1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:08,000 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is production of I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:10,640 --> 00:00:14,680 Speaker 1: Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class, a 3 00:00:14,800 --> 00:00:17,880 Speaker 1: show that flips through the pages of history to deliver 4 00:00:18,000 --> 00:00:22,040 Speaker 1: old news in a new way. I'm Gabe Louzier, and 5 00:00:22,239 --> 00:00:25,040 Speaker 1: in this episode, we're taking a closer look at the 6 00:00:25,120 --> 00:00:29,800 Speaker 1: unparalleled popularity of Sherlock Holmes, one of the most adaptable 7 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:34,640 Speaker 1: and some would say insufferable characters in all of British literature. 8 00:00:42,720 --> 00:00:48,480 Speaker 1: The day was October eighteen nine two. British author Arthur 9 00:00:48,560 --> 00:00:53,000 Speaker 1: Conan Doyle published The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, a collection 10 00:00:53,120 --> 00:00:56,440 Speaker 1: of the first twelve stories to feature the famous detective. 11 00:00:57,160 --> 00:01:00,280 Speaker 1: All of the stories included had already been pull wish 12 00:01:00,360 --> 00:01:03,920 Speaker 1: before in magazines, beginning with a study in Scarlet in 13 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:08,040 Speaker 1: eighteen eighty seven. Most of the stories were initially published 14 00:01:08,040 --> 00:01:11,920 Speaker 1: in serialized form, meaning they were made available one chapter 15 00:01:12,200 --> 00:01:15,720 Speaker 1: or section at a time. This drip feed approach to 16 00:01:15,800 --> 00:01:19,319 Speaker 1: storytelling kept readers coming back for each new issue, but 17 00:01:19,440 --> 00:01:22,679 Speaker 1: it wasn't very accessible for latecomers, who would have to 18 00:01:22,720 --> 00:01:25,120 Speaker 1: track down back issues if they wanted to read the 19 00:01:25,160 --> 00:01:29,560 Speaker 1: full story. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes solved that problem 20 00:01:29,560 --> 00:01:32,959 Speaker 1: by collecting the initial batch of stories into one convenient 21 00:01:33,120 --> 00:01:36,880 Speaker 1: hard back volume. When it hit bookstore shelves in eighteen 22 00:01:36,959 --> 00:01:40,280 Speaker 1: nine two, a whole new crop of readers was introduced 23 00:01:40,319 --> 00:01:43,880 Speaker 1: to Conan Doyle's shrewd detective, and the public's appetite for 24 00:01:43,920 --> 00:01:48,600 Speaker 1: the character only grew from there. Conan Doyle himself lost 25 00:01:48,640 --> 00:01:52,160 Speaker 1: interest in the character far more quickly, but he ultimately 26 00:01:52,200 --> 00:01:55,120 Speaker 1: bowed to public pressure and went on to write sixty 27 00:01:55,160 --> 00:01:59,480 Speaker 1: original Sherlock Holmes stories in his lifetime, four novels and 28 00:01:59,560 --> 00:02:03,840 Speaker 1: fifty six shorts. Taken together, they form a body of 29 00:02:03,840 --> 00:02:07,920 Speaker 1: work which the Sherlockean fan base lovingly refers to as 30 00:02:08,280 --> 00:02:13,720 Speaker 1: the Cannon. Arthur Conan Doyle was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, 31 00:02:13,960 --> 00:02:18,320 Speaker 1: on May twenty, eighteen fifty nine. He was the second 32 00:02:18,400 --> 00:02:22,680 Speaker 1: of seven surviving children born to Charles and Mary Foley Doyle. 