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{{Short description|British writer and physician (1859–1930)}}
{{Redirect|Conan Doyle|the rugby player|Conan Doyle (rugby union)|the South African cricketer|Conan Doyle (cricketer)}}
{{Pp-semi-indef|small=yes}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox writer
| honorific_prefix = [[Knight Bachelor|Sir]]
| name             = Arthur Conan Doyle
| honorific_suffix = {{postnom|country=GBR|size=100%|KStJg|DL}}
| image            = Arthur Conan Doyle by Walter Benington, 1914.png
| caption          = Doyle in 1914
| birth_name       = Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle
| birth_date       = {{birth date|df=y|1859|5|22}}
| birth_place      = [[Edinburgh]], Scotland
| death_date       = {{death date and age|df=y|1930|7|7|1859|5|22}}
| death_place      = [[Crowborough]], Sussex, England
| occupation       = {{Flatlist|
* Writer
* physician
}}
| education        = [[University of Edinburgh]]
| genre            = {{Flatlist|
* [[Detective fiction]]
* fantasy
* science fiction
* historical novels
* non-fiction
}}
| notableworks     = {{Plainlist|
* [[Canon of Sherlock Holmes|Stories of Sherlock Holmes]]
* ''[[The Lost World (Conan Doyle novel)|The Lost World]]''
}}
| spouse           = {{ubl|
* {{marriage|Louisa Hawkins|1885|1906|end=died}}
* {{marriage|Jean Leckie|1907}}
}}
| children         = 5, including [[Adrian Conan Doyle|Adrian]] and [[Jean Conan Doyle|Jean]]
| parents          = {{ubl|[[Charles Altamont Doyle]]|Mary Foley}}
| signature        = Arthur Conan Doyle Signature.svg
| website          = {{URL|conandoyleestate.com}}
| influences       = <!-- Do not use this field without gaining consensus on talk page. See discussion there. -->
| influenced       = <!-- Do not use this field without gaining consensus on talk page. See discussion there. -->
}}

'''Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle''' (22 May 1859&nbsp;– 7 July 1930) was a British<!-- As per current RfC-based consensus, please do not change the nationality (please see Talk:Arthur Conan Doyle/Archive 1#RfC about Arthur Conan Doyle's nationality). --> writer and physician. He created the character [[Sherlock Holmes]] in 1887 for ''[[A Study in Scarlet]]'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Holmes and [[Dr. Watson]]. The Sherlock Holmes stories are milestones in the field of [[crime fiction]].

Doyle was a prolific writer. In addition to the Holmes stories, his works include fantasy and science fiction stories about [[Professor Challenger]], and humorous stories about the Napoleonic soldier [[Brigadier Gerard]], as well as plays, romances, poetry, non-fiction, and historical novels. One of Doyle's early short stories, "[[J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement]]" (1884), helped to popularise the mystery of the brigantine ''[[Mary Celeste]]'', found drifting at sea with no crew member aboard.

== Name ==
Doyle is often referred to as "Sir Arthur Conan Doyle" or "Conan Doyle", implying that "Conan" is part of a [[Double-barrelled name|compound surname]] rather than a middle name. However, his baptism entry in the register of [[St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh (Roman Catholic)|St Mary's Cathedral]], Edinburgh, gives "Arthur Ignatius Conan" as his given names and "Doyle" as his surname. It also names Michael Conan as his godfather.<ref>Stashower says that the compound version of his surname originated from his great-uncle Michael Conan, a distinguished journalist, from whom Arthur and his elder sister, Annette, received the compound surname of "Conan Doyle" (Stashower 20–21). The same source points out that in 1885 he was describing himself on the brass nameplate outside his house, and on his doctoral thesis, as "A. Conan Doyle" (Stashower 70).</ref> The catalogues of the [[British Library]] and the [[Library of Congress]] treat "Doyle" alone as his surname.<ref>Redmond, Christopher (2009). ''Sherlock Holmes Handbook'' 2nd ed. Dundurn. [https://books.google.com/books?id=X3OIoRbJFhAC&pg=PA97 p.&nbsp;97]. Google Books. Retrieved 11 February 2017.</ref>

Steven Doyle, publisher of ''[[The Baker Street Journal]]'', wrote: "Conan was Arthur's middle name. Shortly after he graduated from high school he began using Conan as a sort of surname. But technically his last name is simply 'Doyle'."<ref>Doyle, Steven; Crowder, David A. (2010). ''Sherlock Holmes for Dummies''. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. [https://books.google.com/books?id=FTs85BS6IeYC&pg=PA51 p.&nbsp;51].</ref> When knighted, he was [[gazette#Gazette as a verb|gazetted]] as Doyle, not under the compound Conan Doyle.<ref name="LGKnight">{{London Gazette |issue=27494 |date=11 November 1902 |page=7165 |quote=The entry, 'Arthur Conan Doyle, Esq., M.D., D.L.', is alphabetised based on 'Doyle'.}}</ref>

== Early life ==
[[File:Arthur Conan Doyle by Herbert Rose Barraud 1893.jpg|thumb|Portrait of Doyle by [[Herbert Rose Barraud]], 1893]]
[[File:Title page from Arthur Conan Doyle's thesis.jpg|thumb|Title page from Arthur Conan Doyle's thesis]]
Doyle was born on 22 May 1859 at 11 Picardy Place, [[Edinburgh]], Scotland.<ref Name="Brit">{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/170563/Sir-Arthur-Conan-Doyle|title=Scottish Writer Best Known for His Creation of the Detective Sherlock Holmes|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=30 December 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090527072927/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/170563/Sir-Arthur-Conan-Doyle|archive-date=27 May 2009|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Biography|url=http://www.sherlockholmesonline.org/biography/index.htm|publisher=sherlockholmesonline.org|access-date=13 January 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110202233118/http://www.sherlockholmesonline.org/Biography/index.htm|archive-date=2 February 2011}}</ref> His father, [[Charles Altamont Doyle]], was born in England, of [[Irish Catholic]] descent, and his mother, Mary (née Foley), was Irish Catholic. His parents married in 1855.<ref>The details of the births of Arthur and his siblings are unclear. Some sources say there were nine children, some say ten. It seems three died in childhood. See [[Owen Dudley Edwards]], "Doyle, Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan (1859–1930)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004; [https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/170563/Sir-Arthur-Conan-Doyle ''Encyclopædia Britannica''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090527072927/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/170563/Sir-Arthur-Conan-Doyle |date=27 May 2009 }}; ''Arthur Conan Doyle: A Life in Letters'', Wordsworth Editions, 2007 p. viii; {{ISBN|978-1-84022-570-9}}.</ref> In 1864, the family scattered because of Charles's growing alcoholism. The children were temporarily housed across Edinburgh. Arthur lodged with [[Mary Burton]], the aunt of a friend, at Liberton Bank House on Gilmerton Road, while studying at Newington Academy.<ref>{{cite web |title=Liberton Bank House, 1, Gilmerton Road, Edinburgh |url=https://www.buildingsatrisk.org.uk/success-stories/900960 |website=Register for Scotland: Buildings at Risk |access-date=28 April 2020}}</ref>

In 1867, the family came together again and lived in squalid tenement flats at 3 [[Sciennes Place]].<ref Name="NDB">Owen Dudley Edwards, "Doyle, Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan (1859–1930)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004.</ref> Doyle's father died in 1893, in the [[Crichton Campus|Crichton Royal]], [[Dumfries]], after many years of psychiatric illness.<ref>{{cite book |last=Lellenberg |first=Jon |author2=Stashower, Daniel |author3=Foley, Charles |title=Arthur Conan Doyle: A Life in Letters |publisher=HarperPress |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-00-724759-2 |pages=8–9}}</ref><ref>Stashower, pp. 20–21.</ref> Beginning at an early age, throughout his life Doyle wrote letters to his mother. Many of them were preserved.<ref>{{cite book|title=Arthur Conan Doyle: A Life in Letters |editor=Jon Lellenberg |editor2=Daniel Stashower |editor3=Charles Foley|publisher=[[HarperCollins]]|year=2008|isbn=978-0-00-724760-8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fOQRUOCV65kC}}</ref>

Supported by wealthy uncles, Doyle was sent to England, to the [[Society of Jesus|Jesuit]] [[preparatory school (United Kingdom)|preparatory school]] [[Stonyhurst Saint Mary's Hall|Hodder Place]], [[Stonyhurst]] in Lancashire, at the age of nine (1868–70). He went on to [[Stonyhurst College]], which he attended until 1875. While Doyle was not unhappy at Stonyhurst, he said he did not have any fond memories of it because the school was run on medieval principles: the only subjects covered were rudiments, [[rhetoric]], [[Euclidean geometry]], [[algebra]], and the classics.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Arthur Conan Doyle: Beyond Baker Street|last=Pascal|first=Janet|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2000|isbn=0-19-512262-3|location=New York|page=14}}</ref> Doyle commented later in his life that this academic system could be excused only "on the plea that any exercise, however stupid in itself, forms a sort of mental dumbbell by which one can improve one's mind".<ref name=":0" /> He found the school harsh, noting that, instead of compassion and warmth, it favoured the threat of corporal punishment and ritual humiliation.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=The Scientific Sherlock Holmes: Cracking the Case with Science and Forensics|last=O'Brien|first=James|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2013|isbn=978-0-19-979496-6|location=New York|page=1}}</ref>

From 1875 to 1876, he was educated at the Jesuit school [[Stella Matutina (Jesuit school)|Stella Matutina]] in [[Feldkirch, Vorarlberg|Feldkirch]], Austria.<ref name="NDB" /> His family decided that he would spend a year there in order to perfect his German and broaden his academic horizons.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Adventures of Arthur Conan Doyle|last=Miller|first=Russell|publisher=Random House|year=2010|isbn=978-1-4070-9308-6|location=New York}}</ref> He was raised [[Catholic]] but later rejected the faith and became an [[agnostic]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The Life and Times of Arthur Conan Doyle|year=2011|publisher=BookCaps Study Guides|isbn=978-1-62107-027-6|author=Golgotha Press |quote=In time, he would reject the Catholic religion and become an agnostic.}}</ref> One source attributed his drift away from religion to the time he spent in the less strict Austrian school.<ref name=":1" /> He also later became a [[Spiritualism (movement)|spiritualist]] [[mysticism|mystic]].<ref>Pascal, Janet B. (2000). ''Arthur Conan Doyle: Beyond Baker Street''. Oxford University Press. p. 139.</ref>

