—G{#blank#}1{#/blank#}to hear that.

    Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a Scottish doctor who was born in 1859. He began writing detective stories in his spare time because he n{#blank#}1{#/blank#}more money.

    Conan Doyle's first story was called A Study in Scarlet. It was published in 1887. It featured a brilliant detective called Sherlock Holmes and his close friend Doctor Watson. It was a great success, and in 1891 Conan Doyle gave up medicine to write more. He didn't have enough time to do b{#blank#}2{#/blank#}!

    It was in 1892, when Conan Doyle became bored with detective stories, that he decided to stop writing. He d{#blank#}3{#/blank#}Holmes's death in a story called The Final Problem.

    Many fans of Sherlock Holmes were shocked when they learned that their hero was dead. They begged Conan Doyle for a{#blank#}4{#/blank#}story. The result was The Hound of the Baskervilles: a story about mysterious murders and a terrifying dog. It is the most f{#blank#}5{#/blank#}Sherlock Holmes story. The Hound of the Baskervilles was first published in 1902, and it is still read today.

    After the success of this book, Conan Doyle continued writing stories and novels u{#blank#}6{#/blank#}he died in 1930. These stories are now films, TV programmes and cartoons so you can “see" Sherlock Holmes as well. There are also clubs which study the great detective and his adventures. Today, more than 100 years later, Sherlock Holmes is still the m{#blank#}7{#/blank#}popular detective in the world.