The Doyle Family Obsession: A Fairy Tale - Revision history

TCDE-Team at 23:26, 10 March 2026

2026-03-10T23:26:21Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:26, 11 March 2026
Line 52:		Line 52:
	Whatever his true opinion of his father, Arthur treated him during his lifetime with something less than an outpouring of affection and compassion, abandoning him somewhat to his fate. This may have been a natural reaction from a son who in many ways had been abandoned himself, forced to shoulder more than his share of family responsibilities while working his way through medical school. But his attitude seemed to soften, and before Sidney Paget arrived on the scene, [[Charles Altamont Doyle\|Charles]] contributed six pen-and-ink drawings to [[Arthur Conan Doyle\|Arthur]]'s first [[Sherlock Holmes]] tale, [[A Study in Scarlet]]. It has been pointed out that at that early stage in his career the great detective bore a remarkable resemblance to the father of his creator. [[Arthur Conan Doyle\|Arthur]] may have paid further tribute to [[Charles Altamont Doyle\|Charles]] in the [[Sherlock Holmes]] story '[[His Last Bow]]', when the great detective assumes the persona of Altamont, an Irish-American agent who penetrates a dangerous German spy ring at the outset of the first World War. How telling that [[Arthur Conan Doyle\|Conan Doyle]]'s celebrated hero takes his father's name in a tale in which the fate of the entire western world may depend upon [[Sherlock Holmes\|Holmes]]'s success.		Whatever his true opinion of his father, Arthur treated him during his lifetime with something less than an outpouring of affection and compassion, abandoning him somewhat to his fate. This may have been a natural reaction from a son who in many ways had been abandoned himself, forced to shoulder more than his share of family responsibilities while working his way through medical school. But his attitude seemed to soften, and before Sidney Paget arrived on the scene, [[Charles Altamont Doyle\|Charles]] contributed six pen-and-ink drawings to [[Arthur Conan Doyle\|Arthur]]'s first [[Sherlock Holmes]] tale, [[A Study in Scarlet]]. It has been pointed out that at that early stage in his career the great detective bore a remarkable resemblance to the father of his creator. [[Arthur Conan Doyle\|Arthur]] may have paid further tribute to [[Charles Altamont Doyle\|Charles]] in the [[Sherlock Holmes]] story '[[His Last Bow]]', when the great detective assumes the persona of Altamont, an Irish-American agent who penetrates a dangerous German spy ring at the outset of the first World War. How telling that [[Arthur Conan Doyle\|Conan Doyle]]'s celebrated hero takes his father's name in a tale in which the fate of the entire western world may depend upon [[Sherlock Holmes\|Holmes]]'s success.

	Be that as it may, [[Charles Altamont Doyle\|Charles]] soon left the drawing of consulting detectives behind and concentrated his talents on the depiction of fairies, flora and fauna, for which he had a decided talent. Given his artistic obsession with fairies, it is not inconceivable that he truly believed in them. On one of his sketches of a 'cat-girl' he scribbled the words, I have known just such a creature'. It is also probable that he had a fear of birds, which, in addition to other small woodland creatures, assume a somewhat threatening attitude in many of [[Charles Altamont Doyle\|Doyle]]'s paintings. In the film FairyTale: A True Story, a fictionalized account of [[Arthur Conan Doyle\|Conan Doyle]]'s brush with the fairies, with Peter O'Toole in the rôle of [[Sir Arthur Conan Doyle]], there is a scene which recreates almost exactly [[Charles Altamont Doyle\|Charles]]'s sketch of a delicate fairy posing alongside a huge, menacing-looking black bird.		Be that as it may, [[Charles Altamont Doyle\|Charles]] soon left the drawing of consulting detectives behind and concentrated his talents on the depiction of fairies, flora and fauna, for which he had a decided talent. Given his artistic obsession with fairies, it is not inconceivable that he truly believed in them. On one of his sketches of a 'cat-girl' he scribbled the words, I have known just such a creature'. It is also probable that he had a fear of birds, which, in addition to other small woodland creatures, assume a somewhat threatening attitude in many of [[Charles Altamont Doyle\|Doyle]]'s paintings. In the film [[FairyTale: A True Story]], a fictionalized account of [[Arthur Conan Doyle\|Conan Doyle]]'s brush with the fairies, with [[Peter O'Toole]] in the rôle of [[Sir Arthur Conan Doyle]], there is a scene which recreates almost exactly [[Charles Altamont Doyle\|Charles]]'s sketch of a delicate fairy posing alongside a huge, menacing-looking black bird.

