The Colonial Conan Doyle

Arthur Conan Doyle is often perceived as the quintessential Englishman, patriotically devoted to the Crown and the empire's defender and apologist. But such a relegation is both limiting and simplistic. This book examines how British imperialism, Irish nationalism, and Catholic allegiance converge uneasily in his fictions. It places his works within a colonial context, the complexity of which is evident in his gothic tropes of shifting landscapes, disguised criminalities, spiritualism, and sexual anomalies and conflicts. In doing so, it challenges the prevailing view of Doyle as an imperial writer and underscores the importance of colonialism in his fiction.