The Great Boer War Arthur Conan Doyle - Arthur Conan Doyle's non-fiction work, The Great Boer War, was first published in 1900. By the time the war ended in 1902, the book had been published in sixteen editions, with Doyle constantly revising it.The book was completed in September 1900, when the British believed the war was over; indeed, the penultimate chapter is titled "The War's End." However, the war was continue to last until 1902.