Arthur Conan Doyle was born on May 22, 1859. His inclination for literature appeared in him from an early age – he listened with interest to the stories told to him by his mother Mary Josephine Elizabeth Foley. During his college years he first began to write – at that time he was inspired by authors such as Edgar Allan Poe and Bret Garth. Also, Arthur had clearly read Charles Dickens and was highly impressed by his works. What other books made an imprint on the author’s later work?
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“The Gold Bug,” Edgar Allan Poe.
This story is considered an early form of the detective genre for a reason. One of the heroes had to use a witty system of counting signs to learn about the location of the treasure. As a result, this particular work became the most popular during the author’s lifetime. It also influenced Arthur Conan Doyle. Do you remember the story “The Dancing Men”? Yes, it was in it that Sherlock Holmes used a very similar method of solving the cipher. And the great Soviet actor Yuri Yakovlev later played the main role in the radio play “The Golden Beetle”.
“The Light,” Bernard Hamilton.
This work, unfortunately, has not been translated into Russian. What is there, even modern Britons are quite difficult to find it – except for quite tortured and old editions. However, some works say that this is a melodrama with religious discussion and a hint of reincarnation. It is also mentioned that the novel is set against the backdrop of the Franco-Prussian War. Arthur Conan Doyle himself declared his love for this book back in 1899 when he participated in a series of Christmas reports on “favorite works.”
“McTeague,” Frank Norris.
This novel is based on a real murder case. So, the narrative is about the main character named McTeague. He falls in love with his patient and begins to court her. After a while they get married, but in the marriage there are a huge number of problems related to jealousy, jealousy and not the best financial situation. When it becomes more difficult for the spouses to survive, they fight a lot. We do not want to reveal all the details of this domestic drama – it is worth reading it at least for the sake of a very symbolic ending.
“The Convent and Love”, Charles Reed
Another work that was extremely popular at a certain point in history. It received excellent reviews from both foreign and domestic critics. “With his new novel, The Cloister and Love, Charles Reed has touched a special string and shown that his talent is much more serious than many had realized. He took up the historical novel and success exceeded all expectations. He immediately took a place between Walter Scott and Bulwer” – said in an anonymous review. Arthur Conan Doyle was of a similar opinion – he mentioned it in one of his articles.
