Dr. A. Conan Doyle was born in Edinburgh in 1859. He went to school at
Stonyhurst in Lancashire, then studied in Germany, and finally completed his
medical education at the University of Edinburgh. He has been an extensive
traveler, visiting Africa, the Arctic seas, and many parts of Europe. His
first story was accepted when he was nineteen years old, and his first book,
A Study in Scarlet, was sold outright for *25. Then came Micah Clarke, The Sign
of the Four, The White Company -- and so his reputation as one of the most
popular English novelists was firmly established. It is said that Dr. Doyle's
detective stories were what first brought him to the attention of Americans.
That they rank with the best ever written is generally recognized. Although
chiefly known as a story-teller, Dr. Doyle has been an occasional contributor
of verse to the leading English and American magazines for years. A collection
of verse was published in England several years ago and republished in this
country, in 1898, by Doubleday, McClure & Co., under the title Songs of
Action. Many of his poems have never appeared in book form. The vivid
imagination, clearness of expression, and intense interest that distinguish his
prose are marked characteristics of his verse. The selections reprinted here
are chiefly from the American edition of Songs of Action.
