31. Conan Doyle: Mystery Man (TIME November 5, 2007)

He's famed as the creator of Sherlock Holmes, but Conan Doyle's letters show the scope of his ambitions.

By David Worth

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Within that exclusive group of literary characters who have survived through the centuries--from Hercules to Hamlet to Huckleberry Finn--few can rival the cultural impact or staying power of that brilliant sleuth, Sherlock Holmes. Since his debut 120 years ago, the gaunt gentleman with the curved pipe and a taste for cocaine, the master of deductive reasoning and elaborate disguise, has left his mark everywhere--in crime literature, film and television, cartoons and comic books. Even his home on Baker Street has for decades been one of London's most popular tourist destinations: Sherlock Holmes Museum.
At Holmes' side, of course, was Dr. Watson, trusted friend, occasional accomplice and engaging narrator. Looming even larger, however, was another doctor, one whose medical practice was so slow it allowed him plenty of time to pursue his literary ambition. His name: Arthur Conan Doyle. As the creator of these fictional icons, Conan Doyle has himself become something of a cult figure, the object of countless critical studies, biographies and fan clubs.
Yet only now, with the publication of Arthur Conan Doyle: A Life in Letters, do we have a candid, personal portrait of the writer, with little of the Victorian reserve of his memoirs. Most of the nearly 1,000 letters are to his mother, Mary Doyle, beginning in 1867, when he was 8-year-old boy at a Jesuit boarding school, and continuing until 1920, when Mary died. The book's editors--two Conan Doyle scholars and the author's great-nephew--also provide plenty of background material, rare drawings and photographs, and relevant excerpts from Conan Doyle's other works, making this the most comprehensive single volume out there.

A. 어휘
scope 범위. exclusive 배타적인. literary characters 문학작품에 등장하는 인물들.
impact 충격. staying power 耐久力(내구력). brilliant 눈부신. sleuth 탐정, 경찰견.
gaunt 몹시 여윈. deductive 추론적인, 演繹的(연역적)인. reasoning 추론, 증명.
elaborate 정교한, 정성들인. disguise 변장, 위장. destination 목적지, 행선지, 목적.
occasional 가끔의. accomplice 공범자. engaging 매력적인, 애교 있는, 상냥한.
medical practice 醫療業務(의료업무). loom 어렴풋이 나타나다.
practice 업무, 영업, 개업. fictional 허구의, 소설적인. icon 우상, 像(상), 聖像(성상).
cult 예배, 숭배. cult figure 숭배의 대상. object 대상. countless 無數(무수)한.
critical studies 비평적 연구. biography 傳記(전기). publication 출판, 간행.
candid 솔직한, 숨김없는, 公明正大(공명정대)한. portrait 초상화.
the Victorian reserve 도덕적으로 대단히 근엄하던 빅토리아여왕시대의 ‘내면을 솔직하게 있는 그대로 보여주지 않는’ 표현의 자제 또는 제한.
Jesuit 예수회 修士(수사). boarding school 기숙학교. great-nephew 형제의 손자.
drawings 그림, 線畵(선화), 데생. relevant 관련된. excerpts 拔萃(발췌), 抄錄(초록).
works 작품. comprehensive 包括的(포괄적)인, 종합적인.
memoirs 回顧錄(회고록), 자서전, 전기, 언행록, 실록.

B. 구문
- medical practice was so low it allowed. . . his literary ambition.
cf. so low it→so low that it allowed (so . . . that 구문에서 that 생략).
[의료업무가 매우 한가하여서 그것은 그의 문학적 야망을 추구하는 데 충분한 시간을 제공하였다.]
-do we have a candid . . . reserve of his memoirs.
cf. do we have→we do have (강조동사 do의 도치구문).
[작가의 언행을 표현함에 있어서 빅토리아시대의 (표현의) 제한이 거의 없는 솔직하고 私的(사적)인 초상화를 가지게 된다.]

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Conan Doyle was born in Edinburgh in 1859, into a respectable middle-class Catholic family. Still, it was far from an easy life. There was never enough money; they moved frequently in search of lower rents; and his father, a civil servant and illustrator, was an alcoholic who had to be institutionalized. Yet the early letters are surprisingly upbeat, concerned mainly with food, clothes, allowances and school-work. At 14 came his first unforgettable visit to London, including Madame Tussaud's, where he was 'delighted with the room of Horrors, and the images of the murderers.'
A superb student, Conan Doyle went on to medical school, where he was entranced by Dr. Joseph Bell, a charismatic professor with an uncanny ability to diagnose patients even before they opened their mouths. For a time he worked as Bell's outpatient clerk and would watch, amazed, at how the location of a callus could reveal a man's profession, or how quick look at a skin rash told Bell that the patient had once lived in Bermuda. In 1886, Conan Doyle--by now an eye doctor--outlined his first novel, A Study in Scarlet, which he described as 'a simple tale of mystery to make a little extra money.' Its main character, initially called Sherringford Hope and later rechristened Sherlock Holmes, was based largely on Bell. But Holmes' debut went almost unnoticed, and the struggling doctor devoted nearly all of his spare time to writing long historical novels in the vein of Sir Walter Scott--novels that he was convinced would make his reputation. It wasn't to be. In 1888, Holmes reappeared in Scandal in Bohemia, a short story in Strand Magazine. An immediate hit, its hero took the foggy, crime-ridden London of gas street lights and Jack the Ripper by storm--and Conan Doyle's life would never be the same.

A. 어휘
far from→far being from 결코 아니다. frequently 자주, 빈번하게. rent 집세.
civil servant 공무원. illustrator 揷畵家(삽화가). institutionalize [병원에] 수용하다. surprisingly 놀랍도록. upbeat 낙관적인, 명랑한. allowance 용돈, 수당, 지급액.
Madame Tussaud's 런던에 있는 [蜜蠟人物(밀랍인물, waxwork collection)] 박물관. horror 공포, 戰慄(전율). superb 매우 뛰어난, 훌륭한. entrance 魅了(매료)시키다.
uncanny 不可思議(불가사의)한, 초자연적인. diagnose 診斷(진단)하다.
outpatient 외래환자. amaze 놀라게 하다. location 위치, 장소.
callus 피부 硬結(경결). reveal [감추어 진 것을 알리다], 알리다, 啓示(계시)하다.
profession 직업. rash 뾰루지, [홍역.성호열 따위의] 發疹(발진).
Bermuda 버뮤다 諸島(제도). scarlet 주홍색. initially 처음에는.
rechristen 다시 命名(명명)하다. unnoticed 주의를 끌지 않은.
vein 성질, 靜脈(정맥). Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832) 스코틀랜드의 소설가-시인.
convince 확신시키다. reputation 명성.
strand [배를] 기슭에 올라앉게 하다, 꼰 밧줄, 타래, 요소, 성분.
foggy 안개 낀. crime-ridden London 범죄가 많은 런던. street lights 가로등.
Jack the Ripper 영국 런던에서 1888년과 1991년 사이에 11명의 여자를 살해한 연쇄살인범이 스스로 말한 자신의 별명. cf. ripper [목을 째는] 살인자.

B. 구문
- It wasn't to be.→It would not be.
cf. Be+To+V→예정, 운명.
[그것은 그의 명성이 되지 못할 것이었다(운명이었다)]