It is known that he felt constricted at times by the popularity of Holmes, but it is nevertheless for Sherlock Holmes and his foil, the ponderous Dr Watson that he is best remembered. His non-fiction includes military writing on the Boer War and pamphlets on spiritualism. He also wrote successfully in genres other than detective fiction. Conan Doyle also espoused spiritualism and devoted considerable time and effort to a campaign of support for this cause. This master of deduction became the model for Conan Doyle's legendary literary creation, the detective Sherlock Holmes, introduced in ‘A Study in Scarlet’ in 1887. An important influence upon his literary career was his professor, Dr Joseph Bell, who could observe the most minute detail regarding a patient's condition. Graduating in 1881, he set up practice as an occultist, but as patients proved elusive he turned to writing. Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) was born in Edinburgh and studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh's Medical School. In addition to the Sherlock Holmes stories, Conan Doyle also wrote the Professor Challenger adventures, and his classic, The Lost World, is one of the original fantasy novels. Born in Scotland, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a practising doctor when he began to write tales of mystery and adventure. Author biography: Arthur Conan Doyle The creator of Sherlock Holmes, the world's most famous literary detective.

The poison belt