== Medical career ==
From 1876 to 1881, Doyle studied medicine at the [[University of Edinburgh Medical School]]; during this period he spent time working in [[Aston Manor|Aston]] (then a town in [[Warwickshire]], now part of [[Birmingham]]), [[Sheffield]] and [[Ruyton-XI-Towns]], Shropshire.<ref name=Brown>{{cite book|last=Brown|first=Yoland|title=Ruyton XI Towns, Unusual Name, Unusual History|year=1988|publisher=Brewin Books|pages=92–93|isbn=0-947731-41-5}}</ref> Also during this period, he studied practical botany at the [[Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh|Royal Botanic Garden]] in Edinburgh.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/14185595.Mystery_solved_of_how_Sherlock_Holmes_knew_so_much_about_poisonous_plants/?ref=mr&lp=7|title=Mystery solved of how Sherlock Holmes knew so much about poisonous plants|last=McNeill|first=Colin|date=6 January 2016|work=Herald Scotland|access-date=9 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160126142652/http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/14185595.Mystery_solved_of_how_Sherlock_Holmes_knew_so_much_about_poisonous_plants/?ref=mr&lp=7|archive-date=26 January 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> While studying, Doyle began writing short stories. His earliest extant fiction, "The Haunted Grange of Goresthorpe", was unsuccessfully submitted to ''[[Blackwood's Magazine]]''.<ref Name="NDB" /> His first published piece, "[[The Mystery of Sasassa Valley]]", a story set in South Africa, was printed in ''[[Chambers's Edinburgh Journal]]'' on 6 September 1879.<ref Name="NDB" /><ref name=stashower>{{cite book|author=Stashower, Daniel|title=Teller of Tales: The Life of Arthur Conan Doyle|publisher=Penguin Books|year=2000|isbn=0-8050-5074-4|pages=[https://archive.org/details/telleroftaleslif00stas/page/30 30–31]|url=https://archive.org/details/telleroftaleslif00stas/page/30}}</ref> On 20&nbsp;September 1879, he published his first academic article, "[[Gelsemium]] as a Poison" in the ''[[British Medical Journal]]'',<ref Name="NDB" /><ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.bmj.com/content/339/bmj.b2861|title=Arthur Conan Doyle takes it to the limit (1879)|last1=Doyle|first1=Arthur Conan|date=20 September 1879|journal=BMJ|volume=339|issue=4 August 2009 |pages=b2861|publisher=BMJ Publishing Group Ltd|doi=10.1136/bmj.b2861|s2cid=220100995|access-date=2 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140204025311/http://www.bmj.com/content/339/bmj.b2861|archive-date=4 February 2014|url-status=live| issn = 0959-8138 |url-access=subscription}}{{subscription required}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bmj.com/highwire/filestream/45606/field_highwire_article_pdf/0/481|title=Letters, Notes, and Answers to Correspondents|last1=Doyle|first1=Arthur Conan|date=20 September 1879|website=British Medical Journal|publisher=BMJ Publishing Group Ltd }} {{subscription required}}</ref> a study which ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' regarded as potentially useful in a 21st-century murder investigation.<ref name=bob>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/11626368/Russian-supergrass-poisoned-after-being-tricked-into-visiting-Paris.html|title=Russian supergrass 'poisoned after being tricked into visiting Paris'|author=Robert Mendick|work=The Sunday Telegraph|date=23 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150524134721/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/11626368/Russian-supergrass-poisoned-after-being-tricked-into-visiting-Paris.html|archive-date=24 May 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Professor Challenger.jpg|thumb|left|[[Professor Challenger]] by Harry Rountree in the novella ''[[The Poison Belt]]'' published in ''[[The Strand Magazine]]'']]
Doyle was the doctor on the [[Greenland]] [[whaler]] ''Hope'' of Peterhead in 1880.<ref>Conan Doyle, Arthur (Author), Lellenberg, Jon (Editor), Stashower, Daniel (Editor) (2012). ''Dangerous Work: Diary of an Arctic Adventure''. University of Chicago Press; {{ISBN|978-0-226-00905-6}}.</ref> On 11 July 1880, John Gray's ''Hope'' and David Gray's ''Eclipse'' met up with the ''Eira'' and [[Benjamin Leigh Smith|Leigh Smith]]. The photographer W. J. A. Grant took a photograph aboard the ''Eira'' of Doyle along with Smith, the Gray brothers, and ship's surgeon William Neale, who were members of the Smith expedition. That expedition explored [[Franz Josef Land]], and led to the naming, on 18 August, of Cape Flora, [[Bell Island (Franz Josef Land)|Bell Island]], Nightingale Sound, Gratton ("Uncle Joe") Island, and Mabel Island.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Capelotti|first1=P.J.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=20YAmAEACAAJ&q=SHIPWRECK+AT+CAPE+FLORA:+THE+EXPEDITIONS+OF+BENJAMIN+LEIGH+SMITH,+ENGLAND%E2%80%99S+FORGOTTEN+ARCTIC+EXPLORER|title=Shipwreck at Cape Flora: The Expeditions of Benjamin Leigh Smith, England's Forgotten Arctic Explorer|date=2013|publisher=University of Calgary|location=New York| pages=156–162|isbn=978-1-55238-712-2}}</ref>

After graduating with Bachelor of Medicine and Master of Surgery (M.B. C.M.) degrees from the University of Edinburgh in 1881, he was ship's surgeon on the SS ''Mayumba'' during a voyage to the West African coast.<ref Name="NDB" /> He completed his [[Doctor of Medicine]] (M.D.) degree (an advanced degree beyond the basic medical qualification in the UK) with a dissertation on ''[[tabes dorsalis]]'' in 1885.<ref name="Archive">Available at the [http://www.era.lib.ed.ac.uk/handle/1842/418 Edinburgh Research Archive] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071111130617/http://www.era.lib.ed.ac.uk/handle/1842/418 |date=11 November 2007 }}.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=MD Thesis 1885, Unpaginated |url=https://images.is.ed.ac.uk/luna/servlet/detail/UoEgal~4~4~168200~165746:MD-Thesis-1885,-Unpaginated |access-date=5 November 2022 |website=images.is.ed.ac.uk |language=en}}</ref>

In 1882, Doyle partnered with his former classmate George Turnavine Budd in a medical practice in [[Plymouth]], but their relationship proved difficult, and Doyle soon left to set up an independent practice.<ref Name="NDB" /><ref>Stashower, pp. 52–59.</ref> Arriving in [[Portsmouth]] in June 1882, with less than £10 (£{{Inflation|UK-GDP|10|1882|r=-2}} in {{Inflation/year|UK-GDP}}{{Inflation-fn|UK-GDP|df=y}}) to his name, he set up a medical practice at 1 Bush Villas in Elm Grove, [[Southsea]].<ref>Stashower, pp. 55, 58–59.</ref> The practice was not successful. While waiting for patients, Doyle returned to writing fiction.

Doyle was a staunch supporter of compulsory vaccination and wrote several articles advocating the practice and denouncing the views of [[Vaccine controversies|anti-vaccinators]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.arthur-conan-doyle.com/index.php?title=Compulsory_Vaccination_-_The_Evening_Mail|title=Compulsory Vaccination – The Evening Mail – The Arthur Conan Doyle Encyclopedia|website=www.arthur-conan-doyle.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.arthur-conan-doyle.com/index.php?title=Compulsory_Vaccination_-_The_Hampshire_County_Times|title=Compulsory Vaccination – The Hampshire County Times – The Arthur Conan Doyle Encyclopedia|website=www.arthur-conan-doyle.com}}</ref>

In early 1891, Doyle embarked on the study of [[ophthalmology]] in Vienna. He had previously studied at the Portsmouth Eye Hospital in order to qualify to perform eye tests and prescribe glasses. Vienna had been suggested by his friend Vernon Morris as a place to spend six months and train to be an eye surgeon. But Doyle found it too difficult to understand the German medical terms being used in his classes in Vienna, and soon quit his studies there. For the rest of his two-month stay in Vienna, he pursued other activities, such as [[ice skating]] with his wife Louisa and drinking with Brinsley Richards of the London ''Times''. He also wrote ''The Doings of Raffles Haw''.

After visiting [[Venice]] and [[Milan]], he spent a few days in Paris observing Edmund Landolt, an expert on diseases of the eye. Within three months of his departure for Vienna, Doyle returned to London. He opened a small office and consulting room at 2 Upper Wimpole Street, or 2 Devonshire Place as it was then. (There is today a [[Westminster City Council]] commemorative plaque over the front door.) He had no patients, according to his autobiography, and his efforts as an ophthalmologist were a failure.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Higham|first1=Charles|title=The Adventures of Conan Doyle|date=1976|publisher=W.W. Norton|location=New York|pages=86–87}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Diniejko|first1=Andrzej|title=Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: A Biographical Introduction|url=http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/doyle/bio.html|website=The Victorian Web|access-date=21 October 2016}}</ref><ref>Stashower, pp. 114–118.</ref>

== Literary career ==
{{Main|Arthur Conan Doyle bibliography}}

=== Sherlock Holmes ===
[[File:Sherlock Holmes Portrait Paget.jpg|thumb|upright|Portrait of Sherlock Holmes by [[Sidney Paget]], 1904]]
Doyle initially struggled to find a publisher. His first work featuring Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, ''[[A Study in Scarlet]]'', was written in three weeks when he was 27 and was accepted for publication by [[Ward Lock & Co]] on 20 November 1886, which gave Doyle £25 ({{Inflation|UK-GDP|25|1886|fmt=eq|cursign=£|r=-2}}) in exchange for all rights to the story. The piece appeared a year later in the ''[[Beeton's Christmas Annual]]'' and received good reviews in ''[[The Scotsman]]'' and the ''[[Glasgow Herald]]''.<ref Name="NDB" />

Holmes was partially modelled on Doyle's former university teacher [[Joseph Bell]]. In 1892, in a letter to Bell, Doyle wrote, "It is most certainly to you that I owe Sherlock Holmes&nbsp;... round the centre of deduction and inference and observation which I have heard you inculcate I have tried to build up a man",<ref>[https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/reviews/conan-doyle-and-joseph-bell-the-real-sherlock-holmes-surgeons-hall-museums-edinburgh-410821.html Independent, 7 August 2006] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110222141444/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/reviews/conan-doyle-and-joseph-bell-the-real-sherlock-holmes-surgeons-hall-museums-edinburgh-410821.html |date=22 February 2011 }};</ref> and in his 1924 autobiography, he remarked, "It is no wonder that after the study of such a character [viz., Bell] I used and amplified his methods when in later life I tried to build up a scientific detective who solved cases on his own merits and not through the folly of the criminal."<ref>Doyle, Arthur Conan, ''Memories and Adventures'' (Reprint), Cambridge University Press, (Cambridge) 2012, p. 26.</ref> [[Robert Louis Stevenson]] was able to recognise the strong similarity between Joseph Bell and Sherlock Holmes: "My compliments on your very ingenious and very interesting adventures of Sherlock Holmes.&nbsp;... can this be my old friend Joe Bell?"<ref>Letter from R L Stevenson to Doyle 5 April 1893 [[s:The Letters of Robert Louis Stevenson Volume 2/Chapter XII|The Letters of Robert Louis Stevenson Volume 2/Chapter XII]].</ref> Other authors sometimes suggest additional influences—for instance, [[Edgar Allan Poe]]'s character [[C. Auguste Dupin]], who is mentioned, disparagingly, by Holmes in ''A Study in Scarlet''.<ref>Sova, Dawn B. ''Edgar Allan Poe: A to Z''. New York: Checkmark Books, 2001. pp. 162–163. {{ISBN|0-8160-4161-X}}.</ref> Dr. (John) Watson owes his surname, but not any other obvious characteristic, to a Portsmouth medical colleague of Doyle's, Dr. James Watson.<ref name="Life">{{cite book|last1=Carr|first1=John Dickson|title=The Life of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle|date=1947}}</ref>

