How Sherlock Holmes Killed his Author

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Sherlock Holmes may have been the greatest detective of all time, but that doesn't mean he was above murder. And his sole victim? The one who suffered the most?

His author, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

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[TheTaleFoundry]

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[PantherCat]

I remember in my creative writing class the tale of Sherlock Holmes's death apparently Doyle was so happy after he finished it he went straight to his mother to tell her how excited he said "I did it! I killed Sherlock Holmes!"

[Ryan-vwul]

I'm sure that Doyle's mother's love of Holmes weighed heavily on his heart. It's one thing to upset a publisher or anonymous fans, but when it's someone you love, it becomes harder to unrelent to their demands.

[angelfernando]

The fact that he (supposedly) didn't get writers block despite hating the story and the character itself, is truly impressive.

[whothefrickareyou]

The fact people were more sad that a story ended that that the creator of the story died is terrifying

[HanayoSora]

Man, I can't help but feel so sorry for Arthur Conan Doyle. So much peer pressure and both explicit AND inexplicit harassment was thrown at him during his whole creative journey. It's probably the worse situation for a creative person to lose a passion for their work, and yet being chained to it for life because of fans, peers and finances. (Honestly, I'm surprised that his series didn't become more noticeably poorer as he lost interest, as that's what usually happens to most creators. Maybe that was him still doing his best despite being creatively drained, which sadly backfired on him relentingly.)
And let's face it, that mentality of putting a creator's work above the creator's wellbeing hasn't faded away and it's very easy for ANYONE to fall prey to it. Tale Bot's message about how one's creativity is often challenged by the world really resonates with me and I hope more people remember that no matter how much they love someone's work, creators are humans too and they all deserve the same respect, dignity and moral decency as anyone else. Rather than harassing, fans should be grateful they got to witness this creation come to life in the first place.
And creators, remember that no matter what, you MUST know your worth. Like what TaleBot pointed out, it's a hard choice to make, especially if you're in a similar predicament as Doyle was, (and it's okay if you want to please your fans) but the bottom line is that your must know your boundary/limits. You're MUCH more important and valuable than anything you can ever make, regardless of how the world may treat you.

Sorry for the long comment lol. Sending my love and strength to all my creative friends out there~ <3 <3

[alexanderyakubik]

I can actually empathize with the scenario. He honestly didn't prioritize the money, he raised the price for his work so they would be hesitant about buying it. But when they paid it he was obligated to do it. We also have to remember the times he lived in, public opinion and reputation was everything. So it makes sense that he brought Holmes back.

[edisonlima]

Stephen King's "Misery" was partially inspired by this. The first chapters talk about how a writer whose life and time has been consumed by a Victorian tale (a period romance series) to the point he began to hate his protagonist.
He procedes to write her death, celebrates it, tries to move on with new stories... only for the main plot of Misery to come crashing over him and for him to end up not only ressurecting his protagonist, but to find himself forever incapable to get rid of her.

Except in Misery the writer ends up falling in love with his work again, unlike poor Arthur Conan Doyle.

[misterholmes]

It's crazy that the quality of Holmes' books didn't suffer and he was "forced" into writing more. Usually the writing will suffer. But no, I can confirm as a person who actually read all the books, that the quality and writing is consistently well written.

[fmor]

I hate it when they said "The detective gave him his career" Sherlock didn't gave Arthur anything, Arthur himself gave his career to himself, he created Sherlock Holmes, it was his decission to end the series the way he wished to. I am surprised the amount of disrespect people had for Arthur Conan Doyle. I guess this is one of many reasons some writers go by false pen names. I am grateful for Sherlock Holmes, but it breaks my heart the most how Arthur Conan Doyle suffered for it.

Edit: I don't hate that phrase because it's what the video says, but because that phrase encapsulates what people though it back then. They villainize the author over a fictional character as if it was a personal attack to the public to end the series, the disrespect he received by entitled people, that is what makes me feel daunt. And, sadly...it's not a rare occurrence. Specially now.

[rookhobbes]

Something my high-school art teacher said sticks with me to this day: "Whatever art you're doing, whatever you're working on, it's done when *you* decide it's done. You have to decide when the product is finished."

[FriskKimura]

A fandom hating on the creator for the death of a character? It’s a shame that nothing has changed, after all these years

[cronchyskull]

A pub that my family often meets up at is next to a little church; it's yard is Conan Doyle's final resting place. Every time I visit, people have left pipes on and around his gravestone. As sweet a tribute as it is, Holmes still hounds him from beyond the grave.
And yet, by the peaceful quiet of the place in a heavily forested area, away from prying eyes, it would seem that Doyle did, indeed, escape into the woods after all.

[justsomeguy]

I've always thought this story of Holmes and Doyle felt like an episode of The Twilight Zone.
Turning someone's passion into their prison

[wadejohnston]

From most other youtubers this would be called "SHERLOCK AUTHOR HATED HIS CREATION". Thankfully this is an amazing channel.

[Satellite_Of_Love]

Toxic fandom: Clearly not a solely 21st century phenomenon.
It brings to mind the fans of the anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion, who actually sent Hideaki Anno death threats because they hated the ending of the show. It sent Anno, a man who already had issues with depression, into such a deep depression that he attempted suicide. Some of that hurt and resentment made its way into the alternative ending film The End Of Evangelion (a film that, while I didn't particularly care for some of the decisions about the fate of certain characters or plotlines, is a shining example of Anno's strength as a director. The animation, the editing and Shiro Sagisu's soundtrack are phenomenal). No one should have to deal with death threats, especially ones made over a book or film or TV series.

[LexIconLS]

The real lesson here is that fandoms have always been entitled monstrosities and that it's not just a thing from the social media age.

[GarryDKing]

the fact that pop culture fandoms being crazy is actually centuries old really puts things into perspective... Humanity has never changed, the internet has just shown us the truth now. We've always been like this, but never fully pieced it together til now.

[andrewb]

TBH, I recognize Doyle more for The Lost World then for Holmes

People tend to forget just how important The Lost World truly was. It was one of the first major pieces of Dinosaur Media, and inspired a whole myriad of media

It walked, so series like Jurassic Park, Walking With Dinosaurs, and The Land Before Time, could run.

[juanrodriguez]

Damn, I really like to hear about creators from yesterday having to deal with toxic fandoms, and Doyle is one of them, I remember a long while ago discovering that the autor of Little Women had to deal with shippers complaining about Jo not ending up with the reporter or fans complaining about the girls becoming house wives instead of their initial dreams, I would love to know more about these old toxic fandoms.