I was equally impressed by the Notes and Introduction by Jon Lellenburg, Daniel Stashower, and Rachel Foss. They have done a good job of including interesting and little known (to me) snippets of Conan Doyle's influences, experiences, and relationships.

The doctor begins as Dr. Turner, but midway through chapter two changes to Dr. Pontiphobus, in chapter four becomes Dr. Julep, and in chapter six loses his name to simply “doctor”. The morphing of his name may suggest his various purposes throughout. Noted by the editors, “In the name ‘Dr. Pontiphobus’ Conan Doyle may have been suggesting ‘aversion to Pontiffs,’ or Popes—i.e., the Roman Catholic Church, which he had renounced without having embraced Dr. Pontiphobus's Anglican Church instead.’ [4] Julep is supposedly a Middle English slang term for a syrupy substance used to sweeten medicine. [5] This is his name during a debate between Roman Catholicism, of which Smith becomes an advocate, and Anglican Protestantism, defended by the doctor. In other scenarios, the doctor humors Smith in short-lived discussions oscillating between religion and disease, one example being medical research on splenic fever in cattle. He functions primarily as a friend to John Smith. Conan Doyle's house, Undershaw, located in Hindhead, south of London, where he had lived for a decade, had been a hotel and restaurant between 1924 and 2004. It now stands empty while conservationists and Conan Doyle fans fight to preserve it. Religion is a topic of debate both between Smith and the doctor and Smith and the curate. Though the doctor tends to disagree with some of Smith's assertions regarding Anglican Protestantism, he nevertheless listens and interacts respectfully. The curate, on the other hand, readily condemns Smith, leaving offended by his opinions. The disjunction between the characters reflects and describes Smith's complications with organized religion. First off, there is basically no plot. It centres around a man, John Smith, who is laid up at home with rheumatic gout and, to keep himself from boredom, expounds whatever is on his mind at the time into a journal of some sort. There are the occasional interactions with other tenants of his building, as well as his landlady and a neighbour but they are few and far between. It's easy to forget that you are even listening to a supposedly 50-year-old fictional character, because more often than not, it comes across as the passionate thoughts and opinions of the much younger (23 at the time) Doyle. His attitude towards religion has always fascinated me and there are large parts dedicated to that as well as a number of other weird and wonderful concepts (I, personally, loved his rant about punishing people for the misuse of books!). When it came to matters of war and the British Empire, I found myself getting a bit swamped because they are concepts I have very little knowledge or understanding of, while Doyle was very passionate in his attitudes. His monologues on science and medicine are also interesting, if sometimes disconcerting! There are a lot of big ideas in such a small story.The choice of inanimate companions is to my mind only second to that of animate ones. Show me a man's chambers and I'll give you a pretty fair estimate of his intellect and capacity. What the eye rests upon, the mind will dwell upon. It is easier to think daintily in a parlor than in an attic." - The Narrative of John Smith, p. 16

