Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, then second only to Rudyard Kipling as a celebrated British writer, became the most influential supporter of the public campaign for Edalji's pardon.
The same day that Conan Doyle wrote his letter of intent to Captain Anson, a long pseudonymous letter was sent to Conan Doyle, Edalji, and Anson with apparent inside knowledge of the arguments which Conan Doyle intended to publish, the first of a spate about the case that they received.