Author: Arthur Conan Doyle
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, 1859-1930, Novelist. Born in Edinburgh, son of an unsuccessful architect, he attended the Jesuit Stonyhurst College and studied medicine at Edinburgh University. He practiced briefly in Plymouth and then at Southsea (1882-1890), where a lack of patients gave him the time to write. Doyle's resentment at being identified solely as the creator of Sherlock Holmes was excessive but understandable. Just as his life reflected the many interests of the Edwardian gentleman - particularly sports and military affairs - so his career established him as a versatile and hardworking writer. He also turned his hand to science fiction in The Lost World (1912), The Poison Belt (1913), The Land of Mist(1926). The last of these reflects the belief in supernaturalism which preoccupied much of his later life.
