Conan Doyle's life

Arthur Conan  Doyle was eldest son of 9 siblings, of whom 7 made it to adulthod. After graduating as  Bachelor of Medicine at the University of Edinburgh, he practiced as a GP until he found fame as the author of the Sherlock Holmes stories.

A keen sportsman, his other interests included the search for justice, notably in the cases of George Edalji and Oscar Slater, and Spiritualism.

Arthur Conan Doyle was born in Edinburgh on May 22nd 1859. He described his early years as ‘happy,’ spending his days acting out historical adventures and battles, or endlessly pestering his mother and father with questions about science, history, and books.

From the age of 9 Conan Doyle was educated at Stonyhurst, an austere Jesuit boarding school in the north of England, where the familiar public-school curriculum of algebra and classics was enforced through harsh discipline. Conan Doyle, it is said, was disciplined more than most because of his outspoken nature and hot temper.

• Conan Doyle and Innes

• Conan Doyle's graduation

• Sydney Cowell illustration

• Conan Doyle's marriage certificate

• Conan Doyle's writing shed

More to explore

• About Arthur Conan Doyle

• Other exhibitions using material from The Conan Doyle Collection