Long-lost first novel reveals genesis of Sherlock Holmes author

Before Sherlock Holmes - played by Basil Rathbone - came John Smith. Photo / Supplied

A "lost" first novel by Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes, is to be published 128 years after it was written.

The Narrative of John Smith gives a fascinating glimpse into the young writer's mind. But it also reveals that, as a young man, he found the creation of first-rate fiction far from elementary.

The book's manuscript formed part of a collection of private papers that emerged at auction in 2004 and was bought by the British Library for nearly £1 million ($2 million).

Written in four black notebooks, the 130-page work has been transcribed and typeset for worldwide release to accompany an exhibition of Conan Doyle-abilia at the British Library.

Many years after writing The Narrative, Conan Doyle said that he would be horrified if the book ever appeared in print. But academics have defended the publication because of its contribution to understanding his later work.

"This book gives us a unique insight into the developing creative mind of the writer," says Rachel Foss, one of the book's editors.

"This is his first attempt to make the transition from a short-story writer to a novel writer."

The book is about a 50-year-old man who is stricken with gout and confined to his couch for a week. He tries to write a book, and expounds his views on topics such as medicine, religion, literature and interior design. Many of the opinions, such as his belief in the importance of science and medicine, and his scepticism about religious dogma, are clearly those of the author.

Conan Doyle was living and working as a doctor in Portsmouth when he started the novel in 1883. His father had become ill through alcoholism, and the 23-year-old had to support his mother and pay for the education of his 10-year-old brother.

He had started writing short stories for magazines to supplement his income. But he was frustrated by the Victorian practice of omitting the author's name, especially when one of his works in The Cornhill was attributed to Robert Louis Stevenson.

For that reason, he attempted a novel, which would have his name on the cover. He then suffered a major blow when the manuscript of The Narrative was lost in the post.

He rewrote it from memory; the result is thought to be the British Library's manuscript.

Although the novel suffers from a lack of plot, it conjures a world of boarding houses and pipe-smoking, which fans of Sherlock Holmes will recognise.

Conan Doyle called it a novel with a "personal-social-political complexion".

An introduction to the new edition says: "The Narrative is not successful fiction, but offers remarkable insight into the thinking and views of a raw young writer who would shortly create one of literature's most famous and durable characters."

The book gives a flavour of the preoccupations of the time, such as the British empire, science and the rise of secularism.

It is also remarkably prescient, foreseeing the rise of America and China as superpowers, the advent of aeroplanes and submarines, and even space exploration.

Actor Stephen Fry, who has seen the book, hailed Conan Doyle's breadth of interests.

"He was the first popular writer to tell the wider reading public about narcotics, the Ku Klux Klan, the mafia, the Mormons, American crime gangs, corrupt union bosses and much else."

Fry said the work's publication was "very, very welcome indeed".

- INDEPENDENT