Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930) studied Medicine at Edinburgh University, becoming a doctor in 1885. He wrote stories in his free time. In 1887, he invented the detective Sherlock Holmes and his best friend, Dr Watson. As well as detective stories, Doyle wrote science fiction novels, poems, plays, and non-fiction. His hobbies were cricket, football, golf and billiards.

In December 1893, in his story The Adventure of the Final Problem, Doyle described Holmes’s death at the hands of the criminal Moriarty. Sherlock Holmes fans felt sad. They wanted more Sherlock Holmes stories. Years later, Doyle started writing about Holmes again.