A collection of letters between Arthur Conan Doyle (author and creator of Sherlock Holmes) and his mother, covering most of his life, written between 1867 and the year of her death in 1921. Doyle was raised almost solely by his mother in Dickensian circumstances, (his father latterly suffered from dipsomania and epilepsy and so spent much of his later life in asylums). Since Sherlock Holmes's inception in 1887, he has been one of the best-known and widely read literary characters, and the subject of more radio and television shows and motion pictures than any other fictional character in history. Although Doyle and his Holmes continue to be much written about, talked about and adapted, this is the first time that this material, along with other personal papers, has ever been made available. Conan Doyle although most famously remembered for Holmes, was also a physician, sportsman, public figure, war correspondent, pioneer of science fiction, psychic investigator, and prominent spiritual missionary. These letters reveal fascinating portraits of Doyle: his trip to the Arctic aged 21 where he served as a ship's surgeon on a whaling ship; his unprofitable stint as a Harley Street doctor and his decision to abandon this in favour of writing, more money and the opportunity to help his mother to look after his many younger brothers and sisters; his friendships with J.M.Barrie (among others); his attempts to write material other than Holmes; and his involvement in the spiritualist movement a?? something that his mother, a devout Roman Catholic, was completely against.

a??Mama?? as he called her, was his most loyal confidant, and his letters functioned to a certain extent as confession and cleansing penance, until his mothera??s death in 1921. The collection is annotated by Daniel Stashower, award-winning mystery novelist and author of the recent Conan Doyle biography "Teller of Tales", and Jon Lellenberg, the U.S agent for the Conan Doyle estate. Lead title a?? a??Arthur Conan Doyle: A Life in Lettersa?? is a never before published collection of letters eagerly awaited by Conan Doyle fans. It will reveal the most personal and intimate details of his life. a?? A new Sherlock Holmes wave is currently underway. a??The New Annotated Sherlock Holmesa?? won the Mystery Writer of America Edgar Award in 2005, while a host of a??Holmesiana?? new novels are sweeping the bestseller lists, such as Mark Haddona??s a??The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Timea??, Michael Chabona??s a??The Final Solutiona?? and Mitch Cullina??s a??A Slight Trick of the Minda??. a?? The collection is annotated by Daniel Stashower, an award-winning mystery novelist and author of the recent Conan Doyle biography a??Teller of Talesa?? and Jon Lellenberg, the U.

S agent for the Conan Doyle estate. a?? Will appeal to everyone who loved a??Arthur and Georgea?? which sold over 285,000 copies in the UK alone.