# Sherlock Holmes. Where to start? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 20, 2009, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-holmes-where-to-start/497119 "2009-05-20T23:56:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2009, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-holmes-where-to-start/497119/21 "2009-05-21T19:03:16Z")
Watson’s wife (or wives) is one of the big points of contention among Holmes nuts. Some people claim that there’s evidence that W was married three times. Myself, I’m a fundamentalist: Watson was married once, to the charming Mary Morstan, whom he met in **The Sign of Four** 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2009, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-holmes-where-to-start/497119/22 "2009-05-21T19:09:31Z")
But where did she _go?!_ So she really did just disappear? I wonder if some forgotten love from her time in [Canada/America/South Africa] sent her a cryptic message one night on the back of a one-eyed gopher, and she mysteriously disappeared after having supper with her maid, who turned out to be stealing jewelery to help her prison-escapee mentally retarded brother escape to Australia? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2009, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-holmes-where-to-start/497119/23 "2009-05-21T19:12:43Z")
ISTR that there is some mention by Watson himself that his wife had died and that he had thereafter moved back into 221B Baker Street. But the question of how many times Watson was married is matched only by the question of the bodily location of his Afghan War wound for sheer vexatiousness. One Sherlockian scholar even noticed that Watson’s wife once calls him James rather than John, and from that surmised that his middle initial “H.” stands for Hamish, the Scottish equivalent of James, thus inferring that she was Scottish. And of course, both the late Prof. Moriarty and his brother are named James… :rolleyes: 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2009, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-holmes-where-to-start/497119/24 "2009-05-21T19:22:24Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > ISTR that there is some mention by Watson himself that his wife had died and that he had thereafter moved back into 221B Baker Street. There’s a mention in one story of Holmes having heard of Watson’s “sad bereavement”, which some have chosen to interpret as Mary’s death. But to Fundamentalists like myself;), it means that John and Mary lost a child. ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2009, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-holmes-where-to-start/497119/25 "2009-05-21T19:24:40Z")
Incidentally, the Doctor’s romantic life was the subject of [this earlier thread.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=446913) 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2009, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-holmes-where-to-start/497119/26 "2009-05-21T19:26:27Z")
Here are Conan Doyle’s personal faves of 1927: 1. “The Adventure of the Speckled Band” 2. “The Red-Headed League” 3. “The Adventure of the Dancing Men” 4. “The Adventure of the Final Problem” 5. “A Scandal in Bohemia” 6. “The Adventure of the Empty House” 7. “The Five Orange Pips” 8. “The Adventure of the Second Stain” 9. “The Adventure of the Devil’s Foot” 10. “The Adventure of the Priory School” 11. “The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual” 12. “The Adventure of the Reigate Squire” ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2009, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-holmes-where-to-start/497119/27 "2009-05-21T19:30:31Z")
Conan Doyle was also pretty proud of “Silver Blaze”, which incidentally is the source of the most famous Holmes quote of all, something to do with dogs in the nighttime. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2009, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-holmes-where-to-start/497119/28 "2009-05-21T19:31:27Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > And of course, both the late Prof. Moriarty and his brother are named James… :rolleyes: 😛 The brothers were named Prof. and Col. James was their middle name. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2009, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-holmes-where-to-start/497119/29 "2009-05-21T19:40:16Z")
> [@Rocketeer](#): > > Conan Doyle was also pretty proud of “Silver Blaze”… Yes, and it’s a very good story, even though the author later conceded he’d made so many errors about horse-racing that he would probably be “warned off the turf.” ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2009, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-holmes-where-to-start/497119/30 "2009-05-21T20:31:01Z")
> [@TWDuke](#): > > The brothers were named Prof. and Col. James was their middle name. You know, I have to admit: I have never heard that explanation before. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2009, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-holmes-where-to-start/497119/31 "2009-05-21T20:33:13Z")
> [@TWDuke](#): > > Here are Conan Doyle’s personal faves of 1927: > > 1. “The Adventure of the Speckled Band” > 2. “The Red-Headed League” > 3. “The Adventure of the Dancing Men” > 4. “The Adventure of the Final Problem” > 5. “A Scandal in Bohemia” > 6. “The Adventure of the Empty House” > 7. “The Five Orange Pips” > 8. “The Adventure of the Second Stain” > 9. “The Adventure of the Devil’s Foot” > 10. “The Adventure of the Priory School” > 11. “The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual” > 12. “The Adventure of the Reigate Squire” You can find these, each with fawning commentary, in a book called [The Baker Street Dozen](http://www.amazon.com/Baker-Street-Dozen-P-Doyle/dp/0865531870/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1242937797&sr=8-2) edited by P. J. Doyle and E.W. McDiarmid. Very cheap used. They also throw in “Silver Blaze.” ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2009, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-holmes-where-to-start/497119/32 "2009-05-21T20:38:46Z")
