Arthur Conan Doyle is revered amongst the British literary canon and has been responsible for one of literature’s greatest creations: Sherlock Holmes. By extension, this has led to Sherlock Holmes becoming one of the most iconic cult TV and film characters, whether it’s Basil Rathbone in the role, whether its Jeremy Brett, Robert Downey Jr, Benedict Cumberbatch or Jonny Lee Miller. However, some of Conan Doyle’s lesser-known works have revolved around all things gothic: ghosts, the occult and general evil. Oxford World’s Classics has collected together over thirty of Conan Doyle’s tales of terror into an anthology. Starburst delved into the newly released paperback edition.
Highlights of this anthology include The American’s Tale, a story of a quarrel between a Brit and an American and the climax amidst sinister fly-traps. Also, we have De Profundis, when ghostly occurrences appear aboard a ship. Meanwhile, The Silver Mirror traces ten days of terror in the life of an accountant. Finally, The Lift documents a group’s encounter with a ‘wide-eyed maniac’ who brings terror to new heights (every pun intended!)
A lot of the stand-alone titles in Gothic Tales are very good. Anyone who has read the short stories of Sherlock Holmes will know that Conan Doyle had a fantastic skill for constructing short stories, providing great detail before arriving at a well-structured conclusion. However, anyone with a further knowledge of Conan Doyle’s life and his work will take more from these titles; it is commonly known that Conan Doyle took great interest in the supernatural and spiritualism later in life as a result of losing his son; this contradicted Conan Doyle’s rational mind as a medical doctor and this contrast between scepticism and ‘the truth’ is a common theme amongst Conan Doyle’s stories. Additionally, Conan Doyle uses mundane settings by Edwardian standards such as boats, homes and lifts in order to demonstrate that terror can occur anywhere. However, some stories can be a bit repetitive when you get into stories-within-stories and overuse of the first person.
Nevertheless, this collection demonstrates still that Conan Doyle is still a master writer and this collection throws an interesting light on the career that wasn’t Sherlock Holmes.
GOTHIC TALES / AUTHOR: ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE / PUBLISHER: OUP OXFORD / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
