Fandom: Sherlock Holmes
It is no exaggeration to say that Sherlock Holmes is not only the godfather of detective and mystery fiction as we know it, but also of FANDOM ITSELF. Everything that is now taken for granted as an aspect of fandom -- societies, essays, fanfiction, weird fandom pseudonyms, even silly arguments over things that don't matter at all, was, if not originated by, then perfected by the early Holmes enthusiasts. Sure, there were groups devoted to the study of Shakespeare, or early Greek philosophers, but they had the illusion of LITERARY MIGHT on their side. With Sherlock Holmes, fans simply "play the game for the game's own sake".
I. Canon: The Original Stories
II. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
III. Characters
IV. The Fandom
V. Pastiches, Fanfiction and Scholarly Work
VI. Adaptations
VII. LiveJournal Wrap-Up
I. Canon: The Original Stories
“It is wonderful!” I cried. “Your merits should be publicly recognised. You should publish an account of the case. If you won’t, I will for you.”
“You may do what you like, Doctor,” he answered.
The Holmesian Canon is made up of the original four novels and fifty-six short stories written over the course of several decades by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Merely Dr. Doyle, a bored medical man, when his first short story was published in 1879, he had become a bit more serious about his literary effort when his first novel A Study in Scarlet, was published in 1887. But STUD was not merely Doyle's first novel, it was also the first appearance of Sherlock Holmes, consulting detective.
The entire canon is as follows (in chronological order of publication; the abbreviations that follow each story title are the official abbreviations used by Sherlockians and first proposed by Jay Finley Christ in 1947); every story is available online at various places, the handiest being: http://www.sherlockian.net/canon/index.html
A Study in Scarlet (STUD) (novel, 1887)
The Sign of the Four (SIGN)(novel, 1890)
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
A Scandal in Bohemia (SCAN) 1891
The Red-headed League (REDH) 1891
A Case of Identity (IDEN) 1891
The Boscombe Valley Mystery (BOSC) 1891
The Five Orange Pips (FIVE) 1891
The Man with the Twisted Lip (TWIS) 1891
The Blue Carbuncle (BLUE) 1892
The Speckled Band (SPEC) 1892
The Engineer's Thumb (ENGR) 1892
The Noble Bachelor (NOBL) 1892
The Beryl Coronet (BERY) 1892
The Copper Beeches (COPP) 1892
The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes
Silver Blaze (SILV) 1892
The Yellow Face (YELL) 1893
The Stock-broker's Clerk (STOC) 1893
The 'Gloria Scott' (GLOR) 1893
The Musgrave Ritual (MUSG) 1893
The Reigate Squires (REIG) 1893
The Crooked Man (CROO) 1893
The Resident Patient (RESI) 1893
The Greek Interpreter (GREE) 1893
The Naval Treaty (NAVA) 1893
The Final Problem (FINA) 1893
The Hound of the Baskervilles (HOUN) (novel, 1901-02)
The Return of Sherlock Holmes
The Empty House (EMPT) 1903
The Norwood Builder (NORW) 1903
The Dancing Men (DANC) 1903
The Solitary Cyclist (SOLI) 1903
The Priory School (PRIO) 1904
Black Peter (BLAC) 1904
Charles Augustus Milverton (CHAS) 1904
The Six Napoleons (SIXN) 1904
The Three Students (3STU) 1904
The Golden Pince-Nez (GOLD) 1904
The Missing Three-Quarter (MISS) 1904
The Abbey Grange (ABBE) 1904
The Second Stain (SECO) 1904
The Valley of Fear (VALL) (novel, 1914-15)
His Last Bow
Wisteria Lodge (WIST) 1908
The Cardboard Box (CARD)* 1893
The Red Circle (REDC) 1911
The Bruce-Partington Plans (BRUC) 1908
The Dying Detective (DYIN) 1913
The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax (LADY) 1911
The Devil's Foot (DEVI) 1910
His Last Bow (LAST) 1917
The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes
The Illustrious Client (ILLU) 1924
The Blanched Soldier (BLAN) 1926
The Mazarin Stone (MAZA) 1921
The Three Gables (3GAB) 1926
The Sussex Vampire (SUSS) 1924
The Three Garridebs (3GAR) 1924
The Problem of Thor Bridge (THOR) 1922
The Creeping Man (CREE) 1923
The Lion's Mane (LION) 1926
The Veiled Lodger (VEIL) 1927
Shoscombe Old Place (SHOS) 1927
The Retired Colourman (RETI) 1926
*CARD was first published in the Strand Magazine in the same run as the rest of The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, but when it came time to compile the book that particular story was left out because of its being thought too gruesome. But the scene at the beginning was thought to be so good that it was lifted and transposed into the plot of STOC, thus causing some confusion when CARD was finally published.