	[[Charles Altamont Doyle]]'s paintings of elves and fairies amply reflect the dual nature of his personality. On the one hand they possess a dreaminess, a charm and a playful wit that characterize the gentleman who was once described by his son with the words. 'He had a charm of manner and a courtesy of bearing which I have seldom seen equalled'. (3) But on occasion his fairy paintings reveal a hallucinatory element and a dark eroticism that betray an unbalanced mind. Here we witness the demons that plagued him, his own private. Saucy Jack ripping at the delicate fabric of his psyche. the self-destructive urges brought on by financial difficulties and professional mediocrity, by what he perceived as a failure to live up to the creative genius for which his family was so renowned, and the guilt and shame over his alcoholism and epilepsy. Whatever the reasons, his fairies possess a child-like quality and often appear vulnerable and fragile, caught up by forces beyond their control, as was [[Charles Altamont Doyle\|Doyle]] himself. A cogent argument for asserting that the fairies are indeed us, tiny sprites menaced on all sides, full of strange forebodings, yet yearning for a kind of emotional liberation and a oneness with nature. If [[Charles Altamont Doyle\|Doyle]]'s sketchbooks created at 'Sunnyside' (his euphemism for the mental asylum in which he was detained) are his fantasy world, they are also his worst nightmares in watercolours and pen-and-ink. A prime example is his intensely revealing and introspective self-portrait. Nonetheless, it is worthwhile noting that his best and most compelling work, like that of Richard Dadd, was produced during his asylum days.		[[Charles Altamont Doyle]]'s paintings of elves and fairies amply reflect the dual nature of his personality. On the one hand they possess a dreaminess, a charm and a playful wit that characterize the gentleman who was once described by his son with the words. 'He had a charm of manner and a courtesy of bearing which I have seldom seen equalled'. (3) But on occasion his fairy paintings reveal a hallucinatory element and a dark eroticism that betray an unbalanced mind. Here we witness the demons that plagued him, his own private. Saucy Jack ripping at the delicate fabric of his psyche. the self-destructive urges brought on by financial difficulties and professional mediocrity, by what he perceived as a failure to live up to the creative genius for which his family was so renowned, and the guilt and shame over his alcoholism and epilepsy. Whatever the reasons, his fairies possess a child-like quality and often appear vulnerable and fragile, caught up by forces beyond their control, as was [[Charles Altamont Doyle\|Doyle]] himself. A cogent argument for asserting that the fairies are indeed us, tiny sprites menaced on all sides, full of strange forebodings, yet yearning for a kind of emotional liberation and a oneness with nature. If [[Charles Altamont Doyle\|Doyle]]'s sketchbooks created at 'Sunnyside' (his euphemism for the mental asylum in which he was detained) are his fantasy world, they are also his worst nightmares in watercolours and pen-and-ink. A prime example is his intensely revealing and introspective self-portrait. Nonetheless, it is worthwhile noting that his best and most compelling work, like that of Richard Dadd, was produced during his asylum days.

TCDE-Team at 23:25, 10 March 2026

2026-03-10T23:25:36Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:25, 11 March 2026
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	Our ancestors of a century ago possessed a great fear of the unknown, best represented by the new technology. They reacted by creating an entire universe inhabited by tiny creatures that frolicked and cavorted just out of sight of the humans who toiled and suffered just overhead. And yet. for all their charm, there persists an unsettling element of madness, a hallucinatory quality, and a faintly sinister eroticism in the Victorian fairy paintings, and nowhere is this better expressed than in the works of [[Charles Altamont Doyle]]. [[Sir Arthur Conan Doyle\|Sir Arthur]]'s father.		Our ancestors of a century ago possessed a great fear of the unknown, best represented by the new technology. They reacted by creating an entire universe inhabited by tiny creatures that frolicked and cavorted just out of sight of the humans who toiled and suffered just overhead. And yet. for all their charm, there persists an unsettling element of madness, a hallucinatory quality, and a faintly sinister eroticism in the Victorian fairy paintings, and nowhere is this better expressed than in the works of [[Charles Altamont Doyle]]. [[Sir Arthur Conan Doyle\|Sir Arthur]]'s father.

