Dangerous Work. Conan Doyle`s Arctic Diary

Product Description

In February 1880, when Arthur Conan Doyle was only twenty years old, he embarked upon `the first real outstanding adventure in my life, ` seven months as a ship`s surgeon on an Arctic whaler. The voyage took the young Conan Doyle into unknown regions & plunged him into dangerous & bloody work on the ice floes of the Arctic seas. His unforgettable adventure was echoed in a number of his early landmarks as a writer. A ghost story based on the experience, ` The Captain of the Pole-Star, ` got him noticed in publishing circles as a promising young writer, & a magazine article called ` The Glamour of the Arctic` won him the respect of intrepid Arctic explorers. During the voyage, Conan Doyle kept a detailed diary. This incredible document, hidden from public view for more than a century, is written in his clear handwriting & is illustrated with many charming pen-&-ink sketches of scenes of life on board & of the sea-creatures & other sights he saw. It provides a vivid account of the coming of age of the young man who would go on to create Sherlock Holmes, & of a life at sea that no longer exists. This book will feature a facsimile of this remarkable diary, with a transcript, as well as several non-fiction & fiction pieces based on the experience, including the Sherlock Holmes story ` The Adventure of the Black Peter.` It will also include photographs of the ship, its captain, & young Conan Doyle on deck. The publication of this unknown diary will be welcomed by all fans of Arthur Conan Doyle.