33 00:02:23,360 --> 00:02:26,960 Speaker 1: His childhood was fraught with money troubles and domestic strife, 34 00:02:27,160 --> 00:02:29,960 Speaker 1: in large part due to his father's ongoing struggle with 35 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:35,080 Speaker 1: alcoholism and mental illness. Conan Doyle's mother, however, provided a 36 00:02:35,120 --> 00:02:38,880 Speaker 1: steady sense of security and often told her son imaginative 37 00:02:38,960 --> 00:02:42,480 Speaker 1: stories to help them forget their troubles. The author later 38 00:02:42,600 --> 00:02:46,800 Speaker 1: credited her with sparking his interest in storytelling, saying, quote, 39 00:02:47,160 --> 00:02:49,880 Speaker 1: in my early childhood, as far as I can remember 40 00:02:49,919 --> 00:02:53,000 Speaker 1: anything at all, the vivid stories which she would tell 41 00:02:53,040 --> 00:02:56,360 Speaker 1: me stand out so clearly that they obscure the real 42 00:02:56,480 --> 00:03:00,120 Speaker 1: facts of my life. I am sure looking back that 43 00:03:00,200 --> 00:03:02,880 Speaker 1: it was in attempting to emulate these stories of my 44 00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:08,520 Speaker 1: childhood that I first began weaving dreams myself. However, before 45 00:03:08,520 --> 00:03:11,640 Speaker 1: he settled on a career in writing, Conan Doyle first 46 00:03:11,680 --> 00:03:16,040 Speaker 1: studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh. During his time there, 47 00:03:16,160 --> 00:03:18,520 Speaker 1: he worked at a local hospital as the clerk of 48 00:03:18,560 --> 00:03:23,280 Speaker 1: a professor named Dr Joseph Bell. A skilled surgeon and lecturer, 49 00:03:23,560 --> 00:03:27,440 Speaker 1: Bell was renowned for his ability to accurately diagnose patients 50 00:03:27,600 --> 00:03:30,920 Speaker 1: based only on minute details, such as the signs of 51 00:03:30,960 --> 00:03:34,639 Speaker 1: wear on their clothing, the way they walked, the accent 52 00:03:34,720 --> 00:03:38,040 Speaker 1: they spoke with, or even the kinds of tattoos they had. 53 00:03:38,760 --> 00:03:42,240 Speaker 1: Bell demonstrated this impressive deductive power for the good of 54 00:03:42,240 --> 00:03:46,480 Speaker 1: his students. As he put it, quote, all careful teachers 55 00:03:46,520 --> 00:03:49,800 Speaker 1: have first to show the student how to recognize accurately 56 00:03:49,920 --> 00:03:53,240 Speaker 1: the case. In fact, the student must be taught to 57 00:03:53,280 --> 00:03:56,640 Speaker 1: observe to interest him in this kind of work. We 58 00:03:56,840 --> 00:03:59,640 Speaker 1: teachers find it useful to show the student how much 59 00:03:59,680 --> 00:04:03,840 Speaker 1: a aimed use of observation can discover in ordinary matters 60 00:04:03,840 --> 00:04:08,440 Speaker 1: such as the previous history, nationality, and occupation of a patient. 61 00:04:09,560 --> 00:04:12,680 Speaker 1: As you've probably deduced yourself if you were familiar with 62 00:04:12,680 --> 00:04:16,520 Speaker 1: Sherlock Holmes. Doctor Bell later served as the real life 63 00:04:16,520 --> 00:04:21,080 Speaker 1: inspiration for the character Conan Doyle essentially took Bell's approach 64 00:04:21,120 --> 00:04:23,920 Speaker 1: to medicine and applied it to a crime scene instead. 