Blue Plaque: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Arthur Conan Doyle was a world-renowned Scottish writer and physician, best known as the creator of the iconic detective Sherlock Holmes. 

A young doctor’s Birmingham adventure
Conan Doyle studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh and during his medical training, from 1876 to 1881, he undertook several temporary medical assistantships to gain practical experience. One of these placements brought him to Aston, where he worked with Dr. Reginald Ratcliff Hoare at Clifton House, Aston Road. This period in Birmingham was a formative time for the young doctor and aspiring writer. It is said that Dr. Hoare and his family treated him like a son, and he formed a close friendship with them.

Birmingham’s literary influence
During his time working in Birmingham, Conan Doyle published his first story, ‘The Mystery of Sasassa Valley’, in Chambers’s Journal in September 1879, and his first non-fiction work, ‘Gelseminum as a Poison’, in the British Medical Journal. This period in Birmingham allowed him time to write and develop his literary skills, which would later lead to the creation of Sherlock Holmes. He even had a humorous encounter with Aston Police, receiving a caution for sending out fake invitations to a Mayor’s Ball as a practical joke. It is also believed that he found inspiration for the name “Sherlock” for his detective and the character’s love of the violin from a shop he encountered in Birmingham. Furthermore, some suggest he took inspiration for the name of the family in The Hound of the Baskervilles from the Birmingham businessman and printer John Baskerville.

Introducing Sherlock Holmes
After graduating with his medical degrees in 1881, Conan Doyle worked as a ship’s surgeon before establishing his own medical practice in Southsea, Portsmouth. While his medical practice struggled, he continued to write, publishing “A Study in Scarlet” in 1887, which introduced the world to Sherlock Holmes.  Doyle’s attitude to Sherlock Holmes was ambivalent and he considered “killing him off” to be able to concentrate on better things.  In an attempt to deflect publishers’ demands for more Holmes stories, Doyle raised his price to what he thought to be too high a price for any publisher to pay but they were willing and as a result Doyle became one of the best-paid authors of his time.

Doyle was a keen sportsman playing football for Portsmouth AFC and first class cricket for Marylebone Cricket Club; he also dabbled in rifle shooting, boxing, golf and billiards. He unsuccessfully stood for parliament twice, was a fervent advocate for justice, joined the Freemasons and practised spiritualism as well as being keen on architecture and design.