Minor Sherlock Holmes characters
Encyclopedia
This article features minor characters from the Sherlock Holmes
stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and from non-canonical derived works.
force appears in the two-part series "The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge
", named (i) "The singular experience of Mr. John Scott Eccles", and (ii) "The Tiger of San Pedro". He is the only uniformed police officer in the books to have ever matched Sherlock Holmes in his investigative skills. In this story, the reader finds that even despite working in different lines, they both arrive at the right conclusion and solve the mystery at the same time. In fact, Baynes had misled even Holmes as he used a method similar to one that Holmes often used when he arrested the wrong man and provided inaccurate information to the press in order to lull the true criminal into a false sense of security. Holmes congratulated this Inspector, and believed that he would go far in his profession.
", "The Problem of Thor Bridge
" and "The Mazarin Stone". In the latter he plays a significant role in helping to arrest the lead villain. He is a more significant character in all three of Doyle's plays featuring Sherlock Holmes, "Sherlock Holmes; A Drama in Four Acts", "The Stonor Case" and "The Crown Diamond", and in the spoof "The Painful Predicament of Sherlock Holmes" written by William Gillette. In 1903 Charlie Chaplin began his career by playing Billy on stage in both the four act play and Gillette's spoof. Billy appears in films including "Sherlock Holmes (1922 film)
", "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (film)
".
", "The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle
" and "The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb
".
Doyle described him as "a tall, stout official ... in a peaked cap and frogged
jacket" Sidney Paget
's illustrations for the Strand Magazine
depicts him with a full beard. Beyond this little is revealed about him in the canon
.
Bradstreet originally served in Scotland Yard's E Division which associates him with the Bow Street Runners
, a forerunner of Scotland Yard. He claims to have been in the force since 1862 ("The Man with the Twisted Lip") but in June 1889 Dr. Watson
writes he is in B Division to oversee "The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle". According to Sherlockian author Jack Tracy, B Division was:
In "The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb", he accompanied Holmes to Eyford, a village in Berkshire. According to Jack Tracy's The Encyclopaedia Sherlockiana, he was "assigned most likely to the central headquarters staff."
Bradstreet is not a martinet
; in "The Man with the Twisted Lip" he could have prosecuted the false beggar, but chose to overlook this action to spare Neville St. Clair the trauma of shaming his wife and children.
Bradstreet appears four times in Granada Television
's The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
: "The Blue Carbuncle", "The Man with the Twisted Lip
", "The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans
", (substituting for Inspector Lestrade
, as Colin Jeavons
was unavailable), and a cameo appearance in "The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone
". Initially he was played by Brian Miller as a blustering, pompous plodder, then later as much more competent by Denis Lill
.
He is also featured in M. J. Trow
's series The Adventures of Inspector Lestrade.
inspector, was first introduced in A Study in Scarlet
(1887), and he subsequently appears in "The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter
" (1893), "The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge
" (1908) and "The Adventure of the Red Circle
" (1911). Holmes declares him to be "the smartest of the Scotland Yarders," but given Holmes' opinion of the Scotland Yard detectives, this is not sweeping praise. In one of the stories Watson specifically mentions the callous and cool way in which Gregson moved. His rival in crimefighting at Scotland Yard is Inspector G. Lestrade.
Gregson first appears in A Study in Scarlet
and is a polar opposite of another Yarder Doyle created, Inspector Lestrade
. Lestrade and Gregson are such visual opposites, it indicates the barrier Doyle drew between them to emphasize their professional animosity. Gregson is tall, "tow-headed" (fair-haired) in contrast to shorter Lestrade's dark features and has "fat, square hands."
Of all the Yarders, Gregson comes the closest to meeting Sherlock Holmes
on intellectual grounds while acknolwedging Holmes's abilities, even admitting to Holmes once that he always feels more confident when he has Holmes's aid in a case. Regrettably, he is bound to the law he serves within its confines, and the delay in getting his assistance turns to a near-complete tragedy in "The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter" because it takes so long to get his legal help. He also has some regrettable human flaws. During Study in Scarlet he laughs at the stupidity of his colleague, Lestrade, before Holmes and Watson, even though he is also on the wrong trail. In "The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter" it takes too long to engage his assistance in preventing a kidnapping and murder.
Unlike Lestrade, Gregson overlooks the little grey areas of the law, and in "The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter" overlooks Holmes' use of breaking of a window in order to enter a premises. Because of this, the life of Mycroft Holmes
' fellow lodger is saved.
Gregson last appears in Doyle's "The Adventure of the Red Circle" under events that transpire in 1902 but are not published by Dr. Watson until 1911. In this last writing, Watson observes that:
This passage does much to show how Doyle changes in his view of the police. Unlike many writers of the day, Doyle did not accuse the police of corruption or laziness in his writings, but it took his later years to write something positive about their work.
detective
and a student of Holmes's deductive methods, who attempts to apply them in his own investigations. Holmes, however, is very critical of Hopkins's ability to apply them well. Hopkins refers several cases to Holmes, all within the South-East areas of England and London, including:
, in which Holmes lives.