In addition, there are two very short semi-parodies that Doyle wrote, called:
"The Field Bazaar" (1896)
"How Watson Learned the Trick" (1924)
Some scholars like to include these into the canon and some do not; they are so obviously written for a specific purpose it is hard to put them on the same footing as the other stories, but they are still damned amusing and eminently believable.
Also, two stories that Doyle wrote in which a "celebrated detective" is mentioned obliquely, but never by name:
"The Lost Special"
"The Man with the Watches"
II. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Born in 1859, died in 1930, and in between he wrote a lot of books and changed the face of literature while creating a character with more iconic status than Batman and Spiderman combined. Still, he ended up hating Holmes for taking all the limelight away from his more "serious" literary efforts, such as his historical romances like The White Company and Sir Nigel. Certainly those books are not well-known today, though another piece he was quite proud of, The Lost World, is still widely read and is certainly much more interesting that that lame Michael Crichton knock-off of the same name -- and yes, the original IS about dinosaurs. (Read it here. It also spawned the most scientifically accurate (and AWESOME) dinosaur film until the release of Jurassic Park in 1993. But I digress.
Doyle was a doctor who got his degree from the University of Edinburgh, and in fact Holmes was somewhat inspired by one of his teachers there, Dr. Joseph Bell. The recent BBC television series Murder Rooms is VERY loosely based upon their association at University (it aired in the United States on the programme Mystery! on PBS). He seemed never to have been heavily invested in being a doctor, for he only practised briefly, and when he saw that he could make a living purely out of writing, then that is what he did.
For more information on Doyle kindly click here.
III. Characters
The Principals:
Sherlock Holmes
“I don’t think you need alarm yourself,” said I. “I have usually found that there was method in his madness.”
“Some folk might say there was madness in his method,” muttered the inspector.
Sherlock Holmes was, according to Vincent Starrett, born on January 6th, 1854. We know he attended University somewhere, but only for two years (“You never heard me talk of Victor Trevor?” he asked. “He was the only friend I made during the two years I was at college.") At some point in his early life he decided he would become an unofficial consulting detective, but it was easier said than done. He had a lot of leisure time; since no one yet knew he existed it was not very easy to get clientele ("When I first came up to London I had rooms in Montague Street, just round the corner from the British Museum, and there I waited, filling in my too abundant leisure time by studying all those branches of science which might make me more efficient."). Then, in 1881 the big event happened. Holmes was at Bart's hospital, working upon a new chemical test for bloodstains when two young men came in and changed everything forever.
Dr. Watson, Mr. Sherlock Holmes,” said Stamford, introducing us.
“How are you?” he said cordially, gripping my hand with a strength for which I should hardly have given him credit. “You have been in Afghanistan, I perceive.”
“How on earth did you know that?” I asked in astonishment.
“Never mind,” said he, chuckling to himself.
Holmes is tall and thin, and swings from coldness to passion depending on his mood. His whole character is mercurial, and he has an absolute need to work; idleness is a terrible strain upon him, and when it cannot be pushed aside with mental games of some sort or the other, ranging from memorising the streets of London to writing mongraphs upon the polyphonic motets of Lassus then he sometimes succumbs to the allure of drug abuse. He is a man of strong principle, but since they are his own principles his behaviour sometimes seems quite strange to others. Watson is his only friend, and though he doesn't often show it he is not only very dependent on him but also cares for him very much. In his own fashion.
Dr. John H. Watson
“I am inclined to think- -” said I.
