Engle Tells Life Of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Returning for the 14th year, Dr. Elliott Engel entertained and enlightened those attending the annual Kosciusko Literacy Services Author Dinner in Warsaw Thursday evening.
This year Engel presented “Detecting Sir Arthur Conan Doyle,” the creator of Sherlock Holmes. His presentation focused on the life and writing career of Doyle, from birth to death. Doyle’s writings resulted in icons and achieved milestones in the crime fiction genre.
Engel noted Doyle ended up despising Sherlock Holmes and had made the statement: “If all I’m remembered for in 100 years is Sherlock Holmes, my life will be an absolute failure.” Engel said, “He invented one of the most famous fictional characters of all times. It strikes me as so wrong headed for him to think that we should know him for more than that. Most of us would be thrilled a 100 years after our death to be known for someone as famous throughout the world as Sherlock Holmes …”
Starting with his birth in 1859, Engel told his audience that Doyle was a Scot and grew up in Edinburgh. “His family is one you wouldn’t want to be a part of,” stated Engel. While Doyle’s paternal side of the family were accomplished illustrators, his father lacked the artistic ability, ending up in an insane asylum. His mother claimed to have traced her family back to the royalty of King Arthur.
His mother read to her son constantly about the King Arthur era. Because of his family, Doyle lost himself in books. One of his favorite authors was Charles Dickens. He left Scotland to attend medical school. He was a ship’s surgeon before setting up practice in the city of Portsmouth, England, where Dickens had been born. He later would become an ophthalmologist.
Horror stories was his first attempt. But he later decides to write a detective fiction. He created Dr. John Watson to utilize his medical knowledge and the Baker Street Irregulars were fashioned after the children on the street where he lived. The attire chosen for Sherlock Holmes was what Doyle wore when writing.
It was during March 1886 that he wrote his first novel: “A Study In Scarlet.” Numerous attempts were made to have it published. But the novel was always returned, unread. In 1887, the novel made it into a Christmas annual and a Philadelphia publisher signed him on.
The stories were printed in The Strand Magazine coinciding with the appearance of Jack The Ripper. He obsessed in his writing, overlooking the fact his wife had developed tuberculosis. Devastated, he decided to kill off Holmes. Pleas were made not to end the detective, including one from Prince Edward.
He eventually was approached to write a stage production focusing on the adventures of Sherlock Holmes, including the famous “The Hound of The Baskervilles.” He was devastated at the lost of his wife, a son and a brother in World War I and became a leader of Spiritualism until his death.
“It was a sad ending for a man who was made famous … He didn’t invent the detective story, he changed the views in adventure stories forever … he never uses physical strength … he was the first computer using all the information to be shifted through in a short time,” said Engle.
Engle has given over 58 talks, his most popular is Winston Churchill. He now has 100 different talks on CD and available at AuthorsInk.com.