Chicago (August 1, 2006) - The First Annual Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Colloquium at the Newberry Library is Saturday, Oct. 7. Join hundreds of devoted "Sherlockians" and other mystery enthusiasts for what promises to be an engaging morning delving into the contradictory nature of Conan Doyle.
A medical doctor by trade, Doyle also distinguished himself as a war correspondent, a social activist, an accomplished sportsman, a devout spiritualist, and the versatile author of diverse fictional and non-fictional genres. But it was as the author of 60 detective stories that Doyle gained his fame and fortune. In 1887, Doyle's first Sherlock Holmes mystery, A Study in Scarlet, was published in Beeton's Christmas Annual. By the early 1900s, Sherlock Holmes had gained a substantial following, due in large part to the serialization of his stories in The Strand Magazine.
Doyle attempted, several times, to escape the protagonist he felt was overshadowing his more significant literary works; however, he resurrected Sherlock Holmes on multiple occasions when his popular appeal or bank account waned. Throughout his career, Doyle wrote 60 Sherlock Holmes stories that appeared in four novels and five volumes of short stories.
The Newberry Library houses an immense collection of Doyle writings and memorabilia in the C. Frederick Kittle Collection of Doyleana. Explore the library's collection to learn more about the man behind the pipe.
SCHEDULE:
9:30 am - Coffee and Networking
9:45 am - Daniel Posnansky, Doyle's Favorite Book
10:15 am - C. Paul Martin, Dr. Arthur Conan Doyle: A Self Portrait
11:00 am - Glenn Miranker, When is a Book Not a Book?
WHEN: Saturday, October 7, 9:30 am - 12:00 pm.
WHERE: The Newberry Library, 60 W. Walton Street Chicago, Ill., 60610
MORE INFO: Admission is free and reservations are not required. For more information, please call (312) 255-3770 or visit the Web site at www.newberry.org.
The Newberry Library is an independent library open to the public for research and reference in the humanities. One of the largest independent research libraries in the United States, the Newberry holds an extraordinary collection of more than 1.5 million books, 5 million manuscript pages and three hundred thousand historic maps. As one of the world's leading repositories of a broad range of books and manuscripts relating to the civilizations of western Europe and the Americas, the Library's mission is to acquire and preserve research collections of such materials, and to provide for and promote their effective use by a diverse community of users. For more information, visit www.newberry.org.