Entirely New Country

Alistair Duncan

Description

The late 1890s saw Arthur Conan Doyle return to England after several years abroad. His new house, named Undershaw, represented a fresh start but it was also the beginning of a dramatic decade that saw him fall in love, stand for parliament, fight injustice and be awarded a knighthood. However, for his many admirers, the most important event of that decade was the resurrection of Sherlock Holmes - the character that he felt had cast a shadow over his life.

Informations

• Publié par: Andrews UK
• Date de parution: 15 décembre 2016
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781908218209
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

Title Page

AN ENTIRELY NEW COUNTRY

Arthur Conan Doyle, Undershaw and the Resurrection of Sherlock Holmes
(1897 - 1907)


by
Alistair Duncan


With a foreword by
Mark Gatiss



Publisher Information

First edition published in 2011 by
MX Publishing
335 Princess Park Manor, Royal Drive, London, N11 3GX

Digital edition converted and distributed in 2011 by
Andrews UK Limited
www.andrewsuk.com

© Copyright 2011 Alistair Duncan
Foreword © Copyright 2011 Mark Gatiss
Hound cover image © Copyright 2011 Phil Cornell

The right of Alistair Duncan to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1998.

All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without express prior written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted except with express prior written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1956 (as amended). Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damage.

Although every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this book, as of the date of publication, nothing herein should be construed as giving advice. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and not of MX Publishing.



Dedication














This book is dedicated to my mother-in-law Isobel whose choice of gift one day made a good deal of this possible.



Praise for ‘An Entirely New Country’

‘It was evident from his first book Eliminate the Impossible that Alistair Duncan writes well, that he writes with knowledge and enthusiasm, and that he thinks about what he writes. His subsequent books, Close to Holmes and The Norwood Author , did more than just confirm that impression: they established him as an important commentator on Arthur Conan Doyle and his famous creation. After exploring the years when Conan Doyle lived in Norwood - surprisingly neglected by previous biographers, even though it was then that he became truly famous - Mr Duncan has turned his attention to the author’s next decade, perhaps the most turbulent of his life. Undershaw, the house that Conan Doyle had built at Hindhead , was his home from 1897 to 1907. He wrote The Hound of the Baskervilles , Sir Nigel , The Return of Sherlock Holmes and much else at Undershaw. The house saw the end of his first marriage and the beginning of his second. He was resident here when he became Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Yet, despite its cultural and architectural importance, Undershaw currently stands empty, vandalised and neglected. Read An Entirely New Country and you’ll understand just why the Undershaw years were so important.’

Roger Johnson
Editor: The Sherlock Holmes Journal


‘Alistair Duncan knows his Arthur Conan Doyle stuff. This excellent observation of the “Undershaw” period of Conan Doyle’s life follows his previous fine appraisal of the “Norwood” period. Duncan covers the gamut of Conan Doyle’s public and private life and comments fairly on what he sees as the noble and flawed aspects of his character.’

Bill Barnes
Captain (President) of The Sydney Passengers


‘I have finished reading your book and have much enjoyed doing so. There is much that is new and interesting in it.’

Georgina Doyle
Author: Out of the Shadows - The Untold Story of Arthur Conan Doyle’s First Family



Acknowledgements

Special mention is due to Mrs Georgina Doyle who was very generous with her time and permitted me to reproduce images from her collection of family photographs and extracts from the diaries of Innes Doyle .

Excerpts of A. Conan Doyle’s correspondence from Arthur Conan Doyle: A Life in Letters co-edited by Jon Lellenberg, Daniel Stashower and Charles Foley (London: Harper Press, 2007) are used by permission from the volume’s editors and the Conan Doyle Estate.

Others meriting thanks include: Bill Barnes, President of The Sydney Passengers; Lynn Beaugie; Patrick Casey; Carrie Chandler; Catherine Cooke; Phil Cornell; The Museum of Farnham; Rachel Foss, The British Library; The Francis Frith Collection; Lynn Gale, The Undershaw Preservation Trust; Mark Gatiss, Patron of The Undershaw Preservation Trust; Roger Johnson; Serena Jones; Michael Kilgarriff, The Irving Society; Jon Lellenberg; Brian Pugh; The Sherlock Holmes Society of London; Paul Spiring; Dr. Richard Sveum; Henry Zecher.