“I should do so,” Sherlock Holmes remarked impatiently.
I believe that I am one of the most long-suffering of mortals; but I’ll admit that I was annoyed at the sardonic interruption. “Really, Holmes,” said I severely, “you are a little trying at times.
Watson opens up STUD with the most information he will ever divulge about himself:
In the year 1878 I took my degree of Doctor of Medicine of the University of London, and proceeded to Netley to go through the course prescribed for surgeons in the Army. Having completed my studies there, I was duly attached to the Fifth Northumberland Fusiliers as assistant surgeon. The regiment was stationed in India at the time, and before I could join it, the second Afghan war had broken out. Watson goes to Afghanistan, does his duty, and is terribly injured at the Battle of Maiwand; after surviving his wound, and then a severe bought of enteric fever, he is finally sent back to Britain. Finding himself too weak to try to establish a practise, and only a small army pension to live on, he decides to find himself some sort of affordable living situation when he meets up by chance with an old friend who knows a man in a similar financial plight, but he is not so keen to set them up...
“It seems to me, Stamford,” I added, looking hard at my companion, “that you have some reason for washing your hands of the matter. Is this fellow’s temper so formidable, or what is it? Don’t be mealymouthed about it.”
“It is not easy to express the inexpressible,” he answered with a laugh. “Holmes is a little too scientific for my tastes-it approaches to cold-bloodedness. I could imagine his giving a friend a little pinch of the latest vegetable alkaloid, not out of malevolence, you understand, but simply out of a spirit of inquiry in order to have an accurate idea of the effects. To do him justice, I think that he would take it himself with the same readiness. He appears to have a passion for definite and exact knowledge.”
Watson is warm, kind, loyal, intelligent, and thoughtful. He is handsome, does quite well with the ladies, and possessed of a very subtle sense of humour. Somehow, despite being an all-around good type of human being, he can stand living with Holmes (though not, perhaps, always).
Supporting Players:
Scotland Yard
As an "unofficial consulting detective" Holmes often deals with problems in which no laws are broken, or in which it would be detrimental to call on the official police (not least of all for Holmes himself, who is not above stepping outside the bounds of the law in the service of a good cause. Or at least a case). However, a good many of his cases do involve the police, and it all depends upon the individual case as to whether they are allies or adversaries.
Inspector G. Lestrade
Best known of the Scotland Yarders with whom Holmes deals, not least due to adaptors' evident love of throwing him into any story which requires an inspector. He, along with Inspector Gregson, are introduced in A Study in Scarlet as "the pick of a bad lot", but over the years Holmes and Lestrade seem to develop a mutual respect for each other, as well as a certain amount of friendship (see the end of SIXN, for instance). He is a small man, "lean and ferret-like" according to Watson during STUD.
Inspector Gregson
Only seen in A Study in Scarlet and one other short story he is immortalised in Holmesiana because of his rivalry with Lestrade, and Holmes' opinion that Gregson "is the smartest of the Scotland Yarders" (at least at that time). He is described as being a "tall, white-faced, flaxen-haired man" in STUD (though, to be fair, he may not be so pale when not completely baffled by a murder investigation).
Inspector Athelney Jones
"He is not a bad fellow, though an absolute imbecile in his profession," was Holmes' (fairly accurate) view of the man who is the chief representative of the Yard through The Sign of the Four. He also appears in "The Red-Headed League", though he seems to be slightly less of an idiot during that case.
Mrs. Hudson
"Mrs. Hudson, the landlady os Sherlock Holmes, was a long-suffering woman." (DYIN)
Undoubtedly a very patient woman, Mrs. Hudson spends nearly a quarter of a century (at the least) dealing with Holmes' untidiness, chemical experiments, and occasional target practise, not to mention having her sitting room window broken by criminals on a semi-regular basis (STUD, EMPT). Some speculate that she may be the housekeeper, Martha, that "pleasant old lady" who so helped Holmes during the Von Bork case (LAST). If so, Mrs. Hudson is not only a most patient housekeeper, but also a fairly good counter-operative. Mrs. Hudson is mentioned in the very first
Mary Morstan
"What a very attractive woman!" I exclaimed, turning to my companion.
