Doings of Doyle - The Arthur Conan Doyle Podcast

This episode, we look at one of Conan Doyle’s last short stories, ‘The End of Devil Hawker’ (1930) which he completed shortly before his death. You can read the story here. The show notes will be available at https://bit.ly/DOD67sn (for all shownotes, just replace ‘67’ with the episode number in question). The episode will shortly be posted to our Youtube channel: www.youtube.com/@doingsofdoyle. Please like and subscribe. Synopsis It seems like just another night at Tom Cribb’s London establishment, the Union Arms at the corner of Panton Street, in the first decade of the nineteenth century. The bar is crowded with aristocratic men about town, members of the boxing fraternity and all their assorted followers, hangers-on and hearty rowdies. Cribb himself, still nominally the champion of all England, is there, as is the nascent young poet Lord Byron. Amidst the uproar and chaff, the sinister figure of Sir John Hawker - ‘Devil Hawker’ – holds quiet converse with Sir Charles Trevor over a debt of three thousand pounds. They decide to settle the issue by the turn of a card, a transaction that is witnessed surreptitiously by the sharp bookmaker Billy Jakes, who notices a slight of hand and makes a decision that will cost both him and Hawker dearly… Next time on Doings of Doyle… We are joined by Nick Lane, author of several Sherlock Holmes plays for Blackeyed Theatre, to talk about their new production Sherlock Holmes: The Hunt for Moriarty. Acknowledgements Thanks to our sponsor, Belanger Books (www.belangerbooks.com), and our supporters on Patreon and Paypal. Image credits: Thanks to Alexis Barquin at The Arthur Conan Doyle Encyclopaedia for permission to reproduce these images. Please support the encyclopaedia at www.arthur-conan-doyle.com. Music credit: Sneaky Snitch Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ YouTube video created by @headlinerapp.

This episode, we welcome to the podcast, James Machin, to talk about the new edition of The Stark Munro Letters (1895) he has edited for Edinburgh University Press. About James Machin James is a writer, researcher, and editor, whose recent books include the Edinburgh Edition of the Works of Arthur Conan Doyle's version of The Stark Munro Letters (2024) and The Strange Stories of John Buchan for British Library Publishing (2025). He edited Faunus, the journal of The Friends of Arthur Machen, for over ten years, and has taught at Birkbeck (University of London), the Royal College of Art, and the University of Bedfordshire. He has recently commenced work on the Edinburgh Edition of Round the Fire Stories. The Stark Munro Letters (Edinburgh University Press, 2025) The first new edition of The Stark Munro Letters since the early 1980s Contains detailed introduction and scholarly apparatus Extensive notes explore the historical and biographical references Appendixes that collect original transcriptions of previously inaccessible archival material Ideal for students and scholars interested in Arthur Conan Doyle, medical fiction, popular fiction, autobiographical fiction, and epistolary fiction This is the first scholarly edition of Arthur Conan Doyle’s epistolary novel, originally serialised in the Idler, 1894–95, and long out of print. With its first-hand testimony of the life of a doctor at the outset of his career in the late nineteenth century, The Stark Munro Letters will appeal to anyone with an interest in medical history. It is based on his experiences during the eight years he spent as a General Practitioner, before becoming a professional author in 1890. By some way the most autobiographical of Conan Doyle’s novels—written at the height of Holmes’s popularity—it is also the most personal in terms of presenting his worldview during his formative years, including ruminations on moral philosophy, religion, science, and evolutionary theory. Moreover, it is entertaining and incredibly vivid—a contemporary critic described the mercurial Cullingworth as ‘one of the finest characters Dr. Doyle has yet drawn’. Source: https://edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-the-stark-munro-letters.html Bibliography The Strange Stories of John Buchan (British Library, 2025) British Weird: Selected Short Fiction 1893 – 1937 (Handheld Classics, 2020) Faunus: The Decorative Imagination of Arthur Machen (Strange Attractor Press, 2019) Of Mud and Flame: A Penda's Fen Sourcebook (MIT Press, 2019) Weird Fiction in Britain 1880–1939 (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018) The Cosy Room and Other Stories (Tartarus Press, 2017) Also mentioned Margie Deck (ed), Sherlock Holmes Into The Fire (Belanger Books, 2025) https://www.amazon.com/Sherlock-Holmes-Into-Fire-Margie-ebook/dp/B0FJK3H29X Next time on Doings of Doyle We continue with Conan Doyle’s medical fiction with a related comic tale, ‘Crabbe’s Practice’ (1884). You can read the story here. Acknowledgements Thanks to our sponsor, Belanger Books (www.belangerbooks.com), and our supporters on Patreon and Paypal. Image credits: Thanks to Alexis Barquin at The Arthur Conan Doyle Encyclopaedia for permission to reproduce these images. Please support the encyclopaedia at www.arthur-conan-doyle.com. Music credit: Sneaky Snitch Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ YouTube video created by @headlinerapp.

