132 years back Sir Arthur Conan Doyle started writing as a pass time while waiting for his patients. Professionally into medical practice, Doyle wrote his first novel, The Mystery of Cloomber which was not published till 1888. He might have created a milestone in the field of crime fiction with Sherlock Holmes, but Doyle wrote in a variety of genres like fantasy, science fiction stories, plays, romances, poetry, and historical novels. On the 155th birthday of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, we remind of you the 5 forgotten characters invented by him
1. George Edward Challenger (famously known as Professor Challenger)
“He is a perfectly impossible person-absolutely impossible.” This is how Jessie, Professor’s wife describes her husband. Like most of Doyle’s characters, Professor Challenger was inspired by a real life character. Professor Challenger is very similar to Professor William Rutherford, one of his professors at the Medical School of the University of Edinburgh, whose lectures the young medical student attended during his medical training. Professor challenger was an aggressive character. He was a dominant man and the jack of all trades. You can find him in stories of The Lost World and The Poison Belt.
2. Etienne Gerard(famously know as Brigadier Gerard)
“If he has the thickest head he also has the stoutest heart in my army.” The emperor of France, Napoleon describes the most entertaining characters written by Doyle. Brigadier, is a courageous soldier, he is a ladies’ man and puts his country above anything in his life. Doyle wrote about this man through his adventures. The Exploits of Brigadier Gerard and The Adventures of Gerard are among a few of his more notable works where you can find the Brigadier galloping on his horse while keeping you glued to the books.
3. Lord John Roxton
He is the man who wants to bring home a dinosaur as a hunting trophy. Lord John Roxton is a supporting character to Professor Challenger. He is first seen in The Lost World and then subsequently in other series like the The Land of Mist and The Poison Belt. He is a man who has travelled across the world and lives for the adventures. Edward D. Malone, the narrator of The Lost World describes him as being tall and thin, with peculiarly rounded shoulders, skin which is “a rich flower-pot red from sun and wind” and cool, masterful blue eyes.
4. Edward Malone
“His love of danger, his intense appreciation of the drama of an adventure–all the more intense for being held tightly in–his consistent view that every peril in life is a form of sport, a fierce game betwixt you and Fate, with Death as a forfeit, made him a wonderful companion at such hours.” Among the many interesting characters produced by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Edward Malone is one such character introduced in The Lost World novel, in 1912, concerning an expedition in the Amazon basin of South America where prehistoric animals still survive. His character in the novel deals with a reporter who procures a dangerous and adventurous mission along with Lord John Roxton.
5. Mary Celeste
The publication of J. Habakuk’s statement in 1883 by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was based on true events, the story of an abandoned vessel name the Mary Celeste. In this story the ship was taken over by a black passenger who sailed it to Africa and murdered the passengers and crew. The tale was so vivid that it raised protests from people and also stated that the false account of events might damage England’s relations with foreign countries.
