Conan Doyle's Casebook

29/09/2026

Very happy to share that we are participating in the Portsmouth 60+ Festival with two exciting events for folks to get involved in here at the Conan Doyle Collection.

On the 30th September at 10am we are joining with our colleagues at Portsmouth Central Library Official Portsmouth libraries for a Hidden Treasures of the Library talk. Come along to see some treasures from our collection!

On the 7th October at 10am join us at Portsmouth Central Library for a talk titled 'Conan Doyle: Doctor, Author and
Adventurer'.

There are lots of different things during the festival that people can get involved in, make sure to check the website below for a timetable of events.

https://www.visitportsmouth.co.uk/event/60%2B-festival/176687101/

21/08/2026

Don’t forget this event is on at Central Library tomorrow! Official Portsmouth libraries

THE ADVENTURES OF CONAN DOYLE - IN PORTSMOUTH!

An Interactive Storytelling Show by Lantern Light Theatre Company

After the success of their show The Adventures of Conan Doyle! and its tales of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s travel adventures, Lantern Light are back with The Adventures of Conan Doyle - In Portsmouth!

Did you know that he lived in Portsmouth for 8 years and it was while he was here that he wrote his first Sherlock Holmes stories? Wow!

Not just a writer, he was also a keen cricketer, footballer - and a doctor!

Join us for an interactive children’s storytelling show which will take their imaginations on a delightful journey through Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s life in Portsmouth, with plenty of audience participation.

Suitable for children ages 4+ and their families

Central Library
Guildhall Square
Portsmouth
PO1 2DX

Thursday 27th August 2026
2pm & 4pm

Show duration 30 minutes approx

13/08/2026

THE ADVENTURES OF CONAN DOYLE - IN PORTSMOUTH!

An Interactive Storytelling Show by Lantern Light Theatre Company

After the success of their show The Adventures of Conan Doyle! and its tales of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s travel adventures, Lantern Light are back with The Adventures of Conan Doyle - In Portsmouth!

Did you know that he lived in Portsmouth for 8 years and it was while he was here that he wrote his first Sherlock Holmes stories? Wow!

Not just a writer, he was also a keen cricketer, footballer - and a doctor!

Join us for an interactive children’s storytelling show which will take their imaginations on a delightful journey through Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s life in Portsmouth, with plenty of audience participation.

Suitable for children ages 4+ and their families

Central Library
Guildhall Square
Portsmouth
PO1 2DX

Thursday 27th August 2026
2pm & 4pm

Show duration 30 minutes approx

13/08/2026

Crafting Sherlock Holmes Postcards & Book Covers!

Come along to Central Library for an activity facilitated by Lantern Light Theatre Company! Create your own Victorian style postcard or book cover inspired by Conan Doyle’s world famous detective and his time writing Sherlock Holmes in Portsmouth!

Central Library
Guildhall Square
Portsmouth
PO1 2DX

Saturday 22nd August 2026
12-3pm

Suitable for children and adults ages 6 yrs and above

29/06/2026

Don't forget to book your Worldwide Doyle tickets: wegottickets.com/f/22404 for Ollie Randall's talk 'Doyle and Cricket: A Passion for the Game'

1 July at 7pm (UK time)!🏏🏏🏏

To an extent that is rarely recognised, cricket played a central part in Arthur Conan Doyle's life. It played an important part in his public persona, his relationships, his self-image, and even his creativity. Dr Ollie Randall demonstrates the ways in which cricket can shed light on Doyle, his life...

24/06/2026

Ollie Randall is our final speaker for Worldwide Doyle:

Doyle and Cricket: A Passion for the Game

To an extent that is rarely recognised, cricket played a central part in Arthur Conan Doyle's life. It played an important part in his public persona, his relationships, his self-image, and even his creativity. Dr Ollie Randall demonstrates the ways in which cricket can shed light on Doyle, his life and his work.

Come and join us on the 1st July at 7pm!

22/06/2026

Don't forget to book your tickets for Anna Behrens talk tomorrow night! https://wegottickets.com/f/22401

We are looking for ward to Anna Behrens talk on the 23 June at 7pm (UK time)

Jean Leckie From Mistress to Medium

Arthur Conan Doyle was immediately attracted to young and attractive Miss Jean Leckie, whom he met at a party while his wife Louisa was bedridden with advanced Tuberculosis. Conan Doyle and Jean grew close and secretly spent time together. When Louisa died years later, Conan Doyle married Jean and they had three children together. Jean changed from a non-believer of Spiritualism to becoming the family Medium. She then, through a spirit guide named Pheneas, advised Conan Doyle on many aspects of his life. Just how far did Lady Jean go in manipulating her besotted husband?

17/06/2026

Ollie Randall is our speaker for Worldwide Doyle, Ollie is a writer and historian. He is the author of Writers in Whites: How a group of literary cricketers changed English culture (Fairfield Books, May 2026). He completed his PhD, on coteries of cricket-playing writers, at King's College London. Ollie's second book, Lord's and Maharajas, about the turbulent politics surrounding the birth of Indian international cricket, is due out in the autumn. He also works as a cartoonist and a manager of cultural tours.

Join Ollie for his talk: Doyle and Cricket: A Passion for the Game, 1st July at 7pm! Link here for tickets: wegottickets.com/f/22404

16/06/2026

Anna Brindisi Behrens is our first Worldwide Doyle speaker this year. Anna is the leader of the Monadnock Sherlockians, an active scion based in Keene, NH. Anna received the 2023 Susan Z. Diamond Award from the Beacon Society. Anna is currently serving as the society's secretary (Percy Phelps). Anna enjoys writing Arthur Conan Doyle and Sherlock Holmes scholarship and has been published in The Baker Street Journal, in Canadian Holmes, in the Steel True, Blade Straight Anthology, as well as other publications. She edits her own scion’s Monadnock Sherlockian Anthologies, which contain collected writings from her group members. In addition to her Sherlockian interests, Anna is the producer of the Lizzie Borden Podcast, and has her own imprint Nine Muses Books, where she has published her late husband Richard’s Lizzie Borden Girl Detective Mysteries. She also edits the literary journal Literary Hatchet.

Catch Anna's talk 'Jean Leckie From Mistress to Medium' on 23 June at 7pm (UK time) Link for tickets here: wegottickets.com/f/22401

09/06/2026

We are looking for ward to Anna Behrens talk on the 23 June at 7pm (UK time)

Jean Leckie From Mistress to Medium

Arthur Conan Doyle was immediately attracted to young and attractive Miss Jean Leckie, whom he met at a party while his wife Louisa was bedridden with advanced Tuberculosis. Conan Doyle and Jean grew close and secretly spent time together. When Louisa died years later, Conan Doyle married Jean and they had three children together. Jean changed from a non-believer of Spiritualism to becoming the family Medium. She then, through a spirit guide named Pheneas, advised Conan Doyle on many aspects of his life. Just how far did Lady Jean go in manipulating her besotted husband?