Mrs. Hudson is a woman who wants the home to be clean and tidy and often fights with Holmes for this. Watson describes her as a very good cook; in "The Naval Treaty," Holmes says "Her cuisine is a little limited, but she has as good an idea of breakfast as a Scotchwoman
," which some readers have taken to mean that she is Scots and others that she cannot possibly be. Other than one mention of her "queenly tread", she is given no physical description or first name, although she has been identified with the "Martha" in "His Last Bow
". In the Japanese language version of the Sherlock Hound
TV series, she is called Marie Hudson.
In film and television adaptations of the stories, Mrs. Hudson is usually portrayed as an older woman; on rare occasions she is presented as a young woman.
Watson described the relationship between Holmes and Hudson in the opening of "The Adventure of the Dying Detective":
At one point in "A Scandal in Bohemia
" Holmes names his landlady as "Mrs. Turner", rather than Mrs. Hudson, which has caused much speculation among Holmes fans.
Mrs. Hudson played an important role in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson
.
The first episode of the 2010 BBC series Sherlock, "A Study in Pink
", gives Mrs. Hudson a small background - Sherlock mentions that she offers him a special deal on the rent because he helped her out by ensuring the conviction and execution of her husband in Florida.
" where he protects Kitty from Baron Grüner's henchmen and provides Holmes with insight into how he might go about infiltrating Grüner's house to acquire a certain book. He is referred to in the radio adaptations of Sherlock Holmes, specifically in The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Ferrers Documents where he appears to carry on with intimidation business.
An Inspector Peter Jones appears in the "The Adventure of the Red-Headed League"; it is unknown if he is related to Athelney
Colonel Sebastian Moran is the villain of the short story The Adventure of the Empty House
, who tries to assassinate Holmes upon Holmes' return to London from his 'hiatus' after disappearing at the Reichenbach Falls. Holmes describes him as "the second most dangerous man in London" (the most dangerous being Professor Moriarty
).
. Although at the end of the story the main treasure is lost, she has received six pearls from a chaplet
of the Agra
Treasure.
Mary Morstan's father, a senior captain of an Indian regiment and later stationed near the Andaman Islands
, disappeared in 1878 in mysterious circumstances that would later be proved to be related to the mystery in The Sign of Four. Her mother died soon after her birth and she had no other relative in England, although she was educated there (in accordance with the received wisdom of the time about children in the colony of India
.) Watson and Mary marry in 1889.
Although it was "love at first sight", Mary Morstan and Dr. Watson's marriage fluctuates somewhat. In "The Adventure of the Crooked Man
" Watson goes off with Holmes to solve a locked room mystery
the summer after his marriage. She is concerned enough about his health to send him to the country during "The Boscombe Valley Mystery
", but when Mary Morstan dies (the circumstances of which are not related in the Sherlock Holmes canon), Watson moves back in with Holmes and makes no reference to the loss, though it is speculated by Baring-Gould
that he married again afterwards, which raises questions as to how close they actually were, or whether Watson is being a stiff-lipped
Victorian. It is probable that Mary Morstan died in the interim between "The Adventure of the Final Problem
" and "The Adventure of the Empty House
", given that in his farewell letter to Watson, Holmes asks his old friend to "give my regards to Mrs. Watson"; upon Holmes's return, Watson writes, "In some manner he had learned of my own sad bereavement"; and in "The Adventure of the Norwood Builder
", one of the most immediate adventures after Holmes's return, Watson has returned to the old quarters in Baker Street.
Film appearances
Mary Morstan has been portrayed several times on film.
in which he helps Holmes learn the name of the woman who led Douglas Maberley to his demise, although he does not actually appear in the story itself and is only referred to by Watson who describes Pike as "strange" and "languid" and states that all of Pike's waking hours are spent "in the bow window of a St. James's Street club". His character has however been expanded on or fleshed out elsewhere. In William S. Baring-Gould
's biography of Sherlock Holmes it is claimed that Pike is a college acquaintance of Holmes who encourages a young Holmes to try his hand at acting. Here his real name is given as 'Lord Peter'. In Bert Coules' radio play, Pike's real name is said to be Clarence Gable. Here he is also an old school-friend of Holmes's and is nervous of strangers and reluctant to leave his club for this reason. In the Granada television adaptation starring Jeremy Brett as Holmes meanwhile, Pike (played by Peter Wyngarde
) is also apparently an old university friend of Holmes's. Here he claims to be the benevolent counterpart of Charles Augustus Milverton (the eponymous blackmailer of The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton), who suppresses more information than he exposes. Though Watson is rather scathing about Pike, Holmes is more sympathetic towards him, suggesting that Pike is isolated, much like Holmes himself.
and head of the Baker Street Irregulars
. He has no first name in the stories. His first appearance is in "A Study in Scarlet
" (1886).