He had lit his pipe again, and was leaning back with drooping eyelids. "Is she?" he said, languidly; "I did not observe."
"You really are an automaton -- a calculating machine," I cried. "There is something positively inhuman in you at times."
He smiled gently. (SIGN)
Though she is not conventionally beautiful ("Her face had neither regularity of feature nor beauty of complexion") Mary Morstan does seem to be a remarkable woman, not least because she turns Watson's head so completely. Even Holmes admits to her singular qualities, though in his own way ("I think she is one of the most charming ladies I have ever met, and might be most useful in such work as we have been doing."), though he is certainly not pleased when Watson announces their engagement ("I really cannot congratulate you."). But Holmes' displeasure was not enough to stop Watson, and he and Miss Morstan were indeed married. There is no date given for the wedding, but it looks to have happened sometime in 1888, almost a year after the initial engagement -- but as there is no concrete evidence there is still much speculation. Sadly for Watson, though perhaps not so much for Holmes, Mrs. Watson seems to have died sometime between 1891 and 1894. She first appears in SIGN as a client with a mysterious problem.
Mycroft Holmes
"Mycroft draws four hundred and fifty pounds a year, remains a subordinate, has no ambitions of any kind, will receive neither honour nor title, but remains the most indispensable man in the country." (BRUC)
Holmes' elder brother by seven years, Mycroft is fascinating both in his own right and as the only glimpse we ever receive of Holmes' background, family, or past. Though tall and sharp of expression as his brother, Mycroft is "absolutely corpulent", most likely because of his complete lack of interest in physical exertion -- his home, work, and club are within a few blocks of each other, and he apparently goes nowhere else. Intellectually he is even more brilliant than his brother, but in practical everyday matters he seems less capable. This, however, does not prevent him from holding an incredibly important position within the British government. "All other men are specialists, but his specialism is omniscience."
Professor James Moriarty
"When he put his hand on my shoulder as we were parting, it was like a father's blessing before you go out into the cold, cruel world." (VALL)
The truly legendary nemesis of Sherlock Holmes, a mathematics professor with the rounded shoulders of a scholar and the mind of the most dangerous man in London. Earlier in his academic career Moriarty had received well-earned praise for his treatise on the Binomial Theorem (written at the astounding age of twenty-one) and The Dynamics of an Asteroid, "a book which ascends to such rarefied heights of pure mathematics that it is said that there is no man in the scientific press capable of criticising it". Despite his unimpeachable professional reputation, however, dark rumours seemed to gather round him, forcing him to resign from a respectable Chair of Mathematics, and come down to London. Of what these rumours might have consisted, no one knows. Moriarty only appears in one story, FINA, but he is a pivotal, though absent, character in VALL.
IV. The Fandom
"Never has so much been written by so many for so few." -- Christopher Morley
Societies
There are HUNDREDS of societies across the globe dedicated to the study, reverence, and enjoyment of the Master Detective. Real, live groups of men and women who actually meet up and discuss the stories, often with the aid of alcohol. Perhaps not the first, but almost certainly the most famous of these is the Baker Street Irregulars. On January 6, 1934, Christopher Morley (an editor for the Saturday Review of Literature but destined to go down in history as one of the foremost Sherlockians of the century) was hosting a party in honour of Holmes' birthday, and somehow the BSI was born. By February a strange constitution had been finalised.
Written by Elmer Davis, the BSI Constitution reads as follows:
Article I
The name of the society shall be the Baker Street Irregulars.
Article II
Its purpose shall be the study of the Sacred Writings.
Article III
All persons shall be eligible for membership who pass an examination in the Sacred Writings set by officer of the society, and who are considered otherwise suitable.
Article IV
The officers shall be: a Gasogene, a Tantalus, and a Commissionaire.
The duties of the Gasogene shall be those commonly performed by a President.
The duties of the Tantalus shall be those commonly performed by a Secretary.
The duties of the Commissionaire shall be to telephone down for ice, White Rock, and whatever else may be required and available; to conduct all negotiations with waiters; and to assess the members pro rata for the cost of same.
