The Official Launch (ACD Journal vol. 1 No. 1)
The Official Launch 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 reports the official launch of The Arthur Conan Doyle Society in London on 21 May 1989 and reproduces Christopher Roden's founding speech. It sets out the Society's aims: to promote research on Conan Doyle beyond Sherlock Holmes, encourage new scholarship, and widen appreciation of his life and works.
The Official Launch
Arthur Conan Doyle, MD (An original inkwash by Christina Martin).
Sunday, May 21st, 1989
Although the Society was to have been launched officially on May 22nd, the date which coincided with Sir Arthur's 130th Birthday anniversary, the need to bring as many people as possible together in London for the Launching Party, necessitated the date being moved forward by one day to Sunday May 21st.
Some problems were encountered in arranging the party from a distance of some 200 miles, not least the totally ungenerous attitude of London's catering fraternity who seem to seek any occasion to demand exorbitant room hire charges. It has to be said that there is little foresight on the part of those who stand to gain most in the long term from their Conan Doyle and Sherlock Holmes connections.
Being unable to negotiate satisfactory arrangements with any of the establishments which have a Conan Doyle connection, The George Inn at Southwark was eventually chosen on the recommendation of Tony Howlett, Chairman of The Sherlock Holmes Society of London. We should be grateful that his choice proved to be correct from every point of view.
The George Inn, probably London's most historic, has all the charm and atmosphere of a 400 year old traditional English coaching house, being the only remaining galleried inn in London and maintained in splendid condition by The National Trust.
The George has a literary past too, being a regular calling place of Dr. Samuel Johnson and featuring in Dickens' novel Little Dorrit.
Early arrivals for the Party gathered in the splendid courtyard on a beautiful sunny Sunday morning before being shown into the magnificent George Room, which is timbered with oak beams and decorated with ageing murals. In all, some thirty members and guests enjoyed a splendid buffet lunch.
The formalities were recorded for the Society's archives by Nick Utechin, Editor of The Sherlock Holmes Journal, but present in his capacity of B.B.C. Radio 4's Producer of To keep the Memory Green, the series devoted to literary Societies. The Arthur Conan Doyle Society is to feature in the new series to be broadcast early in 1990 and, throughout the afternoon, Nick and his presenter, Humphrey Carpenter, carried out a series of interviews.
Formalities were restricted to speeches by Christopher Roden, the Society's Founder, Julian Symons our Honorary President, and Owen Dudley Edwards. We were fortunate that Dame Jean Conan Doyle was able to join us, and that the occasion produced an impromptu speech which everyone present appreciated very much.
For the record, the Founder's speech is reproduced in the following pages, and many of the points made by our Honorary President, Julian Symons, are contained in his article which follows this report.
FOUNDER'S SPEECH
It is, perhaps, understandable that people should ask: 'Why a Conan Doyle Society when there are already so many groups dedicated to the study of Sherlock Holmes?'
Whilst we may excuse the confusion, we certainly cannot accept that particular view for any longer. Those who have an interest in the creator as opposed to the creation, will certainly recognise that there is a great deal more to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle than the Sherlock Holmes stories.
Having mentioned Sherlock Holmes, who was for me like so many others, the beginning of an interest in Conan Doyle, it is an appropriate moment to state quite categorically, that The Arthur Conan Doyle Society does not set out with the intention of becoming another Holmes Appreciation Society; nor does it intend to 'play the game'.
In their own right, the various Holmes Societies fulfil a splendid role — encouraging, as they do, the deeper study of one aspect of Sir Arthur's work.
However, one feels that Sir Arthur would have been bitterly disappointed to know that a character of which he had been inclined to weary, from time to time, demanded the attentions of a Society in his name over and above the other fine characters created by the Conan Doyle pen.
For this reason, whilst Sherlock Holmes will have a place in this Society's discussions, I sincerely hope that, wherever possible, those discussions will tend towards factual aspects. For example, in the near future we shall publish an article entitled 'Sherlock Holmes and Anaesthesia', which is a study of references in the Canon to the uses of certain drugs and related to the medical knowledge which existed at the time the stories were written. Such articles, besides placing various references in the Holmes stories into a context, also demonstrate that Sir Arthur kept well abreast of medical developments and, on occasion, showed medical reasoning far ahead of the knowledge of his time. All of this, of course, reinforces the argument, so well propounded by Alvin Rodin and Jack Key in their 'Medical Casebook of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle': that Conan Doyle was not the failed practitioner presented by some would-be biographers.