The film The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes
, directed by Billy Wilder, features a character called Wiggins (played by Graham Armitage) who is a footman
at the Diogenes Club. He delivers a note to Mycroft Holmes
(played by Christopher Lee
) and receives instructions concerning various items.
is the younger sister and youngest sibling of Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes. She appears in the series The Enola Holmes Mysteries by Nancy Springer
and it could be inferred that she appears in the story The Copper Beeches as Violet Hunter, however there is not enough evidence to support the fact. Enola is a very independent and rebellious girl who likes to wear trousers while riding her bike. She becomes a Perditorian, or finder of lost things, when her mother runs away with the gypsies and her brothers try to send her to boarding school. Using her natural cunning which seems to be inherited by every Holmes known to man, she creates multiple disguises on her quest to be reuninted with her mother and evade her brothers.
, is a fictional character in the 1906 collection of short stories Raffles Holmes and Company by John Kendrick Bangs
. He is described as the son of Sherlock Holmes
by Marjorie Raffles, the daughter of gentleman thief A.J. Raffles.
Wold Newton family
theorist Win Scott Eckert
devised an explanation in his Original Wold Newton Universe Crossover Chronology to reconcile the existence of Raffles Holmes with canonical information about Sherlock Holmes and A.J. Raffles, which fellow Wold Newton speculator Brad Mengel incorporated into his essay "Watching the Detectives." According to the theory, Holmes married Marjorie in 1883, and she died giving birth to Raffles later that year. Since Raffles and Holmes are contemporaries, it has been suggested that Marjorie was actually Raffles' sister.
Eckert further proposed in his Crossover Chronology that (1) Raffles Holmes was the same character as the "lovely, lost son" of Sherlock Holmes referred to in Laurie R. King
's Mary Russell novels, and (2) Raffles Holmes was the father of Creighton Holmes, who is featured in the collection of short stories The Adventures of Creighton Holmes by Ned Hubble.
Mengel's online essay was revised for publication in the Eckert
-edited Myths for the Modern Age: Philip José Farmer's Wold Newton Universe (MonkeyBrain Books
, 2005), a collection of Wold Newton essays by Farmer and several other "post-Farmerian" contributors, authorized by Farmer as an extension of his Wold Newton mythos.
He does not appear or is ever mentioned in any of the original stories of Sherlock Holmes and is not a creation of Sir A.Conan Doyle.
and Mycroft Holmes
. It is believed that his deduction skills exceed those of both his younger brothers. His name is taken from early notes as one of those considered by Arthur Conan Doyle
for his detective hero before settling on "Sherlock Holmes".
He was first proposed by William S. Baring-Gould
who wrote in his famous 'biography' "Sherlock Holmes of Baker Street" that Sherrinford was the eldest brother of Sherlock Holmes. Holmes once stated that his family were country squire
s, which means that the eldest brother would have to stay to manage the house. If Mycroft were the eldest then he couldn't play the role he does in four stories of the Sherlock Holmes canon
, so Sherrinford frees them both. This position is strengthened by the fact that Mycroft's general position as a senior civil servant
was a common choice among the younger sons of the gentry
.
The character appears (also misspelled Sherringford), along with his brothers, in the Virgin New Adventures
Doctor Who
novel All-Consuming Fire
by Andy Lane
, where he is revealed to be the member of a cult worshipping an alien telepathic slug that is mutating him and his followers into an insect-like form; the novel culminates with Holmes being forced to shoot his brother to save Watson.
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and from non-canonical derived works.
Inspector Baynes
Inspector Baynes of the SurreySurrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
force appears in the two-part series "The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge
The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge
"The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge" is one of the fifty-six Sherlock Holmes short stories written by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. One of eight stories in the cycle collected as His Last Bow, it is a lengthy, two-part story consisting of "The Singular Experience of Mr...
", named (i) "The singular experience of Mr. John Scott Eccles", and (ii) "The Tiger of San Pedro". He is the only uniformed police officer in the books to have ever matched Sherlock Holmes in his investigative skills. In this story, the reader finds that even despite working in different lines, they both arrive at the right conclusion and solve the mystery at the same time. In fact, Baynes had misled even Holmes as he used a method similar to one that Holmes often used when he arrested the wrong man and provided inaccurate information to the press in order to lull the true criminal into a false sense of security. Holmes congratulated this Inspector, and believed that he would go far in his profession.
Billy
Billy is Holmes' page, appearing in the stories "The Valley of FearThe Valley of Fear
The Valley of Fear is the fourth and final Sherlock Holmes novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The story was first published in the Strand Magazine between September 1914 and May 1915, and the first book edition was published in New York on 27 February 1915.- Part I: The Tragedy of Birlstone...
", "The Problem of Thor Bridge
The Problem of Thor Bridge
"The Problem of Thor Bridge" is a Sherlock Holmes murder mystery by Arthur Conan Doyle, which appears in the collection The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes...
