Bertram Fletcher Robinson - Legacy

Legacy

In 1908, the British author Max Pemberton had a story entitled Wheels of Anarchy published by Cassell & Company (London). This story is based upon notes that were written by Robinson shortly before his death. It is an adventure tale about anarchists and assassins that is set across Europe. The novel’s hero, Bruce Driscoll, is a recent graduate of Jesus College, Cambridge and he appears to be modelled upon Robinson. Wheels of Anarchy by Max Pemberton was republished in facsimile form in December 2010

In 1909, Gladys Robinson sold both Park Hill House and 44 Eaton Terrace and she then appears to have moved to continental Europe. During World War I, Gladys met Major William John Frederick Halliday (Distinguished Service Order), a Royal Artillery officer born in London in 1882 and affectionately referred to as 'Fred'. The couple got married at the British Diplomatic mission in Paris on 7 January 1918 and thereafter, they relocated to Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire.

In October 1912, Conan Doyle's story, The Lost World was published as a novel. This story is narrated by a character named Edward E. Malone. It is possible that Malone is also partially modelled upon Robinson. Like Robinson, Malone was raised in the West Country, became an accomplished rugby union player, worked as a London-based journalist and loved a woman called Gladys.

In 1951, Robinson's book entitled The Chronicles of Addington Peace (London: Harper & Brother, 1905) was listed in the influential Queen's Quorum: A History of the Detective-Crime Short Story as Revealed by the 106 Most Important Books Published in this Field Since 1845.

In January 2009, Ipplepen Parish Council gave permission for a commemorative bench and plaque to be situated outside Caunters Close in Ipplepen. The inscription on the plaque reads as follows: 'Bertram Fletcher Robinson (1870–1907). Journalist, Editor, Author and former resident of Ipplepen. He assisted Arthur Conan Doyle with The Hound of the Baskervilles'.

In June 2010, Brian Pugh, Paul R Spiring and Sadru Bhanji had a book published that is entitled Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes and Devon. This book contends that the success of Sherlock Holmes is partly attributable to Bertram Fletcher Robinson and two other former Devon residents called George Turnavine Budd and George Newnes.

June 2011 saw the release of a Sherlock Holmes pastiche entitled The Case of the Grave Accusation by Dicky Neely. The plot for this tale is loosely based upon the widely publicised claim that Arthur Conan Doyle conspired to murder Bertram Fletcher Robinson. On 1 September of that same year, Short Books Ltd. released a novel entitled The Baskerville Legacy by John O'Connell. The book presents a highly fictionalised account of the circumstances that led Arthur Conan Doyle and Bertram Fletcher Robinson to conceive The Hound of the Baskervilles.