The BSI by-laws are as follows:
1. An annual meeting shall be held on January 6th, at which the canonical toasts shall be drunk; after which the members shall drink at will.
2. The current round shall be bought by any member who fails to identify, by title of story and context, and quotation from the Sacred Writings submitted by any other member.
Qualification A. If two or more members fail so to identify, a round shall be bought by each of those so failing.
Qualification B. If the submitter of the quotation, upon challenge, fails to identify it correctly, he shall buy the round.
3. Special meetings may be called at any time or any place by any one of three members, two of whom shall constitute a quorum.
Qualification A. If said two people are of opposite sexes, they shall use care in selecting the place of meeting, to avoid misinterpretation (or interpretation either, for that matter).
4. All other business shall be left for the monthly meetings.
5. There shall be no monthly meetings.
The centre of Holmesiana in the States, the BSI remained a Men's-Only organisation until the startling year of 1991. But many other organisations, most of them scions, or off-shoots, of the BSI rose up around the nation and the world.
Just a few of the most prominent societies. For a complete (and frighteningly large list) go to this page. There's probably one in your area -- check it out!
The Sherlock Holmes Society of London Not a scion but the British equivalent of the BSI. It is expressly a literary society, not merely a fanclub. The other powerhouse.
The Adventuresses of Sherlock Holmes (ASH) Created in 1965 by members of a women's college who were tired of seeing the boys have all the fun.
The Sydney Passengers Named after survivors of a mutiny in GLOR.
The Sherlock Holmes Society of Australia
The Singular Society of the Baker Street Dozen Canadians with a potentially unhealthy idee fixe upon the word "singular".
Bootmakers of Toronto Also Canadian.
The Harpooner's of the Sea Unicorn They must be included for having the best name ever. Based in St. Louis.
The Sherlock Holmes Society of India
Japan Sherlock Holmes Club The world's largest organisation devoted to Holmes.
The Hounds of the Internet The only internet group that is officially a scion society of the BSI.
Online Resources
There is a LOT of Sherlockian information on the web -- plus, you can use this marvellous technological innovation to find other people to share that information with; or, if you are afraid of other people, even those who share your strange interests, you can still become an expert Sherlockian all on your own with the help of a few links.
Sherlockian.net: This is undoubtedly the best Holmesian resource on the web. Nothing can top it, nothing can beat it. It is indispensible. Everything you could ever have a question about is there.
Scuttlebutt From the Spermaceti Press Peter Blau
Foxhound's Sherlockian Page A Pure-blooded, Well-trained Foxhound (i.e. Kris Preacher)
The Sherlockian Connection run by Les Moskowitz, where you can find lots of link but more importantly all the information you could possibly need on The Hounds of the Internet, a scion society of The Baker Street Irregulars.
Sherlock Holmes International
The Sherlock Holmes Society of London This is also indispensable. The British counter-part to The Baker Street Irregulars, except their website is full of amazing and wonderful things. Where else could you possibly find an audiobook download of an adventure where Batman and Derek Holmes team up to fight the Scarecrow and Russian spies!
LiveJournal:
221b_bakerst The main Sherlock Holmes community on LiveJournal.
221b Not very much traffic; they just need people to join and post.
dammit_holmes For Mary Russell fans.
V. Pastiches, Fanfiction and Scholarly Work
Decades before your aunt started that Star Trek fanzine there were many who had already put their hand to creating fan-inspired works of Sherlockiana -- in fact, the earliest parodies of Holmes dated from the 19th century ("The Adventures of Sherlaw Kombs" was written by Detroit journalist Luke Sharp in 1892). J.M. Barrie, creator of Peter Pan, and a close friend of Doyle, wrote a wonderful little parody called The Adventure of the Two Collaborators. But many wrote stories not merely for amusement, but for love. Here is just a small sampling of the innumerable pastiches that have surfaced over the years:
Published Works
Sherlock Holmes Through Time and Space ed. Isaac Asimov
The Final Solution by Michael Chabon
A Slight Trick of the Mind by Mitch Cullin
Solar Pons by August Derleth
The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes by Adrian Conan Doyle & John Dickson Carr
The Last Sherlock Holmes story by Michael Dibdin
The List of 7 by Mark Frost
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes ed. Martin H.Greenburg
The Whitechapel Horrors by Edward B. Hanna
The Prisoner of the Devil by Michael Hardwick
The Resurrected Holmes ed. Marvin Kaye
The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King
The Seven-Per-Cent Solution by Nicholas Meyer
The League of Extraordinary Gentleman, vol. 1&2 by Alan Moore
My Dearest Holmes by Rohase Piercy
A Study in Terror by Ellery Queen
The Siam Question by Timothy Francis Sheil
Basil of Baker Street by Eve Titus
And a fantastic resource for published pastiches can be found at School and Holmes. Frighteningly comprehensive, but beware, many of the reviews contain SPOILERS, to a greater or lesser degree.
