The Great Shadow popular influence on many writers towards the end of the 19th century. Conan Doyle also developed a series of short stories entitled Brigadier Gerard. The series featured Etienne Gerard, a Hussar in the French Army during the Napoleonic Wars. Other writings by Conan Doyle involving the Napoleonic Era include Adventures of Gerard and Uncle Bernac. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was born on 22 May 1859 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Conan Doyle credit his mother, Mary Doyle, who had a passion for books and he describes her as a master storyteller. He says in his biography that,""In my early childhood, as far
Brigadier Gerard between December 1894 and September 1903. They were later issued in two volumes: "The Exploits of Brigadier Gerard" in February 1896 and "The Adventures of Gerard" in September 1903. Some of the titles were changed on re-publication. The last story, "The Marriage of the Brigadier", was published in September 1910. All the stories were published in "The Complete Brigadier Gerard" in 1995, which includes the story "A Foreign Office Romance" (1894) – a precursor to the stories, but not actually featuring Gerard. George McDonald Fraser cited Brigadier Gerard as a major inspiration for his own fictional comedic adventurer Harry Flashman,