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| Famous statue of the master detective Sherlock Holmes in Edinburgh |
Today begins an exploration of Sherlock Holmes.
We will look into his past on our world, and then examine his past in the alternate world of the Baker Street Universe. For this examination to work properly it is important for you to remember that this person is totally imaginary on our world. A creation of the great, but late Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Conan was an accomplished forensics expert, as well as an author. He spent the later part of his life exploring the occult side of life, exposing charlatans who claimed to speak with the undead, and studying the finer aspects of creation in the form of fairies and other such metaphysical phenomena not normally recognized or perceived by modern day science.
Sherlock Holmes
Date of Birth
January 6, 1854
Location: Country Manor, England
Sherlock Holmes was the creation of
one Arthur Conan Doyle, who later on became knighted for his talents and was henceforth renown as Sir
Arthur Conan Doyle.
Fictionally, it is believed that
Sherlock Holmes was born on January 6,
1854 The exact location is not known, but it is likely since his ancestors were
"country squires," that he was born not in the heart of London, but
at its outskirts.
Another source "His Last Bow," written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, claims that Holmes was Sixty in the year 1914.
There would appear to be some contradiction as to the actual birthdate of Mister Holmes, but we can resolve that issue readily through the same intense logical deduction as the Master Detective himself might have used.
After we have examined everything that is possible, then we must look sharply at the impossible. The improbable, but in this case not so much searing insight is necessary. For the true birth of Sherlock Holmes had to have been in his schooling in Edinburgh.
To quote BIO, the following is unearthed:
When Doyle graduated from Stonyhurst College in 1876, his parents expected that he would follow in his family's footsteps and study art, so they were surprised when he decided to pursue a medical degree at the University of Edinburgh instead. At med school, Doyle met his mentor, Professor Dr. Joseph Bell, whose keen powers of observation would later inspire Doyle to create his famed fictional detective character, Sherlock Holmes. At the University of Edinburgh, Doyle also had the good fortune to meet classmates and future fellow authors James Barrie and Robert Louis Stevenson. While a medical student, Doyle took his own first stab at writing, with a short story called The Mystery of Sasassa Valley. That was followed by a second story, The American Tale, which was published in London Society.
During Doyle's third year of medical school, he took a ship surgeon's post on a whaling ship sailing for the Arctic Circle. The voyage awakened Doyle's sense of adventure, a feeling that he incorporated into a story, Captain of the Pole Star.
In 1880, Doyle returned to medical school. Back at the University of Edinburgh, Doyle became increasingly invested in Spiritualism or "Psychic religion," a belief system that he would later attempt to spread through a series of his written works. By the time he received his Bachelor of Medicine degree in 1881, Doyle had denounced his Roman Catholic faith.
Doyle's first paying job as a doctor took the form of a medical officer's position aboard the steamship Mayumba, travelling from Liverpool to Africa. After his stint on the Mayumba, Doyle settled in Plymouth, England for a time. When his funds were nearly tapped out, he relocated to Portsmouth and opened his first practice. He spent the next few years struggling to balance his burgeoning medical career with his efforts to gain recognition as an author. Doyle would later give up medicine altogether, in order to devote all of his attention to his writing and his faith.
So from the above information we must therefore deduce that the birth of Sherlock Holmes occured roughly during the time period of 1878 and 1881 when Mister Doyle graduated from the University of Edinburgh with a Bachelor of Medicine degree.
Therein, that great and esteemed institution, Holmes was born in the forensic sciences that Doyle accumulated through his medical training and while not necessarily a fully formed character in his mind, became the foundation and birth of his character when finally put to paper.
In a sense, Sherlock had a long gestation period...prebirth and preganncy in the mind of Doyle...who later gave birth to him in 1886 and published his first appearance in literature the following year of 1887 in the magazine: Beeton's Christmas Annual.
The story was his first novel, "A Study in Scarlett."
So you see, Holmes was not born in 1854 as many surmised, but rather in 1886, an increase of 12 years.
Another source "His Last Bow," written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, claims that Holmes was Sixty in the year 1914.
There would appear to be some contradiction as to the actual birthdate of Mister Holmes, but we can resolve that issue readily through the same intense logical deduction as the Master Detective himself might have used.
After we have examined everything that is possible, then we must look sharply at the impossible. The improbable, but in this case not so much searing insight is necessary. For the true birth of Sherlock Holmes had to have been in his schooling in Edinburgh.
To quote BIO, the following is unearthed:
When Doyle graduated from Stonyhurst College in 1876, his parents expected that he would follow in his family's footsteps and study art, so they were surprised when he decided to pursue a medical degree at the University of Edinburgh instead. At med school, Doyle met his mentor, Professor Dr. Joseph Bell, whose keen powers of observation would later inspire Doyle to create his famed fictional detective character, Sherlock Holmes. At the University of Edinburgh, Doyle also had the good fortune to meet classmates and future fellow authors James Barrie and Robert Louis Stevenson. While a medical student, Doyle took his own first stab at writing, with a short story called The Mystery of Sasassa Valley. That was followed by a second story, The American Tale, which was published in London Society.
