Description
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was an English novelist who is widely known as the creator of the detective Sherlock Holmes. Doyle was also a medical doctor. His first story featuring Holmes, A Study in Scarlet, appeared in Beeton's Christmas Annual in 1887. After 1890 he pursued writing full time, completing such further Holmes adventures as The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (1894), the popular The Hound of the Baskervilles (1902), and his last book featuring the detective, The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes (1927). Doyle wrote 4 novels and 56 stories involving Holmes. Blessed with an acute sense of deductive reasoning, Holmes, with his genial but less quick-witted companion, Dr. Watson, devises ingenious solutions to complex cases, some involving his archenemy Professor Moriarty. When Doyle tired of the detective in 1893 and attempted to kill him off, public outcry necessitated The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1904). Ironically, Doyle did not want to be remembered for his detective stories but for what he viewed as his more notable work, the historical novels Sir Nigel (1906), Micah Clarke (1889), and The White Company (1890); yet these works are less known today. Doyle also wrote other tales of mystery and adventure, including the science-fiction novels featuring Professor Challenger: The Lost World (1911; films, 1925, 1960, 1993, 1998) and The Poison Belt (1912). Knighted in 1902, Doyle wrote two pamphlets condoning England's role in the Boer War. After his son died in World War I, Doyle found comfort in the study of spiritualism and later published History of Spiritualism (2 vols., 1926-27). In 1924 his autobiographical Memories and Adventures appeared. This biography was written by D. Martin Dakin for Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia . For more information on this resource, visit Grolier Online . Eoin Colfer used to spend his days teaching elementary school and his nights writing stories. Now he's writing stories full time! If he was not writing, he would still be teaching-or doing his dream job, which is drawing comic books.Colfer published several award-winning bestsellers, including The Wish List and Benny and Omar, before he started the Artemis Fowl books-all three of which have been bestsellers. He says there will be at least one more book about everyone's favorite criminal genius. "Once Artemis becomes the model citizen, I will have nothing more to say about him. But I think he has a few lessons to learn yet."When he's not on a book tour meeting his fans all over the world, Colfer lives with his wife and two sons in Ireland. He thinks the best thing about having Artemis Fowl made into a movie is the idea of bringing his kids to see it. "Dads aren't very often cool people, but I think I might be cool for a couple of days if Artemis makes it onto the big screen."
Features & Highlights
- Crimes. Clues. Adventures. The most famous sleuth of all time is back...now with an introduction by Eoin ColferA colonel receives five seeds in the mail--and dies within weeks. A young bride disappears immediately after her wedding. An old hat and a Christmas goose are the only clues to a stolen jewel. A son is accused of his father's murder. These mysteries--and many more--are brought to the house on Baker Street where detective Sherlock Holmes resides. No case is too tricky for the world's most famous sleuth and his incredible powers of deduction.