" and "The Mazarin Stone". In the latter he plays a significant role in helping to arrest the lead villain. He is a more significant character in all three of Doyle's plays featuring Sherlock Holmes, "Sherlock Holmes; A Drama in Four Acts", "The Stonor Case" and "The Crown Diamond", and in the spoof "The Painful Predicament of Sherlock Holmes" written by William Gillette. In 1903 Charlie Chaplin began his career by playing Billy on stage in both the four act play and Gillette's spoof. Billy appears in films including "Sherlock Holmes (1922 film)
Sherlock Holmes (1922 film)
Sherlock Holmes is an American silent film starring John Barrymore as Holmes and Roland Young as Watson. The film was titled Moriarty in the UK.-Production background:...
", "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (film)
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (film)
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is a 1939 film featuring the characters of the Sherlock Holmes series of books as created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It was the second film to feature Basil Rathbone as Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Doctor Watson, the final one they would make for 20th Century Fox, and...
".
Inspector Bradstreet
Inspector Bradstreet is a detective who appears in three short stories: "The Man with the Twisted LipThe Man with the Twisted Lip
"The Man with the Twisted Lip", one of the 56 short Sherlock Holmes stories written by British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is the sixth of the twelve stories in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. The story was first published in the Strand Magazine in December 1891...
", "The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle
The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle
"The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle", one of the 56 short Sherlock Holmes stories written by British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is the seventh story of twelve in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes...
" and "The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb
The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb
"The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb", one of the 56 short Sherlock Holmes stories written by British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is the ninth of the twelve stories collected in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. The story was first published in Strand Magazine in March 1892.-Synopsis:In his...
".
Doyle described him as "a tall, stout official ... in a peaked cap and frogged
Frog (fastening)
A frog is an ornamental braiding for fastening the front of a garment that consists of a button and a loop through which it passes....
jacket" Sidney Paget
Sidney Paget
Sidney Edward Paget was a British illustrator of the Victorian era, best known for his illustrations that accompanied Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories in The Strand magazine.- Life :...
's illustrations for the Strand Magazine
Strand Magazine
The Strand Magazine was a monthly magazine composed of fictional stories and factual articles founded by George Newnes. It was first published in the United Kingdom from January 1891 to March 1950 running to 711 issues, though the first issue was on sale well before Christmas 1890.Its immediate...
depicts him with a full beard. Beyond this little is revealed about him in the canon
Canon of Sherlock Holmes
Traditionally, the canon of Sherlock Holmes consists of the fifty-six short stories and four novels written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. In this context, the term "canon" is an attempt to distinguish between Doyle's original works and subsequent works by other authors using the same...
.
Bradstreet originally served in Scotland Yard's E Division which associates him with the Bow Street Runners
Bow Street Runners
The Bow Street Runners have been called London's first professional police force. The force was founded in 1749 by the author Henry Fielding and originally numbered just six. Bow Street runners was the public's nickname for these officers, "although the officers never referred to themselves as...
, a forerunner of Scotland Yard. He claims to have been in the force since 1862 ("The Man with the Twisted Lip") but in June 1889 Dr. Watson
John Watson (Sherlock Holmes)
John H. Watson, M.D. , known as Dr. Watson, is a character in the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Watson is Sherlock Holmes's friend, assistant and sometime flatmate, and is the first person narrator of all but four stories in the Sherlock Holmes canon.-Name:Doctor Watson's first...
writes he is in B Division to oversee "The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle". According to Sherlockian author Jack Tracy, B Division was:
"one of the twenty-two administrative divisions of the Metropolitan PoliceMetropolitan Police ServiceThe Metropolitan Police Service is the territorial police force responsible for Greater London, excluding the "square mile" of the City of London which is the responsibility of the City of London Police...
. Its 5.17 square miles include parts of south KensingtonSouth KensingtonSouth Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London. It is a built-up area located 2.4 miles west south-west of Charing Cross....
and the south-western section of ..."
In "The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb", he accompanied Holmes to Eyford, a village in Berkshire. According to Jack Tracy's The Encyclopaedia Sherlockiana, he was "assigned most likely to the central headquarters staff."
Bradstreet is not a martinet
Martinet
The martinet is a punitive device traditionally used in France and other parts of Europe. The word also has other usages . It is also a term for a type of hammer in French, a diminutive of marteau , "hammer".-Object:...
; in "The Man with the Twisted Lip" he could have prosecuted the false beggar, but chose to overlook this action to spare Neville St. Clair the trauma of shaming his wife and children.
Bradstreet appears four times in Granada Television
Granada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
's The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is a collection of twelve stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, featuring his famous detective and illustrated by Sidney Paget....
: "The Blue Carbuncle", "The Man with the Twisted Lip
The Man with the Twisted Lip
"The Man with the Twisted Lip", one of the 56 short Sherlock Holmes stories written by British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is the sixth of the twelve stories in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. The story was first published in the Strand Magazine in December 1891...
", "The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans
The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans
"The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans" is one of the 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories written by British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It is one of eight stories in the cycle collected as His Last Bow...
", (substituting for Inspector Lestrade
Inspector Lestrade
Inspector G. Lestrade is a fictional character, a Scotland Yard detective appearing in several of the Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle. Doyle used the name of a friend from his days at the University of Edinburgh, a Saint Lucian medical student by the name of Joseph Alexandre Lestrade....