[[File:Sherlock Holmes Statue, Edinburgh.JPG|thumb|upright|Sherlock Holmes statue in Edinburgh, erected opposite the birthplace of Doyle, which was demolished {{Circa}} 1970]]
A sequel to ''A Study in Scarlet'' was commissioned, and ''[[The Sign of the Four]]'' appeared in ''[[Lippincott's Magazine]]'' in February 1890, under agreement with the Ward Lock company. Doyle felt grievously exploited by Ward Lock as an author new to the publishing world, and so, after this, he left them.<ref Name="NDB" /> Short stories featuring Sherlock Holmes were published in the ''[[Strand Magazine]]''. Doyle wrote the first five Holmes short stories from his office at 2 Devonshire Place.<ref>[http://www.westminster.gov.uk/services/leisureandculture/greenplaques City of Westminster green plaques] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120716210428/http://www.westminster.gov.uk/services/leisureandculture/greenplaques/ |date=16 July 2012 }}; accessed 22 March 2014.</ref>

Doyle's attitude towards his most famous creation was ambivalent.<ref name="Life" /> In November 1891, he wrote to his mother: "I think of slaying Holmes,&nbsp;... and winding him up for good and all. He takes my mind from better things." His mother responded, "You won't! You can't! You mustn't!"<ref>{{cite book|title=An Introduction to the Detective Story|last=Panek|first=LeRoy Lad|year=1987|publisher=Bowling Green State University Popular Press|location=Bowling Green, OH|isbn=0-87972-377-7|page=78|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xstGp7cOObMC&pg=PA78}}</ref> In an attempt to deflect publishers' demands for more Holmes stories, he raised his price to a level intended to discourage them, but found they were willing to pay even the large sums he asked.<ref name="Life" /> As a result, he became one of the best-paid authors of his time.

[[File:AufSherlocksSpuren5.JPG|thumb|left|Statue of Holmes and the English Church in Meiringen]]
In December 1893, to dedicate more of his time to his historical novels, Doyle had Holmes and [[Professor Moriarty]] plunge to their deaths together down the [[Reichenbach Falls]] in the story "[[The Final Problem]]". Public outcry, however, led him to feature Holmes in 1901 in the novel ''[[The Hound of the Baskervilles]]''. Holmes's fictional connection with the Reichenbach Falls is celebrated in the nearby town of [[Meiringen]].

In 1903, Doyle published his first Holmes short story in ten years, "[[The Adventure of the Empty House]]", in which it was explained that only Moriarty had fallen, but since Holmes had other dangerous enemies—especially [[Colonel Sebastian Moran]]—he had arranged to make it look as if he too were dead. Holmes was ultimately featured in a total of 56 [[short story|short stories]]—the last published in 1927—and four novels by Doyle, and has since appeared in [[Sherlock Holmes pastiches|many novels and stories by other authors]].

=== Other works ===
{{multiple image|align=right
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Doyle's first novels were ''[[The Mystery of Cloomber]]'', not published until 1888, and the unfinished ''[[The Narrative of John Smith|Narrative of John Smith]]'', published only posthumously, in 2011.<ref name="johnsmith">{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-13667508 |last=Saunders |first=Emma |publisher=BBC |title=First Conan Doyle novel to be published |date=6 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607112947/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-13667508 |archive-date=7 June 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> He amassed a portfolio of short stories, including "The Captain of the Pole-Star" and "[[J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement]]", both inspired by Doyle's time at sea. The latter popularised the mystery of the ''[[Mary Celeste]]''<ref name="hastings">[[Macdonald Hastings]], ''Mary Celeste'', (1971); <!-- pages needed -->{{ISBN|0-7181-1024-2}}.</ref> and added fictional details such as that the ship was found in perfect condition (it had actually taken on water by the time it was discovered), and that its boats remained on board (the single boat was in fact missing). These fictional details have come to dominate popular accounts of the incident,<ref Name="NDB" /><ref name="hastings" /> and Doyle's alternative spelling of the ship's name as the ''Marie Celeste'' has become more commonly used than the original spelling.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/mary-celeste |title=Mary Celeste – definition of Mary Celeste in English from the Oxford dictionary |access-date=19 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151119120921/http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/mary-celeste |archive-date=19 November 2015 }}</ref>

Between 1888 and 1906, Doyle wrote seven historical novels, which he and many critics regarded as his best work.<ref name="Life" /> He also wrote nine other novels, and—later in his career (1912–29)—five narratives (three of novel or novella length) featuring the irascible scientist [[Professor Challenger]]. The Challenger stories include his best-known work after the Holmes oeuvre, ''[[The Lost World (Doyle novel)|The Lost World]]''. His historical novels include ''[[The White Company]]'' and its prequel ''[[Sir Nigel]]'', set in the [[Middle Ages]]. He was a prolific author of short stories, including two collections set in [[Napoleonic era|Napoleonic times]] and featuring the French character [[Brigadier Gerard]].

Doyle's works for the stage include ''Waterloo'', which centres on the reminiscences of an English veteran of the [[Napoleonic Wars]] and features a character Gregory Brewster, written for [[Henry Irving]]; ''The House of Temperley'', the plot of which reflects his abiding interest in boxing; ''[[The Speckled Band (play)|The Speckled Band]]'', adapted from his earlier short story "[[The Adventure of the Speckled Band]]"; and an 1893 collaboration with [[J.&nbsp;M. Barrie]] on the [[libretto]] of ''[[Jane Annie]]''.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1893/05/28/archives/jane-annie-jm-barrie-and-conan-doyles-libretto-rather-puzzles.html "''Jane Annie'' – J.&nbsp;M. Barrie and Doyle's Libretto Rather Puzzles London"], ''The New York Times'', 28 May 1893, p.&nbsp;13.</ref>

== Sporting career ==
While living in [[Southsea]], the seaside resort near [[Portsmouth]], Doyle played [[Association football|football]] as a goalkeeper for [[A. E. Cogswell#Portsmouth football connections|Portsmouth Association Football Club]], an amateur side, under the pseudonym A. C. Smith.<ref>{{cite book |title=Full-Time at The Dell |last=Juson |first=Dave |author2=Bull, David |publisher=Hagiology Publishing |year=2001 |isbn=0-9534474-2-1 |page=[https://archive.org/details/fulltimeatdellfr0000juso/page/21 21] |url=https://archive.org/details/fulltimeatdellfr0000juso/page/21}}</ref>

[[File:Authors vs. Artists 1903 Cricket Game.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Authors v Artists [[cricket]] match in London, May 1903. Doyle is stood in the back row, 6th from left.]]
Doyle was a keen cricketer, and between 1899 and 1907 he played 10 [[First-class cricket|first-class]] matches for the [[Marylebone Cricket Club]] (MCC).<ref name="cric">{{cite web |url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/england/content/player/10932.html |title=Arthur Conan Doyle |work=ESPN Cricinfo |access-date=17 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180118065720/http://www.espncricinfo.com/england/content/player/10932.html |archive-date=18 January 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> He also played for the amateur cricket teams the [[Allahakbarries]] and the [[Authors Cricket Club|Authors XI]], which consisted of some of the best-known British authors from the era, including Doyle, [[J.&nbsp;M. Barrie]], [[P.&nbsp;G. Wodehouse]] and [[A.&nbsp;A. Milne]].<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8662375.stm "What is the connection between Peter Pan, Sherlock Holmes, Winnie the Pooh and the noble sport of cricket?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120306184630/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8662375.stm |date=6 March 2012 }}. BBC. Retrieved 25 November 2014.</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Parkinson |first=Justin |date=26 July 2014 |title=Authors and actors revive cricket rivalry |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-27903864 |work=BBC News Magazine |access-date=10 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190411025806/https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-27903864 |archive-date=11 April 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> His highest score, in 1902 against [[London County Cricket Club|London County]], was 43. He was an occasional bowler who took one first-class wicket, [[W.&nbsp;G. Grace]], and wrote a poem about the achievement.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://static.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/1900S/1900/ENG_LOCAL/OTHERS/LONDON-CO_MCC_23-25AUG1900.html |title=London County v Marylebone Cricket Club at Crystal Palace Park, 23–25 Aug 1900 |publisher=Static.cricinfo.com |access-date=2 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721190812/http://static.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/1900S/1900/ENG_LOCAL/OTHERS/LONDON-CO_MCC_23-25AUG1900.html |archive-date=21 July 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref> His captaincy of the Authors XI lasted from 1899 to 1912, during which time his cricket scores were by far the most common entries in his diary.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Randall |first1=Ollie |title=Cricket, Literary Culture and In-Groups in Early Twentieth-Century Britain |journal=Transactions of the Royal Historical Society |date=9 September 2024 |volume=2 |pages=267–291 |doi=10.1017/S0080440124000057 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/transactions-of-the-royal-historical-society/article/cricket-literary-culture-and-ingroups-in-early-twentiethcentury-britain/810A677925CDE2639548A938CF0106C7 |access-date=11 September 2024 |language=en |issn=0080-4401|url-access=subscription |doi-access=free }}</ref>

In 1900, Doyle founded the Undershaw Rifle Club at his home, constructing a 100-yard range and providing shooting for local men, as the poor showing of British troops in the Boer War had led him to believe that the general population needed training in marksmanship.<ref>{{cite web |title=Champions of Civilian Marksmanship |url=https://www.americanrifleman.org/content/throwback-thursday-champions-of-civilian-marksmanship/ |website=American Rifleman |publisher=National Rifle Association of America |access-date=1 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211022152204/https://www.americanrifleman.org/content/throwback-thursday-champions-of-civilian-marksmanship/ |archive-date=22 October 2021 |language=English |date=8 October 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author1=Arthur Conan-Doyle |author1-link=Arthur Conan-Doyle |title=The Undershaw Rifle Club |url=https://www.arthur-conan-doyle.com/index.php?title=The_Undershaw_Rifle_Club |website=The Arthur Conan Doyle Encyclopedia |access-date=1 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210124075945/https://www.arthur-conan-doyle.com/index.php?title=The_Undershaw_Rifle_Club |archive-date=24 January 2021 |language=English |format=English |date=5 January 1901 |url-status=live}}</ref> He was a champion of "miniature" rifle clubs, whose members shot small-calibre firearms on local ranges.<ref>{{cite web |title=Rifle Shooting as a National Pursuit |url=https://www.arthur-conan-doyle.com/index.php?title=Rifle_Shooting_as_a_National_Pursuit |website=The Arthur Conan Doyle Encyclopedia |access-date=13 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200813000551/https://www.arthur-conan-doyle.com/index.php?title=Rifle_Shooting_as_a_National_Pursuit |archive-date=13 August 2020 |date=14 June 1905 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author1=Captain Philip Trevor |title=A British Commando |url=https://www.arthur-conan-doyle.com/index.php?title=A_British_Commando |website=The Arthur Conan Doyle Encyclopedia |access-date=13 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807011657/https://www.arthur-conan-doyle.com/index.php?title=A_British_Commando |archive-date=7 August 2020 |date=June 1901 |url-status=live}}</ref> These ranges were much cheaper and more accessible to working-class participants than large "fullbore" ranges, such as [[Bisley Camp]], which were necessarily remote from population centres. Doyle went on to sit on the Rifle Clubs Committee of the [[National Rifle Association (United Kingdom)|National Rifle Association]].<ref>{{cite web |title=History |url=https://nra.org.uk/who-are-we/history/ |website=National Rifle Association |access-date=13 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220901113347/https://nra.org.uk/who-are-we/history/ |archive-date=1 September 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1901, Doyle was one of three judges for the world's first major bodybuilding competition, which was organised by the "Father of Bodybuilding", [[Eugen Sandow]]. The event was held in London's [[Royal Albert Hall]]. The other two judges were the sculptor Sir [[Charles Lawes-Wittewronge]] and Eugen Sandow himself.<ref>{{Cite web |date=25 March 2010 |title=Eugen Sandow: Bodybuilding's Great Pioneer |url=http://www.eugensandow.com/story2.html |access-date=17 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100325224214/http://www.eugensandow.com/story2.html |archive-date=25 March 2010}}</ref>

