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Many artists have illustrated the Sherlock Holmes stories over the years. The first was D.H. Friston, who illustrated A Study In Scarlet in 1887. Others have included George Hutchinson, Frederic Dorr Steele, and Leo O’Mealia. But Sidney Paget remains the most famous of them all. His superb drawings have become the template for our popular image of Sherlock Holmes.

Our seas and oceans have thrown up many strange stories over the years. But few have been as baffling as the case of the Mary Celeste. Quite why and how ten people vanished from that ship remains a mystery to this day. 

This year marks the centenary of the first film adaptation of The Lost World.

It was one of the first stories by Arthur Conan Doyle that I read. That was nearly 50 years ago. Yet I still remember how it impressed me. The vivid imagery conjured up in the Horror of the Heights has all the elements of a nightmare.

All successful authors are unsuccessful at first. They have to learn their trade. To serve their apprenticeship. Arthur Conan Doyle was no exception to this rule.

There are a number of elements that combine to make a successful Sherlock Holmes story. These include a good plot, the right atmosphere, and the deductive powers of Holmes himself. But underpinning these is the lasting friendship between Sherlock Holmes and Doctor John H. Watson. This is the ‘glue‘ that holds the Sherlock Holmes stories together. 

The case unfolded at Mark Cross Police Court at Tunbridge Wells in April, 1913. The defendant was a collie dog named Roy. Roy stood accused of killing a sheep belonging to a farmer named Arthur Hale. Roy’s defence was conducted by his owner - none other than the world famous author, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

“It was nine o’clock at night upon the second of August - the most terrible August in the history of the world.“ 

The Victorian and Edwardian eras were a golden age for the traditional English ghost story. Here is one such story by Arthur Conan Doyle!

Limited edition postcards have now gone on sale, detailing the only photograph Sir Arthur Conan Doyle has labelled: "Sherlock Holmes".