I Can't Think of a Reference For This

A short introduction post to Sherlock Holmes. The Canon = the original stories. This doesn't make much sense, but nothing I write makes any sense.

Doyle and The Writing

In 1887, Arthur Conan Doyle (ACD) published A Study in Scarlet, a short novel (novella? I can't find the exact word count) featuring a new detective character named Sherlock Holmes. ACD took heavy inspiration from his teacher, Joseph Bell, and a few previous detective characters-- think Poe's C. Auguste Dupin.

Of course, ACD didn't really plan on creating one of the most well known fictional characters of all time. In fact, he barely planned on continuing the stories. Unfortunately for him, he was comissioned to write one more Sherlock Holmes novel. He was comissioned at a dinner also attended by Oscar Wilde.

The result of the evening was that both Wilde and I promised to write books for “Lippincott’s Magazine”—Wilde’s contribution was “The Picture of Dorian Grey,” a book which is surely upon a high moral plane, while I wrote “The Sign of Four,” in which Holmes made his second appearance. I should add that never in Wilde’s conversation did I observe one trace of coarseness of thought, nor could one at that time associate him with such an idea. Only once again did I see him, many years afterwards, and then he gave me the impression of being mad. - Doyle's memoir

So Doyle kept writing. Between July 1891 and June 1892, he wrote twelve short stories in the world of Holmes. These would eventually be collected into The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.

In November 1891, Doyle wrote to his mother expressing desire to kill Holmes. "He takes my mind from better things," he explained. Doyle, for one, wanted to focus on his historical fiction.

Between December 1892 and December 1893, Doyle wrote twelve more short stories, collected in The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.

The Return of Sherlock Holmes features thirteen more Holmes stories, written from October 1903 to December 1904. In the collection, Doyle expresses desire to stop writing Holmes stories. He seemingly intended this collection to be the last.

His Last Bow has seven stories, published from 1908-1917. Despite sounding like the last collection, His Last Bow was followed by The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes, which contains 12 stories, written 1921-1927.

Three years later, Doyle died. His historical fiction was never as popular as his beloathed Holmes stories. There's a Hamilton quote I could put here, but I have enough dignity not to.

The Actual Stories

Once upon a time, there was a guy named John Watson, or more specifically, Doctor John H. Watson. He served in the military, where he was shot. Unfortunately, due to ambiguity on Doyle's part, no one knows (1) what the H stands for and (2) where he was shot. Create your own theories.

Watson gravitated towards London once his injuries kept him from soldier-ing or whatever. He had no family, and very little money. He found himself looking for a place to stay, and was introduced to potential roommate Sherlock Holmes.

There was only one student in the room, who was bending over a distant table absorbed in his work. At the sound of our steps he glanced round and sprang to his feet with a cry of pleasure. “I’ve found it! I’ve found it,” he shouted to my companion, running towards us with a test-tube in his hand. “I have found a re-agent which is precipitated by hœmoglobin, and by nothing else.” Had he discovered a gold mine, greater delight could not have shone upon his feature.

“Dr. Watson, Mr. Sherlock Holmes,” said Stamford, introducing us. - A Study in Scarlet

From that point on, Watson quickly became Holmes' biographer, assistant, and friend. Most of the stories are narrated by him, with the exception of three or four stories told through incredibly strange POVs.

Throughout the stories, the two solve mysteries, although I don't think I need to mention that part. Surprisingly few stories involve murders. One involves a literal wild goose chase. That's one of the better ones.

There's a few recurring characters-- well, somewhat recurring. Lestrade and Gregson show up in A Study in Scarlet and there are a few other police characters who appear from story to story. The Baker Street Irregulars, a group of children who help Holmes on cases, show up every now and then.

I meant to make this a longer section, because I wanted to talk about the characterization of Holmes and Watson. However, people have very different ideas about their characters, so I guess I'll just say this: BBC Sherlock got it wrong.

The Fandom

..isn't very normal.

Sherlock Holmes is sometimes considered to have started the first modern fandom. Fans of the stories got really involved, to the point they became convinced Holmes and Watson were real people, with Doyle merely publishing their actual stories. Fans began to send letters, not to Doyle, but to Holmes. They wrote constantly, asking Holmes to solve their everyday mysteries or consult on some life problem or give them his autograph.

When Doyle made decisions they did not agree with, legions of fans cancelled their subscriptions to the magazine publishing Holmes stories. One woman wrote to Doyle to complain.

“You Brute” was the beginning of the letter of remonstrance which one lady sent me, and I expect she spoke for others besides herself.- Doyle's memoir

Sherlock Holmes fans also began to write fanfiction. In fact, a good deal of Sherlock Holmes fanfiction was published during stretches of time when Doyle stopped writing Holmes stories. From there, societies began to spring up.

The Baker Street Irregulars (BSI), a society of Sherlock Holmes fans, was created in 1934 by Christopher Morley. Members had to be invited. The Adventuresses of Baker Street formed in the late 1960s and protested the exclusion of women from the BSI (the BSI would allow women to join in 1991). And then societies began to spring up all over. Many held regular meetings. Many were offshoots of bigger societies. Many had their own journals, publishing scholarship from members.

Which leads into another element of Sherlockian fandom: the scholarship. Lots of Holmes fans participated in 'The Great Game', an approach that assumes Holmes and Watson were real people and attempts to explain anomalies in the Canon. Some fans wrote biographes of Holmes and Watson from this standpoint, notably William S Baring-Gould.

(Baring-Gould also attempted to explain the mixed-up and often contradictory chronology of the Canon. He laid out a comprehensive timeline. Since then, a few other people have attempted chronologies of the Canon, like this basic timeline).

This method of literary analysis led to some theories that are simply too fantastic to be understood by the regular human mind-- my favorite is the "Watson Was A Woman" essay by Rex Stout, linked in the sidebar on my main page whatever.

The Other Bullshit That Didn't Fit In It's Own Section

• People began adapting Sherlock Holmes very quickly. Notably, William Gillette wrote an early adaptation and consulted Arthur Conan Doyle on making changes to the Canon. Doyle's response inspired the title of this website.
• Holmes never wore a deerstalker in Canon. Sidney Paget, the illustrator for the stories, gave Holmes a deerstalker and Inverness cape in one of his drawings. Obviously, the outfit became very popular.
• Speaking of which, Sidney Paget was never meant to illustrate the Holmes stories. The publisher of the stories meant to comission his brother, Walter Paget, but accidentally sent the comission to Sidney Paget instead.
• Sidney Paget based his drawings of Holmes off of Walter. Said Doyle: "The handsome Walter took the place of the more powerful but uglier Sherlock, and perhaps from the point of view of my lady readers it was as well."
• They were gay. I mean, not canonically and I respect all forms of interpretation, but it is my personal solid belief that they were gay.