Doyle was an amateur boxer.<ref name="SI">{{cite web |last1=Rawson |first1=Mitchell |title=A Case for Sherlock |url=https://www.si.com/vault/1961/03/13/579622/a-case-for-sherlock |website=Sports Illustrated Vault |date=13 March 1961 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180724032442/https://www.si.com/vault/1961/03/13/579622/a-case-for-sherlock |archive-date=24 July 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> In 1909, he was invited to referee the [[James J. Jeffries|James Jeffries]]–[[Jack Johnson (boxer)|Jack Johnson]] heavyweight championship fight in [[Reno, Nevada|Reno]], Nevada. Doyle wrote: "I was much inclined to accept&nbsp;... though my friends pictured me as winding up with a revolver at one ear and a razor at the other. However, the distance and my engagements presented a final bar."<ref name="SI" />

Also a keen golfer, Doyle was elected captain of the Crowborough Beacon Golf Club in [[Sussex]] for 1910. He had moved to Little Windlesham house in [[Crowborough]] with Jean Leckie, his second wife, and resided there with his family from 1907 until his death in July 1930.<ref>Arthur Conan Doyle. "Memories and Adventures", p.&nbsp;222. Oxford University Press, 2012; {{ISBN|1-4417-1928-8}}.</ref>

He entered the English Amateur [[English billiards|billiards]] championship in 1913.<ref>{{cite news |date=22 January 1913 |title=Billiards: The Amateur Championship |work=The Manchester Guardian |page=8 |via=ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Guardian and The Observer. Retrieved 20 September 2019.}}</ref> While living in Switzerland, Doyle became interested in skiing, which was relatively unknown in Switzerland at the time. He wrote an article, "An Alpine Pass on 'Ski{{'-}}" for the December 1894 issue of ''[[The Strand Magazine]]'',<ref>{{Cite web |title=An Alpine Pass on 'Ski' |url=https://www.arthur-conan-doyle.com/index.php?title=An_Alpine_Pass_on_%22Ski%22#An_Alpine_Pass_on_.22Ski.22 |access-date=19 January 2022}}</ref> in which he described his experiences with skiing and the beautiful alpine scenery that could be seen in the process. The article popularised the activity and began the long association between Switzerland and skiing.<ref>{{Cite web |date=5 January 2022 |title=How Arthur's Secret Obsession Changed the World |url=https://commonplacefacts.com/2022/01/05/arthur-conan-doyle-skiing/ |access-date=19 January 2022}}</ref>

== Family life ==
[[File:Sir A. Conan Doyle and family LCCN2014715849 (cropped).jpg|thumb|Doyle with his family {{circa|1923–1925}}]]
In 1885 Doyle married Louisa (sometimes called "Touie") Hawkins (1857–1906). She was the youngest daughter of J. Hawkins, of [[Minsterworth]], Gloucestershire, and the sister of one of Doyle's patients. Louisa had [[tuberculosis]].<ref name="Leeman">Leeman, Sue, "Sherlock Holmes fans hope to save Doyle's house from developers", Associated Press, 28 July 2006.</ref> In 1907, the year after Louisa's death, he married Jean Elizabeth Leckie (1874–1940). He had met and fallen in love with Jean in 1897, but had maintained a platonic relationship with her while his first wife was still alive, out of loyalty to her.<ref>Janet B. Pascal (2000). ''Arthur Conan Doyle: Beyond Baker Street''. p. 95. Oxford University Press; {{ISBN|0-19-512262-3}}.</ref> Most of Doyle's family including his mother were aware of the relationship, but it appears to have remained unknown to Louisa.<ref name="stashower"/> Jean outlived her husband and died during wartime on 27 June 1940.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue= 35171|date= 23 May 1941|page=2977}}</ref>

Doyle fathered five children. He had two with his first wife: Mary Louise (1889–1976) and Arthur Alleyne Kingsley, known as Kingsley (1892–1918). He had an additional three with his second wife: Denis Percy Stewart (1909–1955), who became the second husband of [[Georgia (country)|Georgian]] Princess [[Nina Mdivani]]; [[Adrian Conan Doyle|Adrian Malcolm]] (1910–1970); and [[Jean Conan Doyle|Jean Lena Annette]] (1912–1997).<ref>[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-air-commandant-dame-jean-conan-doyle-1295551.html "Obituary: Air Commandant Dame Jean Conan Doyle"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018071230/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-air-commandant-dame-jean-conan-doyle-1295551.html |date=18 October 2017 }}. ''The Independent''; retrieved 6 November 2012</ref> None of Doyle's five children had children of their own, so he has no living direct descendants.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/19/books/19sherlock.html|title=Heirs to Sherlock Holmes Face Web of Ownership Issues|last=Itzkoff|first=Dave|date=18 January 2010|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180309123306/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/19/books/19sherlock.html|archive-date=9 March 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/film/mr-holmes/sherlock-copyright/|title=Who owns Sherlock Holmes?|work=The Telegraph|access-date=18 July 2017|language=en-GB|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180221193743/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/film/mr-holmes/sherlock-copyright/|archive-date=21 February 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Political campaigning ==
[[File:Arthur Conan Doyle by George Wylie Hutchinson.png|thumb|upright|Arthur Conan Doyle by [[George Wylie Hutchinson]], 1894]]
Doyle served as a volunteer physician in the Langman Field Hospital at [[Bloemfontein]] between March and June 1900,<ref>Miller, Russell. ''The Adventures of Arthur Conan Doyle''. New York: Thomas Dunne Books, 2008. pp. 211–217; {{ISBN|0-312-37897-1}},</ref> during the [[Second Boer War]] in South Africa (1899–1902). Later that year, he wrote a book on the war, ''[[The Great Boer War]]'', as well as a short work titled ''The War in South Africa: Its Cause and Conduct'', in which he responded to critics of the United Kingdom's role in that war, and argued that its role was justified. The latter work was widely translated, and Doyle believed it was the reason he was [[Knight#Honorific orders of knighthood|knighted]] (given the rank of [[Knight Bachelor]]) by [[King Edward VII]] in the [[1902 Coronation Honours]].<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=The Coronation Honours |date=26 June 1902 |page=5 |issue=36804}}</ref> He received the accolade from the King in person at [[Buckingham Palace]] on 24 October of that year.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=27494 |date=11 November 1902 |page=7165 }}</ref>

He stood for Parliament twice as a [[Liberal Unionist Party|Liberal Unionist]]: in 1900 in [[Edinburgh Central (UK Parliament constituency)|Edinburgh Central]], and in 1906 in the [[Hawick Burghs (UK Parliament constituency)|Hawick Burghs]], but was not elected.<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/10561577/Arthur-Conan-Doyle-19-things-you-didnt-know.html "Arthur Conan Doyle: 19 things you didn't know"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180501080223/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/10561577/Arthur-Conan-Doyle-19-things-you-didnt-know.html |date=1 May 2018 }}. ''The Daily Telegraph''. Retrieved 25 November 2014</ref> He served as a Deputy-Lieutenant of [[Surrey]] beginning in 1902,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=27453|date=11 July 1902|page=4444}}</ref> and was appointed a Knight of Grace of the [[Venerable Order of Saint John|Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem]] in 1903.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=27550|date=8 May 1903|page=2921}}</ref>

Doyle was a supporter of the campaign for the reform of the [[Congo Free State]] that was led by the journalist [[E. D. Morel]] and diplomat [[Roger Casement]]. In 1909 he wrote ''[[The Crime of the Congo]]'', a long pamphlet in which he denounced the horrors of that colony. He became acquainted with Morel and Casement, and it is possible that, together with [[Bertram Fletcher Robinson]], they inspired several characters that appear in his 1912 novel ''[[The Lost World (Doyle novel)|The Lost World]]''.<ref>{{cite web|author=Spiring, Paul |url=http://www.bfronline.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=123&Itemid=9 |title=B. Fletcher Robinson & ''The Lost World'' |publisher=Bfronline.biz |access-date=2 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111003164233/http://www.bfronline.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=123&Itemid=9 |archive-date= 3 October 2011 }}</ref> Later, after the Irish [[Easter Rising]], Casement was found guilty of treason against the Crown, and was sentenced to death. Doyle tried, unsuccessfully, to save him, arguing that Casement had been driven mad, and therefore should not be held responsible for his actions.<ref>[[Rajiva Wijesinha|Wijesinha, Rajiva]] (2013). ''Twentieth Century Classics: Reflections on Writers and Their Times''. Cambridge University Press.</ref>

As the [[First World War]] loomed, and having been caught up in a growing public swell of [[Germanophobia]], Doyle gave a public donation of 10 shillings to the anti-immigration [[British Brothers' League]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Winder |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Winder |date=2004 |title=Bloody Foreigners |location=London |publisher=Little, Brown |page=264 |isbn=978-0-349-13880-0}}</ref> In 1914, Doyle was one of fifty-three leading British authors—including [[H. G. Wells]], [[Rudyard Kipling]] and [[Thomas Hardy]]—who signed their names to the "Authors' Declaration", justifying Britain's involvement in the First World War. This manifesto declared that the German invasion of Belgium had been a brutal crime, and that Britain "could not without dishonour have refused to take part in the present war".<ref>{{cite news |last=Milne |first=Nick |title=1914 Authors' Manifesto Defending Britain's Involvement in WWI, Signed by H.G. Wells and Arthur Conan Doyle |url=https://slate.com/human-interest/2014/10/british-authors-and-wwi-propaganda-manifesto-signed-by-h-g-wells-arthur-conan-doyle-rudyard-kipling.html |date=20 October 2014|access-date=27 February 2020 |work=Slate}}</ref>

== Legal advocate ==
[[File:conandoylestatue.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Doyle statue in [[Crowborough]], East Sussex]]
Doyle was also a fervent advocate of justice and personally investigated two closed cases, which led to two men being exonerated of the crimes of which they were accused. The first case, in 1906, involved a shy half-British, half-Indian lawyer named [[George Edalji]], who had allegedly penned threatening letters and mutilated animals in [[Great Wyrley]]. Police were set on Edalji's conviction, even though the mutilations continued after their suspect was jailed.<ref>''International Commentary on Evidence'', Volume 4, Issue 2 2006 Article 3, Boxes in Boxes: Julian Bardes, Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes and the Edalji Case, D. Michael Risinger</ref> Apart from helping George Edalji, Doyle's work helped establish a way to correct other miscarriages of justice, as it was partially as a result of this case that the [[Court of Criminal Appeal (England and Wales)|Court of Criminal Appeal]] was established in 1907.<ref>''International Commentary on Evidence'', Volume 4, Issue 2 2006 Article 3, Boxes in Boxes: Julian Barnes, Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes and the Edalji Case, D. Michael Risinger</ref>

