Biography
• Arthur Conan Doyle was born May 22, 1859 in Edinburgh, Scotland to Charles Altamont Doyle and Mary Foley
• Because his father was an alcoholic, the family was separated for a significant portion of Doyle’s early life.
• Doyle was baptized as “Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle” at “St. Mary’s Cathedral” in his birth town
• Thanks to wealthy uncles, Doyle studied medicine in the “University of Edinburgh”
• He served aboard two ships on naval voyages to the Arctic Ocean and to the West African Coast (he did not enjoy his visit to Africa)
• When he got his full license for “practicing ophthalmology”, he did not achieve success, and in the meantime, he wrote a great number of stories
• His literary portfolio includes medical articles, short …show more content…
This was one of his greatest feats as a writer: the brevity of the short story.
• He used strong imagery deftly in order to paint a new picture for his readers every time he introduced a new scene or aspect to the plot.
• One flaw, possibly the only serious one, with Doyle’s writings of Sherlock Holmes, is the nature of the language Doyle uses to describe the tale he is telling. The heavy prose makes it easy for a reader to get lost if they are not diligent readers.
• One of Doyle’s greatest accomplishments in the stories is the manner by which he reveals the secret to the mystery. In order to keep readers interested, he doesn’t reveal the secret to the murder halfway through the story when it might be possible to understand, but at the end, when Holmes explains his deduction to the invariably waiting Watson and company. Doyle subtly attributes this to one of Holmes’ character traits for flair and drama in wanting to wait to explain himself to the end, but in reality is maintaining interest in his …show more content…
Such concealment is essential to the dramatic power of the stories; it creates suspense and an eagerness to continue reading, and it allows the story to build toward the moment of surprising revelation of the criminal or the crime.” (Magill 532)
• His talents are numerous, as cataloged by Watson in “A Study in Scarlet”, and include martial arts, chemistry, and formal literature.
• One key point to his personality is his view on relevant information and knowledge. In one story, when Watson is shocked to realize the Holmes isn’t aware that “the Sun is at the center of the universe”, Holmes explains that he only concerns himself with facts relevant to his work as a detective.
• Staying true to his “bohemian lifestyle and disposition”, Holmes feels no obligation to entertain others with “daily banter” and small talk. He doesn’t think twice about interrupting others or cutting them off if he feels the conversation is totally meaningless, making him appear as a cold
• Arthur Conan Doyle was born May 22, 1859 in Edinburgh, Scotland to Charles Altamont Doyle and Mary Foley
• Because his father was an alcoholic, the family was separated for a significant portion of Doyle’s early life.
• Doyle was baptized as “Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle” at “St. Mary’s Cathedral” in his birth town
• Thanks to wealthy uncles, Doyle studied medicine in the “University of Edinburgh”
• He served aboard two ships on naval voyages to the Arctic Ocean and to the West African Coast (he did not enjoy his visit to Africa)
• When he got his full license for “practicing ophthalmology”, he did not achieve success, and in the meantime, he wrote a great number of stories
• His literary portfolio includes medical articles, short …show more content…
This was one of his greatest feats as a writer: the brevity of the short story.
• He used strong imagery deftly in order to paint a new picture for his readers every time he introduced a new scene or aspect to the plot.
• One flaw, possibly the only serious one, with Doyle’s writings of Sherlock Holmes, is the nature of the language Doyle uses to describe the tale he is telling. The heavy prose makes it easy for a reader to get lost if they are not diligent readers.
• One of Doyle’s greatest accomplishments in the stories is the manner by which he reveals the secret to the mystery. In order to keep readers interested, he doesn’t reveal the secret to the murder halfway through the story when it might be possible to understand, but at the end, when Holmes explains his deduction to the invariably waiting Watson and company. Doyle subtly attributes this to one of Holmes’ character traits for flair and drama in wanting to wait to explain himself to the end, but in reality is maintaining interest in his …show more content…
Such concealment is essential to the dramatic power of the stories; it creates suspense and an eagerness to continue reading, and it allows the story to build toward the moment of surprising revelation of the criminal or the crime.” (Magill 532)
• His talents are numerous, as cataloged by Watson in “A Study in Scarlet”, and include martial arts, chemistry, and formal literature.
• One key point to his personality is his view on relevant information and knowledge. In one story, when Watson is shocked to realize the Holmes isn’t aware that “the Sun is at the center of the universe”, Holmes explains that he only concerns himself with facts relevant to his work as a detective.
• Staying true to his “bohemian lifestyle and disposition”, Holmes feels no obligation to entertain others with “daily banter” and small talk. He doesn’t think twice about interrupting others or cutting them off if he feels the conversation is totally meaningless, making him appear as a cold