If you are strolling up Edinburgh's Picardy Place, which
connects the top of Leith Walk to the east end of 
Street, you might notice a large bronze statue of Sherlock Holmes
and opposite a pub called the
Conan Doyle. These are two clues that you are on the street
where the world famous author Sir Arthur
Conan Doyle was born on 22 May 1859.
Inspiring Edinburgh
The influence of Edinburgh on Conan Doyle's writing has been
pretty well documented. His inspiration for Sherlock Holmes was his
mentor at the Royal College of
Surgeons, Dr Joseph Bell. In an age before x-rays and MRI
scans, Dr Bell, an expert diagnostician, interviewed his patients
to find out what was wrong with them, often revealing all kinds of
facts about their lives in the process.
It's not just the Sherlock Holmes stories that can be traced
back to Edinburgh it's even been suggested some of his inspiration
for The Lost World came from Salisbury Crags.
Conan Doyle was influenced by the society of Edinburgh, high and
low as well as the architecture and landscape. It's only fitting
then that on the 22nd of May the Royal College of
Surgeons is hosting a 150 years event in his honour.
The 150th Anniversary Celebration
Speakers confirmed include:
Owen Dudley Edwards, Historian and Sherlock Holmes authority
Andrew Lycett, author of the acclaimed 2007 biography of Conan
Doyle: The Man Who Created Sherlock Holmes: The Life and Times
of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Professor Alistair Fowler, eminent academic of Conan Doyle's
contribution to English Literature
James Mavor, screenwriter and film-maker whose TV drama
Reichenbach Falls was based on the Ian Rankin short story
The Acid Test
On the evening of Conan Doyle's birthday, the 22nd May, the
celebrations include:
- A special evening drinks reception in the Royal College of
Surgeons of Edinburgh's historic Surgeons' Hall with
appreciations of Conan Doyle given by Owen Dudley Edwards and
Andrew Lycett, with others TBC
- A reading and interpretation of the Holmes' short story
The Dying Detective
- A private view of the exhibition Conan Doyle and Joseph
Bell: The Real Sherlock Holmes in Surgeons' Hall Pathology
Museum
On Saturday 23rd May from 10am-5pm the guest speakers will give
presentations on aspects of Conan Doyle's life and work followed by
audience questions and discussion.
Tickets costing £55 are available from museum@rcsed.ac.uk or by
telephone 0131 527 1649. Space is limited and early booking is
advised.
For further information or to arrange visits, contact Dawn Kemp,
RCSEd Director of Heritage on: d.kemp@rcsed.ac.uk , or Emma Black
on: e.black@rcsed.ac.uk or
0131 527 1649.
