'Dangerous work' : diary of an Arctic adventure / Arthur Conan Doyle ; edited by Jon Lellenberg & Daniel Stashower

Chicago ; London : University of Chicago Press, 2012. First Edition. Hardback. An exceptional copy; fine in an equally fine dust wrapper. Particularly and surprisingly well-preserved; tight, bright, clean and especially sharp-cornered. Literally as new.; 8vo 8"" - 9"" tall; Physical description; 368 pages : illustrations, map, portraits, facsimiles ; 26 cm. Contents; Introduction : ""I came of age at 80 degrees north latitude"" -- Facsimile of Arthur Conan Doyle's diary of his voyage as a ship's surgeon aboard the Arctic whaler S.S. Hope, February 28-August 11, 1880 -- Annotated transcript of Arthur Conan Doyle's diary of his voyage -- ""It was quite an ovation"" : Conan Doyle revisits the Arctic -- Arthur Conan Doyle's Arctic writings. The glamour of the Arctic ; Life on a Greenland whaler ; The captain of the ""Pole-Star"" ; The adventure of Black Peter. Summary; ""In February 1880, when Arthur Conan Doyle was only 20 years old, he spent seven months as a ships surgeon on an Arctic whaler. During the voyage, he kept a detailed diary. This edition contains a full facsimile of the diary, with a transcription, plus several non-fiction and fiction pieces based on the experience and life on board."" --Provided by publisher. In February 1880, when Arthur Conan Doyle was only twenty years old, he embarked upon 'the first real outstanding adventure in my life,' seven months as a ship's surgeon on an Arctic whaler. The voyage took the young Conan Doyle into unknown regions and plunged him into dangerous and bloody work on the ice floes of the Arctic seas. His unforgettable adventure was echoed in a number of his early landmarks as a writer. A ghost story based on the experience, 'The Captain of the Pole-Star,' got him noticed in publishing circles as a promising young writer, and a magazine article called 'The Glamour of the Arctic' won him the respect of intrepid Arctic explorers. During the voyage, Conan Doyle kept a detailed diary. This incredible document, hidden from public view for more than a century, is written in his clear handwriting and is illustrated with many charming pen-and-ink sketches of scenes of life on board and of the sea-creatures and other sights he saw. It provides a vivid account of the coming of age of the young man who would go on to create Sherlock Holmes, and of a life at sea that no longer exists.