NOTHING "ELEMENTARY" ABOUT SHERLOCK HOLMES' CREATOR
CHICAGO—Is it paradoxical that the man who created the archetypal character of rationality believed in, even crusaded for, the dubious "science" of spiritualism-the belief that the dead communicate with the living? In modern times, such a juxtaposition of beliefs does indeed seem strange, if not entirely inexplicable, but during the complex, and often contradictory, Victorian society in which Sir Arthur Conan Doyle lived, the logical connection is, perhaps, not so tenuous.
From April 9 through July 12, 2003, the life, work, and seeming contradictions of one of Victorian England's best-selling authors will be explored in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: Beyond Sherlock Holmes, an exhibit at the Newberry Library. The exhibit, which will feature manuscripts, magazines, first editions, pirated editions, original illustrations, handwritten correspondence, and select artifacts, demystifies the complex man behind the master detective and illuminates his extraordinary life and adventures.
It may be that Doyle's life-long quest for proof—for physical evidence—was the common thread that linked his seemingly contradictory beliefs and his disparate societal roles. 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. It is a testament to Sherlock Holmes' popularity that, when Doyle penned Holmes' demise in The Final Problem (1893), nearly 20,000 readers cancelled their subscriptions to The Strand.
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: A Study in Scarlet (1887), The Sign of Four (1890), The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1891-92), The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (1893), The Hound of the Baskervilles (1901-02), The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1903-04), The Valley of Fear (1914-15), The Last Bow (1908-17), and The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes (1921-27).
Although his popular reputation stemmed from his Sherlock Holmes stories, Doyle's preferred genre was historical fiction. From the knights of The White Company (1891) to the comic tales of Brigadier Gerard, hussar in Napoleon's army, Doyle's meticulously researched historical fiction was filled with his personal sense of adventure and melodrama.
Having written about many battles in his historical works, Doyle felt that it was his duty to try his own skills as a soldier. In 1900, Doyle volunteered to serve in the Boer War. Being somewhat overweight at the age of 40, he was declared unfit to serve. Not to be deterred, the intrepid Doyle promptly volunteered as a medical doctor and sailed to Africa.
Doyle chronicled the history of the war in Africa in his 500-page work, The Great Boer War, a highly intelligent and well-informed piece of military scholarship, and in 1902, he wrote The War in South Africa: Its Causes and Conduct. It was for this work that King Edward VII knighted Doyle for in 1902. Twelve years later, at the age of 55, Doyle tried to enlist, again unsuccessfully, for World War I.
Doyle's service to his countrymen, a prominent ideal during the Victorian period, was not limited to military action. Deeply invested in the social activism of the era, Doyle stepped forward on several occasions to defend the rights of men he felt were unjustly accused and unfairly represented. And as president of the Divorce Law Reform Union, Doyle wrote extensively advocating for women's rights.
Though he may not have been fit enough to enlist in the army, he was an accomplished sportsman who excelled in swimming, rugby, cricket, soccer, hockey, ice skating, and the relatively new sport of skiing. He was also an avid boxing fan, and in 1909, he was invited to serve as the referee for the heavyweight championship between Jack Johnson and Jim Jeffries—an opportunity that he declined. Doyle's greatest honor in the sporting world came when he was asked to be the chairman of the 1916 Olympic Games in Berlin, an event that was cancelled due to World War I.
Doyle's definitive search for proof was his crusade for spiritualism. In a society that embraced technological innovation and social change, the blind faith of institutional religion was inevitably questioned, and Doyle was among those to do so. "Never again will I accept anything which cannot be proved to me," said Doyle, upon graduation from medical school. "The evils of religion have all come from accepting things which cannot be proved." Spiritualism, with its emphasis on visible and audible signs from the spiritual world, claimed to offer the evidence that Doyle was seeking.
Though he had been interested in spiritualism since the 1880s, it was not until 1916 that Doyle publicly embraced the movement. Once he did, he spent the last 14 years of his life actively extolling its truths and defending its credibility. He gave countless lectures, attended seances, and wrote numerous pamphlets and books. During this time, Doyle became acquainted with the great magician Harry Houdini. Though friends, the two were dramatically opposed to one another in regards to spiritualism. In fact, Houdini maintained that he could produce any "psychic" phenomenon that Doyle believed to be caused by spirits and that he could duplicate and explain any of the seances Doyle described. Doyle was not deterred by his friend's disbelief, and only Houdini's death resulted in an end to the controversy.
Doyle, who remained convinced that he had received messages from the dead, including his mother, his brother, and his first son Kingsley, continued his efforts on behalf of spiritualism, even after being diagnosed with cardiac problems. In the autumn of 1929, Doyle departed on a spiritualism crusade to Holland, Denmark, Sweden and Norway, despite the fact that his condition was worsening. Upon returning to England, he was so sick that he had to be carried ashore. On July 7, 1930, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle had a heart attack and quietly passed away.
The Newberry Library is an independent library open to the public for research and reference in the humanities. The Library offers a vast array of lectures, seminars, concerts, and other public programming, in addition to exhibits related to its collections.