Conan Doyle's Casebook

Sherlock: Made in Portsmouth

Letters from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle detailing his life in Portsmouth in the years before he wrote A Study in Scarlet are on display in Portsmouth's History Centre until 15 January 2026.
The letters detail his struggle as a writer in those early days, showing his rags to riches story. Next to the letters is the original Beeton's Christmas Annual A Study In Scarlet, a perfect fairytale ending in the published edition of his novel, and the introduction of Sherlock Holmes character to the world!

On loan from the British Library, generously supported by the Dorset Foundation, in memory of Harry M Weinrebe.

We've been very busy here, not only do we have a new website domain name: www.conandoylecollection.com, but we are thrilled to announce that the British Library on Tour have loaned us three significant letters, written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle while he lived in Southsea, detailing his life in Portsmouth as well as his struggles as a writer. The last letter is a great insight into the beginnings of A Study in Scarlet being published...!

https://www.conandoylecollection.com/conan-doyle/our-work/sherlocks-home-portsmouth-then-and-now

Unfortunately our website has been down for some time now and we don't know when it'll be back up 😔. Follow us here for updates on our activities.

Join Sherlock Howls & Dogster Watson for a Family Adventure!
Come along to a fun drop-in family session at Central Library on
Saturday 13th September, 10.30am – 12.30pm

Free, family-friendly and open to all – just drop in and join the mystery!

SUMMER OF SHERLOCK IS BACK! Free workshops...
26th August:
10.30 - 12pm Central Library
1.30 - 3pm Southsea Library
The Casebook of Sherlock Howls and Dogster Watson
Paws-itively Family Fun!
Did you know Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote his first Sherlock Holmes story, A Study in Scarlet, right here in Portsmouth? Also here in Portsmouth we have a wonderful extensive Conan Doyle Collection. To celebrate his literary legacy—and in anticipation of the upcoming Home exhibition—we’re hosting a series of exciting, drop-in creative workshops across the city for the Summer of Sherlock.
Join our puppet detective duo, Sherlock Howls and Dogster Watson, for tail-wagging fun and hands-on activities perfect for families and young sleuths alike!
Throughout the 2-hour session, families will write and illustrate their own fun Sherlock style mystery. They’ll get the chance to perform their own brief impromptu show in front of the rest of the group.
Then, this September/October keep an eye out as Sherlock Howls and Dogster Watson sniff their way around the city with a family-friendly interactive puzzle trail. Solve clues, follow the trail, and uncover secrets in true detective style!
Only 15 spaces available – book you place soon! Suitable for ages 7+
*Under 12s must be accompanied by an adult

Email: [email protected] to book your place!

The Casebook of Sherlock Howls and Dogster Watson
Paws-itively Family Fun!
Did you know Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote his first Sherlock Holmes story, A Study in Scarlet, right here in Portsmouth? To celebrate his literary legacy—and in anticipation of the upcoming Sherlock's Home - Portsmouth Then and Now project—we’re hosting a series of exciting, drop-in creative workshops across the city.
Join our puppet detective duo, Sherlock Howls and Dogster Watson, for tail-wagging fun and hands-on activities perfect for families and young sleuths alike!
Throughout the 2-hour session, families will write and illustrate their own fun Sherlock style mystery. They’ll get the chance to perform their own brief impromptu show in front of the rest of the group.
Then, this September, keep an eye out as Sherlock Howls and Dogster Watson sniff their way around the city with a family-friendly interactive puzzle trail. Solve clues, follow the trail, and uncover secrets in true detective style!
Only 15 spaces available – booking available soon. Suitable for ages 7+

🕵🔎😊😀🐩🐕‍🦺

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1F4HKNZ1oM/?mibextid=wwXIfr

If you missed our talks this year, don’t dispair! Worldwide Doyle 2025 is now live on the Doings of Doyle link below!

WORLDWIDE DOYLE 2025 - All four excellent lectures from this year's Worldwide Doyle series from Portsmouth City Libraries are now live at our YouTube channel. https://www.youtube.com/

During this years Worldwide Doyle talks, I had the privilege of being asked by the lovely Burt Wolder (our first speaker) to be interviewed for the I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere podcast! It really was wonderful fun! Here is that episode!

I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere: Episode 312: Worldwide Doyle Laura Weston from the Portsmouth Public Library joins us to talk about the evolution of the Conan Doyle Collectio

Last chance to grab your tickets! Last Worldwide Doyle lecture for 2025!

Sheldon Goldfarb
Conan Doyle, Misquoter
https://wegottickets.com/event/660557

Did Sir Arthur Conan Doyle get things wrong? There is a whole Sherlockian industry devoted to errors in the Sherlock Holmes stories, but what about when he was writing non-fiction, as in his collection of essays called Through the Magic Door, a collection of charming observations about literature, boxing, and Napoleon, in which Conan Doyle recounts a series of anecdotes about Thomas Carlyle, Walter Scott, Oliver Cromwell, and himself. Often the anecdotes are wrong. And then there are his quotations: often they are wrong too.
Does it matter? Should we not worry unnecessarily about precision when listening to a good story? What did Doyle himself think? In my talk I will explore the errors and the rationale for them, and see if we should care about whether Thomas Carlyle bought a whole set of Gibbon to start his private library.

The last of this year's talk is on TONIGHT!

Sheldon Goldfarb
Conan Doyle, Misquoter
https://wegottickets.com/event/660557

Sheldon Goldfarb is editing Through the Magic Door for the new Edinburgh University Press edition of the works of Conan Doyle. He is the president of the Sherlock Holmes society in Vancouver, Canada (aka the Stormy Petrels of British Columbia) and is the author of Sherlockian Musings: Thoughts on the Sherlock Holmes Stories.

Worldwide Doyle 2025 - Sheldon Goldfarb Did Sir Arthur Conan Doyle get things wrong? There is a whole Sherlockian industry devoted to errors in the Sherlock Holmes stories, but what about when he was writing non-fiction, as in his collection of essays called Through the Magic Door, a collection of charming observations about literature, b...

Tonight's the night!

Dr Jonathon Cranfield
Conan Doyle: Marriage and Divorce

This talk will examine Arthur Conan Doyle’s role in the movement for divorce reform in the early twentieth century. Doyle was perhaps an unlikely champion for divorce reform which had historically been the preserve of radical thinkers from the feminist and atheist margins. Yet the unpopular divorce reforms of the 1890s helped to assemble a diverse coalition to argue for a complete reformulation and destigmatization of marriage dissolution. Debates on this topic in Britain help to reveal Conan Doyle’s key role in the fraught transition away from deep-seated Victorian attitudes on the subject. The issue formed a crucial part of his developing views on a number of issues including home rule for Ireland, free trade and female suffrage.
Dr Jonathan Cranfield is a Senior Lecturer in English Literature and Cultural History at Liverpool John Moores University. He is the author of Twentieth-Century Victorian: Arthur Conan Doyle and the Strand Magazine, 1891-1930 (2016) and the editor of The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (2023)

Get your tickets here!:

Worldwide Doyle 2025 in honour of Professor Neil McCaw .grid-container { display: grid; grid-template-columns: 2fr 1fr; } 5th June 2025 at 7pm - Burt Wolder - https://wegottickets.com/event/660551  Conan Doyle: Adventurous Life, Enduring…

Call out all creatives! We are running our Summer of Sherlock programme and welcome applications from all artists, theatre makers, creatives, facilitators... deadline 30 June, follow link below!

Summer of Sherlock 2025 Hello! We are looking for a talented creative to help facilitate our yearly Summer of Sherlock activites! Please carefully read our brief before submission, which closes on the 30th June 2025.