The Inner Room: Editorial (ACD Journal vol. 1 No. 1)
The Inner Room: Editorial [Vol. 1 No. 1] is an article written by Christopher Roden published in the A.C.D. - The Journal of The Arthur Conan Doyle Society (Vol. 1 No. 1, september 1989).
This article introduces the first issue of the Arthur Conan Doyle Society's journal and sets out its purpose: to promote serious reading and study of Conan Doyle beyond Sherlock Holmes. It argues that better understanding must come from Conan Doyle's own writings and primary sources, while calling for renewed scholarship, reprints, and broader literary recognition.
Editorial
It is mine — the little chamber,
Mine alone.
I had it from my forbears
Years agone.
Yet within its wall I see
A most motley company,
And they one and all claim me
As their own.
There's one who is a soldier
Bluff and keen;
Single-minded, heavy-fisted,
Rude of mien.
He would gain a purse or stake it,
He would win a heart or break it,
He would give a life or take it,
Conscience-clean.
And near him is a priest
Still schism-whole;
He loves the censer-reek
And organ-roll.
He has leanings to the mystic,
Sacramental, eucharistic;
And dim yearnings altruistic
Thrill his soul.
There's another who with doubts
Is overcast;
I think him younger brother
To the last.
Walking wary stride by stride,
Peering forwards anxious-eyed,
Since he learned to doubt his guide
In the past.
And 'mid them all, alert,
But somewhat cowed,
There sits a stark-faced fellow,
Beetle-browed,
Whose black soul shrinks away
From a lawyer-ridden day,
And has thoughts he dare not say
Half avowed.
There are others who are sitting.
Grim as doom,
In the dim ill-boding shadow
Of my room.
Darkling figures, stern or quaint,
Now a savage, now a saint,
Showing fitfully and faint
Through the gloom.
And those shadows are so dense,
There may be
Many very many — more
Than I see.
They are sitting day and night
Soldier, rogue, and anchorite;
And they wrangle and they fight
Over me.
If the stark-faced fellow win,
All is o'er!
If the priest should gain his will,
I doubt no more!
But if each shall have his day,
I shall swing and I shall sway
In the same old weary way
As before.
Arthur Conan Doyle, whose autobiographical writings are generally regarded as revealing little of the true man and who, understandably, saw little reason for entering into public discussion on his personal psychology, published the short poem The Inner Room in the collection Songs of Action in 1898.
Through this poem, we can perhaps come closer to understanding the complexity of Conan Doyle's personality, and some of the various problems which he debated in his own mind throughout his full, active and varied life.
The Inner Room indicates the multi-faceted personality of the man to whose life and works this Society is dedicated. It ought to help us realise that a greater understanding of Arthur Conan Doyle is likely to be achieved through the study of his own writings, rather than from the speculations of specious biographies which have a habit of appearing from time to time.
Of course, not all of Conan Doyle's biographers are guilty of wild speculation and inaccuracy: the last twenty-five years have produced some highly relevant, respected and valuable work. However, the biographer's task is made doubly difficult by lack of access to some primary sources, in particular Conan Doyle's letters to his Mother which form a part of the family papers still bound up in seemingly endless litigation. Until these important papers are once more made available to the serious student of Conan Doyle, the definitive biography will remain unwritten.
The work and activities of The Arthur Conan Doyle Society, therefore, become all the more important and we have a duty, far above our personal fascination with Conan Doyle, to present the facts as we know and understand them.
It is not enough to own a splendid collection of Conan Doyle's writings. However satisfying it may be to see those volumes displayed on a bookshelf, the words sheltering between the covers are the most important part. If this is remembered, the relevance of bindings and particular editions becomes only a secondary consideration. It is important that we read, and encourage others to read, the words of Conan Doyle.
Regrettably, many of the volumes which should form a part of our essential reading' are now only available often at considerable cost in the second-hand market. Cheap editions, especially of the Sherlock Holmes stories, which have flooded the market since the British Copyrights expired, have convinced traditional publishers that there is no longer an adequate market for individual editions. We must, therefore, seek to re-create that demand which the publishers now feel to be lacking, and reverse the misguided opinion of the literati that Conan Doyle is not a writer to be taken seriously.
But I remain serious for too long. The appearance of this, the first edition of 'A.C.D. The Journal of The Arthur Conan Doyle Society' should be a cause for celebration. The last nine months have been enjoyably hectic. The planning, flotation and eventual launch of the Society have been time-consuming, but by no means onerous. It seems an age since I first sat in Dame Jean Conan Doyle's flat on an afternoon in March, discussing what I had in mind and what I hoped the Society would achieve. The interest in the project, and the enthusiasm with which the Society has been greeted, both in Britain and around the World have made all the work very worthwhile.
No longer is it the case that Conan Doyle has to be tolerated', as was suggested in a recent issue of The Sherlock Holmes Journal. Our Society will show that Conan Doyle was far more than simply the creator of Sherlock Holmes and, as time goes by, we should strive to see that the intelligentsia accords to Conan Doyle his rightful place amongst Britain's literary greats the place which has for too long been denied him.
I owe a few words of very sincere thanks to David Kirby, who acted as a sounding board for my ideas during the Autumn of 1988; to Dame Jean Conan Doyle, whose enthusiasm for the project has been a continuing source of inspiration; to Alvin Rodin for his early and continuing enthusiasm from the other side of the Atlantic; and to Jon Lellenberg for his frequent contributions, suggestions, and guidance but, particularly, for The Quest for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, a book which I cannot recommend too highly and which played a major part in my original conviction that there was a real need for an Arthur Conan Doyle Society.
Finally, a very special word of thanks to David Stuart Davies who kindly agreed to accept my invitation to become Joint Editor of 'A.C.D.', and who is, I know, as keen as I am to see the Society and the Journal become successful.
It has been my aim to offer members a quality Journal. I hope that you will feel that this aim has been achieved, and that you have enjoyed your first visit to The Inner Room.
Christopher Roden
- Article courtesy Christopher Roden, founder of The Arthur Conan Doyle Society (1989-2003).