, as Colin Jeavons
Colin Jeavons
Colin Jeavons is a Welsh television actor.-Career:Jeavons is best known as Inspector Lestrade in the Granada television serials The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, or the part of the undertaker, Shadrack, in the television situation comedy written by Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall from...
was unavailable), and a cameo appearance in "The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone
The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone
"The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone", one of the 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories written by British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is one of 12 stories in the cycle collected as The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes....
". Initially he was played by Brian Miller as a blustering, pompous plodder, then later as much more competent by Denis Lill
Denis Lill
Denis Lill is a New Zealand-born British actor.Some of his many film and television roles include Fall of Eagles , Edward the Seventh , Survivors , The Scarlet Pimpernel , as William Knox d-Arcy, the Australian oil pioneer in Persia, in Reilly: Ace of Spies , Rumpole of the Bailey , Mapp &...
.
He is also featured in M. J. Trow
M. J. Trow
Meirion James Trow is a writer who writes under the name M. J. Trow.-Biography:Trow was born in Ferndale, Rhondda Cynon Taff, Wales. He went to Warwick School from 1961 to 1968. In 1968 he went to King's College, London, to read history. After graduation he spent a year at Jesus College, Cambridge...
's series The Adventures of Inspector Lestrade.
Inspector Gregson
Inspector (Tobias) Gregson, a Scotland YardScotland Yard
Scotland Yard is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service of London, UK. It derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became...
inspector, was first introduced in A Study in Scarlet
A Study in Scarlet
A Study in Scarlet is a detective mystery novel written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, introducing his new character of Sherlock Holmes, who later became one of the most famous literary detective characters. He wrote the story in 1886, and it was published the next year...
(1887), and he subsequently appears in "The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter
The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter
"The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter", one of the 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories written by British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is one of 12 stories in the cycle collected as The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes. The story was originally serialised in Strand Magazine in 1893. This story...
" (1893), "The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge
The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge
"The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge" is one of the fifty-six Sherlock Holmes short stories written by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. One of eight stories in the cycle collected as His Last Bow, it is a lengthy, two-part story consisting of "The Singular Experience of Mr...
" (1908) and "The Adventure of the Red Circle
The Adventure of the Red Circle
"The Adventure of the Red Circle" is one of the 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories written by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. It is included in the anthology His Last Bow.-Synopsis:...
" (1911). Holmes declares him to be "the smartest of the Scotland Yarders," but given Holmes' opinion of the Scotland Yard detectives, this is not sweeping praise. In one of the stories Watson specifically mentions the callous and cool way in which Gregson moved. His rival in crimefighting at Scotland Yard is Inspector G. Lestrade.
Gregson first appears in A Study in Scarlet
A Study in Scarlet
A Study in Scarlet is a detective mystery novel written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, introducing his new character of Sherlock Holmes, who later became one of the most famous literary detective characters. He wrote the story in 1886, and it was published the next year...
and is a polar opposite of another Yarder Doyle created, Inspector Lestrade
Inspector Lestrade
Inspector G. Lestrade is a fictional character, a Scotland Yard detective appearing in several of the Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle. Doyle used the name of a friend from his days at the University of Edinburgh, a Saint Lucian medical student by the name of Joseph Alexandre Lestrade....
. Lestrade and Gregson are such visual opposites, it indicates the barrier Doyle drew between them to emphasize their professional animosity. Gregson is tall, "tow-headed" (fair-haired) in contrast to shorter Lestrade's dark features and has "fat, square hands."
Of all the Yarders, Gregson comes the closest to meeting Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
on intellectual grounds while acknolwedging Holmes's abilities, even admitting to Holmes once that he always feels more confident when he has Holmes's aid in a case. Regrettably, he is bound to the law he serves within its confines, and the delay in getting his assistance turns to a near-complete tragedy in "The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter" because it takes so long to get his legal help. He also has some regrettable human flaws. During Study in Scarlet he laughs at the stupidity of his colleague, Lestrade, before Holmes and Watson, even though he is also on the wrong trail. In "The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter" it takes too long to engage his assistance in preventing a kidnapping and murder.
Unlike Lestrade, Gregson overlooks the little grey areas of the law, and in "The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter" overlooks Holmes' use of breaking of a window in order to enter a premises. Because of this, the life of Mycroft Holmes
Mycroft Holmes
Mycroft Holmes is a fictional character in the stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle. He is the elder brother of the famous detective Sherlock Holmes.- Profile :...
' fellow lodger is saved.
Gregson last appears in Doyle's "The Adventure of the Red Circle" under events that transpire in 1902 but are not published by Dr. Watson until 1911. In this last writing, Watson observes that:
Our official detectives may blunder in the matter of intelligence, but never in that of courage. Gregson climbed the stair to arrest this desperate murderer with the same absolutely quiet and businesslike bearing with which he would have ascended the official staircase of Scotland Yard. The Pinkerton man had tried to push past him, but Gregson had firmly elbowed him back. London dangers were the privilege of the London force.