Hello and welcome to Episode 63. This episode we travel to the very north of mainland Scotland where one man’s solitude is interrupted by two mysterious castaways, in ‘The Man from Archangel’ from 1885. You can read the story here: https://www.arthur-conan-doyle.com/index.php/The_Man_from_Archangel Or listen to a Librivox reading here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ts2yXxclU-c The episode will be uploaded to our YouTube channel soon, where you can listen with closed captions. In the meantime, you can subscribe to our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@doingsofdoyle And follow us on BlueSky (https://bsky.app/profile/doingsofdoyle.com). We don’t do Twitter no more. Synopsis Having come into an unexpected inheritance, the morose and misanthropic John McVittie is able to give up his unrewarding legal practice in the English Midlands and retire to a remote coastal estate in Caithness in eastern Scotland. Here he pursues his esoteric scientific and philosophic interests, with only his aged housekeeper for company. But his quiet existence is disrupted when a Russian schooner is wrecked in a storm and McVittie rescues a young woman from the doomed ship. Apparently, however, she is not the only survivor as shortly afterwards McVittie discovers that his lonely house is under observation from a mysterious bearded stranger… Next time on Doings of Doyle… We discuss ACD’s unconventional ghost story, ‘The Story of the Brown Hand’ (1898), from his Round the Fire Stories. Acknowledgements Thanks to our sponsor, Belanger Books (www.belangerbooks.com), and our supporters on Patreon and Paypal. Image credits: Thanks to Alexis Barquin at The Arthur Conan Doyle Encyclopaedia for permission to reproduce these images. Please support the encyclopaedia at www.arthur-conan-doyle.com. Music credit: Sneaky Snitch Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ YouTube video created by @headlinerapp.

Hello and welcome to Episode 61. Today, we return to Baker Street – or should that be Montague Street? – for another memoir of Sherlock Holmes, ‘The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual’ (1893). Read the story here: https://www.arthur-conan-doyle.com/index.php/The_Adventure_of_the_Musgrave_Ritual The episode will be uploaded to our YouTube channel soon, where you can listen with closed captions. In the meantime, you can subscribe to our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@doingsofdoyle And follow us on BlueSky (https://bsky.app/profile/doingsofdoyle.com). We don’t do Twitter no more. Synopsis Whilst tidying his papers in the Baker Street flat, Sherlock Holmes unearths some relics of one of his earliest cases. His client, an old university associate called Reginald Musgrave, hires the nascent detective to investigate the recent disappearances of Hurlstone’s butler and one of the housemaids. It is quite clear, however, that this is no elopement, and central to the mystery is the old family catechism known as the Musgrave Ritual… Next time on Doings of Doyle... We hope to be joined by journalist and author Andrew Finkel to discuss his novel The Adventure of the Second Wife… Support the podcast Please help us reach new listeners by leaving a rating or view on the podcast platform of your choice. And if you want to sponsor the podcast, please check out our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/doingsofdoyle Acknowledgements Thanks to our sponsor, Belanger Books (www.belangerbooks.com), and our supporters on Patreon and Paypal. Image credits: Thanks to Alexis Barquin at The Arthur Conan Doyle Encyclopaedia for permission to reproduce these images. Please support the encyclopaedia at www.arthur-conan-doyle.com. Music credit: Sneaky Snitch Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/.

