The Tragedy of Unfulfilled Powers, by Reichenbach

Charles Altamont Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s father, dreamed of becoming an accomplished illustrator and make a living out of his art. However because of the demands of his job he was not able to devote a great deal of time to his art. He grew depressed as he was torn between the necessity to make a living and his dreams.

As his dreams faded Charles grew more and more depressed. He drank more and his paintings became dark and macabre. 

The reality of his situation became more than he could face. Although he did not abandon the family physically he did emotionally. His ever-worsening bouts of depression and inebriation separated him from his family.

In 1876 Charles was dismissed from his job at the Office of Works and put on a pension. Later that year he was sent to Fordoun House, a nursing home that specialized in the treatment of alcoholics.

While Charles was originally sent to Fordoun House because of his alcoholism he later developed epilepsy. At the time there was no known treatment and the condition was widely misunderstood. Sadly, his epilepsy doomed him to a life of confinement.

In 1885 Charles tried to escape from Fordoun House. He became violent during the attempt and was sent to the Montrose Royal Lunatic Asylum until early 1892. From there he was transferred to the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and finally to the Crighton Royal Institution. In 1893 Charles Altamont Doyle died.

However much Arthur Conan Doyle was hurt by his father’s inattention he was also proud of him. Rather than disassociate himself from his father he drew attention to his father’s work. In 1888 an edition of A Study in Scarlet was published that contained illustrations by Charles Doyle. In 1891 Arthur Conan Doyle decorated his new office, his first office as a full-time writer, with paintings by his father. In 1924 Conan Doyle organized an exhibition of his father’s work. 

Arthur Conan Doyle’s autobiography is curiously secretive and hesitant in discussing his father. Arthur describes him as “unworldly and impractical and his family suffered for it.” But he also said “My father’s life was full of the tragedy of unfulfilled powers and of underdeveloped gifts. He had his weaknesses, as all of us have ours, but he also had some very remarkable and outstanding virtues.”