Legacy Sherlock Holmes

1 legacy

1.1 elementary, dear watson
1.2 great game
1.3 societies
1.4 museums
1.5 other honours

legacy
elementary, dear watson

the phrase elementary, dear watson never uttered holmes in sixty stories written conan doyle. observes conclusions elementary , however, , calls watson dear watson . 1 of nearest approximations of phrase appears in adventure of crooked man when holmes explains deduction: excellent! cried. elementary, said he.

william gillette considered have originated phrase formulation, oh, elementary, dear fellow , allegedly in 1899 play sherlock holmes. however, script revised numerous times on course of 3 decades of revivals , publications, , phrase present in versions of script, not others.

the exact phrase, close variants, can seen in newspaper , journal articles 1909; there indication clichéd then. phrase elementary, dear fellow, quite elementary appears in p. g. wodehouse s novel, psmith in city (1909–1910), , elementary, dear watson, elementary in 1915 novel psmith, journalist (neither spoken holmes). exact phrase elementary, dear watson used protagonist tom beresford in agatha christie s 1922 novel secret adversary. appears @ end of 1929 film return of sherlock holmes, first holmes sound film. phrase became familiar american public in part due use in new adventures of sherlock holmes radio series, broadcast 1939 1947.

the great game


russ stutler s view of 221b baker street

conan doyle s 56 short stories , 4 novels known canon holmes aficionados. canonical scholars included ronald knox in britain , christopher morley in new york. morley founded baker street irregulars—the first society devoted holmes canon—in 1934.

the sherlockian game (also known holmesian game, great game, or game) attempts resolve anomalies , clarify details holmes , watson conan doyle canon. game, treats holmes , watson real people (and conan doyle watson s literary agent), combines history aspects of stories construct biographies , other scholarly analyses of these aspects. ronald knox credited inventing game.

one detail analyzed in game holmes s birthdate, morley contending detective born on 6 january 1854. laurie r. king speculated holmes s birthdate, based on study in scarlet , adventure of gloria scott ; details in gloria scott indicate holmes finished second (and final) year of university in 1880 or 1885. watson s account of own wounding in second afghan war , return england in study in scarlet place moving in holmes in 1881 or 1882. according king, suggests holmes left university in 1880; if began university @ age 17, birth year 1861.

another topic of analysis university holmes attended. dorothy l. sayers suggested that, given details in 2 of adventures, detective must have studied @ cambridge rather oxford: of cambridge colleges, sidney sussex (college) perhaps offered greatest number of advantages man in holmes s position and, in default of more exact information, may tentatively place him there .

holmes s emotional , mental health have long been subjects of analysis in game. @ first meeting, in study in scarlet, detective warns watson gets in dumps @ times , doesn t open mouth days on end . leslie s. klinger (editor of new annotated sherlock holmes) has suggested holmes exhibits signs of bipolar disorder, intense enthusiasm followed indolent self-absorption. other modern readers have speculated holmes may have asperger s syndrome, based on intense attention details, lack of interest in interpersonal relationships, , tendency speak in monologues. detective s isolation , distrust of women said suggest desire escape, william baring-gould (author of sherlock holmes of baker street: life of world s first consulting detective) , others—including nicholas meyer, in novel 7 percent solution—implying family trauma, murder of holmes s mother, cause.

societies

statue of holmes in inverness cape , deerstalker cap on picardy place in edinburgh (conan doyle s birthplace)

in 1934, sherlock holmes society (in london) , baker street irregulars (in new york) founded. both still active, although sherlock holmes society dissolved in 1937 , revived in 1951. london society 1 of many worldwide arrange visits scenes of holmes adventures, such reichenbach falls in swiss alps.

the 2 societies founded in 1934 followed many more holmesian circles, first in u.s. (where known scion societies —offshoots—of baker street irregulars) , in england , denmark. there @ least 250 sherlockian societies worldwide, including australia, india, , japan (whose society has 80,000 members).

museums

for 1951 festival of britain, holmes s living room reconstructed part of sherlock holmes exhibition, collection of original material. after festival, items transferred sherlock holmes (a london pub) , conan doyle collection housed in lucens, switzerland author s son, adrian. both exhibitions, each baker street sitting-room reconstruction, open public.

in 1990, sherlock holmes museum opened on baker street in london, followed next year museum in meiringen (near reichenbach falls) dedicated detective. private conan doyle collection permanent exhibit @ portsmouth city museum, author lived , worked physician.

other honours

widely considered british cultural icon, london metropolitan railway named 1 of 20 electric locomotives deployed in 1920s sherlock holmes. fictional character honoured, along eminent britons such lord byron, benjamin disraeli, , florence nightingale.

a number of london streets associated holmes. york mews south, off crawford street, renamed sherlock mews, , watson s mews near crawford place.