Tuesday Night Talk: The MARY CELESTE and Sherlock Holmes

The legend of the MARY CELESTE, launched in 1861 as AMAZON, began in December 1872 when the ship was found adrift and empty near the Spanish Azores. Eleven years after the ship’s ill-fated voyage, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle penned a short story based on MARY CELESTE, “J. Habakuk Jephson’s Statement.” A mix of fact and fiction, the story gave the young British doctor and fledgling author his first literary success.

In this illustrated presentation, JoAnn Alberstat, co-editor of the literary journal “Canadian Holmes,” shows how Doyle helped perpetuate the MARY CELESTE legend and how the incident put him on the path to fame and literary success. Talk begins at 7 p.m.