The photographs and other images used within this book have come from many collections including that of the author. None are to be used without the permission of the owner of the relevant collection.



About the author

Alistair Duncan has been a Sherlock Holmes enthusiast since 1982 and has spoken on radio, television and at live events about both Sherlock Holmes and his creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
He is a member of The Sherlock Holmes Society of London, The Arthur Conan Doyle (Crowborough ) Establishment and The Sydney Passengers.
He lives with his wife in South London.



Quote










‘We accomplished our change very nicely, though Touie has had to acclimatize a little. The difference of 800 feet makes I am sure more change of climate in England than 4000 would do in Central Europe. You are living in an entirely new country to all intents.’ 1


1 Excerpt from a letter written by Arthur Conan Doyle to his mother in October . Arthur Conan Doyle: A Life in Letters edited by Jon Lellenberg et al.




Foreword

A snapshot is a very revealing thing. Arthur Conan Doyle spent only a few short years at Undershaw, yet, in Alistair Duncan’s fascinating and hugely readable book, much of his complex, sometimes contradictory, personality is illuminated. Here we see the homebody who was an active member of the local golf club, but also the patriot bravely volunteering for service in the Boer War. Here we see him as the dutiful husband, building a house especially to benefit his ailing wife, whilst simultaneously conducting a semi-scandalous relationship with a younger woman right under his wife’s nose. And, of course, most excitingly we see the genius writer casually resurrecting Sherlock Holmes (for the money) and producing some of the very best stories in the canon.
Although the details of Doyle’s diary have long been available, it’s fascinating to see events set into the context of life at Undershaw. From the account of how ‘The Dancing Men’ may well have emerged from the editor’s plea for a story with a juicy murder, to the memorable day that Doyle bowled out W.G. Grace, Duncan carefully and unsensationally documents a neglected period of the great man’s life. It’s an approach of which Holmes himself would have approved. For in the day-to-day, in the minutiae, much is revealed: the domestic arrangements of Doyle’s butler which may have influenced the creation of the Barrymores from ‘Hound of the Baskervilles’; the bizarre Sculptograph machine (and its unhappy sequel) invented by a man named Bontempi and from which ‘The Six Napoleons’ may have sprung; and the evidently friendly relations between Doyle and Bertram Fletcher-Robinson which should finally put to bed any conspiracy theories about authorship. I also loved the accounts of the reception given to the William Gillette play: “I…urge actors and actresses to make their voices heard distinctly. This duty, often neglected by stars to whom the public has been too indulgent, ought surely to be paramount with the acting profession”. Plus ca change, plus ca la meme chose , as Gustav Flaubert didn’t write to George Sand.
Many of the extraordinary talents and personalities of the time wander not only through these pages, but through Undershaw itself. This charming book stands not only as a testament to a crucial and hugely productive period in the life of one of our greatest storytellers but as a proud call to arms for his house’s preservation. After all, if Sherlock Holmes could so happily return from the dead, surely Undershaw can too?

Mark Gatiss, London, September 2011.



Introduction

When my last book, The Norwood Author , was published I thought I would finally, after three solid years of research and writing, take a rest from my Sherlockian / Doylean efforts. I even went so far as to say, in an interview, that I would confine any further such efforts to short articles for society journals.
As I have got older I have come to believe more and more in fate and, once again, that lady took matters out of my hands. The Norwood Author started to receive good reviews almost immediately from Sherlockians and non-Sherlockians alike and, perhaps inevitably, I started to get asked what I would be tackling next.
In reality I was giving some thought to writing fiction but did not wish to say so and thus create expectations. So instead I said that I had nothing planned at all.
This was not good enough for some of what I might tentatively term my admirers. Many of them took it upon themselves to find my idle hands something to do.
At the time the campaign to save Conan Doyle’s former home in Surrey was making headlines and I had had some peripheral involvement with it. One of its principal organisers, Lynn Gale, was amongst those who dropped decidedly unsubtle (yet charming) hints