Arthur Conan Doyle and Photography: Traces, Fairies and Other Apparitions

Description

The first exploration of Arthur Conan Doyle, photography and spiritualism Offers the first complete history of Conan Doyle’s relationship with photography Provides a cultural history of photography from 1880 to 1930 Covers a wide range of topics including amateur photography, ‘shock’ photos, Spiritism, fairy photos Arthur Conan Doyle is best known as the author of the Sherlock Holmes stories. However, his works are far more extensive than these familiar works. They include historical novels, political pamphlets, historical studies, science fiction novels and, last but not least, numerous publications on spiritualism. Photography plays a central role in his work and gives rise to a highly peculiar world of imagination. The photographs allow us to take a look at the world in around 1900 with all its oddities. For Conan Doyle’s contemporaries, Sherlock Holmes was a real figure. To Conan Doyle, photographs of elves, the dead and ghosts testified to their existence. This book collects these images, along with the imaginarium that surrounds them. CONTENTS FIGURES ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS INTRODUCTION 1 FORAYS INTO THE WILDERNESS: CONAN DOYLE AS AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER 2 SHERLOCK HOLMES: THE DETECTIVE AS CAMERA 3 PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE HEART OF DARKNESS: THE CONGO ATROCITIES 4 A FAIRY TALE OF SCIENCE: THE LOST WORLD 5 PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE SHADOWY REALM: PHOTOGRAPHY AND SPIRITUALISM 6 FAIRIES AND GNOMES: A PHOTOGRAPHIC RE-ENCHANTMENT OF THE WORLD EPILOGUE: STRATEGIC REALISM INDEX