Alderney Sherlock Holmes
An inspiration to many crime novelists, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, born on 22 May 1859, is best known for his famous creation Sherlock Holmes.
Rather than following the family tradition of pursuing an artistic career, Conan Doyle chose to study medicine at Edinburgh University where he wrote a short story called "The Mystery of Sasassa Valley". Whilst comparisons can be drawn to the writings of his favourite authors at that time, the story was nevertheless published in Chambers’s Journal where Thomas Hardy's first work had appeared.
In May 1891, whilst writing some of the early Sherlock Holmes short stories, Conan Doyle was struck by influenza and for a number of days it was a matter of life or death. Once his health had improved he decided to abandon his medical career in favour of his literary one.
The first collection of Sherlock Holmes short stories entitled "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes," were published in 1892 and were greeted with huge acclaim. However, wishing to concentrate on writing historical novels, Conan Doyle wrote of Holmes’ death in "The Final Problem".
Date of issue: 29th October 2009
Designer: Keith Robinson
Printer: Cartor Security Printers
Values: 36p, 43p, 51p, 54p, 56p, 71p
Process: Offset lithography
Stamp sizes: 28mm deep x 45mm wide
Paper: 110gsm unwatermarked
PVA adhesive
Perforation: 13.5
Sheet: 10
Cylinder: A