And so, the Society's research into Conan Doyle's fictional writings should be directed at Professor Challenger, Brigadier Gerard, Nigel Loring, the Science Fiction and the Supernatural tales and, of course. the short stories. The factual aspects of Sir Arthur's own life and writings present a seemingly endless supply of opportunities for research.
But to what purpose?
In the leaflet which described the Society's formation, I attempted to outline the aims as I saw them:
Firstly, to bring together those people sharing a common interest in Sir Arthur and his works and to encourage new work and investigation.
Secondly, to make the results of discussion and research available through the medium of a twice yearly Journal.
Thirdly, to promote Sir Arthur's works to a wider audience. perhaps by encouraging radio/television adaptation of some of the lesser known works and short stories. And, in particular, by encouraging publishers to make the books more readily available in modern editions.
Finally, there should be a 'Social' side to the Society. By this, I mean that there should be organised visits to places of relevance in a discussion of Sir Arthur, meetings with lectures and discussion on specialised topics, and an Annual Luncheon or Dinner.
Of course, completely original work is restricted by lack of access to some of the family documents which have been unavailable to serious students for several years. We can only hope that the problems will be resolved before too long, and that the various Executors will feel that The Arthur Conan Doyle Society has its part to play in reviewing this material once restrictions are lifted.
Indeed, what a splendid tribute it would be were the remaining archival material to be made available as the basis for a National 'Arthur Conan Doyle Collection.'
I have to express a little surprise that no-one has formed a Society before now. I know that, shortly after the last War, a very adventurous scheme to form the Conan Doyle Society was mooted: this proposed 2,000 members at £1 each subscription, and an eventual monthly magazine with a 5,000 copy run. Offices and staff were the order of the day, and it appears that the intention was, initially, to share offices with The Kipling Society. As far as I know, the scheme never got underway.
I am also surprised, but very pleasantly so, at the willingness of everyone I have approached during the build up to the launch to accept what I set out to achieve at face value. Such support has made life very much easier, and I sincerely hope that you will feel, in time, that your confidence has been repaid.
On the subject of help. I must extend special thanks to The Abbey National Building Society who donated £500, to Lloyds Bank who donated £250, and to Penguin Books who donated £100. Their help is sufficient to ensure that the first edition of the Society's Journal can be published without reliance on subscription income.
I must also add a personal word of thanks to Dame Jean Conan Doyle, whose interest and encouragement has been very gratefully received.
There has been no major publicity drive. Of course, leaflets have been distributed through various channels, but a good deal of promotion has been by word of mouth. Nevertheless, the pre-launch membership has reached 75, and I regard this as satisfactory. To be totally self-supporting, I look for a growth to 250 members.
And now, to crib the title of a book which played a large part in my thinking when formulating plans, we begin 'The Quest for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.'
We have the opportunity to re-examine his life, his crusades, and the subject which many biographers prefer to gloss over his Spiritualism.
It is appropriate that Oxford have chosen the month of the Society's launch to reprint Memories and Adventures in paperback. Lesser publicity has been given to another paperback reprint, this time by Psychic Press, of The History of Spiritualism. Psychic Press has taken a genuine interest in this Society's activities and it should be hoped that, with knowledge that may be imparted by their readers, we may come to understand a little better Sir Arthur's total commitment to the Spiritualist movement in his later years.
Above all, we have an opportunity to provide a re-assessment of Sir Arthur's literary reputation:
Anthony Burgess, writing specifically of Conan Doyle in an article in The Independent in 1987 said:
'There is a division between what is subtle or ambiguous enough to be studied and what is no more than a good read. If a book is hard going, it ought to be good. If it posits a complex moral situation, it ought to be even better. If it has a multitude of sous-textes and a battery of symbols, it is supreme: fodder for doctoral theses and the stuff of tenure. To be a mere entertainer is not enough. And yet, to entertain is far more difficult than to enlighten.'
As recently as last Sunday's Mail on Sunday, Burgess had this to say:
'Conan Doyle has never been accorded the respect of the literary. His books are quickly dismissed in histories of English Literature; his style is never analysed and his psychology never discussed. The rift in our literary traditions between the popular and the recherche has produced a deplorable double standard: a kind of aesthetic hypocrisy. Doyle was a great writer.'