This passage does much to show how Doyle changes in his view of the police. Unlike many writers of the day, Doyle did not accuse the police of corruption or laziness in his writings, but it took his later years to write something positive about their work.
Inspector Hopkins
Inspector Stanley Hopkins is a Scotland YardScotland Yard
Scotland Yard is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service of London, UK. It derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became...
detective
Detective
A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators or "private eyes"...
and a student of Holmes's deductive methods, who attempts to apply them in his own investigations. Holmes, however, is very critical of Hopkins's ability to apply them well. Hopkins refers several cases to Holmes, all within the South-East areas of England and London, including:
- "The Adventure of the Golden Pince-NezThe Adventure of the Golden Pince-Nez"The Adventure of the Golden Pince-Nez", one of the 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories written by British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is one of 13 stories in the cycle collected as The Return of Sherlock Holmes.-Synopsis:...
", set in 1894 in Chatham, Kent, and - "The Adventure of Black PeterThe Adventure of Black Peter"The Adventure of Black Peter" is a Sherlock Holmes story by Arthur Conan Doyle. This tale is in the collection The Return of Sherlock Holmes, but was published originally in 1904 in the Strand Magazine and Collier's.-Plot summary:...
", in WealdWealdThe Weald is the name given to an area in South East England situated between the parallel chalk escarpments of the North and the South Downs. It should be regarded as three separate parts: the sandstone "High Weald" in the centre; the clay "Low Weald" periphery; and the Greensand Ridge which...
set in 1895, and - "The Adventure of the Abbey GrangeThe Adventure of the Abbey Grange"The Adventure of the Abbey Grange", one of the 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories written by British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is one of 13 stories in the cycle collected as The Return of Sherlock Holmes.-Synopsis:...
", in 1897 in ChislehurstChislehurstChislehurst is a suburban district in south-east London, England, and an electoral ward of the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross.-Toponymy:...
.
Mrs. Hudson
Mrs. Hudson is the landlady of the house 221B Baker Street221B Baker Street
221B Baker Street is the London address of the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes, created by author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. In the United Kingdom, postal addresses with a number followed by a letter may indicate a separate address within a larger, often residential building...
, in which Holmes lives.
Mrs. Hudson is a woman who wants the home to be clean and tidy and often fights with Holmes for this. Watson describes her as a very good cook; in "The Naval Treaty," Holmes says "Her cuisine is a little limited, but she has as good an idea of breakfast as a Scotchwoman
Scotsman
Scotsman may mean:* a man from Scotland, in common parlance - see also Scottish people.* No true Scotsman, a common logical fallacy.*The Scotsman, a national newspaper based in Edinburgh, Scotland....
," which some readers have taken to mean that she is Scots and others that she cannot possibly be. Other than one mention of her "queenly tread", she is given no physical description or first name, although she has been identified with the "Martha" in "His Last Bow
His Last Bow (story)
"His Last Bow" is one of the 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories written by Scottish author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and one of seven collected in the anthology His Last Bow. Unlike most other Holmes stories which are written from the point of view of Dr...
". In the Japanese language version of the Sherlock Hound
Sherlock Hound
is an anime television series based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes series where almost all the characters are depicted as anthropomorphic dogs. The show featured regular appearances of Jules Verne-steampunk style technology, adding a 19th-century science-fiction atmosphere to the series...
TV series, she is called Marie Hudson.
In film and television adaptations of the stories, Mrs. Hudson is usually portrayed as an older woman; on rare occasions she is presented as a young woman.
Watson described the relationship between Holmes and Hudson in the opening of "The Adventure of the Dying Detective":
Mrs. Hudson, the landlady of Sherlock Holmes, was a long-suffering woman. Not only was her first-floor flat invaded at all hours by throngs of singular and often undesirable characters but her remarkable lodger showed an eccentricity and irregularity in his life which must have sorely tried her patience. His incredible untidiness, his addiction to music at strange hours, his occasional revolver practice within doors, his weird and often malodorous scientific experiments, and the atmosphere of violence and danger which hung around him made him the very worst tenant in London. On the other hand, his payments were princely. I have no doubt that the house might have been purchased at the price which Holmes paid for his rooms during the years that I was with him.
The landlady stood in the deepest awe of him and never dared to interfere with him, however outrageous his proceedings might seem. She was fond of him, too, for he had a remarkable gentleness and courtesy in his dealings with women.
At one point in "A Scandal in Bohemia
A Scandal in Bohemia
"A Scandal in Bohemia" was the first of Arthur Conan Doyle's 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories to be published in The Strand Magazine and the first Sherlock Holmes story illustrated by Sidney Paget....
" Holmes names his landlady as "Mrs. Turner", rather than Mrs. Hudson, which has caused much speculation among Holmes fans.
Mrs. Hudson played an important role in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson (film)
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson is a 1980 Soviet film adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle's stories about Sherlock Holmes. It is the second film in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr...