	[[Charles Altamont Doyle\|Charles]] was born in 1832 into a strictly Catholic family whose members possessed remarkable artistic talents. His father, John, was a celebrated political caricaturist of the Regency period who signed his work 'HB'. His mother was Marianna Conan, the sister of Michael Conan, an artist, critic and journalist. His elder brother. Richard. known as '[[Richard Doyle\|Dicky]]', acquired a considerable reputation as an illustrator. Three other brothers were also serious artists, though one died at an early age. (1) In 1849, when he was 17. [[Charles Altamont Doyle\|Charles]] was sent from London to Edinburgh to take up a post as assistant to the surveyor in the Scottish Office of Works, a somewhat tedious position which nonetheless required the skills of an architect, draftsman and builder. However, there is some evidence that his career was not entirely fulfilling, and his large family languished in genteel poverty.		[[Charles Altamont Doyle\|Charles]] was born in 1832 into a strictly Catholic family whose members possessed remarkable artistic talents. His father, John, was a celebrated political caricaturist of the Regency period who signed his work 'HB'. His mother was [[Marianne Conan\|Marianna Conan]], the sister of [[Michael Edward Conan\|Michael Conan]], an artist, critic and journalist. His elder brother. [[Richard Doyle\|Richard]], known as '[[Richard Doyle\|Dicky]]', acquired a considerable reputation as an illustrator. Three other brothers were also serious artists, though one died at an early age. (1) In 1849, when he was 17. [[Charles Altamont Doyle\|Charles]] was sent from London to Edinburgh to take up a post as assistant to the surveyor in the Scottish Office of Works, a somewhat tedious position which nonetheless required the skills of an architect, draftsman and builder. However, there is some evidence that his career was not entirely fulfilling, and his large family languished in genteel poverty.

	It also seems that [[Charles Altamont Doyle\|Charles Doyle]] suffered from headaches and was subject to bouts of depression. From 1879 until his death in 1893 he was confined to a series of mental institutions. The reason was unclear until research in the 1970s revealed that [[Charles Altamont Doyle\|Charles]] had actually suffered from epilepsy and alcoholism. However, his circumstances did little to diminish his great artistic talents, though his paintings may well have been affected by his somewhat altered state of mind. He appears to have been preoccupied with death, undoubtedly brought on by his strict Catholic upbringing, his morbid thoughts, neuroses and depressions, together with the conditions in which he found himself. In one self-portrait, entitled Well Met, he greets the Grim Reaper with the words 'I do believe that to a Catholic there is Nothing so sweet in life as leaving it.'		It also seems that [[Charles Altamont Doyle\|Charles Doyle]] suffered from headaches and was subject to bouts of depression. From 1879 until his death in 1893 he was confined to a series of mental institutions. The reason was unclear until research in the 1970s revealed that [[Charles Altamont Doyle\|Charles]] had actually suffered from epilepsy and alcoholism. However, his circumstances did little to diminish his great artistic talents, though his paintings may well have been affected by his somewhat altered state of mind. He appears to have been preoccupied with death, undoubtedly brought on by his strict Catholic upbringing, his morbid thoughts, neuroses and depressions, together with the conditions in which he found himself. In one self-portrait, entitled Well Met, he greets the Grim Reaper with the words 'I do believe that to a Catholic there is Nothing so sweet in life as leaving it.'

TCDE-Team: Created page with "{{Cargo_Research_Articles |date=1999-06-01 |author=Barbara Rusch |topic=Fairies |summary=This article reflects on Arthur Conan Doyle's belief in the Cottingley fairies and contrasts it with Sherlock Holmes's method of evidence and deduction. It suggests that Conan Doyle's emotional and spiritual commitments led him to accept weak evidence and raises possible personal motives behind his fascination with the supernatural. }} ''The Doyle Family Obsession: A Fairy Tale''..."

