Arthur and George

A joint exhibition from The Arthur Conan Doyle Collection, at Portsmouth City Council, and the ITV production which starred Martin Clunes as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle which first aired in March 2015.

The novel and series were based on an intriguing series of true events in the life of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Author of the famous Sherlock Holmes detective novels, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was an excellent detective himself. He was also a staunch supporter of justice. These threads came together in the case of George Edalji

Edalji was wrongly convicted of mutilating horses and it was thanks to Conan Doyle's tireless investigations that the conviction was overturned.

The Arthur Conan Doyle archive holds copies of the letters Conan Doyle wrote to the newspapers about the Edalji case. Volunteers at the Collection chose a selection of these to display in the case at Southsea Library. They showed Sir Arthur acting as a real-life detective. Find out more about the George Edalji case

The exhibition was part of the Heritage Lottery Funded project which allowed community groups and schools to produce exhibitions across the city celebrating Arthur Conan Doyle's connection with Portsmouth.

As well as material from the archive there was also a display of original costumes from the ITV drama. Click on each image to see a larger version (opems in a new window).

George Edalji's suit Costume as worn by Ali Arsher as George Edalji 

The suit worn by Martin Clunes as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Jean Leckie's costume as worn by Hattie Morahon 

Alfred 'Woodie' Woods suit

To see more images and find out more about the collection, email: sherlock.holmes@portsmouthcc.gov.uk