meanwhile, his accomplishments teach us why he is still relevant today. His writing style shows us why his writings were so successful, and his inspirations show us what made him write certain pieces.
Works Cited
Alcott, Louisa May, and Arthur Conan Doyle. “Literary Worlds > Arthur Conan Doyle.” Exhibits, 31 December 1969, https://exhibits.lib.byu.edu/literaryworlds/doyle.html. Accessed 24 October 2024.
Doyle, Arthur Conan. “The Conan Doyle Family - Conan Doyle.” Visit Portsmouth, https://www.visitportsmouth.co.uk/conan-doyle/arthur-conan-doyle/the-conan-doyle-family. Accessed 24 October 2024.
Doyle, Conan. “Sir Arthur Conan Doyle:Complete Works.” The Arthur Conan Doyle Encyclopedia, https://www.arthur-conan-doyle.com/index.php/Sir_Arthur_Conan_Doyle:Complete_Works. Accessed 24 October 2024.
“History - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.” BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/conan_sir_arthur_doyle.shtml. Accessed 24 October 2024.