2026-03-10T23:23:22Z

Created page with "{{Cargo_Research_Articles |date=1999-06-01 |author=Barbara Rusch |topic=Fairies |summary=This article reflects on Arthur Conan Doyle's belief in the Cottingley fairies and contrasts it with Sherlock Holmes's method of evidence and deduction. It suggests that Conan Doyle's emotional and spiritual commitments led him to accept weak evidence and raises possible personal motives behind his fascination with the supernatural. }} ''The Doyle Family Obsession: A Fairy Tale''..."

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← Older revision		Revision as of 01:26, 11 March 2026
Line 52:		Line 52:
	Whatever his true opinion of his father, Arthur treated him during his lifetime with something less than an outpouring of affection and compassion, abandoning him somewhat to his fate. This may have been a natural reaction from a son who in many ways had been abandoned himself, forced to shoulder more than his share of family responsibilities while working his way through medical school. But his attitude seemed to soften, and before Sidney Paget arrived on the scene, [[Charles Altamont Doyle\|Charles]] contributed six pen-and-ink drawings to [[Arthur Conan Doyle\|Arthur]]'s first [[Sherlock Holmes]] tale, [[A Study in Scarlet]]. It has been pointed out that at that early stage in his career the great detective bore a remarkable resemblance to the father of his creator. [[Arthur Conan Doyle\|Arthur]] may have paid further tribute to [[Charles Altamont Doyle\|Charles]] in the [[Sherlock Holmes]] story '[[His Last Bow]]', when the great detective assumes the persona of Altamont, an Irish-American agent who penetrates a dangerous German spy ring at the outset of the first World War. How telling that [[Arthur Conan Doyle\|Conan Doyle]]'s celebrated hero takes his father's name in a tale in which the fate of the entire western world may depend upon [[Sherlock Holmes\|Holmes]]'s success.		Whatever his true opinion of his father, Arthur treated him during his lifetime with something less than an outpouring of affection and compassion, abandoning him somewhat to his fate. This may have been a natural reaction from a son who in many ways had been abandoned himself, forced to shoulder more than his share of family responsibilities while working his way through medical school. But his attitude seemed to soften, and before Sidney Paget arrived on the scene, [[Charles Altamont Doyle\|Charles]] contributed six pen-and-ink drawings to [[Arthur Conan Doyle\|Arthur]]'s first [[Sherlock Holmes]] tale, [[A Study in Scarlet]]. It has been pointed out that at that early stage in his career the great detective bore a remarkable resemblance to the father of his creator. [[Arthur Conan Doyle\|Arthur]] may have paid further tribute to [[Charles Altamont Doyle\|Charles]] in the [[Sherlock Holmes]] story '[[His Last Bow]]', when the great detective assumes the persona of Altamont, an Irish-American agent who penetrates a dangerous German spy ring at the outset of the first World War. How telling that [[Arthur Conan Doyle\|Conan Doyle]]'s celebrated hero takes his father's name in a tale in which the fate of the entire western world may depend upon [[Sherlock Holmes\|Holmes]]'s success.

	Be that as it may, [[Charles Altamont Doyle\|Charles]] soon left the drawing of consulting detectives behind and concentrated his talents on the depiction of fairies, flora and fauna, for which he had a decided talent. Given his artistic obsession with fairies, it is not inconceivable that he truly believed in them. On one of his sketches of a 'cat-girl' he scribbled the words, I have known just such a creature'. It is also probable that he had a fear of birds, which, in addition to other small woodland creatures, assume a somewhat threatening attitude in many of [[Charles Altamont Doyle\|Doyle]]'s paintings. In the film FairyTale: A True Story, a fictionalized account of [[Arthur Conan Doyle\|Conan Doyle]]'s brush with the fairies, with Peter O'Toole in the rôle of [[Sir Arthur Conan Doyle]], there is a scene which recreates almost exactly [[Charles Altamont Doyle\|Charles]]'s sketch of a delicate fairy posing alongside a huge, menacing-looking black bird.		Be that as it may, [[Charles Altamont Doyle\|Charles]] soon left the drawing of consulting detectives behind and concentrated his talents on the depiction of fairies, flora and fauna, for which he had a decided talent. Given his artistic obsession with fairies, it is not inconceivable that he truly believed in them. On one of his sketches of a 'cat-girl' he scribbled the words, I have known just such a creature'. It is also probable that he had a fear of birds, which, in addition to other small woodland creatures, assume a somewhat threatening attitude in many of [[Charles Altamont Doyle\|Doyle]]'s paintings. In the film [[FairyTale: A True Story]], a fictionalized account of [[Arthur Conan Doyle\|Conan Doyle]]'s brush with the fairies, with [[Peter O'Toole]] in the rôle of [[Sir Arthur Conan Doyle]], there is a scene which recreates almost exactly [[Charles Altamont Doyle\|Charles]]'s sketch of a delicate fairy posing alongside a huge, menacing-looking black bird.

