21. Adrian Conan Doyle and more Holmes stories
Adrian Conan Doyle, the youngest son of Arthur Conan Doyle, produced a manuscript that he claimed had been written by his father in September, 1942. He announced the manuscript was in his father’s distinctive handwriting, though subsequent investigation revealed it was typed. His sister, Jean, denied the work had been written by Arthur Conan Doyle. In 1948, Cosmopolitan published the story in the United States; five months later it appeared in the Sunday Dispatch, a London weekly magazine. Both claimed it to be an original work by Arthur Conan Doyle. Titled, The Case of the Man who was Wanted, it appeared as the first new Holmes story since 1928.
After its authorship was questioned by several literary critics and Holmes fans, a new wrinkle developed around the story. An architect by the name of Arthur Whitaker claimed he wrote the story, sent it to Doyle, and suggested they work together to ready it for publication. Doyle declined, though he kept the manuscript. Whitaker meanwhile retained a carbon copy of the manuscript, which he offered as proof of his authorship. Whitaker wrote the story in 1911 and produced several affidavits from people who had read it at that time. The story is printed under the title The Adventure of the Sheffield Banker when it can be found.