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Article: What's the big Holmes secret ? It's elementary; New BBC drama claims Conan Doyle's alcoholic father explains flaws in the great detective.
- Article from:
- The Mail on Sunday (London, England)
- Article date:
- November 28, 2004
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 Solo Syndication Limited. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: BRIAN PENDREIGH
SHERLOCK HOLMES was the hero of dozens of classic detective novels, baffling the hapless Dr Watson with his powers of deduction.
But the image of the cold, calculating Victorian gentleman always sat slightly awkwardly with his mood swings and his liking for cocaine.
Now BBC producer Richard Downes believes he may have solved the mystery, controversially attributing Holmes's darker side to author Arthur Conan Doyle's alcoholic father.
In his memoirs Conan Doyle hardly acknowledged his father Charles's existence. And while the son enjoyed fame and fortune, the father was secretly shut away in a mental asylum.
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