The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes

Clive Merrison stars as Holmes with Michael Williams as Watson in these adventures, part of the unique fully dramatised BBC canon of Conan Doyle's short stories and novels featuring the world-famous sleuth. The stories included are The Illustrious Client; The Blanched Soldier; The Mazarin Stone; The Three Gables; The Sussex Vampire; The Three Garridebs; The Problem of Thor Bridge; The Creeping Man; The Lion's Mane; The Veiled Lodger; Shoscombe Old Place; and The Retired Colourman.

Arthur Conan Doyle was born on 22 May 1859 in Edinburgh into a prosperous Irish family. He trained as a doctor, gaining his degree from Edinburgh University in 1881. He worked as a surgeon on a whaling boat and also as a medical officer on a steamer travelling between Liverpool and West Africa. He then settled in Portsmouth on the English south coast and divided his time between medicine and writing.

Sherlock Holmes made his first appearance in 'A Study of Scarlet', published in' Beeton's Christmas Annual' in 1887. Its success encouraged Conan Doyle to write more stories involving Holmes but, in 1893, Conan Doyle killed off Holmes, hoping to concentrate on more serious writing. A public outcry later made him resurrect Holmes. In addition, Conan Doyle wrote a number of other novels, including 'The Lost World' and various non-fictional works. These included a pamphlet justifying Britain's involvement in the Boer War, for which he was knighted and histories of the Boer War and World ar One, in ?which his son, brother and two of his nephews were killed. Conan Doyle also twice ran unsuccessfully for parliament. In later life he became very interested in spiritualism.

Conan Doyle died of a heart attack on 7 July 1930.