	[[Charles Altamont Doyle]]'s paintings of elves and fairies amply reflect the dual nature of his personality. On the one hand they possess a dreaminess, a charm and a playful wit that characterize the gentleman who was once described by his son with the words. 'He had a charm of manner and a courtesy of bearing which I have seldom seen equalled'. (3) But on occasion his fairy paintings reveal a hallucinatory element and a dark eroticism that betray an unbalanced mind. Here we witness the demons that plagued him, his own private. Saucy Jack ripping at the delicate fabric of his psyche. the self-destructive urges brought on by financial difficulties and professional mediocrity, by what he perceived as a failure to live up to the creative genius for which his family was so renowned, and the guilt and shame over his alcoholism and epilepsy. Whatever the reasons, his fairies possess a child-like quality and often appear vulnerable and fragile, caught up by forces beyond their control, as was [[Charles Altamont Doyle\|Doyle]] himself. A cogent argument for asserting that the fairies are indeed us, tiny sprites menaced on all sides, full of strange forebodings, yet yearning for a kind of emotional liberation and a oneness with nature. If [[Charles Altamont Doyle\|Doyle]]'s sketchbooks created at 'Sunnyside' (his euphemism for the mental asylum in which he was detained) are his fantasy world, they are also his worst nightmares in watercolours and pen-and-ink. A prime example is his intensely revealing and introspective self-portrait. Nonetheless, it is worthwhile noting that his best and most compelling work, like that of Richard Dadd, was produced during his asylum days.		[[Charles Altamont Doyle]]'s paintings of elves and fairies amply reflect the dual nature of his personality. On the one hand they possess a dreaminess, a charm and a playful wit that characterize the gentleman who was once described by his son with the words. 'He had a charm of manner and a courtesy of bearing which I have seldom seen equalled'. (3) But on occasion his fairy paintings reveal a hallucinatory element and a dark eroticism that betray an unbalanced mind. Here we witness the demons that plagued him, his own private. Saucy Jack ripping at the delicate fabric of his psyche. the self-destructive urges brought on by financial difficulties and professional mediocrity, by what he perceived as a failure to live up to the creative genius for which his family was so renowned, and the guilt and shame over his alcoholism and epilepsy. Whatever the reasons, his fairies possess a child-like quality and often appear vulnerable and fragile, caught up by forces beyond their control, as was [[Charles Altamont Doyle\|Doyle]] himself. A cogent argument for asserting that the fairies are indeed us, tiny sprites menaced on all sides, full of strange forebodings, yet yearning for a kind of emotional liberation and a oneness with nature. If [[Charles Altamont Doyle\|Doyle]]'s sketchbooks created at 'Sunnyside' (his euphemism for the mental asylum in which he was detained) are his fantasy world, they are also his worst nightmares in watercolours and pen-and-ink. A prime example is his intensely revealing and introspective self-portrait. Nonetheless, it is worthwhile noting that his best and most compelling work, like that of Richard Dadd, was produced during his asylum days.

