Type of bind: Hardcover
Label: Drake
Manufacturer: Drake
Printing Date: 1974
Publishing house: Drake
Studio: Drake
User popularity level:
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Ian McQueen is a solicitor who used his legal knowledge and experience in studying Arthur Conan Doyle's stories about "Sherlock Holmes". Each of the "Long Stories" is discussed in a chapter. There is an 'Index' to the stories and a 'General Index". The 'Preface' explained how he came to treat Holmes and Watson as real people (p.9). Others did this and attempted to assign dates to the stories (p.10). An interesting puzzle as long as you don't lose touch with reality. Many who wrote on this topic were dead when this 1974 book was published. This book was "written for the general reader" (p.9) but you should have a knowledge of the four stories.
Chapter 1 deals with the very first published story of Watson and Holmes. McQueen analyzes Watson's life from the facts in this story. He explains why this occurred in 1882. Other features of Watson and Holmes are discussed, "two of the most famous smokers of their time" (p.32). The financial problems of Holmes and Watson are discussed ("First Interval"). McQueen assessed the likely fees earned by Holmes. [Was Baron Maupertuis a promoter of an oil cartel (p.51)?] Chapter 2 studies "The Sign of Four" and tries to assign the year for this event, which was followed by the marriage of Dr. John H. Watson to Mary Morstan. The question of date against day of the week is that the date is more likely to be correct. The question of Mary Morstan's aunt (or mother) may be that she had been abroad (p.89). The disappearance of Watson's wife may be simply this: she was written out of the script as an excess character who didn't contribute to the stories. Think of novels turned into movies.
The "Second Interval" discusses some chronological problems. Were they "careless errors or deliberate mistakes" (p.109)? The real flaw in "A Scandal in Bohemia" is that royal marriages were arranged for dynastic or political reasons. The King's involvement with an "actress" would be unremarkable then, or now. The use of actual dates is a device to suggest reality, not reality itself. Chapter 3 discusses "The Hound of the Baskervilles", the most widely known story. How much of this story is due to Fletcher Robinson (p.130)? Did Stapleton escape justice (p.131)? Perhaps Lestrade alone was called to keep the secret from local gossip (p.135). The "Third Interval" shows the error from treating fiction as fact (p.175).
The flaw in McQueen's approach is shown in Chapter 4 ("The Valley of Fear"), the least known story. "The Trapping of Birdy Edwards" was pure fiction and never a fact. ["Birdy" was a nickname for Bridget.] A true criticism of Holmes is that they noticed the missing ring from one finger but not the lack of a mark from wearing a ring! That would tell of a substitute (p.190). McQueen correctly points out the problem of changing clothes on a corpse (p.188)! McQueen cleverly solves the reference to the two James Moriarity (pp.201-207). Perhaps it was just a slip of Conan Doyle's pen? McQueen has an amazing reason for the release of Colonel Moran (p.211).
This book does not tell why grown men pretend fictional characters are real. Is it a tribute to Conan Doyle's writings?
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