I thank Joe Cooper for reminding me that Somerset Maugham once wrote:
'There are three rules for writing a novel unfortunately nobody knows what they are critics, please take note.
Whatever the view of the critics, no-one will dispute that Arthur Conan Doyle consistently entertained with a ripping good yarn. That his characters became heroes which saw the birth of the twentieth century, and went on as heroes shortly to see the birth of the twenty first century speaks for itself. It is an incredible achievement, and one which we should be proud to promote vigorously. Ladies and Gentlemen, with your permission, I shall end with three goodwill messages. Thank you all for coming, and thank you for your time.
The Arthur Conan Doyle Society is officially launched.
The Goodwill Messages:
'This is just to wish you every possible success with your official launch of The Arthur Conan Doyle Society. I am so very sorry I cannot be with you all, but shall most certainly be there in spirit and thinking of you. This is a splendid and long-overdue venture, which I most heartily welcome. Good Luck!
With all best wishes, Yours Ever,
Tony.
(A. D. Howlett, Chairman, The Sherlock Holmes Society of London)
Today is an occasion for both congratulations and regret. The cause for congratulations is altogether obvious the cause for regret is that we Doyleans, around the world wherever Arthur Conan Doyle's works are read and enjoyed, have taken so long to do this. Kudos, then, to Christopher Roden for his energy and effort.
For those of us who have long loved Sherlock Holmes, Professor Challenger, Brigadier Gerard, and Arthur Conan Doyle's other magical creations, there is every reason to be fascinated with the magician himself as well, and to celebrate his life and career. I am proud to be a charter member of the Arthur Conan Doyle Society, and wish it good fortune on its founding day.
Jon L. Lellenberg, Alexandria, Virginia.
Contributing Editor, Baker Street Miscellanea, and Editor, The Quest for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
In the fairly exhaustive book which I wrote over thirty years ago, my approach to Conan Doyle was unwittingly influenced by the traditional distinction currently established between 'literature of entertainment' and 'serious literature'. And through the story of the author's relationship with Sherlock Holmes, we know how deeply rooted the distinction lay in Doyle's own mind.
This was partly due to the highly respectable view he and so many of his fellow authors entertained of the literary profession. It was also the result of an early education in which, linked with the strong influence of his mother, the study of heraldry had played an important part, as well as the reflection of a culture amply based on mediaeval chronicles, on Gibbon, Walter Scott, and Macaulay. Obviously, the mental make-up of young Conan Doyle prepared him for a career in which the study of history would count far more than it normally does in the exercise of medicine.
Physical vitality, however, combined with imagination, creativity, and a sharp sense of humour would not confine Conan Doyle to the narrower field of strict historical research. His formula for historical fiction speaks for itself. A thorough gleaning of factual material sets off a smiling tale of derring-do which, to a French reader, conjures up the figure of an Irish Alexandre Dumas. Dumas, however, never had the opportunity, nor, one may suspect, the capacity of being a real historian, whereas, an eye-witness to the Boer War and to the German war, Conan Doyle chronicled the two conflicts with an accuracy that has to this day remained unchallenged.
Turning to Sherlock Holmes, we see the detective handle his cases in the very same way that Conan Doyle handles history. First, his scientific training is put to good use in order to gather or to establish facts. His imagination does the rest to eventually discover the historical truth. Holmes's predecessors Poe's Dupin perhaps the most illustrious had proceeded on similar lines. But Doyle's particular gift lay in his ability to prove at least equal to both Poe and Dumas in their specific range of literary creation.
As Conan Doyle approached maturity, he and Holmes also to a certain extent, developed an interest in a realm of reality which history does not encompass. A reality which either lies anterior to history in The Lost World — or which reaches beyond its border, exploring the field of what is loosely called 'spiritualism'. But, there again, the marrow of the historian is, at it were, at work: archaeology in one case, the quest of evidence checked by experimentation in the other. For all the free rein the prophet may be given, the historian will not allow himself to be forgotten.
As Conan Doyle's total work is at last emerging in a three-dimensional and coherent perspective, the foundation of a Conan Doyle Society — a Society destined to do it total justice can be no coincidence. It is a sign of the times, an event that was indeed predictable, and it carries with it great expectations.
Confident in its success, I am immensely privileged to be among that white company who in many countries and in all walks of life now have the pleasure to welcome it.
Pierre Nordon, Paris.
- Article courtesy Christopher Roden, founder of The Arthur Conan Doyle Society (1989-2003).