.
The first episode of the 2010 BBC series Sherlock, "A Study in Pink
A Study in Pink
"A Study in Pink" is the first episode of the television series Sherlock and first broadcast on BBC One and BBC HD on 25 July 2010. It introduces the main characters and resolves a murder mystery. It is loosely based upon the first Sherlock Holmes novel, A Study in Scarlet.The episode was written...
", gives Mrs. Hudson a small background - Sherlock mentions that she offers him a special deal on the rent because he helped her out by ensuring the conviction and execution of her husband in Florida.
Shinwell Johnson
Shinwell Johnson is a former criminal who acts as informant and occasional muscle for Sherlock Holmes (Although Watson notes that he is only useful in cases which by their nature will not go to court as he would compromise his connection to Holmes and thus render himself useless as a source if he ever had to testify as part of a case). He appears in "The Adventure of the Illustrious ClientThe Adventure of the Illustrious Client
"The Adventure of the Illustrious Client", one of the 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories written by British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is one of 12 stories in the cycle collected as The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes.-Plot summary:...
" where he protects Kitty from Baron Grüner's henchmen and provides Holmes with insight into how he might go about infiltrating Grüner's house to acquire a certain book. He is referred to in the radio adaptations of Sherlock Holmes, specifically in The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Ferrers Documents where he appears to carry on with intimidation business.
Athelney Jones
Inspector Athelney Jones is a Scotland Yard detective who appears in The Sign of the Four. He arrests the entire household of Bartholomew Sholto, including his brother and servants, on suspicion of his murder, but is forced to release all but one of them, much to his own embarrassment. Holmes refers to Jones as "an imbecile" but also acknowledges him as being "tenacious as a lobster."An Inspector Peter Jones appears in the "The Adventure of the Red-Headed League"; it is unknown if he is related to Athelney
Col. Sebastian Moran
- Main article: Colonel Sebastian MoranSebastian MoranColonel Sebastian Moran is a fictional character, an enemy of Sherlock Holmes and the villain of the Sherlock Holmes short story The Adventure of the Empty House...
Colonel Sebastian Moran is the villain of the short story The Adventure of the Empty House
The Adventure of the Empty House
"The Adventure of the Empty House", one of the 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories written by British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is one of 13 stories in the cycle collected as The Return of Sherlock Holmes. Public pressure forced Conan Doyle to bring the sleuth back to life, and explain his...
, who tries to assassinate Holmes upon Holmes' return to London from his 'hiatus' after disappearing at the Reichenbach Falls. Holmes describes him as "the second most dangerous man in London" (the most dangerous being Professor Moriarty
Professor Moriarty
Professor James Moriarty is a fictional character and the archenemy of the detective Sherlock Holmes in the fiction of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Moriarty is a criminal mastermind, described by Holmes as the "Napoleon of Crime". Doyle lifted the phrase from a real Scotland Yard inspector who was...
).
Mary Watson (née Morstan)
Mary Morstan becomes the wife of Dr. Watson. She is first introduced in The Sign of Four, where she and Watson tentatively become attracted to each other, but only when the case is resolved is he able to propose to her. She is described as blonde with pale skin. At the time she hires Holmes she had been making a living as a governessGoverness
A governess is a girl or woman employed to teach and train children in a private household. In contrast to a nanny or a babysitter, she concentrates on teaching children, not on meeting their physical needs...
. Although at the end of the story the main treasure is lost, she has received six pearls from a chaplet
Chaplet (prayer)
The term Chaplet is used commonly to designate Roman Catholic prayer forms which use prayer beads, but are not necessarily related to the Rosary. Some of these chaplets have a strong Marian connotation, others are more directly related to Jesus or the Saints. Chaplets are considered "personal...
of the Agra
Agra
Agra a.k.a. Akbarabad is a city on the banks of the river Yamuna in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India, west of state capital, Lucknow and south from national capital New Delhi. With a population of 1,686,976 , it is one of the most populous cities in Uttar Pradesh and the 19th most...
Treasure.
Mary Morstan's father, a senior captain of an Indian regiment and later stationed near the Andaman Islands
Andaman Islands
The Andaman Islands are a group of Indian Ocean archipelagic islands in the Bay of Bengal between India to the west, and Burma , to the north and east...
, disappeared in 1878 in mysterious circumstances that would later be proved to be related to the mystery in The Sign of Four. Her mother died soon after her birth and she had no other relative in England, although she was educated there (in accordance with the received wisdom of the time about children in the colony of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.) Watson and Mary marry in 1889.
Although it was "love at first sight", Mary Morstan and Dr. Watson's marriage fluctuates somewhat. In "The Adventure of the Crooked Man
The Adventure of the Crooked Man
"The Adventure of the Crooked Man", one of the 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories written by British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is one of 12 stories in the cycle collected as The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes...
