Online NPG talk: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - creator of Sherlock Holmes!

Today's talk is going to be delivered by my friend and colleague Jean from the National Portrait Gallery - this is a brand new talk about a fascinating character and gives some interesting insights into his life!

Here's a taster: Author Arthur Conan Doyle wrote 60 mystery stories featuring the wildly popular detective character Sherlock Holmes and his loyal assistant Watson.
In 1890, Arthur Conan Doyle's novel, A Study in Scarlet introduced the character of Detective Sherlock Holmes. Doyle would go on to write 60 stories about Sherlock Holmes. He also strove to spread his Spiritualism faith through a series of books that were written from 1918 to 1926.
On May 22, 1859, Arthur Conan Doyle was born to an affluent, strict Irish-Catholic family in Edinburgh, Scotland. Although Doyle's family was well-respected in the art world, his father, Charles, who was a life-long alcoholic, had few accomplishments to speak of. Doyle's mother, Mary, was a lively and well-educated woman who loved to read. She particularly delighted in telling her young son outlandish stories. Her great enthusiasm and animation while spinning wild tales sparked the child's imagination. As Doyle would later recall in his biography, "In my early childhood, as far as I can remember anything at all, the vivid stories she would tell me stand out so clearly that they obscure the real facts of my life." Do tune in for full story!

To attend in the first instance RSVP. You do not need a Zoom account. But to stop Zoom bombers (persons hijacking the event - doing weird things). All you have to do is click on the location link and enter the meeting password: 725535 - Please log in around 5 minutes before it starts.

We have a form of etiquette, for example when you first enter the 'meeting room' you will be muted, I will unmute you as we start. However, when you are not speaking it is recommended that you mute yourself - this is so that others do not get a lot of background noise.

Why not have a virtual drink together too - glass of wine or beer - Coffee 'n' Cake ;)