title: Teller of Tales: The Life of Arthur Conan Doyle
author:  Daniel Stashower 
description: Despite (or because of) the tremendous success of his <a href="/exec/obidos/search-handle-url?index=books&amp;field-keywords=holmes%20sherlock">Sherlock Holmes stories</a>, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle always tended to play down their value and importance in his life. Just before his death in 1930, he drew a memorable sketch of his life's work. Conan Doyle portrayed events from his life as a series of packing cases being loaded onto a wagon and pulled by a flea-bitten workhorse. Perhaps the heaviest case of all, notes Daniel Stashower in his fascinating biography <i>Teller of Tales</i>, is the one that reads "Sherlock Holmes."
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  ![image](../images/9780062398932_cover.jpg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ![](../images/Title.jpg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## [DEDICATION](nav.xhtml#r_idParaDest-1)
  
  
  For Kit and me, at sixteen
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ##
  
  
  
  
  
  ## [EPIGRAPH](nav.xhtml#r_idParaDest-2)
  
  
  _I had no idea that such individuals existed outside of stories._
  
  
  _A_ ___S_ _TUDY_ ___IN_ ___S_ _CARLET_ _,_ SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## CONTENTS
  
  
  
  
  
  * [Dedication](9780062398932_Dedication.xhtml#_idParaDest-1)
  
  
  * [Epigraph](9780062398932_Epigraph.xhtml#_idParaDest-2)
  
  
  * [One](9780062398932_Chapter_1.xhtml#_idParaDest-3)
  
  
  * [Two](9780062398932_Chapter_2.xhtml#_idParaDest-4)
  
  
  * [Three](9780062398932_Chapter_3.xhtml#_idParaDest-5)
  
  
  * [Four](9780062398932_Chapter_4.xhtml#_idParaDest-6)
  
  
  * [Five](9780062398932_Chapter_5.xhtml#_idParaDest-7)
  
  
  * [Six](9780062398932_Chapter_6.xhtml#_idParaDest-8)
  
  
  * [Seven](9780062398932_Chapter_7.xhtml#_idParaDest-9)
  
  
  * [Eight](9780062398932_Chapter_8.xhtml#_idParaDest-10)
  
  
  * [Nine](97800