Hello and welcome to Episode 59. Today, we rejoin Professor Challenger and his party of intrepid adventurers as they reach The Lost World, in part two of our three-part discussion of the celebrated novel. Read the story here: https://www.arthur-conan-doyle.com/index.php/The_Lost_World Read the show notes here: https://www.doingsofdoyle.com/2025/01/59-lost-world-1912-part-2.html The episode will be uploaded to our YouTube channel soon, where you can listen with closed captions. In the meantime, you can subscribe to our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@doingsofdoyle And follow us @doingsofdoyle.com on BlueSky. We don’t do Twitter no more. Synopsis After the scientific and media establishments of London have dismissed the claims of the eccentric and controversial Professor Challenger to have discovered a hidden South American plateau where prehistoric signs of life still exist, he has assembled a small team of independent observers to test his assertions: the journalist-narrator Edward Malone, the comparative anatomist Professor Summerlee, and the hunter-adventurer Lord John Roxton duly cross the Atlantic aboard the liner Francisca to Manaos from where they will retrace Challenger’s route into the Amazonian interior. But upon arrival, when they open the envelope containing his instructions, a surprise awaits them, and this is only the first of many unexpected developments to welcome them into this strange new world… Next time We return to the Lost World for the final instalments... Support the podcast Please help us reach new listeners by leaving a rating or view on the podcast platform of your choice. And if you want to sponsor the podcast, please check out our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/doingsofdoyle Acknowledgements Thanks to our sponsor, Belanger Books (www.belangerbooks.com), and our supporters on Patreon and Paypal. Image credits: Thanks to Alexis Barquin at The Arthur Conan Doyle Encyclopaedia for permission to reproduce these images. Please support the encyclopaedia at www.arthur-conan-doyle.com. Music credit: Sneaky Snitch Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/.

Hello and welcome to Episode 57. Today, we begin our long-awaited journey into The Lost World, Conan Doyle’s celebrated adventure novel which introduced Professor George Edward Challenger to the reading public. Read the story here: https://www.arthur-conan-doyle.com/index.php/The_Lost_World The episode will be uploaded to our YouTube channel soon, where you can listen with closed captions. In the meantime, you can subscribe to our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@doingsofdoyle And follow us @doingsofdoyle.com on BlueSky. Synopsis Edward Dunn Malone is a lowly young journalist at the Daily Gazette whose heart’s desire is to win the hand of the beautiful but exacting Gladys Hungerton. She, however, finds Malone lacking in ambition and the requisite spirit of manly competitiveness. She will only bow before another Burton or Stanley, and Malone must venture into the world to discover and conquer before she will consider his approaches. Luckily, his editor, McArdle, gives him the ideal opportunity by introducing him to the irascible, combative and press-hating Professor George Challenger who claims to have found evidence of the continued existence of prehistoric life in South America. Upon first approaching Challenger, Malone is thrown down the professor’s stairs. Then, in a surprising turn of events, he is given the opportunity to join a new expedition to the Amazon to prove – or refute – Challenger’s outlandish assertions… Next time We hope to be joined by an interview guest before we return to The Lost World in the new year. Support the podcast Please help us reach new listeners by leaving a rating or view on the podcast platform of your choice. And if you want to sponsor the podcast, please check out our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/doingsofdoyle Acknowledgements Thanks to our sponsor, Belanger Books (www.belangerbooks.com), and our supporters on Patreon and Paypal. Image credits: Thanks to Alexis Barquin at The Arthur Conan Doyle Encyclopaedia for permission to reproduce these images. Please support the encyclopaedia at www.arthur-conan-doyle.com. Music credit: Sneaky Snitch Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/.

