An exceptionally talented storyteller, Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in May 1859. Doyle began writing while studying at the University of Edinburgh Medical School. In 1886, he began writing A Study in Scarlet, the story which not only featured Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson for the first time, but was also the first work of detective fiction where the magnifying glass was used as an investigative tool. Sherlock Holmes, the most well-known fictional detective, has been listed with Guinness World Records as the “most portrayed movie character” in history. Doyle wrote numerous novels, short stories, and novellas. The Valley of Fear (1915) is his fourth and last Sherlock Holmes novel. His later works reflect his passion for spiritualism, which had started when he joined the Society of Psychical Research in 1873. Doyle died of a heart attack in July 1930. He continues to be remembered as a master storyteller and the creator of the timeless detective, Sherlock Holmes.