Theos-Talk Archives (July 2001 Message tt00347)

In a message dated 7/28/2001 4:39:06 PM Eastern Daylight Time, 
gregory@zeta.org.au writes:

> Essentially, the fraud consisted 
> in placing cut-outs of portrayals of fairies from a childrens book in a 
> country setting, and photographing them in the presence of small children 
> to represent real photographs of real fairies. This occurred in 1917. 
> Conan Doyles "The Coming of the Fairies" (1922) tells the story from a 
> True Believer's position, and seriously damaged the author's reputation.
> 

Hello Gregory,

Thanks for the information. To me, however, "serious damage" indicates a 
dramatic falling away in popularity, amongst the author's general readership. 
Doyle like HPB, seems only to have suffered some minor damage amongst the 
fringe groups of their followers. Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Doctrine, 
both, stand solid and tall in spite of any damage to their authors 
reputations. Literature, that reaches the level of a true classic, cannot be 
harmed by anything that happens in the ordinary moments of their creators 
life.

Louis