Great Writers on The Great War Conan Doyle's War

Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1445642018 ISBN 13: 9781445642017

Publisher: Amberley Publishing, 2014

On the outbreak of the First World War, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle tried to enlist in the military in order to set a good example to others, despite being fifty-five. His offer was refused, but he was still active in support of his country, in particular lobbying on behalf of British servicemen to improve their conditions and safety. Conan Doyle began work on The British Campaign in France and Flanders shortly after 1914, of which this volume contains an edited selection.

His analysis of the opening year of the war examines the movements of troops throughout many of the major battles, charting both victories and desperate retreats along with individual accounts of heroism and action. The impeccable style and vividly insightful descriptions with which he depicts the Western Front mark him as one of the century’s greatest writers.

Product Description:

Unable to serve as a soldier, Arthur Conan Doyle devoted himself to gathering information from first-hand sources and writing a chronicle of the war. This book is an abridged version of his first volume, covering the opening of the war and the battles of Mons, Le Cateau and First Ypres, up to the end of 1914.

About the Author:

Arthur Conan Doyle was born on 22 May 1859 in Edinburgh into a prosperous Irish family. He trained as a doctor, gaining his degree from Edinburgh University in 1881. He worked as a surgeon on a whaling boat and also as a medical officer on a steamer travelling between Liverpool and West Africa. He then settled in Portsmouth and divided his time between medicine and writing. Sherlock Holmes made his first appearance in 'Beeton's Christmas Annual' in 1887. Its success encouraged Conan Doyle to write more stories involving Holmes but, in 1893, Conan Doyle killed off Holmes, hoping to concentrate on more serious writing. A public outcry later made him resurrect Holmes. Conan Doyle wrote a number of other novels and non-fictional works including a pamphlet justifying Britain's involvement in the Boer War, for which he was knighted, and histories of the Boer War and World War One. In later life he became very interested in spiritualism. Conan Doyle died of a heart attack on 7 July 1930.