1190:
281:, the youngest of three sons of Siger Holmes and Violet Sherrinford. The middle brother, Mycroft, appears in the canon, but the eldest, Sherrinford Holmes, was invented by Baring-Gould to free Mycroft and Sherlock from the obligation of following Siger as a country squire. In reality, "Sherrinford Holmes" was one of the names Arthur Conan Doyle considered for his hero before settling on "Sherlock". Siger Holmes' name is derived from "
364:) are incapable of conceiving children. Rather, Sherlock's unfaithful mother was having marital relations with his father at the same time as she was carrying on an affair with the vampire. Her affair included drinking Radu's blood—which would include his genetic material. So Sherlock (and, in Saberhagen's novel, his unnamed identical twin vampire brother) is a human
405:
is the construction of a giant genealogical tree which connects many fictional characters to each other and to a number of historical figures. Additions to this tree are based on the writings of the original creators, pastiche writers, and "Wold Newton scholars". Sherlock Holmes has been one of the
240:). Beyond this, all familial statements are speculation. For example, there is a certain belief that his mother was named Violet, based on Conan Doyle's fondness for the name and the four strong Violets in the canon; however, as Baring-Gould noted, in Holmes' Britain, Violet was a very common name.
235:
A particularly rich area of "research" is the "uncovering" of details about Holmes' family history and early life, of which almost nothing is said in Conan Doyle's stories. In "The
Adventure of the Greek Interpreter", Watson states: "I had never heard him refer to his relations, and hardly ever to
320:
reveals that Holmes's mother was cheating on his father, who then killed both her and himself. The film adaptation, also written by Meyer, further reveals that
Moriarty was Holmes's mother's lover; in the novel, Moriarty is the man who brought young Sherlock the news of his parents' death. Either
220:
presents a fictionalized account of
Sherlock Holmes' literary origins. In the story, Arthur Conan Doyle, an aspiring but struggling author, is caught up in an assassination attempt and is saved by a man exhibiting many of the prototypical characteristics of Holmes. Frost wrote a follow-up novel
236:
his early life." But in that story, as well as introducing his brother, Holmes mentions the only facts about his family that are in any of the stories — "My ancestors were country squires... y grandmother... was the sister of Vernet, the French artist" (presumably
146:. S.C. Roberts issued then a complete Watson biography. A book by T.S. Blakeney followed and the "Holmesian" game (commonly referred to simply as "the game") was born. Early Holmesians of note include the bibliographer and book collector
681:
388:, a series of detective stories for young readers. Enola was born "shamefully late in life", to her parents Eudoria Vernet Holmes, a suffragist and talented watercolourist, and an unnamed father, who was a country squire.
159:
One aspect of the Game in its traditional form is the effort to resolve or explain away contradictions in the Holmes canon, such as the location of Watson's war wound, which is described as being in his shoulder in
134:, Knox issued "Studies in the Literature of Sherlock Holmes", an essay which is regarded as the founding text of "Holmesian scholarship". That essay was re-printed, among others, in 1928 and the following year,
110:
was begun, many years ago, by Ronald Knox, with the aim of showing that, by those methods, one could disintegrate a modern classic as speciously as a certain school of critics have endeavoured to disintegrate the
187:
While
Dorothy Sayers and many of the early "Holmesians" used the works of Conan Doyle as the chief basis for their speculations, a more fanciful school of playing the historical-Holmes game is represented by
62:. It treats Holmes and Watson as real people and uses aspects of the canonical stories combined with the history of the era of the tales' settings to construct fanciful biographies of the pair.
285:", in which Sherlock tells Watson that he spent some time pretending to be a Norwegian called Sigerson, which Baring-Gould reads literally as meaning "son of Siger."
277:. Faced with Holmes' reticence about his family background and early life, Baring-Gould invented one for him. According to Baring-Gould, Sherlock Holmes was born in
70:
The game of examining the stories as if they were non-fiction began in the early twentieth century. There are early examples of
Sherlockian essays by
266:, although the question of which one remains a topic of eternal debate. Baring-Gould believed textual evidence indicated that Holmes attended both.
