Arthur Conan Doyle, (1859- 1930) Though the author of more than 50 books, including historical novels, science fiction, comedy, seafaring adventure, poetry, military history and tales of horror and the supernatural, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle gained worldwide acclaim as one of the greatest writers of detective tales for his creation of the master sleuth, Sherlock Holmes.

Sherlock Holmes' first appearance was in A Study in Scarlet (Published in The Strand Magazine in 1887). Over the following 40 years he published numerous short stories and four novels featuring Holmes and his associate, Dr Watson, including:

A Scandal in Bohemia, 1891

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes 1892 and

'Adventures of Sherlock Holmes' (second series) 1893.

Despite the popularity of these stories the author deemed them at best "commercial" and there were a number of historical novels, poems and plays on which he desired to concentrate, work Conan Doyle considered to be more serious.

Consequently, Holmes's death due to the fatal struggle with Professor Moriarty was announced in The Final Problem, 1893 and as a result, twenty thousand readers cancelled their subscriptions to The Strand Magazine.

Popular demand for the narratives prompted the author to effect a “resurrection” of sorts with the publication of

The Hound of the Baskervilles in 1901 and
The Return of Sherlock Holmes, 1903.

In 1912 another famous character burst on the literary scene with the manifestation of Professor Challenger in The Lost World, a tale of a prehistoric domain thriving on a far-flung South-American plateau. Challenger returned for further adventures, including The Poison Belt, first published 1913.

The name Sherlock Holmes has become a by-word throughout the world, and these stories, of which there were a total of sixty-eight, have afforded Sir Arthur Conan Doyle a lasting name in English literature.