Holmes Fest 2017 is the first ever dedicated celebration for the author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and his life in Southsea and the tickets to the event have nearly sold out. The event dubbed Holmes Fest 2017 will be taking place at the Square Tower in Old Portsmouth and will start at 6.30 in the evening on June 28. Some of the features of the event include 8 original stories from writers in modern Portsmouth, Victorian film footage and Victorian music hall songs. The event will be remembering Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s arrival in Portsmouth in June 1882.
Arthur Conan Doyle arrived in Southsea as a young doctor who was looking to make his fortune in the area and the place quickly became his home. He began to write his short stories in that time, between patient visits, and at some point between 1886 and 1887, he created one of the most iconic characters in the literary world, detective Sherlock Holmes. A Study in Scarlet, the first novel featuring Sherlock Holmes, came out on the Christmas of 1887.
Doyle was an active member of the community during his time living in the area and the event planned for this year will also look at some of the things he did when he wasn’t writing and also what Portsmouth was like around that time. There will be a demonstration of Steampunk marksmanship during the event and a prize will also be given to the person with the best Victorian costume. The evening has been organised by Matt Wingett who commented that the people in the area are clearly fond of the legendary writer and that the response to the festival has been extremely positive. He added that there were still a few tickets left on sale so it’s not yet too late to grab one. However, you’re safer getting one in advance otherwise you may be too late.
The Sherlock Holmes stories are seen by many as a major landmark in the crime fiction genre and there have been many recreations of the works in modern times. Doyle penned more than 50 short stories featuring Sherlock Holmes but aside from these, he also wrote other works including romances, poetry, historical novels, science fiction and fantasy. He is also well known for the adventures of the hot-tempered and aggressive Professor Challenger in the series of science fiction and fantasy stories.