The Fiend of the Cooperage (Cryptofiction Classics - Weird Tales of Strange Creatures)

Book excerpt: This early work by Arthur Conan Doyle was originally published in 1897 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography as part of our Cryptofiction Classics series. 'The Fiend of the Cooperage' is a short story about a man who travels to a tropical island but finds that life there is not quite as monotonous as he expected. Arthur Conan Doyle was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1859. It was between 1876 and 1881, while studying medicine at the University of Edinburgh, that he began writing short stories, and his first piece was published in 'Chambers's Edinburgh Journal' before he was 20. In 1887, Conan Doyle's first significant work, iA Study in Scarlet', appeared in 'Beeton's Christmas Annual'. It featured the first appearance of detective Sherlock Holmes, the protagonist who was to eventually make Conan Doyle's reputation. The Cryptofiction Classics series contains a collection of wonderful stories from some of the greatest authors in the genre, including Ambrose Bierce, Arthur Conan Doyle, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Jack London. From its roots in cryptozoology, this genre features bizarre, fantastical, and often terrifying tales of mythical and legendary creatures. Whether it be giant spiders, werewolves, lake monsters, or dinosaurs, the Cryptofiction Classics series offers a fantastic introduction to the world of weird creatures in fiction.