The Man Of Spiritualism In Sherlock Holmes And Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a man of genius intellect with impeccable writing abilities. He was an absolutely mundane medical doctor until a passion for writing and adventure overtook him. Doyle is most noted for being the author of the four novels and fifty-six short stories of Sherlock Holmes (Geherin 295). He despised writing these detective stories, but wrote them anyway to earn his income and appease his fans. Doyle made writing these stories bearable by making a relatable narrator for the character that he based off his old medical school teacher and using his writing to persuade British citizens that their sense of imperialism was foolish and was tainting their country. Writing about his adventures in war and his indulgence into Spiritualism allowed Doyle to break away slightly from his Sherlock Holmes novels and branch out into the works he truly wanted to write. Even though Doyle may not have liked everything that he had written, he tried to convey his experiences and viewpoints of religion, imperialism, and war into the stories that are still avidly read today.

Doyle’s detective stories were written to be told by a character to which he could relate. He trained to become a doctor and used this training to influence the profession of the narrator of his Sherlock Holmes stories, Dr. John Watson. It is through the eyes of Dr. Watson that we first see our main character, Sherlock Holmes (Geherin 295). Watson was not the only character inspired by a real-life figure, however. Doyle based the character of Holmes off of his instructor, Dr. Joseph Bell.

I thought of my old teacher Joe Bell, of his eagle face, of his curious ways, of his eerie trick of spotting details. If he were a detective he would surely r...

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...r Conan Doyle loathed writing Sherlock Holmes. He would write the wrong name for major reoccurring characters and not care if the reasoning in his stories was completely illogical, yet he ironically created his own genre of mystery novels that are recognized even to those who have never read them. Doyle unwillingly created the most insane fanbase that is still alive and thriving today. Doyle’s stories are still popular even eighty-four years after his death because they keep readers enthralled with the story. He wrote war stories based on his own exciting experiences, stories that he believed brought him to the height of his writing capabilities, and stories that sent him crashing back down when a frenzy into Spiritualism crumbled his prestige as a writer. His stories manage to capture the reader’s attention, making them timeless classics in the world of literature.