Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) set up as a medical General Practitioner at Bush House in Elm Grove, Southsea from 1882, but initially didn't earn a sufficient income from the practice. He joined the Literary and Scientific Society (the chairman was a Dr. Watson) and tried his hand at writing his own stories. He wrote his first Sherlock Holmes story A Study in Scarlet in 1886, then while still at Southsea, followed with Micah Clarke, The Sign of Four, and The White Company. The writing proved to be more profitable than doctoring. He was an enthusiastic player of bowls, rugby, cricket, and football. Since soccer wasn't quite a gentleman's game he played under the pseudonym of "A.C.Smith." He left Southsea in 1889.
