The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1901-03-12
A CHARACTER
WAS CREATED.
Conan Doyle Talks About ShsT-
lock Holmes Stories.
OLD PROFESSOR WAS MODEL.
Was Finally Compelled 10 Kill The Famous
Detective 10 Order TO Stop
the Stlries
OLD PROFESSOR WAS MODEL.


time, in an interview recently published
in London paper, cannot fail to be Of
general interest.
Dr. Doyle saiK Before ] tell you OF
Sherlock Holmes death and how IL came
about, IL will probably be interesting TO
recall the circumstances OF his birth. He
originally made his appearance, you win
remember. in a book which wrote
called "A Study In Scarlet.
THE idea of the detective was suggest
ed by a professor under whom had
worked in Edinburgh. and in part by Ed
gar Allen Poe's detective, which. after
all. ran on the lines OF all other detec-
tives who have appeared in literature.
I'm work which consists In the drawing
OF detectives there are only one or two
qualities which one can use, and an au-
thor is forced 10 bark back upon them
constantly. so that every detective must
really reesmble every other detective 10
a greater or less extent.s
There is no great originality required
in devising or constructing such man.
and the only possible originality which
one can get into story abou. detec-
tive Ia I'm giving him original plots and
problems 10 solve, as i'm his equipment
there must be OF necessity an alert acute
ness OF mind TO grasp facts, and the re-
latlon which each or them bears to the
other
"At the time i first thought of a detec-
tive--it was about 1851 had been read
ing some detective stories. and IL struck
me what nonsense they were, 10 put IL
mildly, because for getting the solution OF
the mystery the authors always depended
OH some coincidence
This struck me as not a fair way of
playing the game, because the detective
ought really 10 depend for his success on
something i'm his own mind. and not on
merely adventitious circumstances, which
do not. by any means, always occur In
real life.
II was seedy at the time. and. not
working much had leisure 10 read, so
read half-a-dozen or so detective stories.
both I'm French and English, and they
one and all filled me with dissatisfaction
and a sort OF feeling how much more in
teresting they might be made IL one could
show that the man deserved his victory
over .the criminal or the mystery he was
called upon TO solve.
STORY STARTED FOR FUN.
Then I began to think. suppose my
old professor at Edinburgh were in the
place of one OF these lucky detectives, he
would have worked out the process of
effect from cause just as logically as he
would have diagnosed "A disease, instead
of having something given 10 him by
mere luck which. as i said just now does
not happen I'm real life.
For fun, therefore, L started construct
ing a story and giving my detective
scientific system. so as to make him rea-
son everything out intellectually that
had been done before by Edgar Allen
Poe. with NJ Dupin, but where Holmes
differed from Dupin was that he had an
immense fund OF exact knowledge 90
draw upon in consequence Of his previous
scientific education.
II mean by this, that by looking at
mans hand ne knew what the mans
trade was. as by looking at his trousers
leg he could deduce the character of the
man. He was practical and he was sys-
tematic. and his success In the detection
OF crime WAS to be the fruit, not 'of luck,
but of his qualities.
with this idea I wrote "a small boon on
the lines | have indicated. and produced
A Study i'm Scarlet which was made
Boston's Christmas Annual i'm 1887. That
was the first appearance of Sherlock;
but he did not arrest much attention and
nobody recognized him as being anything
in particular
About three years later however. !
was asked to do a small shilling book for
Lippincotts Magazine. which publishes.
as you know. a special story in each
number. l didn't know what TO write
about and the thought occurred to me:
Why not try 20 rig up the same chap
again2' I did IL, and the result was The
Sign OF Four Although the criticisms
were favorable, ! don't think even then
Sherlock attracted much attention 10 his
individuality.
about this time began thinking about
short stories for magazines. IL occurred
TO me that a serial story in "A magazine
was a mistake, for those who had not be-
gun the story at the beginning would
naturally be debarred from buying "a pc
rlodical I'm which a large number Of pages
were, OF necessity, taken up with a story
I'm which they had no particular interest.
1T occurred TO me then that II ono
could write a serial without appearing To
do so--a serial ] mean. in which each in
stalment was capable Of being read as a
single story. white each retained con-
Meeting link with the one before and tho
one that was Ia come by means OF it's
leading charsctcrs-one. would get
cumulative interest which the serial pure
and simple could not obtain.
''In this respect ! was revolutionist.
and I think may fairly lay claim TO the
credit Of being the Inauguration Of a sys-
tenn Wnlcn mas since Deen Npfkcd ny oth-
ers with no little success.
THEY PLEASED THE EDITOR.
"It was about this time that tho Strand
Magazine was started. and ! asked my
self WHY not put my idea in execution
and write series OF stories with Sher-
lock Holiness whose mental processes
were familiar 10 me. J was then in prao-
iice I'm Wimpole street a. 4 specialist
and. while waiting for. my patients 20
come. began writing 10 hll up waiting
hours. In this wsy I wrote three stories
which were aftcrward published as part
OF Tho Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
I sent them 20 the strand Magazine. The
editor liked them. seemed keen on them
and asked for more
THE more he asked for the more |
turned oiit. until had done dozen
That dozen constituted the volume which
was aft,rvard pubhshcd - The Ad-
ventures Of Sherlock Holmes
THAT dozen stories being finished. |
determined they should be tie end Of all
Sheriocks doing I wss. p wever. ap-
preached 20 do some more. Ny instincts
were against this. as believe ~ Is AL