Eyeworld

221 EW IN OTHER NEWS March 2015 by Lauren Lipuma EyeWorld Staff Writer Early life and medical career "I think every one of us read some of Sherlock's stories when we were children," said James Ravin, MD, Toledo, Ohio, an ophthalmolo- gist and leading Doyle historian. "They're not difficult to read, they're short, their plots are concise, and they're classics in literature." While masterful detective Sher- lock Holmes remains a fascinating character today, he would not exist had Doyle not been a physician. Born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1859 to a family with a long line of artists, Doyle clearly had a talent for writing, but medical questions also piqued his curiosity, Dr. Ravin said. With encouragement from those around him, Doyle entered the University of Edinburgh Medical School in 1876 at age 17. Although Doyle was an aver- age student, he had a clear thirst for scientific knowledge. Following the long-standing medical tradition The author combined his love of art and science in composing Sherlock Holmes stories and other works S ir Arthur Conan Doyle was much more than the man who created legendary detective Sherlock Holmes. Before becoming a prolific writer and social activist, he was a physician—and an ophthalmologist. Although he is remembered for his literary genius, medicine played a crucial role in Doyle's life, and his time as a physician was critical to the development of his most famous and enduring character. Doyle's pas- sion for medicine and ophthalmol- ogy were guiding forces throughout his life even after he gave up practic- ing medicine, influencing not only his literary works but also calling him to action in the face of social injustice. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: Writer and ophthalmologist The creation of an icon S herlock Holmes is considered to be the most portrayed fictional character of all time. More than 70 actors have played Holmes in more than 200 films, in addition to numerous plays and radio and television shows. Surprisingly, many of the iconic details associated with Holmes' character were never included in Doyle's original writings. Illustrator Sidney Paget drew images of Holmes for the original publication in the Strand Magazine, and his illustrations have served as the basis for Holmes' iconic image. Paget is credited with attiring Holmes in the deerstalker cap and Inverness cape, wardrobe details Doyle never mentioned in his writing. American actor and playwright William Gillette played Holmes in more than 1,300 stage appearances over 30 years. Gillette added the legendary curved calabash pipe to Holmes' image in 1916, most likely because it was large and easy to recognize onstage. In Doyle's writing, Holmes is depicted as preferring a straight, long-stemmed churchwarden or clay pipe. Gillette was also the first person to speak the phrase "Oh, this is elementary, my dear fellow," while explaining his deductive process, which was later changed to "Elementary, my dear Watson," by English actor Clive Brook. Although this is Holmes' most famous line and a popular expression in the English language, the complete phrase never appeared in any of Doyle's original works, although Holmes does describe his reasoning as elementary. EW continued on page 222

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