ITV has commissionsed a new adaptation of Julian Barnes’s novel, Arthur & George, based on an intriguing series of genuine events in the life of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Set in 1903, the three part drama will star Martin Clunes (Doc Martin) as the novelist and physician who created the detective Sherlock Holmes.

The official synopsis reads: “Conan Doyle recaptures his zest for life by pursuing and challenging a notorious miscarriage of justice.   It is the case of George Edalji, a hard-working solicitor and the son of Hampshire vicar, Reverend Shapurji Edalji and his wife Charlotte.  George has served seven years in Pentonville Prison for allegedly mutilating animals and sending threatening letters, a series of offences which have become known as The Great Wyrley Rippings.

“Following the death of his wife, Louisa, Conan Doyle has become a “bore and a sulk” by his own admission.  All around him do their best to bolster Arthur from his grief and mourning including his beloved ‘Mam’ who implores him to “sink his teeth into something.  If not a book then some new pursuit.””

Arthur & George also follows Conan Doyle’s relationship with Jean Leckie, a much younger woman, with whom he enjoyed a ‘platonic’ relationship whilst his wife was alive.  Jean eventually became his second wife.

ITV’s Director of Drama, Steve November commented: “Arthur & George explores what we think we know about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s life.  It’s a fascinating insight into the man who was to become one of the most famous of his age. We’re delighted to be working with Martin and the production team at Buffalo Pictures on such a clever and complex adaptation of Julian Barnes’s acclaimed novel.”

Written by Ed Whitmore (Silent Witness, Waking The Dead), Arthur & George begins filming in Greater London and Staffordshire this autumn.

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