tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2239062544101975016.post542371197997088445..comments2024-03-28T14:05:25.134-07:00Comments on Sacnoth's Scriptorium: Conan DoyleJohn D. Rateliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12324926298336489295noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2239062544101975016.post-14120036246439792812010-08-03T08:36:01.406-07:002010-08-03T08:36:01.406-07:00Sorry for the late answer, last week we moved from...Sorry for the late answer, last week we moved from Argentina back to Germany — I just wanted to recommend <i>King Leopold's Ghost</i> by Adam Hochschild, which is, among others, a fascinating account of Morel's and Casement's involvement in the Congo affair. As far as I remember, Conan Doyle isn't mentioned, but the book has some interesting stuff about other writers dealing with the Congo atrocities, like Joseph Conrad and George Washington Gordon.Murilegus rexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08705192064646504148noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2239062544101975016.post-87119060538177090062010-07-24T17:36:13.989-07:002010-07-24T17:36:13.989-07:00Hi Lake
Yes, it is interesting how crusaders wh...Hi Lake<br /> Yes, it is interesting how crusaders who join forces in one campaign (in this case, against the horrors the Belgians were inflicting on the Congolese) can find themselves at odds in another crisis (as in Doyle's defense of the British concentration camps in South Africa, which is how he got his knighthood).<br /><br /> The Casement case is interesting, since Doyle literally cdn't conceive of any Irishman opposing the British war effort and so concluded Casement had to be insane -- and that thus it was wrong to execute him, since he wasn't in his right mind. The discovery that Casement was gay simply confirmed this for Doyle: to be both gay and anti-Empire was for him doubly proof of mental incapacity! Ironic, since Doyle's father had been institutionalized as insane because he was (a) an alcoholic and (b) epileptic -- indeed, it's been suggested that Doyle himself was the one who forced his father to be involuntarily committed for life (he died in the asylum, firmly convinced of his own sanity). Those were the Bad Old Days in many, many ways.<br /> I hadn't known of Morel's career, but a quick skim through his wikipedia entry shows much to admire; thanks for drawing him to my attention.<br /> One of the contributors to the Lellenberg book argues persuasively that what Doyle really wanted most was the power of celebrity, so that he cd speak out on any issue he liked and gain a wide and respectful audience. Which does indeed seem v. modern.<br /><br /> --JDRJohn D. Rateliffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12324926298336489295noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2239062544101975016.post-87242472792536182642010-07-24T13:32:44.415-07:002010-07-24T13:32:44.415-07:00Interesting, the point about Arthur Conan Doyle be...Interesting, the point about Arthur Conan Doyle being a neocon. Doyle, the fiction writer who was at the same time a kind of political activist, seems very modern in this respect. It is hard to see, though, how he could be friends with people like E.D. Morel and Roger Casement. (Later, of course, their friendship suffered.)<br /><br />Anubis (<a href="http://hermanstadt.blogspot.com" rel="nofollow">Lake Hermanstadt</a>)Murilegus rexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08705192064646504148noreply@blogger.com