Dr. Doyle Talks (report 30 october 1894)
Dr. Doyle Talks is an article published in The Brooklyn Citizen on 30 october 1894.
Report of the lecture "Readings and Reminiscences" given by Arthur Conan Doyle on 29 october 1894 at the Academy of Music (Brooklyn, USA).
Report
DR. DOYLE TALKS
THE CREATOR OF "SHERLOCK HOLMES" AT THE ACADEMY.
He Recollects Thackeray and Tells of His Early Struggles in the World of Letters — His Historical Novels and His Last Short Story.
A large audience assembled in the Academy of Music last evening to greet Dr. A. Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes," and the author of several of the best historical novels written since the days of Scott. The author appeared under the auspices of the Long Island Historical Society. As he stepped on the platform he was warmly greeted by the audience.
Dr. Doyle is a well-built man, nearly 6 feet tall, with black hair, which is brushed back from his intellectual forehead, and a mustache several shades lighter. He seemed rather nervous at first, but that wore off as he proceeded with the lecture. The doctor began his "Reminiscences" by relating bis recollection of Thackeray.
the author of "Vanity Fair" visited Dr. Doyle's parents when the latter was but 4 years old. The doctor's first essay in literature was in 1878, when he sent a short story to a provincial periodical. He fully expected its return, he said, but felt finally committed to the profession of letters when the editor accepted his manuscript and sent him a small check. For ten years the doctor continued to write short stories, but became ambitious to do something more serious. His first venture in the domain of the historical world brought forth "Micah Clarke."
Dr. Doyle said that at she time he wrote this first book, he felt that the public was not particularly interested in the love affairs of any couple, and that the least interesting thing about "Ivanhoe" was the wooing of a noble dame by the Crusader. The speaker said that in "The Refugees" he had tried to contrast the crudities of the new western civilization of America with the refinements of the court of Louis XIV, the gayest in the world. His investigations of the character of this continent and the early history and habits of the people were to him a labor of love.
The doctor read two selections from his "Sherlock Holmes" stories, remarking that the deductive reasoning habitual to that great detective seemed very easy to everybody, after it was explained. As a matter of fact, the doctor said that many of the attempts to imitate the methods were ludicrous failures. It had seemed necessary to bring "Sherlock" to his end, but the author never realized how many friends his character had till after he was dead. He has received letters from people who wanted a lock of Sherlock's hair or his picture. Besides these, Dr. Doyle has been the recipient of hundreds of letters from people who had mysteries for him to solve.
"I did not know,"
he said, "that there were so many mysteries in the world. Perhaps it is needless for me to say that I did not undertake any of the commissions."
The doctor read a selection from the last story of his, a dramatic scene set in the midst of the Franco-Prussian war.
At the conclusion of his lecture he was heartily applauded.
The next lecture in the Long Island Historical Society course will be by William L. Keyes, on "Oliver Wendell Holmes."