During Doyle's third year of medical school, he took a ship surgeon's post on a whaling ship sailing for the Arctic Circle. The voyage awakened Doyle's sense of adventure, a feeling that he incorporated into a story, Captain of the Pole Star.
In 1880, Doyle returned to medical school. Back at the University of Edinburgh, Doyle became increasingly invested in Spiritualism or "Psychic religion," a belief system that he would later attempt to spread through a series of his written works. By the time he received his Bachelor of Medicine degree in 1881, Doyle had denounced his Roman Catholic faith.
Doyle's first paying job as a doctor took the form of a medical officer's position aboard the steamship Mayumba, travelling from Liverpool to Africa. After his stint on the Mayumba, Doyle settled in Plymouth, England for a time. When his funds were nearly tapped out, he relocated to Portsmouth and opened his first practice. He spent the next few years struggling to balance his burgeoning medical career with his efforts to gain recognition as an author. Doyle would later give up medicine altogether, in order to devote all of his attention to his writing and his faith.
So from the above information we must therefore deduce that the birth of Sherlock Holmes occured roughly during the time period of 1878 and 1881 when Mister Doyle graduated from the University of Edinburgh with a Bachelor of Medicine degree.
Therein, that great and esteemed institution, Holmes was born in the forensic sciences that Doyle accumulated through his medical training and while not necessarily a fully formed character in his mind, became the foundation and birth of his character when finally put to paper.
In a sense, Sherlock had a long gestation period...prebirth and preganncy in the mind of Doyle...who later gave birth to him in 1886 and published his first appearance in literature the following year of 1887 in the magazine: Beeton's Christmas Annual.
The story was his first novel, "A Study in Scarlett."
So you see, Holmes was not born in 1854 as many surmised, but rather in 1886, an increase of 12 years.
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| Edinburgh, Scotland, home of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and probable birthplace of Sherlock Holmes |
From Wikipedia:
His parents are not mentioned in the stories, although Holmes
mentions that his ancestors were "country squires". In
"The Adventure of the Greek
Interpreter", he claims that his great-uncle was French artist Horace
Vernet.
Some evidence as to the cultured nature of Holmes would
certainly be ascribed to such an elevated heritage.
"As a rule the most substantial house in a medieval
village belonged to the lord of the manor. This was the manor house. In East
Anglia and northern England they were generally called halls - a reminder that
the great hall was their central feature. They would also have a solar or
chamber (a private room for the lord and his family), storerooms and a kitchen.
Nearby would be stables, a barn, dovecote and other farm buildings. Essentially
it was the chief farm of the manor. Often it had a chapel or church alongside
and the complex could be surrounded by a moat with a gatehouse. "
Being born of rich blood, if not royal, would have given
Holmes a leg up on most other Englishmen, and would also explain his somewhat
aristocratic viewpoint of the world about him, even though leavened by his
sharp perception of the base realities of life.
Further research reveals that Holmes perhaps had his family
roots in a famous French Artist as well as being part of a Country Squire's
ancestry.
"A particularly-rich area of "research" is the
"uncovering" of details about Holmes' family history and early life,
of which almost nothing is said in Conan Doyle's stories. In "The
Adventure of the Greek Interpreter", Watson states: "I had never
heard him refer to his relations, and hardly ever to his early life." But
in that story, as well as introducing his brother, Holmes mentions the only
facts about his family that are in any of the stories — "My ancestors were
country squires... my grandmother... was the sister of Vernet, the French
artist" (presumably Horace Vernet)."
Émile Jean-Horace Vernet (30 June 1789 – 17 January 1863)
was a French painter of battles, portraits, and Orientalist Arab subjects.
At this point you may be wondering how this is relevant to
the late, great Sherlock Holmes, but it is quite pertinent. For Vernet was not
just a great artist, but a partner in an underground organizaion of resistance
fighters that helped overthrow the Jade Dynasty during the China Wars.
More will be revealed of that history when we trace the life
and birth of Sherlock Holmes in the Baker Street Universe, where all the
subsidiary characters and relationships of Sherlock Holmes come into a sharper
and more focused life.
Below you will find two of the masterpieces that Vernet
created in our Earth timeline.
(Italian Brigands
Surprised by Papal Troops)
I personally find it
fascinating that such a peaceful artist would have so much attention paid to
images of war and violence. Perhaps there is more to the history of this man
than is genearlly revealed or understood.
Look for an article
on this great artist in the future as we continue to explore the Baker Street
Universe and its alternate reality...our world!
(Street Fighting on
Rue Soufflot, Paris, June 25, 1848)
This is a relevant
battle to France of our world, but even more so to the world of the alternate
Sherlock Holmes, for the Hollow Men used the discords among the French and
English to sow discontent and violence.
The Hollow Man was
well known for infiltrating the ranks of the commoners and infecting them with
his zombie co-horts, who were hybirds of the living dead, able to appear normal
to the human eye, while actually being quite undead.
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