THE LIFE AND TIME OF SHERLOCK  HOLMES, VOL 4 by Liese A Sherwood-Fabre with an excerpt and giveaway PLUS Where to find Sherlock Holmes in London

The Life and Times of Sherlock Holmes, Volume 4

by Liese A Sherwood-Fabre

GENRE:   Non-Fiction

BLURB:

Be as smart as Sherlock Holmes!

Arthur Conan Doyle’s original tales include many references to everyday Victorian life that are no longer part of current readers’ world. What Holmes would have eaten from a can while searching for the hound of the Baskervilles, Watson’s enjoyment of a yellow-back novel, or the proper use of a gasogene would have been common knowledge to the Victorian contemporary but compels modern readers to run to the nearest reference book. These twenty-five short essays pull such items from the past and expand on their significance in the story. As an additional bonus, this book contains an essay on the role of scandal in Holmes; cases, originally appearing in a collected volume of essays on feminism and agency. After enjoying these concise treatises on Holmes’ world, readers will have a deeper understanding and appreciation of both the times and the life of the world’s greatest consulting detective.

Excerpt One:

The Intercontinental Reach of the Law

In two of Holmes’ cases, he meets Pinkerton agents: Edwards in The Valley of Fear and Leverton, who trailed Giuseppe Gorgiano from America in “The Adventure of the Red Circle.” By 1888, during the first encounter, the reputation of the Pinkerton Agency had been firmly established for almost 50 years and had already lost its founder, Allan Pinkerton. The Edwards character is said to have been based on James McFarland, who had garnered fame in the 1870s for infiltrating and testifying against the Molly Maguires, a secret Irish mining society. Leverton’s fame also preceded him as “the hero of the Long Island cave mystery.” 

Allan Pinkerton was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1819 and worked as a barrel maker there until immigrating to the US in 1842. He settled outside of Chicago and continued his trade. In 1847, he fell into his new profession when he was out collecting materials for his barrels. A particular island not far from where he lived had a plentiful supply of poles, and while gathering them one summer day, he came across evidence of someone else using the island. He informed the sheriff, and the officer investigated, capturing a large gang of counterfeiters. Later, local shopkeepers asked Pinkerton to help capture yet another counterfeiter. Based on these efforts, he was appointed as Chicago’s first—and, in the beginning, only—police detective. Shortly, he had five detectives working under him, and his reputation continued to grow. 

Beyond his detective work, he was also an abolitionist. He had been involved in radical politics in Scotland, which was why he was forced to emigrate. His shop served as a station along the under‐ ground railroad, and he raised funds to help transport eleven slaves freed by John Brown. In 1850 he left public services to form his agency. Pinkerton’s National Detective Agency advertised “We Never Sleep” with an unblinking eye as its logo. This image lies behind the term “private eye.” The company included Allan’s brother Robert, who was a railroad contractor. The organization specialized in the capture of counterfeiters and train robbers, but also provided private military contractors and security guards. By 1853, Pinkerton Agencies existed in all the major Union cities. The company hired the first female detective (Kate Warne) in 1856, and during an investigation of a railway case, uncovered a plot to assassinate President-elect Abraham Lincoln in 1861. Warned of the threat, Lincoln changed his itinerary and, under a disguise, passed through the area at night unharmed. 

Where to Find Sherlock Holmes in London

As you can imagine, Sherlock Holmes tributes can be found in several places in and around London (and further afield in Edinburg where Arthur Conan Doyle grew up), but the heart of it is Baker Street, home of his famous address: 221B Baker Street. If you arrive by the underground (or “the tube”), you will enjoy the walls decorated with tiles in the form of a Holmes silhouette. Upon emerging, you can snap a shot with his statue on Marylebone Road (no room for it on Baker Street) and then visit the Sherlock Holmes Museum.

In 1990, John Aidiniantz purchased a Georgian townhouse at 239 Baker Street and opened the museum. For the next twelve years, he fought with the Abbey National Building Society at 221 Baker Street over who should receive the mail addressed to Sherlock Holmes (Abbey National had been answering the letters since the 1930s). Finally, Abbey National moved, and the Royal Mail agreed to deliver correspondence there. A penknife holds the letters in place on the mantle—the same as Sherlock did.

Another famous street is The Strand. Extending from Trafalgar Square, this is the street where Watson originally stayed when he first returned to London, and not far from The Strand Magazine, which originally published Conan Doyle’s pieces.

You can also check out some commemorative plaques marking “historic” places from the Holmes tales. There is one on St. Bartholomew’s Hospital (St. Bart’s) to mark where Holmes and Watson met for the first time. And on the Criterion Restaurant (now permanently closed) where Watson met a friend named Stamford who introduced him to Holmes.

After visiting all these places, you can end at the Sherlock Holmes pub for a pint of Sherlock Holmes House Ale or Dr. Watson’s London Porter. While there, you can tour the display of Holmes memorabilia collected for the Festival of Britain in 1951 that includes one of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s desk and chair.

If you wish to travel further afar, there’s a commemorative plaque in East Dean (where Sherlock Holmes retired), not to mention Reichenbach Falls in Switzerland, where Holmes and Moriarty had their last fight (and Moriarty lost).

Other places holding plaques marking visits by Sherlock’s creator, Conan Doyle, stretch literally across the globe as he traveled widely. From Indianapolis to Australia. As Mycroft Holmes observed in “The Greek Interpreter,” “I hear of Sherlock everywhere.”

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Liese Sherwood-Fabre knew she was destined to write when she got an A+ in the second grade for her story about Dick, Jane, and Sally’s ruined picnic. After obtaining her PhD, she joined the federal government and worked and lived abroad for more than fifteen years. Returning to the states, she seriously pursued her writing career, garnering such awards as a finalist in RWA’s Golden Heart contest and a Pushcart Prize nomination. A recognized Sherlockian scholar, her essays have appeared in scion newsletters, the Baker Street Journal, and Canadian Holmes. These have been gathered into The Life and Times of Sherlock Holmes essay collection series. She has recently turned this passion into an origin story series on Sherlock Holmes. The Adventure of the Murdered Midwife, the first book in The Early Case Files of Sherlock Holmes series, was the CIBA Mystery and Mayhem 2020 winner.

Writer links:

Website: www.liesesherwoodfabre.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/liese.sherwoodfabre  

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/lsfabre

Amazon Author Page:  https://www.amazon.com/Liese-Sherwood-Fabre/e/B00810INE6

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5758587.Liese_Sherwood_Fabre

Book Buy Links:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Life-Times-Sherlock-Holmes-Enlightening-ebook/dp/B0BJ7P1BH8

BN:  https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-life-and-times-of-sherlock-holmes-liese-sherwood-fabre/1142375056?ean=2940185567104

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-life-and-times-of-sherlock-holmes-6

iBook:  http://books.apple.com/us/book/id6443588533

Other: https://books2read.com/u/bOnezW  

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