To replace Holmes, Conan Doyle created Etienne Gerard, a young French cavalry officer from the time of the Napoleonic wars, whose memoirs were collected as The Exploits of Brigadier Gerard (1896) and its sequel Adventures of Gerard (1903). Together they form a miniature epic triumphantly reviving the spirit of Napoloen’s armies and of the nations aroused against them. After Gerard there came Professor Challenger, the scientist and explorer of The Lost World (1912) and The Poison Belt (1913).
Knighted in 1902, Conan Doyle produced more than 60 books in the course of his career, including songs, poetry and historical fiction in the spirit of Scott, including Micah Clarke (1889), and The White Company (1891). But his greatest literary achievement lay in his short stories, unrivalled in the mingling of character, action and atmosphere, whether Holmesian, Gerardine or self-standing.
First published as a Canongate Classic in 1995
by Canongate Books Ltd,
14 High Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1TE
This digital edition first published in 2010
by Canongate Books Ltd
Introduction copyright © Owen Dudley Edwards, 1995
The publishers gratefully acknowledge general subsidy from the Scottish Arts Council towards the Canongate Classics series and a specific grant towards the publication of this title
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available on request from the British Library
ISBN: 978 1 84767 456 2
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The Complete Brigadier Gerard Stories Page 45