Sherlock Holmes - SpeedyLook encyclopedia

An eccentric detective

Born in 1854 in a nongiven place, descendant of land small holders and great nephew of the painter Horace Vernet, Sherlock Holmes appears to be a Célibat surface hardened, rather misogynist, whose only known relative is his Mycroft older brother, one of the pillars of the Diogenes Club and who appears to occupy of the important functions near the government. Doctor Watson is the only person who shares her intimacy.

He resides at the 221b Baker Street where he follows the occupation of Détective private council ( consulting detective ). He began his activity in 1878 and meets Doctor Watson in 1881 or 1882 and acknowledges to have carried out a thousand of investigations in 1891. After a strange disappearance in 1891 (called the Great Hiatus ), dependant on its confrontation with professor Moriarty, it takes again service of 1894 until 1903. It receives the Legion of honor in 1894, but refuses the title of knight in 1902.

Large, thin, elegant but neglect, alive like Bohemian, Holmes is an inveterate smoker (Cigarette, Cigare and Pipe), an accomplished sportsman (Haritsu, Boxe and Escrime), an informed music lover who practices the Violon, a poor eater. He does not support the idleness, which exhausts it and lives only for its Travail, which never tires it: also during the moments when it cannot work, it is sometimes brought to take drugs (Cocaïne and Morphine), but it also benefits from it to supplement the encyclopedic culture necessary to its profession.

Egotist, this spirit supérieurement intelligent supports with difficulty the slowness of mind at others; artist and gifted for the disguises, it is always of representation liking to surprise his customers and his excellent friend Watson. It is also an astute means to make its Publicité. He hardly appreciates the official police force and does not hesitate to ridicule the Loi when it appears not very compatible to him with the Justice. The row of its customer imports to him less than the interest of its business. Although applicant to scorn notoriety, it does not oppose of anything the publication of some of his investigations by Watson who contributes to give him a considerable fame. If it mistakes the money and does not hesitate to inquire for modest people, it receives nevertheless important rewards of large characters who allow him to take his retirement comfortably.

Sherlock Holmes solves the mysteries by a process in three stages: observation of the indices, the induction (which it wrongfully describes as deduction) and the logical Synthèse.

In the beginning, Sir Conan Doyle had envisaged to call its detective Shelling Ford.

The myth holmésien

Immediately adopted by the public, Sherlock Holmes became a character of legend so much so that today, still, it is the subject of a true worship. Many studies were devoted to him and the news of Conan Doyle was the subject of many televised adaptations (whose in particular Chien of Baskerville celebrates it).

The studies holmésiennes (or “holmesology”)

The character of Sherlock Holmes served as a pretext for a literary Canular which lasts since nearly one century: the creation of a new, named science holmesology or “studies holmésiennes”. Hundreds of works were written on the subject.

The acknowledged goal of this discipline is to recall the life and the work of the Détective starting from the writings of the Doctor Watson, hagiographal friend and of Holmes.

Whereas certain improbabilities and contradictions in the work of Conan Doyle are explained only by the fact that this one wrote these adventures over one period of almost 40 years, the holmesology claims to find in the writings of Watson “the true” reasons of these Hiatus.

Examples of contradictions and improbabilities having given place to this work:

the woman of Watson calls it James in an adventure, whereas its first name is John.
In an adventure, Watson affirms to be wounded with the leg, in another, it is with the arm.

The pioneer: Ronald Knox

In 1911, Ronald Knox gives to the Université of Oxford a conference which it will publish shortly after under the title Essai on the literature of Sherlock Holmes . It takes there, with humor, the party to regard as realities the accounts where Holmes appears, holding them for truly written by Doctor Watson.

That leads it to try to solve certain obvious contradictions between the accounts, when for example, in the adventure of the man to the twisted lip , Watson is made call “James” by his wife, whereas it fore-mentioned “John” in all the other accounts. In the same way, it raises that procedure of a Mariage, celebrated in a scandal into Bohemian , and the matter of an examination of Université, which is held in the adventure of the three students , are not in conformity with reality.

Moreover, Ronald Knox tries to restore the veracious Chronologie adventures told with the wire of the publications of the Strand Magazine , since this order of publication does not correspond obviously to the order in which the various investigations are supposed to be succédé.

Development of the studies holmésiennes

When this test on the literature of Sherlock Holmes is republished, since 1928, the echo which it causes is immense. It is Sidney Roberts, a representative of the Université of Cambridge, “rival” of that of Oxford, which will retort in Knox, become in the interval catholic Prélat, by a Note on the problem of Watson (1929) and a test entitled Dr. Watson, prolegomenes with a biographical problem (1931). It will be followed per T.S. Blakeney ( Sherlock Holmes: fact or fiction? , 1932), by H.W. Beautiful ( Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, a chronology of their adventures , 1932) and by Vincent Starrett ( Private life of Sherlock Holmes , 1934).

Since, one does not count any more the studies of the same kind appeared on both sides of the Atlantique. The Bibliography of the tests and the written books on this subject filled out already 5 strong volumes in 1994 and increases day in day. Christopher Morley, founder of the company of Irregular of Baker Street, said, paraphrasing Churchill: “Never as much was not written per as many men for submission to if little”.