The story of Doyle and Edalji was dramatised in an episode of the 1972 BBC television series, ''[[The Edwardians (anthology series)|The Edwardians]]''. In Nicholas Meyer's pastiche ''[[The West End Horror]]'' (1976), Holmes manages to help clear the name of a shy [[Parsi]] Indian character wronged by the English justice system. Edalji was of Parsi heritage on his father's side. The story was fictionalised in [[Julian Barnes]]'s 2005 novel ''[[Arthur and George]]'', which was adapted into a three-part drama by ITV in 2015.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Jones |first1=Ellen E. |title=Arthur and George, TV review: Ghostly goings-on make this mystery a guilty pleasure |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/arthur-george-itv-tv-review-ghostly-goingson-make-this-mystery-a-guilty-pleasure-10080918.html |access-date=15 June 2024 |work=The Independent |date=3 March 2015}}</ref>

The second case, that of [[Oscar Slater]]—a Jew of German origin who operated a gambling den and was convicted of bludgeoning an 82-year-old woman in [[Glasgow]] in 1908—excited Doyle's curiosity because of inconsistencies in the prosecution's case and a general sense that Slater was not guilty. He ended up paying most of the costs for Slater's successful 1928 appeal.<ref>{{cite book|title=Famous Trials|volume=1|last1=Roughead|first1=William|contribution=Oscar Slater|page=108|editor1-last=Hodge|editor1-first=Harry|publisher=Penguin Books|author-link=William Roughead|year=1941}}</ref>

== Freemasonry and spiritualism ==
Doyle had a longstanding interest in mystical subjects and remained fascinated by the idea of paranormal phenomena, even though the strength of his belief in their reality waxed and waned periodically over the years.

In 1887, in Southsea, influenced by Major-General [[Alfred Wilks Drayson]], a member of the Portsmouth Literary and Philosophical Society, Doyle began a series of investigations into the possibility of psychic phenomena and attended about 20 seances, experiments in telepathy, and sittings with mediums. Writing to [[Spiritualism (movement)|spiritualist]] journal ''[[Light (spiritualist journal)|Light]]'' that year, he declared himself to be a spiritualist, describing one particular event that had convinced him psychic phenomena were real.<ref>{{cite book |last=Wingett |first=Matt |title=Conan Doyle and the Mysterious World of Light, 1887–1920 |publisher=Life Is Amazing |year=2016 |isbn=978-0-9572413-5-0 |pages=19–32}}</ref> Also in 1887 (on 26&nbsp;January), he was initiated as a [[Freemasonry|Freemason]] at the Phoenix Lodge No.&nbsp;257 in Southsea. (He resigned from the Lodge in 1889, returned to it in 1902, and resigned again in 1911.)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/beresiner10.html |title=Arthur Conan Doyle, Spiritualist and Freemason |last=Beresiner |first=Yasha |date=2007 |work=Masonic papers |publisher=Pietre-Stones Review of Freemasonry |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150309065258/http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/beresiner10.html |archive-date=9 March 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1889, he became a founding member of the Hampshire Society for Psychical Research; in 1893, he joined the London-based [[Society for Psychical Research]]; and in 1894, he collaborated with Sir Sidney Scott and [[Frank Podmore]] in a search for poltergeists in Devon.<ref name="Wingett32-36">{{cite book |last=Wingett |first=Matt |title=Conan Doyle and the Mysterious World of Light, 1887–1920 |publisher=Life Is Amazing |year=2016 |isbn=978-0-9572413-5-0 |pages=32–36}}</ref> Doyle was also a member of the [[Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn]].<ref>{{cite book |editor-first=Tomas |editor-last=Pernecky |title=Postdisciplinary Knowledge |year=2019 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-0-429-60300-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IKKqDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22arthur+conan+doyle%22+%22hermetic+order+of+the+golden+dawn%22&pg=PT49}}</ref>

Doyle and the spiritualist [[William Thomas Stead]] (who would die on the ''[[Titanic]]'') were led to believe that [[Julius and Agnes Zancig]] had genuine psychic powers, and they claimed publicly that the Zancigs used [[telepathy]]. However, in 1924, the Zancigs confessed that their [[Mentalism|mind reading]] act had been a trick; they published the secret code and all other details of the trick method they had used under the title "Our Secrets!!" in a London newspaper.<ref>[[John Booth (magician)|John Booth]]. (1986). ''Psychic Paradoxes''. Prometheus Books. p.&nbsp;8; {{ISBN|978-0-87975-358-0}}.</ref> Doyle also praised the [[psychic]] phenomena and spirit [[Materialization (paranormal)|materialisations]] that he believed had been produced by [[Eusapia Palladino]] and [[Mina Crandon]], both of whom were also later exposed as frauds.<ref name= Houdini>William Kalush, Larry Ratso Sloman. (2006). ''The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America's First Superhero''. Atria Books. {{ISBN|978-0-7432-7208-7}}.</ref>

In 1916, at the height of the First World War, Doyle's belief in psychic phenomena was strengthened by what he took to be the psychic abilities of his children's nanny, Lily Loder Symonds.<ref>{{cite book |last=Wingett |first=Matt |title=Conan Doyle and the Mysterious World of Light, 1887–1920 |publisher=Life Is Amazing |year=2016 |isbn=978-0-9572413-5-0 |pages=43–44}}</ref> This and the constant drumbeat of wartime deaths inspired him with the idea that spiritualism was what he called a "New Revelation"<ref name="auto">{{cite book |last=Wingett |first=Matt |title=Conan Doyle and the Mysterious World of Light, 1887–1920 |publisher=Life Is Amazing |year=2016 |isbn=978-0-9572413-5-0 |pages=44–48}}</ref> sent by God to bring solace to the bereaved. He wrote a piece in ''Light'' magazine about his faith and began lecturing frequently on spiritualism. In 1918, he published his first spiritualist work, ''The New Revelation''.

Some have mistakenly assumed that Doyle's turn to spiritualism was prompted by the death of his son Kingsley, but Doyle began presenting himself publicly as a spiritualist in 1916, and Kingsley died on 28&nbsp;October 1918 (from pneumonia contracted during his convalescence after being seriously wounded in the 1916 [[Battle of the Somme]]).<ref name="auto" /> Nevertheless, the war-related deaths of many people who were close to him appear to have even further strengthened his long-held belief in life after death and spirit communication. Doyle's brother [[Brigadier-general (United Kingdom)|Brigadier-general]] Innes Doyle died, also from pneumonia, in February 1919. His two brothers-in-law (one of whom was [[Ernest William Hornung|E.&nbsp;W. Hornung]], creator of the literary character [[A. J. Raffles|Raffles]]), as well as his two nephews, also died shortly after the war. His second book on spiritualism, ''[[The Vital Message]]'', appeared in 1919.

Doyle found solace in supporting spiritualism's ideas and the attempts of spiritualists to find proof of an [[Afterlife|existence beyond the grave]]. In particular, according to some,<ref>{{cite journal |title=Did Conan Doyle Go Too Far? |journal=Psychic News |first=Leslie |last=Price |issue=4037 |year=2010}}</ref> he favoured [[Spiritualism (beliefs)|Christian Spiritualism]] and encouraged the [[Spiritualists' National Union]] to accept an eighth precept – that of following the teachings and example of [[Jesus of Nazareth]]. He was a member of the supernaturalist organisation [[The Ghost Club]].<ref>{{cite web |author=Ian Topham |url=http://www.mysteriousbritain.co.uk/the-ghost-club-a-history-by-peter-underwood.html |title=The Ghost Club – A History by Peter Underwood |publisher=Mysteriousbritain.co.uk |date=31 October 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130703003858/http://www.mysteriousbritain.co.uk/the-ghost-club-a-history-by-peter-underwood.html |archive-date=3 July 2013}}</ref>

[[File:Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and family.jpg|thumb|upright|Doyle with his family in New York City, 1922]]
In 1919, the magician [[P.&nbsp;T. Selbit]] staged a séance at his flat in [[Bloomsbury]], which Doyle attended. Although some later claimed that Doyle had endorsed the apparent instances of [[clairvoyance]] at that séance as genuine,<ref>Baker, Robert A. (1996). ''Hidden Memories: Voices and Visions from Within''. Prometheus Books. p.&nbsp;234. {{ISBN|978-1-57392-094-0}}.</ref><ref>Christopher, Milbourne. (1996). ''The Illustrated History of Magic''. Greenwood Publishing Group. p.&nbsp;264. {{ISBN|978-0-435-07016-8}}.</ref> a contemporaneous report by the ''[[Sunday Express]]'' quoted Doyle as saying "I should have to see it again before passing a definite opinion on it" and "I have my doubts about the whole thing".<ref>{{cite book |title=Conan Doyle and the Mysterious World of Light, 1887–1920 |last=Wingett |first=Matt |publisher=Life Is Amazing |year=2016 |isbn=978-0-9572413-5-0 |pages=160–161}}</ref> In 1920, Doyle and the noted sceptic [[Joseph McCabe]] held a public debate at Queen's Hall in London, with Doyle taking the position that the claims of spiritualism were true. After the debate, McCabe published a booklet ''Is Spiritualism Based on Fraud?'', in which he laid out evidence refuting Doyle's arguments and claimed that Doyle had been duped into believing in spiritualism through deliberate [[mediumship]] trickery.<ref>[[Joseph McCabe]]. (1920). [https://archive.org/stream/isspiritualismba00mccarich#page/n3/mode/2up ''Is Spiritualism Based On Fraud? The Evidence Given By Sir A. C. Doyle and Others Drastically Examined'']. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203110944/http://www.archive.org/stream/isspiritualismba00mccarich#page/n3/mode/2up |date=3 December 2013 }}. London Watts & Co.</ref>

Doyle also debated the psychiatrist [[Harold Dearden]], who vehemently disagreed with Doyle's belief that many cases of diagnosed mental illness were the result of [[spirit possession]].<ref>Dearden, Harold. (1975 edition). ''Devilish But True: The Doctor Looks at Spiritualism''. EP Publishing Limited. pp. 70–72. {{ISBN|0-7158-1041-3}}.</ref>

In 1920, Doyle travelled to Australia and New Zealand on spiritualist missionary work, and over the next several years, until his death, he continued his mission, giving talks about his spiritualist conviction in Britain, Europe, and the United States.<ref name="Wingett32-36" />

