1700

"Should An Author Kill His Hero?"

Unsigned.

Article (1 page).

First appearance: T.P.'s Weekly, November 28, 1902.

Online at Hathi Trust (HERE and below).

The flowers had scarcely begun to wither on Sherlock Holmes's funeral wreath when an almost universal cry went up for Conan Doyle to resurrect the Sage of Baker Street. Judging from today's article, can we detect a tendency for some late 19th- and early 20th-century authors to bump off their characters and wait to see what sort of reaction would result? Don't forget that something similar happened in the late 20th century with a character named Spock.

Among those mentioned:

- Hall Caine (HERE) and Beerbohm Tree (HERE)

- A. Conan Doyle (HERE), Sherlock Holmes (HERE), and Moriarty (HERE)

- Cutcliffe Hyne (HERE) and Captain Kettle (HERE)

- Guy Boothby (HERE) and Doctor Nikola (HERE)

- Rudyard Kipling (HERE) and The Light That Failed (HERE)

- William Shakespeare (HERE) and Romeo and Juliet (HERE)

- J. M. Barrie (HERE)

- The Ragpicker (HERE) and (HERE).

NOTE: With this posting we have reached our 1700th since we first began on September 24, 2013. We hope that enlightenment and enjoyment—and not consternation and confusion—have been the results of our efforts.

Unless otherwise noted, all bibliographical data are derived from The FictionMags Index created by William G. Contento & edited by Phil Stephensen-Payne.

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