Arthur Conan Doyle wrote the novel at the age of 27 in less than three weeks.[4] As a doctor in general practice in Southsea, Hampshire, he had already published short stories in several magazines of the day, such as the periodical London Society. The story was originally titled A Tangled Skein and was eventually published by Ward, Lock & Co. in the 1887 edition of Beeton's Christmas Annual, after many rejections. Conan Doyle had pressed for royalty but instead received £25 in return for the full rights (equivalent to £3,371.95 considering inflation). It was illustrated by David Henry Friston.
The novel was first published as a book in July 1888 by Ward, Lock & Co, and featured drawings by the author's father, Charles Doyle. In 1890, J. B. Lippincott & Co. released the first American version. Another edition published in 1891 by Ward, Lock & Bowden Limited (formerly Ward, Lock & Co.) was illustrated by George Hutchinson. A German edition of the novel published in 1902 was illustrated by Richard Gutschmidt.[5] Numerous further editions, translations and dramatisations have appeared since.
