Arthur Conan Doyle: “You have a grand gift for silence, Watson.”

From The Writer’s Almanac:

It’s the birthday of writer Arthur Conan Doyle, born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1859. He studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh. After graduating, Doyle opened his own practice and wrote fiction in his spare time.

In 1887, he published A Study in Scarlet, a mystery featuring a character based on his old professor: the detective Sherlock Holmes. He ended up writing 56 short stories and four novels with the famous detective, including The Hound of the Baskervilles.

Doyle said, “Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.”

And Sherlock Holmes said to his sidekick, Dr. Watson, “You have a grand gift for silence, Watson. It makes you quite invaluable as a companion.”