[[File:Cottingley Fairies 1.jpg|thumb|left|One of the five photographs of Frances Griffiths with the [[Cottingley Fairies|alleged fairies]], taken by Elsie Wright in [[Cottingley, Bradford|Cottingley]], England in July 1917]]
Doyle wrote a novel ''[[The Land of Mist]]'' centred on spiritualist themes and featuring the character Professor Challenger. He also wrote many non-fiction spiritualist works. Perhaps his most famous of these was ''The Coming of the Fairies'' (1922),<ref>{{cite web |title=The Coming of the Fairies |url=http://explore.bl.uk/primo_library/libweb/action/display.do?doc=BLL01015503689&tabs=detailsTab |work=British Library catalogue |publisher=[[British Library]] |access-date=12 June 2013 |archive-date=9 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211109072437/http://explore.bl.uk/primo_library/libweb/action/display.do?doc=BLL01015503689&tabs=detailsTab |url-status=dead }}</ref> in which Doyle described his beliefs about the nature and existence of fairies and spirits, reproduced the five [[Cottingley Fairies]] photographs, asserted that those who suspected them being faked were wrong, and expressed his conviction that they were authentic. Decades later, the photos—taken by cousins Frances Griffiths and Elsie Wright—were definitively shown to have been faked, and their creators admitted to the fakery, although both maintained that they really had seen fairies.<ref>"Fairies, Phantoms, and Fantastic Photographs". Presenter: [[Arthur C. Clarke]]. Narrator: [[Anna Ford]]. ''[[Arthur C. Clarke's World of Strange Powers]]''. [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]]. 22 May 1985. No. 6, season 1</ref>

Doyle was friends for a time with the American magician [[Harry Houdini]]. Even though Houdini explained that his feats were based on illusion and trickery, Doyle was convinced that Houdini had supernatural powers and said as much in his work ''The Edge of the Unknown''. Houdini's friend [[Bernard M.&nbsp;L. Ernst]] recounted a time when Houdini had performed an impressive trick at his home in Doyle's presence. Houdini had assured Doyle that the trick was pure illusion and had expressed the hope that this demonstration would persuade Doyle not to go around "endorsing phenomena" simply because he could think of no explanation for what he had seen other than supernatural power. However, according to Ernst, Doyle simply refused to believe that it had been a trick.<ref name="Polidoro 2006">{{cite web |last1=Polidoro |first1=Massimo |author-link=Massimo Polidoro |title=Houdini's Impossible Demonstration |url=https://skepticalinquirer.org/2006/07/houdinis-impossible-demonstration/ |website=Skeptical Inquirer |date=July 2006 |publisher=The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry |access-date=7 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170412193049/http://www.csicop.org/si/show/houdinirsquos_impossible_demonstration |archive-date=12 April 2017}}</ref> Houdini became a prominent opponent of the spiritualist movement in the 1920s, after the death of his beloved mother. He insisted that spiritualist mediums employed trickery, and consistently exposed them as frauds. These differences between Houdini and Doyle eventually led to a bitter, public falling-out between them.<ref>[[Massimo Polidoro]]. (2003). ''Secrets of the Psychics: Investigating Paranormal Claims''. Prometheus Books. pp.&nbsp;120–124. {{ISBN|1-59102-086-7}}.</ref>

[[File:Photo of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle with Spirit, by Ada Deane.jpg|thumb|upright|1922 photograph of Doyle by spirit photographer Ada Deane]]
In 1922, the psychical researcher [[Harry Price]] accused the "spirit photographer" [[William Hope (paranormal investigator)|William Hope]] of fraud. Doyle defended Hope, but further evidence of trickery was obtained from other researchers.<ref>{{cite web |author=Massimo Polidoro |url=http://www.csicop.org/si/show/photos_of_ghosts_the_burden_of_believing_the_unbelievable |title=Photos of Ghosts: The Burden of Believing the Unbelievable by Massimo Polidoro |publisher=Csicop.org |date=2011 |author-link=Massimo Polidoro |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202222257/http://www.csicop.org/si/show/photos_of_ghosts_the_burden_of_believing_the_unbelievable |archive-date=2 December 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> Doyle threatened to have Price evicted from the [[National Laboratory of Psychical Research]] and predicted that, if he persisted in writing what he called "sewage" about spiritualists, he would meet the same fate as Harry Houdini.<ref>William Kalush, Larry Ratso Sloman. (2006). ''The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America's First Superhero''. Atria Books. pp.&nbsp;419–420. {{ISBN|978-0-7432-7208-7}}.</ref> Price wrote: "Arthur Conan Doyle and his friends abused me for years for exposing Hope."<ref>[[Massimo Polidoro]]. (2001). ''Final Séance: The Strange Friendship Between Houdini and Conan Doyle''. Prometheus Books. p.&nbsp;67. {{ISBN|978-1-57392-896-0}}.</ref> In response to the exposure of frauds that had been perpetrated by Hope and other spiritualists, Doyle led 84 members of the [[Society for Psychical Research]] to resign in protest from the society on the ground that they believed it was opposed to spiritualism.<ref>G. K. Nelson. (2013). ''Spiritualism and Society''. Routledge. p.&nbsp;159; {{ISBN|978-0-415-71462-4}}.</ref>

Doyle's two-volume book ''The History of Spiritualism'' was published in 1926. [[William Leslie Curnow|W. Leslie Curnow]] a spiritualist, contributed much research to the book.<ref>[[Trevor H. Hall|Hall, Trevor H]]. (1978). ''Sherlock Holmes and his Creator''. Duckworth. p.&nbsp;121.</ref><ref>Stashower, Daniel (1999). ''Teller of Tales: The Life of Arthur Conan Doyle''. Henry Holt & Company. "A Spiritualist researcher named [[William Leslie Curnow|W. Leslie Curnow]] contributed a great deal of material and wrote some of the chapters, which Conan Doyle freely admits in the book's preface."</ref> Later that year, [[Robert John Tillyard]] wrote a predominantly supportive review of it in the journal ''[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]''.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Tillyard | first1 = Robert John | year = 1926 | title = The History of Spiritualism | journal = [[Nature (journal)|Nature]] | volume = 118 | issue = 2961| pages = 147–149 | doi=10.1038/118147a0 | bibcode = 1926Natur.118..147T | s2cid = 4122097 }}</ref> This review provoked controversy: Several other critics, including [[Alan Archibald Campbell-Swinton|A.&nbsp;A. Campbell Swinton]], pointed out the evidence of fraud in mediumship, as well as Doyle's non-scientific approach to the subject.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Swinton | first1 = A. A. Campbell | author-link = Alan Archibald Campbell-Swinton | year = 1926 | title = Science and Psychical Research | journal = [[Nature (journal)|Nature]] | volume = 118 | issue = 2965 | pages = 299–300 | doi=10.1038/118299a0 | bibcode = 1926Natur.118..299S | s2cid = 4124050 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Donkin | first1 = Bryan | year = 1926 | title = Science and Psychical Research | journal = [[Nature (journal)|Nature]] | volume = 118 | issue = 2970| page = 480 | doi=10.1038/118480a0 | bibcode = 1926Natur.118Q.480D | s2cid = 4125188 | doi-access = free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Donkin | first1 = Bryan | year = 1926 | title = Science and Psychical Research | journal = [[Nature (journal)|Nature]] | volume = 118 | issue = 2975 | pages = 658–659 | doi=10.1038/118658a0 | bibcode = 1926Natur.118..658D | s2cid = 4059745 }}</ref> In 1927, Doyle gave a filmed interview, in which he spoke about Sherlock Holmes and spiritualism.<ref>{{cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWjgt9PzYEM |title=Arthur Conan Doyle Interviewed on Sherlock Holmes and Spirituality |date=16 April 2009 |via=YouTube |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141229192253/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWjgt9PzYEM |archive-date=29 December 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Doyle and the Piltdown hoax==
[[Richard Milner (historian)|Richard Milner]], an American historian of science, argued that Doyle may have been the perpetrator of the [[Piltdown Man]] hoax of 1912, creating the counterfeit [[hominidae|hominid]] fossil that fooled the scientific world for over 40&nbsp;years. Milner noted that Doyle had a plausible motive—namely, revenge on the scientific establishment for debunking one of his favourite psychics—and said that [[The Lost World (Arthur Conan Doyle)|''The Lost World'']] appeared to contain several clues referring cryptically to his having been involved in the hoax.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/archaeology/piltdown_man_01.shtml |title=Piltdown Man: Britain's Greatest Hoax |date=17 February 2011 |publisher=BBC |access-date=5 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222211557/http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/archaeology/piltdown_man_01.shtml |archive-date=22 February 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2012/feb/05/piltdown-man-archaeologys-greatest-hoax |title=Piltdown Man: British archaeology's greatest hoax |last=McKie |first=Robin |date=5 February 2012 |work=The Guardian |access-date=7 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141008100450/http://www.theguardian.com/science/2012/feb/05/piltdown-man-archaeologys-greatest-hoax |archive-date=8 October 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Samuel Rosenberg (writer)|Samuel Rosenberg]]'s 1974 book ''[[Naked Is the Best Disguise]]'' purports to explain how, throughout his writings, Doyle had provided overt clues to otherwise hidden or suppressed aspects of his way of thinking that seemed to support the idea that Doyle would be involved in such a hoax.<ref>[[Samuel Rosenberg (writer)|Samuel Rosenberg]]. (1974). ''Naked is the Best Disguise: The Death and Resurrection of Sherlock Holmes''. Bobbs-Merrill. {{ISBN|0-14-004030-7}}.</ref>

However, more recent research suggests that Doyle was not involved. In 2016, researchers at the [[Natural History Museum, London|Natural History Museum]] and [[Liverpool John Moores University]] analyzed DNA evidence showing that responsibility for the hoax lay with the amateur archaeologist [[Charles Dawson]], who had originally "found" the remains. He had initially not been considered the likely perpetrator, because the hoax was seen as being too elaborate for him to have devised. However, the DNA evidence showed that a supposedly ancient tooth he had "discovered" in 1915 (at a different site) came from the same jaw as that of the Piltdown Man, suggesting that he had planted them both. That tooth, too, was later proven to have been planted as part of a hoax.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/research/projects/piltdown-man |title=Piltdown Man |website=www.bournemouth.ac.uk |language=en |access-date=18 November 2019}}</ref>

[[Chris Stringer]], an anthropologist from the Natural History Museum, was quoted as saying: "Conan Doyle was known to play golf at the Piltdown site and had even given Dawson a lift in his car to the area, but he was a public man and very busy[,] and it is very unlikely that he would have had the time [to create the hoax]. So there are some coincidences, but I think they are just coincidences. When you look at the fossil evidence[,] you can only associate Dawson with all the finds, and Dawson was known to be personally ambitious. He wanted professional recognition. He wanted to be a member of the Royal Society and he was after an MBE [sic<ref>The latter honour did not exist in the lifetime of Dawson, who died in August 1916; the Order of the British Empire was founded on 4 June 1917.</ref>]. He wanted people to stop seeing him as an amateur".<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2016/08/10/sir-arthur-conan-doyle-cleared-of-piltdown-man-hoax/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2016/08/10/sir-arthur-conan-doyle-cleared-of-piltdown-man-hoax/ |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Sir Arthur Conan Doyle cleared of Piltdown Man hoax |last=Knapton |first=Sarah |date=10 August 2016 |work=The Telegraph |language=en-GB |issn=0307-1235}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

== Architecture ==
[[File:UndershawCirca1900.jpg|thumb|Façade of [[Undershaw]] with Doyle's children, Mary and Kingsley, on the drive]]
Another of Doyle's longstanding interests was architectural design. In 1895, when he commissioned an architect friend of his, Joseph Henry Ball, to build him a home, he played an active part in the design process.<ref>Cooke, Simon, 2013, [http://www.victorianweb.org/art/illustration/doylecharles/cooke.html Introduction: Life and Controversy], "Charles Altamont Doyle", The Victorian Web.</ref><ref>{{National Heritage List for England|num=1244471|desc=Undershaw|access-date=19 October 2021}}</ref> The home in which he lived from October 1897 to September 1907, known as [[Undershaw]] (near [[Hindhead]], in Surrey),<ref>{{cite book |last=Duncan |first=Alistair |title=An Entirely New Country: Arthur Conan Doyle, Undershaw and the Resurrection of Sherlock Holmes |publisher=MX Publishing |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-908218-19-3}}</ref> was used as a hotel and restaurant from 1924 until 2004, when it was bought by a developer and then stood empty while conservationists and Doyle fans fought to preserve it.<ref name="Leeman" /> In 2012, the [[High Court of Justice|High Court]] in London ruled in favor of those seeking to preserve the historic building, ordering that the redevelopment permission be quashed on the ground that it had not been obtained through proper procedures.<ref name="BBC121112">{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-surrey-20303200 |title=Sir Arthur Conan Doyle house development appeal upheld |date=12 November 2012 |work=BBC News |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121116032748/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-surrey-20303200 |archive-date=16 November 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> The building was later approved to become part of Stepping Stones, a school for children with disabilities and special needs.