74:
and Frank
Sidgwick, both published in 1902, but neither of these essays received much notice at first. Notable early scholars of the canon included
135:
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circumstance explains not only Holmes's career choice, but also (in an appropriately
Freudian manner) his hatred of Professor Moriarty.
152:
361:
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406:
central characters of this tree. The Holmes family and its various generations have been the subject of many Wold Newton articles.
415:
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211:(Gasogene Books, Indianapolis), which sums up the available Holmesian "scholarship" alongside the original "canonical" texts.
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Sherlock Holmes of Baker Street: A Biography of the World's First
Consulting Detective
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368:, with genetic material from three people. This would make Sherlock a nephew to
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650:"Do Your Own Detecting: Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of Tricky Continuity"
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478:"The First Modern Fandom Brought Sherlock Holmes Back from the Dead"
360:. Radu is not precisely Sherlock's father, however, as vampires (in
607:
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. The
Chronology of Their Adventures
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346:
207:(Atlantic Books, 2005). Since 1998, Leslie S. Klinger has edited
16:
Analysis of characters and events from the
Sherlock Holmes series
119:
Sayers also said that the Game "must be played as solemnly as a
392:
112:
736:"Sherlock Holmes and the Christmas Demon by James Lovegrove"
142:, issued a reply to Knox's arguments, in a booklet entitled
345:
suggests that Sherlock has some genetic parentage from the
54:
from the 56 short stories and four novels that make up the
19:"The Great Game (Sherlock Holmes)" redirects here. For the
567:
The Great Game - Sherlock Holmes Devotees Get a New Bible
243:
It is clear from references to "the university" in "
575:. Issue 208 (Vol. 29, No. 2). Pp.65-67. March 2005.
307:Some other notable versions of Holmes' parentage:
98:. In the foreword to this book, Sayers notes that
1206:
331:names his father as Captain Siger Holmes of the
156:) and the archaeologist Harold Wilmerding Bell.
378:introduced Enola Holmes (the younger sister of
710:"Sherlock Holmes and the Wold Newton Universe"
269:The most influential "biography" of Holmes is
772:
201:A more recent "biography" is Nick Rennison's
65:
647:
613:
524:Studies in the Literature of Sherlock Holmes
393:The Holmes family and the Wold Newton family
204:Sherlock Holmes: The Unauthorized Biography
779:
765:
288:Sherrinford had a significant role in the
198:(1962), a personal "biography" of Holmes.
648:Asher-Perrin, Emmet (December 28, 2011).
102:The game of applying the methods of the "
584:
502:
500:
450:"Sherlock Holmes Fans Play 'Great Game'"
304:, which also featured a cameo by Siger.
698:. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1924.
416:Sherlock Holmes and the Christmas Demon
409:The Wold Newton family is mentioned in
1207:
707:
356:, who had succeeded him as a ruler of
172:, or his first name, given as John in
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497:
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209:The Sherlock Holmes Reference Library
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543:. Cambridge: University Press, 1929.
447:
397:Based originally on the writings of
252:The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual
230:
1086:The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes
733:
708:Howell, Cory (September 24, 2014).
622:"Did Sherlock Holmes Really Exist?"
619:
591:The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes
513:(London: Victor Gollancz, 1946), 7.
256:The Adventure of the Three Students
153:The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes
13:
1051:A Treatise on the Binomial Theorem
685:. London: Rupert Hart-Davis, 1962.
14:
1236:
1079:The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes
880:The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
554:Sherlock Holmes: Fact or Fiction?
530:. London: Sheed & Ward, 1928.
1189:
1188:
912:The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes
283:The Adventure of the Empty House
727:
701:
688:
673:
641:
476:Britt, Ryan (August 29, 2016).
448:Cole, Sean (December 1, 2005).
271:Sherlock Holmes of Baker Street
195:Sherlock Holmes of Baker Street
888:The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes
598:
578:
559:
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533:
516:
469:
441:
1:
999:The Story of the Lost Special
896:The Return of Sherlock Holmes
853:The Hound of the Baskervilles
734:Yon, Mark (2 November 2019).