65 00:04:24,839 --> 00:04:27,440 Speaker 1: One of the first people to make that connection was 66 00:04:27,480 --> 00:04:31,800 Speaker 1: another famous author of the era, Robert Louis Stevenson. He 67 00:04:31,880 --> 00:04:34,919 Speaker 1: had also studied under Dr Bell at the University of 68 00:04:35,040 --> 00:04:38,760 Speaker 1: Edinburgh and was immediately struck by home similarity to his 69 00:04:38,839 --> 00:04:43,080 Speaker 1: former professor. Stevenson was so sure of his theory that 70 00:04:43,160 --> 00:04:46,479 Speaker 1: he actually wrote a letter to Conan Doyle asking quote, 71 00:04:46,760 --> 00:04:50,159 Speaker 1: can this be my old friend Joe Bell, which, of 72 00:04:50,200 --> 00:04:54,680 Speaker 1: course it was. After medical school, Conan Doyle moved to 73 00:04:54,760 --> 00:04:58,320 Speaker 1: London and began working as an ophthalmologist, but it didn't 74 00:04:58,320 --> 00:05:01,640 Speaker 1: go so well biz. This was so slow that he 75 00:05:01,760 --> 00:05:04,919 Speaker 1: later joked about having an office with two waiting rooms 76 00:05:05,279 --> 00:05:08,719 Speaker 1: the consulting room where he waited, and the waiting room 77 00:05:08,760 --> 00:05:12,719 Speaker 1: where no one waited. Still there was a silver lining 78 00:05:12,760 --> 00:05:16,239 Speaker 1: to having a failing medical practice. It left Conan Doyle 79 00:05:16,320 --> 00:05:19,679 Speaker 1: with plenty of free time to write. He had already 80 00:05:19,680 --> 00:05:23,119 Speaker 1: had one literary success four years earlier, when his first 81 00:05:23,120 --> 00:05:26,640 Speaker 1: Sherlock Holmes story, A Study in Scarlet, was published in 82 00:05:26,720 --> 00:05:32,039 Speaker 1: Beaton's Christmas Annual, a paperback magazine printed every November. Conan 83 00:05:32,120 --> 00:05:35,200 Speaker 1: Doyle returned to the character after moving to London, and 84 00:05:35,240 --> 00:05:38,599 Speaker 1: eventually struck a deal with The Strand magazine to publish 85 00:05:38,600 --> 00:05:42,400 Speaker 1: an exclusive series of stories featuring the keen eyed detective 86 00:05:42,600 --> 00:05:47,080 Speaker 1: and his amiable partner, Dr Watson. The character quickly became 87 00:05:47,120 --> 00:05:49,920 Speaker 1: a hit with the public, and not long after, Conan 88 00:05:50,000 --> 00:05:52,760 Speaker 1: Doyle was able to give up medicine and devote himself 89 00:05:52,800 --> 00:05:56,880 Speaker 1: full time to writing. He later called that decision quote 90 00:05:57,160 --> 00:06:00,520 Speaker 1: one of the great moments of exultation of my life. 91 00:06:01,480 --> 00:06:04,600 Speaker 1: For the next two years, readers eagerly lined up in 92 00:06:04,720 --> 00:06:08,040 Speaker 1: newsstands whenever a new issue of The Strand was released, 93 00:06:08,480 --> 00:06:12,479 Speaker 1: and on October fourteenth, eight two, they headed the bookstores 94 00:06:12,520 --> 00:06:15,600 Speaker 1: in droves to buy the first collected volume of Sherlock 95 00:06:15,680 --> 00:06:19,720 Speaker 1: Holmes stories. The public's love for the character made Conan 96 00:06:19,760 --> 00:06:22,400 Speaker 1: Doyle one of the highest paid writers of his day, 97 00:06:22,800 --> 00:06:25,719 Speaker 1: but over time he grew tired of his own creation 98 00:06:25,960 --> 00:06:29,320 Speaker 1: and longed to move on to other more fulfilling projects. 