Fanfiction
For the amount of published pastiches out there it is frighteningly difficult to find much on the web; there are a few small hubs with little bits of this and that spread over the whole in the internet. But some of the best sites are:
Foxhound's Sherlockian Page
The Hive For Mary Russell fans.
RUSS-L A mailing list for Russellians, based on that of the Hounds of the Internet.
Sacrilege! A Sherlock Holmes slash site; it hasn't been updated in a couple of years but that does not spoil the quality of the work that is still there.
Holmesslash Just what the title says. Quite a few stories are archived there and nowhere else. You have to be 18 or over to join!
Sherlockian.net Pastiche Page Links to many individual stories and pages.
Livejournal Fanfiction Communities:
dispatch_box The general interest Sherlockian fic community -- still quite shiny and new. Join and post some interesting things!
cox_and_co Sherlock Holmes slash community; it wins for best community name.
yuletide Several stories about the Great Detective are over at the archive.
Scholarship
The sheer amount of Sherlockian scholarship is staggering -- it would require a book to record even the titles of the various papers, essays, articles, and books that have been written about the Master (and indeed, there have been books devoted to such). The following are merely a sampling of some of the most influential or best known works, many of which are readily available through library systems even though they are unlikely to be at your local bookstore.
Essays in Satire by Monsignor Ronald A. Knox (1928)
The Baker Street Journal
Naked is the Best Disguise by Samuel Rosenberg
The Secret Marriage of Sherlock Holmes by Michael Atkinson (1996)
Sherlock Holmes: Ten Literary Studies by Trevor H. Hall (1970)
Sherlock Holmes: Fact or Fiction by T. S. Blakeney
The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes by Vincent Starrett
Encyclopaedia Sherlockiana by Jack Tracy (1977) (note: new editions are sometimes titled The Sherlock Holmes Encyclopaedia because of a competing book put out by Barnes and Noble)
The Annotated Sherlock Holmes ed. William S. Baring-Gould (1967)
The Private Life of Dr. Watson Michael Hardwick
In the Footsteps of Sherlock Holmes by Michael Harrison (1960)
Sherlock Holmes in America by Bill Blackbeard
The Sherlock Holmes File by Michael Pointer
The Pictorial History of Sherlock Holmes by Michael Pointer
The Annotated Sherlock Holmes ed. Les Klinger
Holmes and Watson by June Thompson
VI. Adaptations
You can walk up to any person on the street and say the name "Sherlock Holmes" and though they may look extremely puzzled at the fact of a stranger randomly walking up to them and saying "Sherlock Holmes", they will instantly recognise the name. Try the same strategy but say the name "Nick Carter", and you will get very different results. How has Holmes withstood the test of time so well? The reasons are various and complex, but the popularity and iconic nature of his image are certainly chief among them. And of course what better way to support a popular image than stage, radio, film and television adaptations? (Well, comics, I suppose. But that would be a whole other entry).
The play Sherlock Holmes, starring and also written by William Gillette, was THE piece of Holmes media for decades. He popularised the deerstalker and it was because of his preference for meershaum pipes (he found it easier to speak with them in his mouth than other pipes) that the detective is associated with that strange looking tobacco burner. Frederic Dorr Steele's amazing illustrations were based upon Gillette. The play originally opened in 1899, played continuously for several decades, underwent a huge revival in the seventies, and is still sometimes performed today. Gillette appeared in the role for the last time in 1932.