In the broad sense, the studies holmésiennes include/understand, of course, also the analysis of the work of Conan Doyle from the point of view of the literary or scientific history, this last aspect having been treated by a scientist as remarkable as Edmond Locard.

The companies holmésiennes

Very early, these exégètes humorists the need to meet to divide glass of the friendship and to discuss of sharp voice the controversies on the life of their character fetish. This is why were created successively, with the beginning of the year 1930, the Company Sherlock Holmes of London and the “Irregular ones of Baker Street” of New York. This last association draws its name from the band of street urchins occasionally employed by Sherlock Holmes to be used to him as indicators, which are its eyes and its ears in London. Consequently, it essaimé through the the United States, where practically each city shelters a club claiming Baker Streets Irregulars .

After the United States, it is the Japan and the Great Britain which count the most companies holmésiennes.

In France, in Switzerland and Belgium

The Company Sherlock Holmes of London organized in 1968 a first pilgrimage in Suisse on the traces of its hero. One knows, indeed, that the detective disappeared in May 1891 in the falls from the Reichenbach, close to Meiringen. It was not to reappear, healthy and except, that in 1894, causing the seizure which one guesses with his landlady, Mrs. Hudson, and with his friend Doctor Watson. One can also mention the disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax , whose action proceeds partly with Lausanne.

Since, it became a tradition for the British to cross Switzerland in costume victorien, in particular in 1987, at the time of the centenary of the creation of Sherlock Holmes. At that time was created an association Switzerland-allemande of young admirors of Sherlock Holmes, named “Reichenbach Irregulars”.

However, no company of this type was founded in the French-speaking world before 1984, when was born the Company from the friends of Henri Fournaye (baptized thus according to a character of the adventures of Holmes). In 1993, the Company Sherlock Holmes de France took over Company of the friends of Henri Fournaye, who was dissolved. In reference to an adventure of Sherlock Holmes, it is also named “the hardware merchants of Franco Midland”. Its structure parodying an marketing activity, it has “branches” through all France, in Belgium and Italy.

Followed the creation of an Alsatian company, “the escaped prisoners of Dartmoor”, “Survey firm holmésiennes of the French-speaking Switzerland ”, “Literary circle of the blue escarboucle” (Toulouse) and “Cabinet of the patient residing” (Pau).

February 18th, 2006 was founded the Company Sherlock Holmes of Belgium, under the name of " Group of the cyclists solitaires".

The 221b Baker Street

The address of Sherlock Holmes is universally known: 221b Baker Street. But that does not help to locate the house.

The consistent principle to have a even side and a odd side in a street is indeed not very old. It was made compulsory in continental Europe only by Napoleon i (the metric idea of Mur appears only later still). London was not concerned with this obligation and this system only after the end of the First World War adopted, that is to say well after emménagement of Doctor Watson describes in a study in red , where the address is already the 221b. Conan Doyle does not mention any change of denomination of the famous address thereafter.

There exists today in London two houses of Sherlock Holmes opened with the visit of the public realizing finances, and which do not have of course more historical reality than the “cell of Edmond Dantès” than one makes visit with the Château of Yew. One exposes in each various part of interest, such as five orange pips.

“Elementary, my dear Watson”

Although this sentence today is immediately associated with Sherlock Holmes, he pronounced it in none the stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle. Some advance however that this sentence is a translation of the English formula “It was the simplicity itself” (= “It was simplicity even”, which one would translate into good French by “Simple like hello”) presents in particular in “ a study in red ” and “ the sign of the four ”. It may be also that she was invented by the cinema, at the beginning of speaking. It may be that the expression comes from " commonplace" that Holmes uses to answer Watson in The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes. One can extremely well translate this English expression by " élémentaire".

The exposure of 1951

In 1951 place in London had, within the framework of the Festival off Britain, a very complete exposure devoted to Sherlock Holmes. Y appeared in particular a detailed reconstitution of the living room of the detective, such as it is described in the work of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of the character. Among the objects presented many authentic parts were having belonged to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle or the Illustrateur Sidney Paget.

The Museum of Lucens

In 1965, Adrian (Malcom) Conan Doyle, the son of Arthur Conan Doyle, inaugurated in its Château of Lucens, in Suisse, a museum devoted to the character created by his father.

In the Years 1960, Adrian Conan Doyle had indeed bought the Castle of Lucens, where it is established until its death in 1970. In a cellar of the castle, it had reconstituted the living room of Sherlock Holmes, following the example what had been made at the time of the Festival off Britain, placing pieces of furniture and objects there having belonged to his/her father. A small museum contiguous to this room presented moreover other parts in relation to the famous detective and with the life of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. “Jack” (Cyril Tranfield) Thorne, which had work with the exposure of 1951, was engaged for this purpose and did not spare its sorrow to recreate the spirit of the work of Sir Arthur through this museum.

This museum, currently property of the Foundation Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, was moved in 2001 in buildings placed at the disposal by the Commune of Lucens (“red House”, opposite the town hall). It profits there from buildings vaster and arranged better than at time when it was in the castle. The living room of Sherlock Holmes remains exposed there with the identical one. As for the remainder of the exposure, it is presented in a way more rational and more didactic than previously, in a reconstituted decoration victorien.

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