99 00:06:29,960 --> 00:06:32,719 Speaker 1: In a letter to a friend, the author expressed that 100 00:06:32,880 --> 00:06:37,000 Speaker 1: growing discussed with his character, writing quote, I have had 101 00:06:37,040 --> 00:06:40,240 Speaker 1: such an overdose of Holmes that I feel towards him 102 00:06:40,320 --> 00:06:43,640 Speaker 1: as I do towards Patte de Foix Gras, of which 103 00:06:43,680 --> 00:06:46,080 Speaker 1: I once ate, too much so that the name of 104 00:06:46,080 --> 00:06:50,440 Speaker 1: it gives me a sickly feeling to this day. And so, 105 00:06:50,600 --> 00:06:54,960 Speaker 1: after writing three series of twelve home stories each, Conan 106 00:06:55,040 --> 00:06:58,240 Speaker 1: Doyle decided to kill off the popular detective in the 107 00:06:58,320 --> 00:07:02,919 Speaker 1: eighteen nine three story The Final Problem. That tale ends 108 00:07:02,960 --> 00:07:06,359 Speaker 1: with Holmes plunging to his death over the Reichenbach Falls, 109 00:07:06,920 --> 00:07:12,440 Speaker 1: locked in Mortal Kombat with criminal mastermind Professor Moriarty. Detective 110 00:07:12,520 --> 00:07:15,640 Speaker 1: Stories had paid the bills and then some, but Conan 111 00:07:15,720 --> 00:07:19,040 Speaker 1: Doyle only ever saw Sherlock Holmes as a stepping stone 112 00:07:19,080 --> 00:07:21,960 Speaker 1: from genre fiction to what he considered to be more 113 00:07:22,080 --> 00:07:27,480 Speaker 1: serious forms of literature historical novels, plays, and poetry. With 114 00:07:27,520 --> 00:07:30,680 Speaker 1: the Final Problem, the author clearly hoped to close the 115 00:07:30,720 --> 00:07:33,960 Speaker 1: book on Holmes for good, but fans of the detective 116 00:07:34,080 --> 00:07:38,160 Speaker 1: had different ideas. When Sherlock Holmes fell to his death 117 00:07:38,200 --> 00:07:42,680 Speaker 1: in eightee, he took most of the Strands readership with him. 118 00:07:42,720 --> 00:07:47,240 Speaker 1: More than twenty thousand readers reportedly canceled their subscriptions in protest. 119 00:07:47,760 --> 00:07:51,160 Speaker 1: Many of those people also wrote angry letters to Conan Doyle, 120 00:07:51,520 --> 00:07:55,840 Speaker 1: begging and sometimes demanding that he resurrect the character. Some 121 00:07:56,040 --> 00:07:59,480 Speaker 1: readers even took to wearing black arm bands in public 122 00:07:59,640 --> 00:08:02,440 Speaker 1: to show they were in mourning for the fictional detective. 123 00:08:03,160 --> 00:08:07,600 Speaker 1: By that point, the character had achieved international acclaim across 124 00:08:07,640 --> 00:08:12,240 Speaker 1: the Atlantic. Americans organized Let's Keep Holmes Alive clubs and 125 00:08:12,320 --> 00:08:16,040 Speaker 1: launched their own letter writing campaigns, intent on shaming the 126 00:08:16,080 --> 00:08:20,360 Speaker 1: author into bringing back their favorite character. Despite all that 127 00:08:20,440 --> 00:08:24,000 Speaker 1: public pressure, Conan Doyle stuck to his guns for eight 128 00:08:24,040 --> 00:08:28,240 Speaker 1: long years. He finally relented, though, in nineteen o one, 129 00:08:28,560 --> 00:08:31,960 Speaker 1: when he published a brand new Sherlock Holmes novel, The 130 00:08:32,040 --> 00:08:36,079 Speaker 1: Hound of the Baskervilles. The story was presented as an 131 00:08:36,120 --> 00:08:39,600 Speaker 1: old case from Watson's records, and thereby acted as a 132 00:08:39,720 --> 00:08:43,960 Speaker 1: kind of prequel set before the detective's fateful fall. It 133 00:08:44,040 --> 00:08:46,080 Speaker 1: has since gone on to become one of the most 134 00:08:46,240 --> 