Hello and welcome to episode 55. This time, we look at a story that was for a long time not included in the works of Conan Doyle - 1884’s ‘The Blood-Stone Tragedy: A Druidical Story.’ Read the story here: https://www.arthur-conan-doyle.com/index.php/The_Blood-Stone_Tragedy:_A_Druidical_Story The episode will be uploaded to our YouTube channel soon, where you can listen with closed captions. In the meantime, you can subscribe to our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@doingsofdoyle Synopsis Whilst travelling in the English Midlands, the narrator hears a strange tale from a fellow traveller whose wife, in their pre-marital days, underwent a terrifying experience during a family holiday in North Wales. Frustrated by the domestic restrictions imposed upon her while the men of the party enjoy climbing expeditions, the intrepid Miss Madison decides to indulge in some local exploration on her own. She eventually becomes lost amongst the mountains and the valleys and is close to despair when she discovers a primitive hut and its odd inhabitant, a wild and bearded figure dressed in a white robe. But her relief at finding a potential guide soon turns to unease as her new acquaintance begins to talk of strange gods and human sacrifice… Next time ‘John Barrington Cowles’ (1884) – published two months after ‘The Blood-Stone Tragedy’ in Cassell’s and far better! – is our story next month. You can read it here: https://www.arthur-conan-doyle.com/index.php/John_Barrington_Cowles Support the podcast Please help us reach new listeners by leaving a rating or view on the podcast platform of your choice. And if you want to sponsor the podcast, please check out our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/doingsofdoyle Acknowledgements We would like to thank Michael Halewood of Halewood and Sons of Preston for his help on this episode: https://www.pbfa.org/members/halewood-sons; https://www.abebooks.co.uk/halewood-sons-aba-ilab-1867-preston/277945/sf Thanks to our sponsor, Belanger Books (www.belangerbooks.com), and our supporters on Patreon and Paypal. Image credits: Thanks to Alexis Barquin at The Arthur Conan Doyle Encyclopaedia for permission to reproduce these images. Please support the encyclopaedia at www.arthur-conan-doyle.com. Music credit: Sneaky Snitch Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/.

Hello and welcome to Episode 53. Today, we discuss ‘The Coming of the Huns,’ one of Conan Doyle’s Tales of Long Ago, written and published in 1910. You can read the story here: ACD Encyclopaedia – The Coming of the Huns. Or listen to an audiobook reading here: The Coming of the Huns – Magpie Audio. The episode will be uploaded to our YouTube channel soon, where you can listen with closed captions. In the meantime, you can subscribe to our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@doingsofdoyle Synopsis Weary of the infighting between Christian sects in Fourth Century Constantinople, the Trinitarian Simon Melas heads northwards, beyond the Dneister, to live a secluded life of contemplation. Yet even in the wilderness he cannot find complete solitude. In a neighbouring cave he encounters an established hermit, Paul of Nicopolis. Their discourse however proves short-lived as Paul is a follower of the rival Arian philosophy. One evening, two years into his retreat, Simon’s peace is disturbed by the fleeting appearance of an oddly conformed stranger. The next morning, the plain beneath his refuge is covered by a vast multitude of horsemen heading steadily westwards… Next time on Doings of Doyle We return to Baker Street for ‘The Adventure of the Second Stain’ (1904). You can read the story here: ACD Encyclopaedia – The Adventure of the Second Stain. Support the podcast Please help us reach new listeners by leaving a rating or view on the podcast platform of your choice. And if you want to sponsor the podcast, please check out our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/doingsofdoyle Acknowledgements Thanks to our sponsor, Belanger Books (www.belangerbooks.com), and our supporters on Patreon and Paypal. Image credits: Thanks to Alexis Barquin at The Arthur Conan Doyle Encyclopaedia for permission to reproduce these images. Please support the encyclopaedia at www.arthur-conan-doyle.com. Music credit: Sneaky Snitch Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/.