The Great Game Sherlock Holmes

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.