00:08:49,320 Speaker 1: iconic works in the Holmes canon, but at the time 135 00:08:49,600 --> 00:08:52,760 Speaker 1: readers were disappointed that Conan Doyle had stopped short of 136 00:08:52,840 --> 00:08:57,600 Speaker 1: resurrecting the Detective. The author obliged them two years later 137 00:08:57,720 --> 00:09:01,320 Speaker 1: with The Empty House, a story revealed Holmes had never 138 00:09:01,400 --> 00:09:03,960 Speaker 1: died in the first place, but it actually faked his 139 00:09:04,000 --> 00:09:07,240 Speaker 1: own death in order to go under cover. And while 140 00:09:07,280 --> 00:09:10,400 Speaker 1: that may sound a little hokey and contrived, you can 141 00:09:10,440 --> 00:09:14,280 Speaker 1: be sure that fans didn't mind one bit. After all, 142 00:09:14,480 --> 00:09:17,840 Speaker 1: the story was proof of the impossible. They had brought 143 00:09:17,880 --> 00:09:22,000 Speaker 1: a character back to life through sheer collective will. It 144 00:09:22,040 --> 00:09:24,840 Speaker 1: was quite an accomplishment for a loosely connected group of 145 00:09:24,840 --> 00:09:28,760 Speaker 1: people with a shared fondness for pulp fiction. Prior to Sherlock, 146 00:09:29,040 --> 00:09:32,480 Speaker 1: people generally accepted when stories ended, and we're willing to 147 00:09:32,520 --> 00:09:34,880 Speaker 1: move on whenever the author said it was time to 148 00:09:34,880 --> 00:09:38,880 Speaker 1: do so. That changed in the early twentieth century, giving 149 00:09:38,920 --> 00:09:41,800 Speaker 1: the world its first taste of what a highly motivated 150 00:09:41,880 --> 00:09:45,040 Speaker 1: fan base was capable of, and for better or worse, 151 00:09:45,320 --> 00:09:48,360 Speaker 1: the world of pop culture has never been the same since. 152 00:09:49,320 --> 00:09:52,760 Speaker 1: As for Arthur Conan Doyle, he continued to write Sherlock 153 00:09:52,840 --> 00:09:58,720 Speaker 1: Holmes stories, albeit begrudgingly until nineteen. Three years later, he 154 00:09:58,840 --> 00:10:01,360 Speaker 1: died of a heart attack at the age of seventy one. 155 00:10:02,280 --> 00:10:05,480 Speaker 1: Although he had been strong armed into writing detective stories 156 00:10:05,559 --> 00:10:09,480 Speaker 1: against his will, rest assured that Conan Doyle did manage 157 00:10:09,520 --> 00:10:13,200 Speaker 1: to write a variety of non Sherlock related material as well, 158 00:10:14,000 --> 00:10:16,439 Speaker 1: just probably not as much as he would have liked. 159 00:10:18,520 --> 00:10:21,640 Speaker 1: I'm Gay, Bluesier and hopefully you now know a little 160 00:10:21,640 --> 00:10:25,640 Speaker 1: more about history today than you did yesterday. If you 161 00:10:25,760 --> 00:10:29,480 Speaker 1: enjoyed today's episode, consider following us on Twitter, Facebook, and 162 00:10:29,559 --> 00:10:34,040 Speaker 1: Instagram at t d I HC Show. You can also 163 00:10:34,160 --> 00:10:36,880 Speaker 1: rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts, or you 164 00:10:36,920 --> 00:10:39,880 Speaker 1: can pass along your feedback directly by writing to This 165 00:10:40,000 --> 00:10:44,120 Speaker 1: Day at iHeart media dot com. Thanks to Chandler Mays 166 00:10:44,160 --> 00:10:47,040 Speaker 1: for producing the show, and thank you for listening. I'll 167 00:10:47,080 --> 00:10:49,680 Speaker 1: see you back here again soon for another day in 168 00:10:49,800 --> 00:11:01,680 Speaker 1: History class.