Wed 20 Sep 2006
ERE’S A RECORDING that I’ve seen on several (supposedly) public domain archives, as well as some DVDs of public domain Holmes films, so I’m assuming that this file may be freely shared. I consider it one of the treasures of my collection: seven and a half minutes of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle speaking about the origins of Sherlock Holmes and his dedication to Spiritualism. 
The date ascribed to this file is 1930, which is the year of his death. Although I’m told second-hand that this recording may be found in the British Museum archives (along with a couple more), it is the only recording I think I have of his voice.
Download: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle speaking, 1930 (2.7 MB)
If anybody has any more information on this file, or any more recordings of ACD that you wouldn’t mind sharing, I’d love to hear from you.
2 Responses to “Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Speaking”
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December 18th, 2006 at 11:36 pm
It’s interesting how Doyle and his creation could have such polar opposite viewpoints,
“No ghosts need apply”
And I remember reading about Doyles falling out with Houdini over spiritualism
And the bruhah that was created by Doyles indorsement of the Cottingly (is that the name?) fairy photographs which anyone can see are cutouts.
There was a rather well done Holmes “biography” that came out recently that revealed that Holmes out of some sympathy for Watsons literary agent sent Doyle a telegram which read
“Dear Doyle,
little girls are liars, photographs are fake,
you are being made a fool of,
Yours Sherlock Holmes”
LOL it’s a fun read if you get a chance to look at it,
Thanks for the link.
March 27th, 2008 at 3:32 pm
Great site and links much appreciated. The brief speech from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is almost certainly most of the soundtrack of a 1930 newsreel (issued not too long ago by Blackhawk Films) with Doyle speaking in the garden of his home with a large dog happily seeking attention at his feet and what looks like a monocle attached like a watch fob at his waist. The only thing which seems to be missing is Sir Arthur saying “Well, goodbye now,” turning and being followed by the dog back out the garden gate up to the house.