Sir+Arthur+Conan+Doyle

CP Brit Home
=Sir Arthur Conan Doyle=



1 Biography

 * Born May 22nd, 1859 in Edinburgh Scotland
 * Died July 7th, 1930 of pneumonia.
 * He was a Scottish Physician and a writer, most famous for his character Sherlock Holmes
 * Genres: Detective fiction, science fiction, historical novels, non-fiction
 * Notable work(s): Stories of Sherlock Holmes
 * // The Lost World //
 * Other works include science fiction stories, plays, romances, poetry, non-fiction, historical novels and humours ('Exploits of Brigadier E.Gerard')
 * Knighted in 1902 (possibly because of pamphlet written after Boer War)

Excerpt From Chapter 1 of //__The Hound of the Baskervills__//
media type="file" key="Brit lit Sherlock.wav" width="300" height="50" Mr. Sherlock Holmes, who was usually very late in the mornings, save upon those not infrequent occasions when he was up all night, was seated at the breakfast table. I stood upon the hearth-rug and picked up the stick which our visitor had left behind him the night before. It was a fine, thick piece of wood, bulbous-headed, of the sort which is known as a "Penang lawyer." Just under the head was a broad silver band nearly an inch across. "To James Mortimer, M.R.C.S., from his friends of the C.C.H.," was engraved upon it, with the date "1884." It was just such a stick as the old-fashioned family practitioner used to carry -- dignified, solid, and reassuring.

"Well, Watson, what do you make of it?" Holmes was sitting with his back to me, and I had given him no sign of my occupation.

"How did you know what I was doing? I believe you have eyes in the back of your head."

"I have, at least, a well-polished, silver-plated coffee-pot in front of me," said he. "But, tell me, Watson, what do you make of our visitor's stick? Since we have been so unfortunate as to miss him and have no notion of his errand, this accidental souvenir becomes of importance. Let me hear you reconstruct the man by an examination of it."

"I think," said I, following as far as I could the methods of my companion, "that Dr. Mortimer is a successful, elderly medical man, well-esteemed since those who know him give him this mark of their appreciation."

"Good!" said Holmes. "Excellent!"

Discussion Questions:

1: What qualities does Sherlock Holmes show in this scene? 2: What personality quirks does Sherlock Holmes show in this scene? 3: How does Watson prove to be a foil for Holmes?