Doyle dramatized his novel The Tragedy Of Korosko as a four-act "modern morality play. The Fires Of Fate premièred at London’s Lyric Theatre on June 15, 1909. It starred Lewis Waller as Colonel Cyril Egerton of the Bengal Lancers, a man who is suffering from incurable spinal degeneration. Believing that he has nothing to lose, he plunges into a series of adventures and romances in Egypt. The happy ending has Egerton miraculously cured after sustaining a shock. Audiences flocked to the Lyric for 125 performances.
The first American production of The Fires Of Fate was staged at Chicago’s Illinois Theatre later that year. It featured Lionel Barrymore as the Arab guide Abdullah. The play reached New York’s Liberty Theatre in December 1909, where it ran for twenty-three performances. It was filmed in 1923 and 1932.