Sir+Arthur+Conan+Doyle

** Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes, and the Origins of the Detective Story **
====I am interested in learning more about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and, specifically, the origins of his famous Sherlock Holmes character, stories, and novels. Related to this topic, I am also interested in when the detective story -- as a genre -- began, and whether it was a product of Doyle's or some other writer's imagination or if the detective story came about as the result of the profession and an attempt to reflect actual detectives working to solve cases at a specific point in history.====

I have also heard that Doyle was a bit of an odd fellow in that he apparently believe in fairies and the supernatural -- I want to explore the extent to which this was true or not. I'm interested that someone so educated could believe in the supernatural to this extent.

Apparently Doyle did not enjoy writing Sherlock Holmes that much, which I also find surprising and ironic. He even kills him off in one of his short stories, but brings him back later on. I want to explore the legitimacy of his not liking his famous creation...