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:25, 11 March 2026
Line 40:		Line 40:
	Our ancestors of a century ago possessed a great fear of the unknown, best represented by the new technology. They reacted by creating an entire universe inhabited by tiny creatures that frolicked and cavorted just out of sight of the humans who toiled and suffered just overhead. And yet. for all their charm, there persists an unsettling element of madness, a hallucinatory quality, and a faintly sinister eroticism in the Victorian fairy paintings, and nowhere is this better expressed than in the works of [[Charles Altamont Doyle]]. [[Sir Arthur Conan Doyle\|Sir Arthur]]'s father.		Our ancestors of a century ago possessed a great fear of the unknown, best represented by the new technology. They reacted by creating an entire universe inhabited by tiny creatures that frolicked and cavorted just out of sight of the humans who toiled and suffered just overhead. And yet. for all their charm, there persists an unsettling element of madness, a hallucinatory quality, and a faintly sinister eroticism in the Victorian fairy paintings, and nowhere is this better expressed than in the works of [[Charles Altamont Doyle]]. [[Sir Arthur Conan Doyle\|Sir Arthur]]'s father.

	[[Charles Altamont Doyle\|Charles]] was born in 1832 into a strictly Catholic family whose members possessed remarkable artistic talents. His father, John, was a celebrated political caricaturist of the Regency period who signed his work 'HB'. His mother was Marianna Conan, the sister of Michael Conan, an artist, critic and journalist. His elder brother. Richard. known as '[[Richard Doyle\|Dicky]]', acquired a considerable reputation as an illustrator. Three other brothers were also serious artists, though one died at an early age. (1) In 1849, when he was 17. [[Charles Altamont Doyle\|Charles]] was sent from London to Edinburgh to take up a post as assistant to the surveyor in the Scottish Office of Works, a somewhat tedious position which nonetheless required the skills of an architect, draftsman and builder. However, there is some evidence that his career was not entirely fulfilling, and his large family languished in genteel poverty.		[[Charles Altamont Doyle\|Charles]] was born in 1832 into a strictly Catholic family whose members possessed remarkable artistic talents. His father, John, was a celebrated political caricaturist of the Regency period who signed his work 'HB'. His mother was [[Marianne Conan\|Marianna Conan]], the sister of [[Michael Edward Conan\|Michael Conan]], an artist, critic and journalist. His elder brother. [[Richard Doyle\|Richard]], known as '[[Richard Doyle\|Dicky]]', acquired a considerable reputation as an illustrator. Three other brothers were also serious artists, though one died at an early age. (1) In 1849, when he was 17. [[Charles Altamont Doyle\|Charles]] was sent from London to Edinburgh to take up a post as assistant to the surveyor in the Scottish Office of Works, a somewhat tedious position which nonetheless required the skills of an architect, draftsman and builder. However, there is some evidence that his career was not entirely fulfilling, and his large family languished in genteel poverty.

	It also seems that [[Charles Altamont Doyle\|Charles Doyle]] suffered from headaches and was subject to bouts of depression. From 1879 until his death in 1893 he was confined to a series of mental institutions. The reason was unclear until research in the 1970s revealed that [[Charles Altamont Doyle\|Charles]] had actually suffered from epilepsy and alcoholism. However, his circumstances did little to diminish his great artistic talents, though his paintings may well have been affected by his somewhat altered state of mind. He appears to have been preoccupied with death, undoubtedly brought on by his strict Catholic upbringing, his morbid thoughts, neuroses and depressions, together with the conditions in which he found himself. In one self-portrait, entitled Well Met, he greets the Grim Reaper with the words 'I do believe that to a Catholic there is Nothing so sweet in life as leaving it.'		It also seems that [[Charles Altamont Doyle\|Charles Doyle]] suffered from headaches and was subject to bouts of depression. From 1879 until his death in 1893 he was confined to a series of mental institutions. The reason was unclear until research in the 1970s revealed that [[Charles Altamont Doyle\|Charles]] had actually suffered from epilepsy and alcoholism. However, his circumstances did little to diminish his great artistic talents, though his paintings may well have been affected by his somewhat altered state of mind. He appears to have been preoccupied with death, undoubtedly brought on by his strict Catholic upbringing, his morbid thoughts, neuroses and depressions, together with the conditions in which he found himself. In one self-portrait, entitled Well Met, he greets the Grim Reaper with the words 'I do believe that to a Catholic there is Nothing so sweet in life as leaving it.'