The Narrative of John Smith

Arthur Conan Doyle wrote his first novel The Narrative of John Smith in 1883 when he was just 23, living in Portsmouth and struggling to establish himself as a doctor and a writer. Never published before, it has exceptional value as a window into the mind of the creator of Sherlock Holmes.

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Arthur Conan Doyle wrote his first novel The Narrative of John Smith in 1883 when he was just 23, living in Portsmouth and struggling to establish himself as a doctor and a writer. Never published before, it has exceptional value as a window into the mind of the creator of Sherlock Holmes, and many of the themes and tropes of Conan Doyle's later writing can clearly be seen. Via the protagonist, John Smith, a 50-year-old man confined to his room by an attack of gout, Conan Doyle sets down his thoughts and opinions on a range of subjects - literature, science, religion, war and education - making it a novel of considerable biographical importance. While it is more a string of ruminations than a fully developed novel, The Narrative of John Smith is, nevertheless, a fascinating record of an early attempt at writing by a man who was on his way to becoming one of the best-known authors in the world. To celebrate this unique publishing event, we will be releasing a special slipcased cloth-bound edition, limited to 250 numbered copies.