Arthur Conan Doyle’s first novel hits shops

The previously unpublished first novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle will finally be available to buy from Monday.

Entitled The Narrative of John Smith, the novel — written between 1883 and 1884 — comprises the reflections of a man confined to his room by gout.

Conan Doyle sent it to a publisher but it was lost in the post. The book was then reconstructed from memory.

The British Library is now releasing the novel, alongside an audiobook read by actor Robert Lindsay.

The four notebooks that comprise the manuscript form part of an exhibition that runs at the Library until 5 January — via redwolf.newsvine.com