Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930) was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. He studied medicine and worked as a doctor before becoming a full-time writer. Between 1887 and 1927, Conan Doyle published nine Sherlock Holmes books: four novels and five collections of short stories. His first Sherlock Holmes novel, A Study in Scarlet, appeared in 1887. The character became so popular that when Conan Doyle killed him in an 1894 story, people were so upset he had to bring Holmes back to life. Sherlock Holmes remains the most famous detective in world literature.