In 1920 the Stoll Film Company began a long series of film adaptations with Ellie Norwood in the role of Sherlock Holmes. They were serious endeavours, and apparently quite good, though extremely hard to find (I have never been so fortunate as to see any, alas). Doyle himself had a very high opinion of Norwood in the role; "Norwood has that rare quality which can only be called glamour, which compels you to watch an actor eagerly even when they are doing nothing. He has the brooding eye which excites expectation and he has also quite unrivaled power of disguise."
1931 brought Arthur Wontner to the screen as the Great Detective, with Ian Fleming (no relation to the famed Bond writer) as his Dr. Watson in The Sleeping Cardinal. Wontner then proceeded to appear in four further films (Fleming co-starred in all but The Sign of the Four as producers wanted a younger looking Watson for that film). The twenties and thirties brought about a lot of Holmes films, most of which were fairly disappointing, and so Wontner's appearance on the scene was greeted with much joy and praise. No less than Vincent Starrett said, "No better Sherlock Holmes than Arthur Wontner is likely to be seen and heard in pictures in our time." His interpretation is much more mellow than some screen Holmeses, but it seems to suit the older Holmes that he plays, and Wontner also benefits from looking exactly as though he has just stepped living from a Sidney Paget illustration.
In 1939 Fox decided they would challenge Mr. Starrett's assertion by casting Basil Rathbone as Holmes in their adaptation of The Hound of the Baskervilles, with Nigel Bruce playing Watson opposite. Following was another Fox film, a complete fabrication called The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (the best of the series), and then Fox sold the rights to Universal, who proceeded to make twelve more films (all inexplicably updated to the 1940's). Rathbone, who was also doing a huge number of Holmes radio shows (many of which, incidentally, are available here) with Nigel Bruce, soon tired of the role and his endless association with it, but he still made an unforgettable Holmes -- the Holmes of a generation, in fact, the Holmes who has shaped much of the popular vision of his character. Nigel Bruce's interpretation of Watson has unfortunately been just as, if not more, influential as Rathbone's Holmes. It is Nigel Bruce (and bizarre scriptwriting, of course) whom we must thank for the public perception of Watson as fat, bumbling, and incompetent. However, when not made by the scriptwriters to do ridiculously stupid things, Bruce can deliver rather nice performances, and he and Rathbone have incredible chemistry together. They are two of the only actors playing Holmes and Watson who really make the viewer believe that they could have been true and lasting friends for decades. A wonderful thing to behold.
The only other contender for most famous Holmes of all time is Jeremy Brett, who played the role in the Granada-produced series for ITV starting in the early 1980's. David Burke was originally cast as Watson, and when he left after the first two series the role was taken up by Edward Hardwicke -- both of them are among the best Watsons to ever grace the screen. The show, at least in the earlier series, is amazing in its fidelity to the original stories. Brett's interpretation has a strangely polarising effect on many people -- many people find him to be Sherlock Holmes personified, many other people find his performances to be too cold, too grotesque, too weird. Marvin Kaye called them "a travesty". Before the show started loosing its cohesion in later series, and before Brett's health problems started to interfere with his work, he seems, to me, to be one of the best and most interesting interpreters I have ever seen.
Clive Merrison, fantastically, is just as amazing as Brett, if not more so, but not equally as well known, because his work as the Master was for BBC radio. Along with Michael Williams as Dr. Watson, Merrison starred in adaptations of the entire canon for Radio4, produced and often written by Bert Coules. All of the Sherlockian world owes Coules a debt of gratitude for making something so beautiful.
VII. The LiveJournal Wrap-up
221b_bakerst Holmes discussion
221b smaller Holmes discussion
dammit_holmes Mary Russell discussion
dispatch_box general Holmes fanfiction
cox_and_co slash Holmes fanfiction
yuletide several Holmes stories in the archive
There is also a Sherlock Holmes overview at crack_van by laughingacademy; here is a link: Holmes at Crack_Van
Much thanks to devildoll for her patience and help.
Any and all questions or comments can be directed toward me at any time.