714:I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere
434:
1006:How Watson Learned the Trick
556:. London: John Murray, 1932.
541:A note on the Watson problem
182:The Man with the Twisted Lip
144:A Note on the Watson Problem
7:
1144:The Baker Street Irregulars
1039:The Dynamics of an Asteroid
422:
362:Saberhagen's Dracula series
317:The Seven-Per-Cent Solution
90:, creator of the detective
84:The Baker Street Irregulars
10:
1241:
1107:Naked Is the Best Disguise
679:Baring-Gould, William S.,
333:British East India Company
178:The Problem of Thor Bridge
66:Origins and early scholars
18:
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1159:The Bootmakers of Toronto
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871:
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694:Conan Doyle, Sir Arthur,
25:The Great Game (Sherlock)
1150:The Baker Street Journal
258:", that Holmes attended
214:Mark Frost's 1993 novel
1093:From Holmes to Sherlock
970:Baker Street Irregulars
696:Memories and Adventures
352:, a younger brother of
343:The Holmes-Dracula File
254:", and to some degree "
190:William S. Baring-Gould
72:Arthur Bartlett Maurice
1134:Sherlock Holmes Museum
1124:Sherlock Holmes fandom
385:Enola Holmes Mysteries
138:, then a professor at
117:
620:Dex (April 8, 2003).
609:. Constable & Co.
455:All Things Considered
401:, the concept of the
382:and Sherlock) in her
245:The Adventure of the
108:Sherlock Holmes canon
100:
56:Sherlock Holmes canon
845:The Sign of the Four
565:McDonald, Thomas L.
140:Cambridge University
1170:The Strand Magazine
1139:The Sherlock Holmes
1100:The Great Detective
984:Uncollected stories
605:Bell, H.W. (1932).
34:(also known as the
1215:Literary criticism
945:Inspector Lestrade
940:Professor Moriarty
861:The Valley of Fear
837:A Study in Scarlet
788:Arthur Conan Doyle
511:Unpopular Opinions
403:Wold Newton family
399:Philip José Farmer
329:I, Sherlock Holmes
297:All-Consuming Fire
174:A Study in Scarlet
166:and in his leg in
163:A Study in Scarlet
130:When a student at
96:Unpopular Opinions
80:Christopher Morley
60:Arthur Conan Doyle
1202:
1201:
1073:Holmesian studies
1045:Reichenbach Falls
1023:221B Baker Street
872:Story collections
627:The Straight Dope
586:Starrett, Vincent
507:Dorothy L. Sayers
350:Radu the Handsome
231:The Holmes family
217:The List of Seven
92:Lord Peter Wimsey
88:Dorothy L. Sayers
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104:Higher Criticism
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86:) in New York.
78:in Britain and
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743:. Retrieved
740:sffworld.com
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719:December 21,
717:. Retrieved
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82:(founder of
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955:Mrs. Hudson
810:Adaptations
745:20 December
76:Ronald Knox
42:or simply
1209:Categories
935:Dr. Watson
923:Characters
435:References
291:Doctor Who
52:Dr. Watson
1176:Undershaw
815:Pastiches
660:Tor Books
358:Wallachia
302:Andy Lane
279:Yorkshire
264:Cambridge
123:match at
106:" to the
1194:Category
1016:Universe
1008:" (1924)
1001:" (1898)
994:" (1896)
588:(1933).
423:See also
44:the Game
21:Sherlock
1153:
1117:Related
1061:Studies
1028:Baritsu
665:June 3,
655:Tor.com
633:June 3,
483:Inverse
461:June 5,
380:Mycroft
370:Dracula
366:chimera
347:vampire
221:called
915:(1927)
907:(1917)
899:(1905)
891:(1894)
883:(1892)
864:(1915)
856:(1902)
848:(1890)
840:(1887)
829:Novels
526:, in:
260:Oxford
132:Oxford
125:Lord's
805:Canon
572:Games
176:and "
113:Bible
747:2019
721:2019
667:2012
635:2012
491:2023
463:2012
250:", "
50:and
30:The
790:'s
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300:by
273:by
262:or
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