Foreword
by Richard Lancelyn Green
The fame of Sherlock Holmes goes beyond the known universe into the galaxies beyond, for the battered tin dispatch box which Watson left in the vaults of his bank and from which from time to time he extracted notes has produced a welter of new cases which show the Great Detective to be equally at home in the past, the present and the future. It is, however, the original cases which Dr Watson chronicled on which his fame rests and to which all readers should first turn. The ‘canon’ appeals on many levels. It is read by young and old and is uniquely the subject of ‘higher criticism’ which approaches the texts with all the care (if not the seriousness) which was once bestowed upon sacred books and classical authors. There are journals and societies devoted to Holmes, there are parodies and pastiches, and there have been numerous plays, films and other adaptations. It is a vast field, and yet Holmes remains a citizen of the world and is accessible to all.
This elegantly concise volume will serve as an excellent introduction and may be regarded as the modern equivalent of the old Baedeker Guide. If it leaves the reader anxious to visit Baker Street for the first time, or to revisit it for the umpteenth time, it will have served its purpose. It provides
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details of Holmes’ creator and offers a critique of the Sherlock Holmes stories; it provides a sampler of the innumerable parodies and pastiches which they have inspired, and it breaks new ground by listing in alphabetical order the large number of actors who have played Sherlock Holmes, with the minor actors alongside the major ones, and the earliest with the latest.
Sherlock Holmes had with him a ‘pocket Petrarch’ in The Boscombe Valley Mystery, and he would be flattered to know that he was being honoured in the same way.
Richard Lancelyn Green
March 2001
Richard Lancelyn Green was a former chairman of the Sherlock Holmes Society of London and one of the foremost world experts on Conan Doyle and Sherlock Holmes. He edited the 1901 burlesque of William Gillette’s play, Sheerlu ck Jones, Penguin’s The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, The Uncollected Sherlock Holmes and Letters to Sherlock Holmes, and the Oxford World Classics Sherlock Holmes titles. With John Michael Gibson he wrote A Bibliography of Arthur Conan Doyle. Following his death in 2004, his extensive collection of Sherlockiana was bequeathed to the City of Portsmouth, where a permanent display was opened in June 2007.
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Please Continue Your Most
Interesting Statement
It’s difficult to imagine a world without Sherlock Holmes. But what if Arthur Conan Doyle had had a busier medical practice? Would he have had the time to write? And if he had, and his first major success had come with Micah Clarke, would he have even thought to create Holmes? Doyle was never as enamoured of the detective as he was of his historical stories, and it’s unlikely the Baker Street sleuth would exist were it not for the doldrums he experienced at his Southsea practice.
Alternatively, what if Doyle was ill and never went to dinner with the editor of Lippincott’s Magazine? The Sign of Four might never have been written and Micah Clarke would stand alone as a mildly interesting example of nineteenth century sensationalistic prose, a footnote in academic textbooks. And if neither of these two novels had been published, what would Doyle have written for The Strand? Brigadier Gerard a few years before his time? Professor Challenger two decades early? Perhaps we would have got Sherlock Holmes, perhaps not.
But this book is about what we have got. Four novels. Fiftysix short stories. The so-called ‘sacred texts’. The Penguin editions sit next to me as I write this, in a little pile 11cm high, and I think Doyle would laugh if he knew the reverence people show to them. He was as good as he could be, but he was, when all is said and done, just a jobbing writer. A highly
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professional writer, but a jobbing one nonetheless. His Holmes was an entertainment, a diversion, a character he devoted just enough time to, and no more. His real interests lay elsewhere. He loved his romanticised historical fiction, exemplified by Rodney Stone. He loved his wives. He loved his country. He cared passionately about social justice and parity between the sexes. He championed the underdog. He believed in fairies.
If Doyle was still alive and you happened to mention Sherlock Holmes to him, I imagine that he would raise his eyebrows and say, ‘Oh yes, him. Now, let’s talk about something interesting.’ Which should make us all the more grateful that we have such a rich legacy to look back on. The stories are (for the most part) beautifully crafted little tales, full of character, incident and revelation. Holmes is not an identikit set of characteristics, as has sometimes been claimed, and Watson is far from boring. Quite simply, they are real people caught up in real dramas. What is more, the bond of friendship between them is utterly believable, utterly right. Holmes needs Watson as much as Watson needs Holmes. They are mutually dependent – as all real friendships should be. One tense, intellectual, artistic; the other quiet, stable, sensible. They are like a comfortably married couple – only without the sex. Yes, even though they strolled along arm in arm once, please note their relationship is purely platonic; don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
There have been many attempts to fathom why these stories are so popular. Reading them again in one fell swoop for this guide I was struck by the number of similar themes:
•Holmes and Watson are rarely in danger (neither is ever
•imprisoned, tied up, kidnapped etc.).
The good guys are obvious from the start (except, oddly
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YO UR MOST INTERES T I NG STATE M EN T
•enough, in the four novels).
Holmes invariably says, ‘I have never seen such a singular
•case,’ or words to that effect.
•The gender of letter writers is always obvious.
Most of the crimes boil down to relationship problems
•(usually involving a ménage à trois).
The murders are often hastily covered-up accidents or the
•result of crime passionel.
•The obvious culprit is always innocent.
•Holmes invariably takes the law into his own hands.
The criminal, once discovered, normally says, in effect, ‘It’s a fair cop’, and explains all.
These elements are part of a formula that makes the Sherlock Holmes stories so engaging. Familiarity breeds contempt, but it can also equally engender affection. Who but a robot does not feel a warm glow as Holmes stares out of the window at the glowering clouds, Watson glances through a medical journal, and the soft footfall of their next client is heard upon the stair? Who does not feel a strange thrill as the aforesaid client describes the mystery and Holmes interrupts to ask one of his peculiar questions? Ah, you think, he’s onto it already. You sit back and let the story unfold around you, safe in the knowledge that the Great Detective is never wrong. (Well, hardly ever.)
Odd, then, that so much controversy rages over such gently absorbing stories. Sherlock Holmes aficionados have been debating for decades the dating of the stories, the precise location of 221B Baker Street, the number of Watson’s marriages, the Christian names of the (three?) Moriartys, the cause of Holmes’ misogyny, the disappearance of Watson’s dog… the list of niggling inconsistencies goes ever on. Papers have been
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written, books published, speeches made. And we’re still no closer to the truth. Which is, as I’ve said, that Doyle was a jobbing writer and the internal continuity of stories written over a period of forty years just did not interest him. And why should it?
If you visit Baker Street, you’ll find a block of luxury apartments now straddling the famous 221B address, where the former Abbey National building once stood (it covered 215–229). But just down the street is the Sherlock Holmes Museum at the fictional 221B (actually 239). There you can curl up in front of a roaring fire with a deerstalker perched on your head while a young and attractive Mrs Hudson snaps your picture. And opposite you’ll find a bright, friendly shop selling Sherlock Holmes memorabilia. You can witness at first hand the genuine props from the Granada TV series, guided by a chap in a grey ulster and deerstalker. It’s all so damned… British. So whether you’re new to the whole business, whether you’ve only seen a few Basil Rathbone films (and there’s nothing wrong with that) or whether you’re one of those who play ‘The Great Game’ and think Sherlock Holmes is real, I hope this short book provides a decent introduction to this quintessentially British phenomenon.
Sixty stories, millions of readers, three centuries of enjoyment.
Cheers, Sir Arthur. Thank goodness you weren’t very busy.
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