Théâtre en Anglais - The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

1859

Arthur Conan Doyle born in Edinburgh. His mother was Mary Doyle (her maiden name was Mary Foley) and his father was Charles Doyle, a civil servant.

1876

Enters Edinburgh University. Studies medicine.

1878

First employed as a doctor. Works with a Doctor Richardson in Sheffield for only three weeks.

1880

Joins an Arctic whaling vessel as ship’s doctor. Finds the process of hunting and killing whales exciting. Of the moment when the whale is finally harpooned and killed, he says, “Who would swap that moment for any other triumph that sport can give?”

1882

Moves to Southsea, near Portsmouth, where he practises as a doctor and writes short stories, some of which are published in magazines.

1885

Marries Louise Hawkins on August 6th at Thornton-in-Lonsdale in Yorkshire.

1887

The first Sherlock Holmes story, A Study in Scarlet, is published in Beeton’s Christmas Annual.

1889

Publishes a historical novel, Micah Clarke.
Daughter, Mary Louise, born.
An American publisher invites Doyle to write a sequel to A Study in Scarlet. He writes The Sign of Four.
Travels to Venice to study opthalmology.

1891

The first Sherlock Holmes short story, A Scandal in Bohemia, is published in The Strand magazine.
Another historical novel, The White Company.

The first dozen short Sherlock Holmes stories from The Strand are published in book form, as The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
Son, Kingsley, born.

The Final Problem published in The Strand. There is a public outcry at the fact that Doyle has chosen to kill Sherlock Holmes. Twenty thousand readers cancel their subscriptions. Doyle receives hundreds of letters from disappointed fans, asking him to bring Holmes back.
Following the death of his father, Doyle joins the British Society for Psychical Research.
Doyle travels to the US and gives talks in over 30 cities. His lectures are a huge success.
Meets and falls in love with Jean Leckie. At this point, Doyle is still married to Louisa, but she is very ill with tuberculosis.

1899

A stage version of Sherlock Holmes, written by the American actor William Gillette, opens in New York.

1900

Doyle travels to South Africa as an Army doctor during the Boer war. He defends the actions of the British army.
He also goes into politics, and contests an Edinburgh seat as a Tory Parliamentary candidate. He is unsuccessful.
A 49-second film called Sherlock Holmes Baffled is made.

1901

William Gillette opens in Sherlock Holmes at the Lyceum Theatre, London

1902

The Hound of the Baskervilles is published in instalments in The Strand magazine and is greeted with enormous public enthusiasm. Doyle had bowed to public pressure in writing about Sherlock Holmes again, but still insisted that Holmes had died at the Reichenbach falls. He set his story in the period before The Final Problem. The Hound of the Baskervilles is probably the best-known of all the Sherlock Holmes stories, and has been filmed many times.

Conan Doyle finally resurrects Holmes in the story The Empty House, in which Holmes returns and informs Watson that in fact, he escaped Moriarty and never fell down the Reichenbach Falls at all.

In July, Louisa Doyle dies in Arthur Conan Doyle’s arms. In September, Arthur Conan Doyle finally marries Jean Leckie.

A son, Denis, born to Arthur and Jean.
Arthur Conan Doyle does some real-life detective work when he gets involved with the case of Oscar Slater, who was wrongly accused of murder. He deduces that Slater is innocent, and embarks upon a long campaign to have him freed.
Publishes The Crime of the Congo.

Another son, Adrian.

1912

A daughter, Jean, born.
The Lost World, a classic work of science fiction, published by Arthur Conan Doyle. In it, Professor Challenger and his friends travel to the Amazon basin, where they encounter a world of dinosaurs and prehistoric creatures.
His Last Bow, a Sherlock Holmes story, published. Holmes and Watson are seen outwitting a German spy during the First World War.

1916

After a lifelong interest in the subject, Doyle is finally converted to spiritualism by Lily Loder-Symonds, a friend of Jean’s who communes with the spirit world by automatic writing.

1917

Another Sherlock Holmes collection published: His Last Bow: Some Reminiscences of Sherlock Holmes.

1918

Publishes The New Revelation, a book about spiritualism.

1920

Following the Wright sisters of Yorkshire’s claim that they have taken photographs of fairies in their garden, Conan Doyle is convinced the pictures are genuine.

1921

Publishes The Evidence for Fairies.

1922

The Coming of the Fairies, about the Wright girls’ fairies, published. Doyle claims that “other well-authenticated cases will come along. These little folk who appear to be our neighbours, with only some small differences of vibrations to separate us, will become familiar.
Also publishes The Case for Spirit Photography in which he insists that ghosts can be photographed.

1924

The final series of Sherlock Holmes short stories are published in The Strand.

1927

Oscar Slater released from prison pending an appeal, thanks to Conan Doyle’s intervention. Conan Doyle helps with the appeal, and when Slater is found innocent, helps him to seek compensation.

1930

Arthur Conan Doyle dies.