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These remarkably candid and previously unpublished letters between Arthur Conan Doyle and his mother, dating from 1867 until her death in 1921, paint a fascinating portrait of one of Britain's most beloved authors and a complex man who both embodied and defied the conventions of his time. More than seventy-five-years after his death, Arthur Conan Doyle remains one of Britain's best-loved authors. Famed as the creator of Sherlock Holmes, Conan Doyle was a fascinating man in his own right -- physician, sportsman, crusader for social justice, war correspondent and military historian. From his early whale-hunting days to his later celebrity, Conan Doyle's life was as gripping as any of his own adventure tales. Throughout, his mother Mary Foley was Conan Doyle's principal confidante, the recipient of a stream of startlingly frank letters from her devoted son. Over a thousand letters between them survive from the time Arthur was sent away to boarding school in 1867, aged eight, until her death in 1920.
They reveal a man whose early career was marked by a distinct lack of success as Conan Doyle struggled to establish a medical practice of his own, filling long, patient-less days by scribbling short stories that would result in the creation of Holmes. To Conan Doyle's chagrin, the detective would remain his most famous creation, vastly overshadowing the historical novels, plays and other writings on which he pinned his literary aspirations. In later years, Conan Doyle evolved into an impassioned public figure and highly opinionated commentator on the important issues of the day. A deeply moral man of uncompromising political convictions, he nevertheless spent much of his married life passionately in love with another woman. His Catholic mother, with whom he discussed the affair, approved and encouraged the relationship. And yet despite their close bond neither she nor public ridicule could convince him to abandon the eccentric spiritualist beliefs he embraced in later life. This stunningly candid volume of never-before-published letters sheds fascinating light on a man who has remained largely hidden behind his most famous character.
Gracefully written and consistently revealing, these letters illuminate his life, character and career as never before.
These remarkably candid and previously unpublished letters between Arthur Conan Doyle and his mother, dating from 1867 until her death in 1921, paint a fascinating portrait of one of Britain's most beloved authors and a complex man who both embodied and defied the conventions of his time. More than seventy-five-years after his death, Arthur Conan Doyle remains one of Britain's best-loved authors. Famed as the creator of Sherlock Holmes, Conan Doyle was a fascinating man in his own right -- physician, sportsman, crusader for social justice, war correspondent and military historian. From his early whale-hunting days to his later celebrity, Conan Doyle's life was as gripping as any of his own adventure tales. Throughout, his mother Mary Foley was Conan Doyle's principal confidante, the recipient of a stream of startlingly frank letters from her devoted son. Over a thousand letters between them survive from the time Arthur was sent away to boarding school in 1867, aged eight, until her death in 1920.
They reveal a man whose early career was marked by a distinct lack of success as Conan Doyle struggled to establish a medical practice of his own, filling long, patient-less days by scribbling short stories that would result in the creation of Holmes. To Conan Doyle's chagrin, the detective would remain his most famous creation, vastly overshadowing the historical novels, plays and other writings on which he pinned his literary aspirations. In later years, Conan Doyle evolved into an impassioned public figure and highly opinionated commentator on the important issues of the day. A deeply moral man of uncompromising political convictions, he nevertheless spent much of his married life passionately in love with another woman. His Catholic mother, with whom he discussed the affair, approved and encouraged the relationship. And yet despite their close bond neither she nor public ridicule could convince him to abandon the eccentric spiritualist beliefs he embraced in later life. This stunningly candid volume of never-before-published letters sheds fascinating light on a man who has remained largely hidden behind his most famous character.
Gracefully written and consistently revealing, these letters illuminate his life, character and career as never before.
/ Key title These remarkably candid and previously unpublished letters between Arthur Conan Doyle and his mother, dating from 1867 until her death in 1921, paint a fascinating portrait of one of Britain's most beloved authors and a complex man who both embodied and defied the conventions of his time. / 'Arthur Conan Doyle: A Life in Letters' is a never before published collection of letters eagerly awaited by Conan Doyle fans. It will reveal the most personal and intimate details of his life. / The Sherlock Holmes stories have sold more than J. R. R. Tolkien and J. K. Rowling combined. / A new Sherlock Holmes wave is currently underway. 'The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes' won the Mystery Writer of America Edgar Award in 2005, while a host of 'Holmesian' new novels are sweeping the bestseller lists, such as Mark Haddon's 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time', Michael Chabon's 'The Final Solution' and Mitch Cullin's 'A Slight Trick of the Mind'. / The collection is annotated by Daniel Stashower, an award-winning mystery novelist and author of the recent Conan Doyle biography 'Teller of Tales', and Jon Lellenberg, the U.S agent for the Conan Doyle estate.
By Jon Lellenberg, Daniel Stashower and Charles Foley
'This fascinating collection of previously unpublished letters from the creator of Sherlock Holmes offers a revealing glimpse of a Renaissance man fated to be overshadowed by his most famous character!essential reading for all fans of Conan Doyle and his sleuth.' Publishers Weekly Review for 'Teller of Tales' by Daniel Stashower: 'The most readable biography of him since John Dickson Carr's, and of course it pays proper attention to his literary career, neither downplaying nor over-emphasising his major achievement, Sherlock Holmes.' Roger Johnson, District Messenger
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