Doyle made his most ambitious foray into architecture in March 1912, while he was staying at the [[Glasshayes|Lyndhurst Grand Hotel]]: he sketched the original designs for a third-storey extension and for an alteration of the front facade of the building.<ref>Griffith, Carolyn. "Campaigner says hotel's writer link should secure landmark building". Lymington Times, 15 September 2017.</ref> Work began later that year, and when it was finished, the building was a nearly exact manifestation of the plans Doyle had sketched. Superficial alterations have been subsequently made, but the essential structure is still clearly Doyle's.<ref>{{cite web |title=Glasshayes House: The 1912 Extension of the Lyndhurst Grand Hotel |url=https://www.arthur-conan-doyle.com/index.php?title=Glasshayes_House:_the_1912_extension_of_The_Lyndhurst_Grand_Hotel |website=The Arthur Conan Doyle Encyclopedia |access-date=6 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170917075627/https://www.arthur-conan-doyle.com/index.php?title=Glasshayes_House:_the_1912_extension_of_The_Lyndhurst_Grand_Hotel |archive-date=17 September 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1914, on a family trip to the Jasper National Park in Canada, he designed a golf course and ancillary buildings for a hotel. The plans were realised in full, but neither the golf course nor the buildings have survived.<ref>The Golfball Factory, accessed September 2017, [http://www.thegolfballfactory.com/the-golf-course/hole5/sir-arthur-conan-doyle-golf-architect.htm Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – Golf Course Architect]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170917033126/http://www.thegolfballfactory.com/the-golf-course/hole5/sir-arthur-conan-doyle-golf-architect.htm |date=17 September 2017 }}.</ref>

In 1926, Doyle laid the foundation stone for a Spiritualist Temple in Camden, London. Of the building's total £600 construction costs, he provided £500.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hamhigh.co.uk/lifestyle/21360037.blur-guitarist-leads-fight-save-camden-road-spiritualist-temple |title=Blur guitarist leads fight to save Camden Road Spiritualist Temple |first=Frankie |last=Crossley |website=Hampstead Highgate Express|date=17 August 2017 }}</ref>

==Crimes Club==
The Crimes Club was a private social club founded by Doyle in 1903, whose purpose was discussion of crime and detection, criminals and criminology, and continues to this day as "Our Society", with membership numbers limited to 100. The club meets four times a year at the Imperial Hotel, Russell Square, London, with the proceedings conducted under the [[Chatham House Rule|Chatham House Rules]].  Its logo is a silhouette of Doyle.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oursociety.uk.com/index.html |title=Our Society |access-date=6 July 2022}}</ref>

The club's earliest members included [[John Churton Collins]], Japanologist Arthur Diósy, Sir [[Edward Marshall Hall]], Sir [[Travers Humphreys]], [[H. B. Irving]], author (''Thou Shalt Do No Murder'') Arthur Lambton, [[William Le Queux]], [[A. E. W. Mason]], coroner Ingleby Oddie, Sir [[Max Pemberton]], [[Bertram Fletcher Robinson]], [[George R. Sims]], Sir [[Bernard Spilsbury]], Sir [[P. G. Wodehouse]], and [[Filson Young]].<ref>{{cite thesis|author=Carrie Selina Parris |degree=Doctor of Philosophy |title=The Crimes Club: The Early Years of Our Society |page=2 |url=https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/59228/1/FINAL_VERSION_3366324_Carrie_Parris__Creative_Writing_Research_Thesis.pdf |access-date=6 July 2022}}</ref>

== Death ==
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 102-10068, Schriftsteller Conan Doyle mit seinem Sohn.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Doyle in 1930, the year of his death, with his son Adrian]]
Doyle was found clutching his chest in the hall of Windlesham Manor, his house in [[Crowborough]], Sussex, on 7 July 1930. He died of a heart attack at the age of 71. His last words were directed toward his wife: "You are wonderful."<ref>Stashower, p. 439.</ref> At the time of his death, there was some controversy concerning his burial place, as he was avowedly not a Christian, considering himself a Spiritualist. He was first buried on 11 July 1930 in Windlesham rose garden. In his will, he bequeathed £250 per year to [[Alfred Wood (cricketer)|Alfred Wood]], who had served as his private secretary since 1897.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000290/19410422/066/0004 |title=Death of Major A. H. Wood |work=[[The News (Portsmouth)|Portsmouth Evening News]] |page=4 |date=22 April 1941 |access-date=24 March 2023 |url-access=subscription |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]]}}</ref>

[[File:Doyle Arthur Conan grave.jpg|thumb|upright|Doyle's grave at [[Minstead]] in [[Hampshire]]]]
He was later reinterred together with his wife in [[Minstead]] churchyard in the [[New Forest]], Hampshire.<ref Name="NDB" /> Carved wooden tablets to his memory and to the memory of his wife, originally from the church at Minstead, are on display as part of a Sherlock Holmes exhibition at Portsmouth Museum.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-wooden-headstone-of-sir-arthur-conan-doyle-at-a-special-display--33668994.html|title=Stock Photo – Wooden headstone of Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle at a special display in the Town's museum. Portsmouth, Hampshire, UK|website=Alamy|access-date=15 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220526215729/https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-wooden-headstone-of-sir-arthur-conan-doyle-at-a-special-display-in-33668994.html|archive-date=26 May 2022|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.portsmouthcitymuseums.co.uk/|title=City Museums|website=www.portsmouthcitymuseums.co.uk|access-date=15 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160321124742/http://www.portsmouthcitymuseums.co.uk/|archive-date=21 March 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> The epitaph on his gravestone in the churchyard reads, in part: "Steel true/Blade straight/Arthur Conan Doyle/Knight/Patriot, Physician and man of letters".<ref>Johnson, Roy (1992). "Studying Fiction: A Guide and Study Programme", p. 15. Manchester University Press; {{ISBN|0-7190-3397-7}}.</ref>

A statue honours Doyle at Crowborough Cross in Crowborough, where he lived for 23 years.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.librarything.com/author/doylearthurconan|title=Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930)|publisher=librarything.com|access-date=17 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006103629/http://www.librarything.com/author/doylearthurconan|archive-date=6 October 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> There is a statue of Sherlock Holmes in Picardy Place, [[Edinburgh]], close to the house where Doyle was born.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-19343195 "Sherlock Holmes statue reinstated in Edinburgh after tram works"], bbc.co.uk; retrieved 6 November 2012.</ref>
{{clearleft}}

== Honours and awards ==
: [[File:Knight-Bachelor.ribbon.png|100px]] [[Knight Bachelor]] (1902)<ref name=LGKnight />
: [[File:Order of St John (UK) ribbon -vector.svg|100px]] Knight of Grace of the [[Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem]] (1903)
: [[File:Queens South Africa Medal BAR.svg|100px]] [[Queen's South Africa Medal]] (1901)
: [[File:Cavaliere OCI BAR.svg|100px]] Knight of the [[Order of the Crown of Italy]] (1895)
: [[File:Order of the Medjidie - Ribbon bar.svg|100px]] [[Order of the Medjidie]] – 2nd Class (Ottoman Empire) (1907)

== Commemoration ==
Doyle has been commemorated with statues and plaques since his death. In 2009, he was among the ten people selected by the [[Royal Mail]] for their [[Great Britain commemorative stamps 2000–2009|"Eminent Britons" commemorative postage stamp]] issue.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Royal Mail celebrate eminent Britons |url=https://www.thetimes.com/sport/football/article/the-royal-mail-celebrate-eminent-britons-xxdbrr6jzjt |access-date=30 September 2022 |work=The Times}}</ref>

== Portrayals ==
Arthur Conan Doyle has been portrayed by many actors, including:

=== Television series ===
* [[Nigel Davenport]] in the [[BBC Two]] series ''[[The Edwardians (miniseries)|The Edwardians]]'', in the episode "Conan Doyle" (1972)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/b7b23ee8c622464da0675bf5cb299aa5 |title=The Edwardians: Conan Doyle |publisher=BBC |website=BBC Genome: Radio Times |date=12 December 1972 |access-date=10 November 2020}}</ref>
* [[Michael Ensign]] in the ''[[Voyagers!]]'' episode "Jack's Back" (1983)
* [[Robin Laing]] and [[Charles Edwards (English actor)|Charles Edwards]] in ''[[Murder Rooms: Mysteries of the Real Sherlock Holmes]]'' (2000–2001)
* [[Geraint Wyn Davies]] in ''[[Murdoch Mysteries]]'', 3 episodes (2008–2013)
* [[Alfred Molina]] in the ''[[Drunk History]]'' (American series) episode "Detroit" (2013)
* [[David Calder (actor)|David Calder]] in the miniseries ''[[Houdini (miniseries)|Houdini]]'' (2014)
* [[Martin Clunes]] in the miniseries ''[[Arthur & George (TV series)|Arthur & George]]'' (2015)
* [[Bruce Mackinnon]] and [[Bradley Walsh]] in ''[[Drunk History (British TV series)|Drunk History]]'' (British series), in series 2, episodes 5 and 8 respectively (2016)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/drunk_history/episodes/2/5/ |title=Drunk History Series 2, Episode 5 |website=British Comedy Guide |access-date=10 November 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/drunk_history/episodes/2/8/ |title=Drunk History Series 2, Episode 8 |website=British Comedy Guide |access-date=10 November 2020}}</ref>
* [[Stephen Mangan]] in ''[[Houdini & Doyle]]'' (2016)
* Michael Pitthan in the German TV series ''[[Charité (TV series)|Charité]]'' episode "Götterdämmerung" (2017)
* [[Bill Paterson (actor)|Bill Paterson]] in the ''[[Urban Myths (TV series)|Urban Myths]]'' episode "Agatha Christie" (2018)

