Arthur Conan Doyle
ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE (1859-1930)
BIOGRAPHY
Although best known as the creator of Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle's work includes science fiction, historical romance and books on warfare and spiritualism. Born in Edinburgh, he qualified as a doctor and practised in Southsea before turning to writing as a means of supplementing his income. The first Sherlock Homes novel appeared in 1887 and the fictional detective soon brought fame and fortune - though Doyle always maintained his historical romances held more worth. His personal interests were far ranging: he was a strong advocate of a tunnel between England and France, of inflatable life jackets and, in one unfortunate incident, of a (faked) photograph of fairies. But it was for a paper justifying Britain's involvement in the Boer War - where he had served as a physician - that he received his knighthood. Influenced by Edgar Allan Poe, Doyle's work often demonstrates a similar contrasting of the rational and the imaginative.
STORIES
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Several years after the events described in 'The Final Problem', Dr Watson takes an interest in the murder of Ronald Adair who was shot in a locked second floor room.
- Length: 21 pages
- Age Rating: PG
- Genre: Crime
4 Stars
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Just as he is about to be arrested for the murder of a client, a young lawyer pays a visit on Holmes and begs him to help prove his innocence.
- Length: 27 pages
- Age Rating: PG
- Genre: Crime
5 Stars
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A man seeks Holmes' advice after his wife becomes terrified at the appearance of a series of drawings of dancing men.
- Length: 27 pages
- Age Rating: PG
- Genre: Crime
5 Stars
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After accepting a post as a music teacher at a country house, a woman begins to worry when she is followed by a mysterious stranger on her weekly cycle trips down a usually deserted road.
- Length: 20 pages
- Age Rating: PG
- Genre: Crime
4 Stars
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The headmaster of an exclusive boarding school persuades Holmes to track down the abducted son of a wealthy duke.
- Length: 35 pages
- Age Rating: PG
- Genre: Crime
4 Stars
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An ill-tempered ex-ship's-captain is brutally murdered, pinned agaist the wall of his garden shed by a harpoon.
- Length: 22 pages
- Age Rating: PG
- Genre: Crime
5 Stars
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A young Lady employs Holmes to negotiate with London's most notorious blackmailer.
- Length: 18 pages
- Age Rating: PG
- Genre: Crime
4 Stars
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Lestrade consults Holmes when a number of busts of Napoleon are smashed at various locations around London.
- Length: 23 pages
- Age Rating: PG
- Genre: Crime
5 Stars
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A professor at a top university seeks Holmes' help with a possible case of cheating in a valuable scholarship exam.
- Length: 21 pages
- Age Rating: PG
- Genre: Crime
5 Stars
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Up-and-coming detective Stanley Hopkins consults Holmes about the apparently motiveless murder of the secretary of an old professor.
- Length: 24 pages
- Age Rating: PG
- Genre: Crime
4 Stars
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Holmes investigates the disappearance of the top player in the Cambridge University Rugby team on the eve of a match against Oxford.
- Length: 23 pages
- Age Rating: PG
- Genre: Crime
4 Stars
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Holmes is called in to investigate the murder of Sir Eustace Brackenstall, apparently during a burglary.
- Length: 25 pages
- Age Rating: PG
- Genre: Crime
4 Stars
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The Prime Minister asks Holmes to investigate the theft of a letter of exceptional diplomatic importance.
- Length: 28 pages
- Age Rating: PG
- Genre: Crime
5 Stars
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When the favorite for the Wessex Cup disappears and his trainer murdered, Holmes travels to Dartmoor to investigate.
- Length: 27 pages
- Age Rating: PG
- Genre: Crime
4 Stars
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A man seeks Holmes' advice when his wife's odd behaviour leads him to suspect she is hiding a terrible secret.
- Length: 20 pages
- Age Rating: PG
- Genre: Crime
4 Stars