The process of reading this book/draft can be a humbling experience and can teach a lesson or two on writing. In 2011, many newspapers around the world reported on the publication of Conan Doyle's first novel, including The New York Times, The Daily Star, Los Angeles Times, and more.Without prior notice, Miss Oliver visits Smith, revealing her knowledge of his commission through Mrs. Rundle and thanking him. Showing him the drawings, he approves cordially, though he detests them. She notes that his room is decorated with masterpieces, to which he responds that he is speculating about her impending fame. He requests another picture, but she declines on the grounds of her wedding the next month. Upon her departure, Smith considers marriage “the great female destiny—to become the supplement of a man”. His thoughts continue onto Britain's political standing among the nations of the world, the unpredictability of literary success, and the creation of man. A curate visits, listening to Smith's opinions about Jesus Christ, Creation, and organized religion, questioning if he is a “dissenter”, then determining that he is a prideful infidel, leaving insulted. Debería haber una Sociedad para la Prevención de la Crueldad contra los Libros. Odio ver a los pobres pacientes maltratados y desfigurados. Un libro [...] es la esencia concentrada de un hombre. El pobre Horacio Flaco se ha convertido ya en impalpable polvo, pero aquí está su espíritu mismo, atrapado como una mosca en ámbar, en ese volumen de lomo marrón de la esquina." No estaría en la lista inmediata de libros que recomendaría sin dudarlo, porque después de todo es el manuscrito de un trabajo inconcluso que no tiene ni pies ni cabeza, si apenas una vaga dirección. Conan Doyle narra las disertaciones y divagaciones de un hombre confinado a una semana de encierro por culpa de la gota reumática, con toques autobiográficos en ciertas opiniones y anécdotas y aun así distanciándose de a momentos del protagonista con pinceladas definitivamente ficticias. "—Puede que [otras personas] parezcan perfectas a los ojos del hombre —dice—, pero puede que estén muy lejos de ser lo mismo a ojos de Dios. The medical bits seemed a bit too bogged down in detail for my liking (but that is no doubt down to my ignorance on the subject and nothing less), but the rest was easy to follow. The conversations held between the main character, John Smith and the old campaigner who lived upstairs, proved to be a highlight for me. In 2012, Colin Fleming wrote in the Times Literary Supplement, “There are no henchmen afoot, nor lost worlds to escape from, but what one will find, on occasion, is that balance between place and voice that marks Conan Doyle’s later, and better, fiction… The drama of this novel is of a quiet kind.” [20] The Narrative shows an author's rough work—a slur of ideas, later organized into cohesive stories with compelling plotlines. Miss Oliver is an artist whom Smith observes through his window. Although there is no personal relation, he secretly commissions her to give her a source of income due to her father's unemployment. She is an object of attention for John Smith.

All upcoming public events are going ahead as planned and you can find more information on our events blog The Narrative of John Smith is Conan Doyle's first attempt to make the transition from short story writer to novelist. Conan Doyle expressed uncertainty in his developing abilities as a novelist as well in 1884. The introduction prefaces the style of his first writing: “There is very little in the way of plot or characterisation: the work is essentially a series of lengthy reflections on contemporary debates occupying the young Conan Doyle in his early twenties.” John Smith is a fifty-year-old man confined to bed rest for one week on account of rheumatic gout. The novel, being told from his point of view, consists of conscious thought as well as dialogue on contemporary topics with external figures. He characterizes himself by his activeness (a continuous reminder of his physical state) and identity as an art enthusiast and writer. Se anche le poste non lo avessero perduto, se anche il manoscritto fosse giunto alla casa editrice, non riesco a immaginarlo accettato e pubblicato, soprattutto quando proveniva non da un autore affermato che avrebbe venduto a prescindere, ma da un giovanotto ancora sconosciuto. Conan Doyle fathered five children. Two with his first wife—Mary Louise (28 January 1889 – 12 June 1976), and Arthur Alleyne Kingsley, known as Kingsley (15 November 1892 – 28 October 1918). With his second wife he had three children—Denis Percy Stewart (17 March 1909 – 9 March 1955), second husband in 1936 of Georgian Princess Nina Mdivani (circa 1910 – 19 February 1987; former sister-in-law of Barbara Hutton); Adrian Malcolm (19 November 1910–3 June 1970) and Jean Lena Annette (21 December 1912–18 November 1997).Smith reveals himself as an art enthusiast, while he observes Miss Oliver paint. He then tells a joke about his poverty during the gold rush in Australia—his friends having bought scrap meat claiming it was for dogs. This leads Smith to analyze humor, then genius, and instinct, after which he writes about the labors of writing, including instruction as well as opinion on popular literature. In this novel, Doyle strongly adheres to the axiom “write what you know”. In what seems more akin to a biographical piece, he gives us his thoughts (albeit via the fictional character John Smith) on a wide range of subjects - be it medical, art, literature, religion or war. is reviewed between 08.30 to 16.30 Monday to Friday. We're experiencing a high volume of enquiries so it may take us