=== Television films ===
* [[Peter Cushing]] in ''[[The Great Houdini (film)|The Great Houdini]]'' (1976)
* [[David Warner (actor)|David Warner]] in ''[[Houdini (1998 film)|Houdini]]'' (1998)
* [[Richard Wilson (Scottish actor)|Richard Wilson]] in ''[[Reichenbach Falls (film)|Reichenbach Falls]]'' (2007)
* [[Michael McElhatton]] in ''[[Agatha and the Truth of Murder]]'' (2018)

=== Theatrical films ===
* [[Paul Bildt]] in ''[[The Man Who Was Sherlock Holmes]]'' (1937)
* [[Peter O'Toole]] in ''[[FairyTale: A True Story]]'' (1997)
* [[Edward Hardwicke]] in ''[[Photographing Fairies]]'' (1997)
* [[Tom Fisher (actor)|Tom Fisher]] in ''[[Shanghai Knights]]'' (2003)
* [[Ian Hart]] in ''[[Finding Neverland (film)|Finding Neverland]]'' (2004)

=== Other media ===
* [[Carleton Hobbs]] in the BBC radio drama ''Conan Doyle Investigates'' (1972)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/5601330a91bf45b08180ca19f9f0771e |title=Saturday-Night Theatre: Conan Doyle Investigates |website=BBC Genome: Radio Times |date=6 May 1972 |publisher=BBC |access-date=10 November 2020}}</ref>
* [[Iain Cuthbertson]] in the BBC radio drama ''Conan Doyle and The Edalji Case'' (1987)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/71ecbc40adac4e46b2c5f988336ca3d7 |title=Saturday-Night Theatre: Conan Doyle and the Edalji Case |website=BBC Genome: Radio Times |date=12 December 1987 |publisher=BBC |access-date=10 November 2020}}</ref>
* [[Peter Jeffrey]] in the BBC radio drama ''Conan Doyle's Strangest Case'' (1995)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/523791a802d147fa9dd502c71a3de77b |title=Saturday Playhouse: Conan Doyle's Strangest Case |website=BBC Genome: Radio Times |date=14 January 1995 |publisher=BBC |access-date=10 November 2020}}</ref>
* [[Adrian Lukis]] in the stage adaptation of the novel ''[[Arthur & George]]'' (2010)<ref>{{cite web |website=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2010/mar/23/arthur-and-george-review |title=Arthur and George |last=Michael |first=Billington |access-date=10 November 2020 |date=23 March 2010}}</ref>
* [[Chris Tallman]] in Chapter 10 of ''[[The Dead Authors Podcast]]'' (2012)<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Dead Authors Podcast: Chapter 10: Arthur Conan Doyle, featuring Chris Tallman|url=https://thedeadauthorspodcast.libsyn.com/chapter-10-arthur-conan-doyle-featuring-chris-tallman|access-date=23 September 2021|website=thedeadauthorspodcast.libsyn.com}}</ref>
* [[Steven Miller (actor)|Steven Miller]] in the ''[[Jago & Litefoot]]'' audio drama "The Monstrous Menagerie" (2014)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/jago-litefoot-series-07-818 |website=Big Finish Productions |title=7. Jago & Litefoot Series 07 |access-date=10 November 2020}}</ref>
* Eamon Stocks in the video game ''[[Assassin's Creed Syndicate]]'' (2015)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/video-games/Assassins-Creed-Syndicate/ |title=Assassin's Creed: Syndicate Cast |access-date=10 November 2020 |website=Behind The Voice Actors}}</ref>
* [[Ryōhei Kimura|Ryohei Kimura]] in the mobile game ''Ikémen Vampire: Temptation in the Dark'' (2019)<ref>{{Cite web |title=アーサー・コナン・ドイル（CV：木村良平）のキャラクター紹介 |url=https://ikemen.cybird.ne.jp/title/vampire/original/character/arthur.html |access-date=17 November 2022 |website=ikemen.cybird.ne.jp |language=ja}}</ref>

==In fiction==
Arthur Conan Doyle is the ostensible narrator of Ian Madden's short story "Cracks in an Edifice of Sheer Reason".<ref>Madden, Ian, "Cracks in an Edifice of Sheer Reason", in Maguire, Susie, & Tongue, Samuel (eds.) (2018), ''With Their Best Clothes On'', [[New Writing Scotland]] 36, [[Association for Scottish Literary Studies]], pp. 77–85. {{ISBN|978-1-906841-33-1}}</ref>

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle features as a recurring character in Pip Murphy's Christie and Agatha's Detective Agency series, including ''A Discovery Disappears''<ref>{{Cite book|last=Murphy|first=Pip|title=A Discovery Disappears|publisher=Sweet Cherry Publishing|others=Roberta Tedeschi, ill|year=2021|isbn=978-1-78226-796-6|location=Leicester|language=English|oclc=1263776847}}</ref> and ''Of Mountains and Motors''.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Murphy|first=Pip|title=Of Mountains and Motors|publisher=Sweet Cherry Publishing|others=Roberta Tedeschi, ill|year=2022|isbn=978-1-78226-815-4|location=Leicester|language=English|oclc=1295111029}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Biography|Children's literature}}
* [[William Gillette]], a personal friend who performed the most famous stage version of ''[[Sherlock Holmes (play)|Sherlock Holmes]]''
* [[List of Freemasons|List of notable Freemasons]]
* [[Physician writer#19th century|Physician writer]]
{{clear}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
{{Library resources box}}
* Martin Booth (2000). ''The Doctor and the Detective: A Biography of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle''. Minotaur Books. {{ISBN|0-312-24251-4}}.
* [[John Dickson Carr]] (2003 edition, originally published in 1949). ''The Life of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle''. Carroll and Graf Publishers.
* [[Michael Dirda]] (2014). ''[[On Conan Doyle: or, The Whole Art of Storytelling]]''. Princeton University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-691-16412-0}}.
* Arthur Conan Doyle, [[Joseph McCabe]] (1920). [http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.31175035156705;view=1up;seq=1 ''Debate on Spiritualism: Between Arthur Conan Doyle and Joseph McCabe'']. The Appeal's Pocket Series.
* Bernard M. L. Ernst, [[Hereward Carrington]] (1932). ''Houdini and Conan Doyle: The Story of a Strange Friendship''. Albert and Charles Boni, Inc.
* [[Margalit Fox]] (2018). ''Conan Doyle for the Defense''. Random House.
* Kelvin Jones (1989). ''Conan Doyle and the Spirits: The Spiritualist Career of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle''. Aquarian Press.
* Jon Lellenberg, Daniel Stashower, Charles Foley (2007). ''Arthur Conan Doyle: A Life in Letters''. HarperPress. {{ISBN|978-0-00-724759-2}}
* [[Andrew Lycett]] (2008). ''The Man Who Created Sherlock Holmes: The Life and Times of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle''. Free Press. {{ISBN|0-7432-7523-3}}.
* [[Russell Miller]] (2008). ''The Adventures of Arthur Conan Doyle: A Biography''. Thomas Dunne Books.
* Pierre Nordon (1967). ''Conan Doyle: A Biography''. Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
* [[Ronald Pearsall]] (1977). ''Conan Doyle: A Biographical Solution''. Littlehampton Book Services Ltd.
* [[Massimo Polidoro]] (2001). ''Final Séance: The Strange Friendship Between Houdini and Conan Doyle''. Prometheus Books. {{ISBN|978-1-57392-896-0}}.
* [[Daniel Stashower]] (2000). ''Teller of Tales: The Life of Arthur Conan Doyle''. Penguin Books. {{ISBN|0-8050-5074-4}}.

== External links ==
{{Sister project links|Arthur Conan Doyle|wikt=no|n=no|v=no|s=Author:Arthur Conan Doyle|b=no|d=Q35610}}
; Digital collections
* {{StandardEbooks|Standard Ebooks URL=https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/arthur-conan-doyle}}
* {{Gutenberg author |id=69}}
* {{FadedPage|id=Doyle, Arthur Conan|name=Arthur Conan Doyle|author=yes}}
* [http://www.gutenberg.net.au/pages/doyle.html Works by Arthur Conan Doyle] at [[Project Gutenberg Australia]]
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Arthur Conan Doyle}}
* {{Librivox author |id=467}}
* [http://www.eng-poetry.ru/english/Poet.php?PoetId=110 Poems by Arthur Conan Doyle]

; Physical collections
* [https://norman.hrc.utexas.edu/fasearch/findingAid.cfm?eadid=00788 Arthur Conan Doyle Papers], [https://norman.hrc.utexas.edu/fasearch/findingAid.cfm?eadid=00382 Photographs], and [https://norman.hrc.utexas.edu/personaleffects/ Personal Effects] at the [[Harry Ransom Center]]
* [https://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/books-video-music/specialized-collections/literature-genre-doyle.jsp Arthur Conan Doyle Collection] at [[Toronto Public Library]]
* [https://archives-manuscripts.dartmouth.edu/repositories/2/resources/1306 Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Collection] at Dartmouth College Library
* [http://www.westminsteronline.org/conandoyle/index.html Arthur Conan Doyle Online Exhibition]
* {{UK National Archives ID}}
* [http://www.newberry.org/collections/FindingAids/kittledoyle/KittleDoyle.html C. Frederick Kittle's Collection of Doyleana] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110106080002/http://www.newberry.org/collections/FindingAids/kittledoyle/KittleDoyle.html |date=6 January 2011 }} at [[the Newberry Library]]
* {{PM20|FID=pe/004216}}

; Biographical information
* [http://www.ebooksread.com/authors-eng/edward-walford/the-county-families-of-the-united-kingdom-or-royal-manual-of-the-titled-and-un-fla/page-109-the-county-families-of-the-united-kingdom-or-royal-manual-of-the-titled-and-un-fla.shtml Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan, Knt. – Cr. 1902] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140821211424/http://www.ebooksread.com/authors-eng/edward-walford/the-county-families-of-the-united-kingdom-or-royal-manual-of-the-titled-and-un-fla/page-109-the-county-families-of-the-united-kingdom-or-royal-manual-of-the-titled-and-un-fla.shtml |date=21 August 2014 }}, ''The county families of the United Kingdom'' or ''Royal manual of the titled and untitled aristocracy of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland'', (Volume ed. 59, yr. 1919) (page 109 of 415) by Edward Walford
* [https://www.arthur-conan-doyle.com The Arthur Conan Doyle Encyclopedia]
* [http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/doyle Conan Doyle in Birmingham]

; Other references
* [http://sounds.bl.uk/Arts-literature-and-performance/Early-spoken-word-recordings/024M-1CL0013693XX-0100V0 1930 audio recording of Conan Doyle speaking]
* {{Internet Archive short film|id=SirArthurConanDoyleSpeaks_272|name=Arthur Conan Doyle (1927) (Fox newsreel interview)}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070927230523/http://www.ash-tree.bc.ca/acds%20details.htm The Arthur Conan Doyle Society]
* [https://www.firstinspire.com/38-famous-arthur-conan-doyle-quotes/ Arthur Conan Doyle quotes]
* {{ISFDB name|id=Arthur_Conan_Doyle|name=Arthur Conan Doyle}}
* {{IMDb name|id=0236279}}

{{Conan Doyle|state=expanded}}
{{HolmesNovels}}
{{The Lost World}}
{{Spiritism and Spiritualism}}
{{Authority control}}

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