Adrian conan doyle biography template

1. Early Life and Family
2. Personality and Hobbies
3. Literary Executor and Holmes Discovery
4. Whitaker's Claim
5. Sherlock Holmes Sequels

Early Life and Family

Adrian Conan Doyle was born from the second marriage of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to Jean Elizabeth Leckie. His older brother was Denis Percy Stewart (1909-1955), and his younger sister was Jean Lena Annette (1912-1997).

Personality and Hobbies

Biographer Andrew Lycett described Adrian as a spendthrift and playboy who, along with his brother Denis, "milked the Conan Doyle estate." He was known for his interest in fast cars and big game hunting.

Literary Executor and Holmes Discovery

After his mother's death in 1940, Adrian became his father's literary executor. In September 1942, he announced the discovery of unpublished Sherlock Holmes stories in a trunk of family papers. The discovery was met with skepticism from some experts, and Sir Arthur's daughter Jean denied its authenticity. Adrian subsequently withdrew the manuscript from publication.

Whitaker's Claim

In 1945, biographer Hesketh Pearson received a letter from an architect named Arthur Whitaker claiming authorship of the story in question. Whitaker had sent the story to Arthur Conan Doyle in 1911 for possible co-authorship. Doyle declined but sent Whitaker a check for ten guineas as a payment, which Whitaker still possessed. After requesting proof and threatening legal action, the Conan Doyle family eventually acknowledged Whitaker's authorship. The story was published in "Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" (1929).

Sherlock Holmes Sequels

With John Carr as a co-writer, and independently, Adrian Conan Doyle penned a series of sequel stories featuring Sherlock Holmes. These stories were based on references to Holmes' cases mentioned in his father's works but not described in detail. Published in 1954 as "The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes," Adrian also wrote a biography of his father, "The True Conan Doyle" (1945).