There can’t be anyone over the age of let’s say ten years in the world who does not know the name Sherlock Holmes. The world’s first consulting detective, created in the nineteenth century by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, has become the archetypal figure of the analytical investigator, who has influenced not only future fictional detectives but also those in the real world. At a time when the likes of fingerprint evidence, crime scene investigation and body language were all but unknown to the police, Doyle’s canny detective used these methods to form his own way of gathering clues and solving mysteries, usually crimes. There’s no question that many of the techniques employed by Sherlock Holmes are now used by police forces and private investigators all over the world. He has, almost literally, changed the face of detective work.
Over the course of nearly 150 years, Doyle’s stories have been reprinted, republished and collected in various volumes, with some writers even trying to compose their own stories featuring the famous detective. Holmes and his faithful sidekick Dr. Watson have made the transition from the printed page to the stage, then on to the silver screen and finally to the small screen. Doyle’s stories are timeless, though of course dated by the period in which they were written and set; some writers have tried to update Holmes for the twentieth or even twenty-first century, with varying degrees of success, and his character has entered the normal parlance of human culture, which such phrases as “Elementary” and “No s
hit, Sherlock” commonplace, as well as one of the highest accolades for any inquiring person being to compare them to Holmes. Proof of his enduring popularity can be seen in the fact that not one, but two TV series run in the twenty-first century almost concurrently, and new movies about him are coming out all the time. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle may have at one time wished to - tried to - kill off his greatest creation, but in that strange quirk that often afflicts writers, he found that his character was stronger and more powerful than he, and that public opinion would not allow him to die. And so, in the greatest traditions of the greatest fictional characters, and like many of those of his contemporary Dickens, Doyle’s literary nemesis, Sherlock Holmes, has become immortal.
For a long time, I had never read a single Holmes story. Oh, I knew the basic idea behind “The Hound of the Baskervilles”, and I’d seen (but not watched) movies based on other of his adventures such as “The Sign of the Four” and “A Study in Scarlet”, but I had never picked up any of Doyle’s books until about fifteen years ago. Having run out of things to read for Karen, I happened to see a large hardback copy of
The Collected Sherlock Holmes and suggested that. We began to read it and both found it fascinating, going through the whole thing in a relatively short time. At this stage I would say we have read all the Holmes stories and novels about three times, and at the time of writing this are embarking on a fourth read, which is why this seems like the time to begin this journal.
I’ve been thinking about doing this for some while now, but there’s not a lot of point in my just writing about the stories and leaving it at that. Hell, you know me better by now: I don’t do things by halves. So here’s what I intend to do. I’ll be looking at each of the stories - including, indeed, beginning with the novels - giving a short synopsis (no I promise! It will be short) and laying out the specifics of each case, who the main players are, how the crime/mystery unfolded and how it was solved. I’ll then be writing my comments, observations and insights on each.
For those who have never read any of the stories, but have often wished to, while I would not be so arrogant as to present this as a definitive guide to Sherlock Holmes (I’m sure there are far greater ones, by writers whose inkwell I am not fit to refill, or something) it should, when complete, give anyone who has not read the stories enough information about them to be able to confidently discuss them, and hopefully pique their interest enough to perhaps seek the actual stories out. For those who have read them, I welcome your comments and am happy to have a discussion with anyone on any subject pertaining to Holmes. I’m also, as ever, ready to learn new things about him.
So come on: there’s a hansom drawing up out in the street, and the weather is foul, so wrap up warm. Slip your service revolver into your pocket, as I fear there may be dirty work before the night is done. But London needs us, and Sherlock Holmes was never a man to shirk his responsibility when it came to bringing the guilty to justice and saving the innocent from the rope.
Quickly now. The game’s afoot!