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When the Princess, through her lawyer, made the purchase offer in Court, the Judge immediately adjudicated in her favor, to the frustration of the other two ladies who would never have agreed to give-up the copyrights to their sister-in-law. Hence, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's works were vested into an Isle of Man corporation called Baskervilles Investments. Jonathan Clowes was asked to restore the fortunes of the Literary Estate, which he proceeded to do with great skill. As a result of his hard work, the first year's income rose to £100,000 and the second year nearly reached £200,000.
After a while, The Royal Bank of Scotland grew impatient, particularly as the amount of the accrued interest on the loan had become considerable. Baskervilles Investments was finally forced into receivership and the bank appointed William G. Mackey as Receiver. Although Jonathan Clowes continued to manage the rights very successfully, Mr. Mackey decided to sell the copyrights to the highest bidder. While all this was going-on in Europe, a TV Movie Producer-Director called Sheldon Reynolds in New York, was preparing to obtain a license to produce a new Sherlock Holmes series. He had produced one quite successfully in the 1950's, with Leslie Howard's son Ronald in the lead. The producer came to meet William Mackey and learned that he would not be able to negotiate a license but that the entire literary estate was for sale. Mr. Reynolds' wife, Andrea, provided the money to option the property. Continued...  Back to About the Estate |
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All of this money was rapidly squandered by the Princess and her last husband, who spent their time in luxurious hotel suites, between the Meurice in Paris, The Dorchester in London or the Palace Hotel in St. Moritz, driven by a liveried chauffeur in a silver Rolls Royce.