Review of "The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes," by Vincent Starrett

 Review of

The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, by Vincent Starrett

Five out of five stars

A must read for Holmes fans

 While Sherlock Holmes is of course a fictional character, that does not mean that he does not live in the minds of his fans. The purpose of this book is to explain the aspects of his life that can be gleaned from the combination of the original stories. There were of course inconsistencies when Dr. Watson was putting down their adventures. He was often confused about the sequential timeline and of course Arthur Conan Doyle was interested in the immediate plot and did not spend a great deal of thought on temporal consistency across the stories.

 Many people have spent a great deal of time cross referencing the stories. One of the points of interest that was tracked down is where in London is 221B Baker Street. After executing a great deal of scholarship, the most likely location of the residence of Holmes and Watson in London was identified. Another point of interest is a more in-depth analysis of the life of Mrs. Hudson. It is known that she is a widow, but the particulars are largely unknown.  It was explicitly stated that Dr. Watson was married, but that his wife died. Another path of investigation follows the trail of the specific aspects of Dr. Watson’s wife.

 One of the most unusual “biographies” that has ever been written, this is a book that all fans of the great, fictional detective should read.