Barnes and Noble publishes a nice 2-volume hardback edition of the complete Sherlock holmes for about 5 or 6 bucks each. I bought the first one, really liked A study in Scarlett, then read some of the short stories, then got bored and quit about halfway through Baskervilles. ---
**Author:** ![Skara\_Brae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Skara\_Brae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skara_Brae)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2009, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-holmes-where-to-start/497119/33 "2009-05-21T20:50:26Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > If you’re the kind of person who has to read everything in chronological order, though (which isn’t really necessary with Holmes), you’d start with the short novel _A Study in Scarlet_. It shows how Watson first met Holmes and how their partnership started, but be warned: it contains a huge chunk of backstory in the middle that has nothing to do with Holmes, Watson, or England. I was listening to this on an old audiobook on cassette tapes, and when I got to that section I has just put a new tape in and was convinced I must have gotten a random tape from a different audiobook. I found the whole middle section very boring, and rather off-putting. I agree the short stories are the best. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2009, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-holmes-where-to-start/497119/34 "2009-05-21T21:42:44Z")
PDF facsimiles of some of the original publications (with notes) can be found here: [http://sherlockholmes.stanford.edu/archive.html](http://sherlockholmes.stanford.edu/archive.html) [http://sherlockholmes.stanford.edu/readings.html](http://sherlockholmes.stanford.edu/readings.html) ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-holmes-where-to-start/497119/35 "2009-05-22T04:02:10Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > And of course, both the late Prof. Moriarty and his brother are named James… :rolleyes: 😛 Well their father WAS the famous Victorian-era prizefighter George Foreman Moriarty… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![runcible\_spoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9fc29f/32.png) [@runcible\_spoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/runcible_spoon)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-holmes-where-to-start/497119/36 "2009-05-22T04:53:10Z")
> [@Skara\_Brae](#): > > I was listening to this on an old audiobook on cassette tapes, and when I got to that section I has just put a new tape in and was convinced I must have gotten a random tape from a different audiobook. I found the whole middle section very boring, and rather off-putting. > > I agree the short stories are the best. Hah! I did the same thing! It was only the voice of the narrator that convinced me I wasn’t going crazy. I did like them, though. I just went through the Holmes canon, and I’m planning on checking out the rest of Doyle’s stuff, since I rather liked his American detours, as ridiculous as they sometimes were (apparently everyone from America has gangsters and/or long lost husbands-children-lovers following them). ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-holmes-where-to-start/497119/37 "2009-05-22T15:29:01Z")
Hey, it’s Conan Doyle’s birthday (1859) - huzzah! ---
**Author:** ![Mycroft\_H](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/898d66/32.png) [@Mycroft\_H](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mycroft_H)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-holmes-where-to-start/497119/38 "2009-05-22T15:47:26Z")
I hope you won’t mind one more comment. (Sorry for coming to the discussion late. Man! I’m away from the Dope for a few days and two great Holmes threads come up.) For starting (or restarting) reading of the Holmes stories, I would suggest getting a copy of _The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes_ and read them in order. (Or get a complete Sherlock Holmes and start with the short stories.) I’d suggest skipping the longer stories (_A Study in Scarlet_, and _The Sign of the Four_) until a little later. The first two stories are ‘A Scandal in Bohemia’ and ‘The Red-Headed League’, the top two from the list that **TWDuke** listed. This series of stories should get you hooked if anything will. Leave the commentary, annotations, side essays and pastiches until you decide you wish to go past moderate interest, if that should happen. What got me hooked on Sherlock Holmes was the Jeremy Brett series. I thought the script writing was brilliant until I picked up a cheap edition of the Adventures and realized the best lines were lifted directly from Doyle. What got me hooked on The Dope was **Dex’s** Staff Report mentioned by **Thudlow Boink** in post #7. And, by the way, today (May 22, 2009) is the 150th anniversary of Arthur Conan Doyle’s birth in Edinburgh. (Damn, scooped by **Elendil’s Hair** as I was writing. :shakes fist: ) ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-holmes-where-to-start/497119/39 "2009-05-22T15:57:03Z")
Because there doesn’t look like there’s been a specific answer to **mnemosyne** ’s query: She’s dead. As alluded to upthread, in “The Adventure of the Empty House,” the first story set after Holmes’ “death,” Watson notes that Holmes has learned of “[his] own sad bereavement,” and offers “a piece of work for us both to-night,” which is “the best antidote to sorrow.” And that’s just about the last we hear of Mary. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-holmes-where-to-start/497119/40 "2009-05-22T16:32:55Z")
Read my responses in the linked thread for why this simple statement isn’t necessary true, although I believe it is. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-holmes-where-to-start/497119.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-holmes-where-to-start/497119.md?page=3)