He would give his lecture, “Readings and Reminiscences,” at least 34 times (the tour had been organized by a New York City impresario by the name of Major James Burton Pond).Īt an early age, Doyle became fascinated with America from reading stories by authors such as James Fenimore Cooper, Francis Parkman and Thomas Mayne Reid. Though Doyle traveled as far west as Chicago and south to Washington D.C., his two-month visit in 1894 took him primarily to cities and towns in the Northeast, including Northampton and Amherst. His tales about Sherlock Holmes’ amazing talent for solving complicated crimes had captured the imagination of readers throughout England and the United States. In the autumn of 1894, Doyle embarked on what would be the first of four lecture tours in North America. To my surprise I discovered that he had not only been to America, but had visited the Pioneer Valley. Soon my curiosity about the author led to researching his life. By the time I had taken in a few of these highly entertaining narratives, I was hooked. Here was my chance to renew my acquaintance. Then last year I read a review of a recently-published audio book of Sherlock Holmes stories, read by the British actor Stephen Fry. As an adolescent, I was captivated by his amazing tales, but soon my interests changed and my reading shifted to other writers. Until recently, I knew little about the super sleuth Sherlock Holmes, and even less about his creator, Arthur Conan Doyle.