" Watson goes off with Holmes to solve a locked room mystery
Locked room mystery
The locked room mystery is a sub-genre of detective fiction in which a crime—almost always murder—is committed under apparently impossible circumstances. The crime in question typically involves a crime scene that no intruder could have entered or left, e.g., a locked room...
the summer after his marriage. She is concerned enough about his health to send him to the country during "The Boscombe Valley Mystery
The Boscombe Valley Mystery
"The Boscombe Valley Mystery", one of the 56 short Sherlock Holmes stories written by British author, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is the fourth of the twelve stories in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. It was first published in the Strand Magazine in 1891.-Plot summary:Lestrade summons Holmes to a...
", but when Mary Morstan dies (the circumstances of which are not related in the Sherlock Holmes canon), Watson moves back in with Holmes and makes no reference to the loss, though it is speculated by Baring-Gould
William S. Baring-Gould
William Stuart Baring-Gould was a noted Sherlock Holmes scholar, best known as the author of the influential 1962 fictional biography, Sherlock Holmes of Baker Street: A life of the world's first consulting detective.-Biography:...
that he married again afterwards, which raises questions as to how close they actually were, or whether Watson is being a stiff-lipped
Stiff upper lip
One who has a stiff upper lip displays fortitude in the face of adversity, or exercises great self-restraint in the expression of emotion. The phrase is most commonly heard as part of the idiom "keep a stiff upper lip", and has traditionally been used to describe an attribute of British people ,...
Victorian. It is probable that Mary Morstan died in the interim between "The Adventure of the Final Problem
The Adventure of the Final Problem
"The Final Problem" is a short story by Arthur Conan Doyle featuring his detective character Sherlock Holmes. It was first published in Strand Magazine in December 1893. It appears in book form as part of the collection The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes...
" and "The Adventure of the Empty House
The Adventure of the Empty House
"The Adventure of the Empty House", one of the 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories written by British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is one of 13 stories in the cycle collected as The Return of Sherlock Holmes. Public pressure forced Conan Doyle to bring the sleuth back to life, and explain his...
", given that in his farewell letter to Watson, Holmes asks his old friend to "give my regards to Mrs. Watson"; upon Holmes's return, Watson writes, "In some manner he had learned of my own sad bereavement"; and in "The Adventure of the Norwood Builder
The Adventure of the Norwood Builder
"The Adventure of the Norwood Builder", one of the 56 short Sherlock Holmes stories written by British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is the second tale from The Return of Sherlock Holmes. The story was first published in Strand Magazine in 1903 with original illustrations by Sidney...
", one of the most immediate adventures after Holmes's return, Watson has returned to the old quarters in Baker Street.
Film appearances
Mary Morstan has been portrayed several times on film.
- In the black and white film Sherlock Holmes Solves The Sign of the Four by Isobel ElsomIsobel ElsomIsobel Elsom was an English screen, stage, and television actress.-Career:Born as Isobel Jeannette Reed in Cambridge, England, Elsom usually was cast as an aristocratic lady of the upper class. Over the course of three decades she appeared in 17 Broadway productions, beginning with The Ghost Train...
- In The Sign of Four (1932 film) by Isla Bevan, with Arthur WontnerArthur WontnerArthur Wontner was a British actor best known for playing Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's master detective Sherlock Holmes in five films from 1931 to 1937...
as Holmes - In The Sign of Four episode of the Sherlock Holmes series featuring Peter CushingPeter CushingPeter Wilton Cushing, OBE was an English actor, known for his many appearances in Hammer Films, in which he played the handsome but sinister scientist Baron Frankenstein and the vampire hunter Dr. Van Helsing, amongst many other roles, often appearing opposite Christopher Lee, and occasionally...
as Holmes and Nigel Stock as Watson, by Ann BellAnn BellAnn Bell is a British actress, best known for playing war internee Marion Jefferson in the BBC World War II drama series Tenko during the early 1980s. She was born in Wallasey, Cheshire, daughter of John Forrest Bell and Marjorie Bell, and educated at Birkenhead High School... - In the German Das Zeichen der Vier by Gila Von Weitershausen
- In The Sign of Four featuring Ian RichardsonIan RichardsonIan William Richardson CBE was a Scottish actor best known for his portrayal of the Machiavellian Tory politician Francis Urquhart in the BBC's House of Cards trilogy. He was also a leading Shakespearean stage actor....
as Holmes, by Cherie LunghiCherie LunghiCherie M. Lunghi is an English film, television and theatre actress. She is probably best known for her role as Guinevere in the 1981 film Excalibur, as football manageress Gabriella Benson in the 1990s television series The Manageress and for starring in a series of adverts for Kenco coffee. She... - In the Granada series, opposite Jeremy BrettJeremy BrettJeremy Brett , born Peter Jeremy William Huggins, was an English actor, most famous for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes in four Granada TV series.-Early life:...
as Sherlock Holmes, by Jenny SeagroveJenny SeagroveJennifer Ann Seagrove is an English actress. She trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and rose to fame playing the lead in a TV dramatisation of Barbara Taylor Bradford's A Woman of Substance and the 1983 film Local Hero... - In the 1991 adaptation called The Crucifer of BloodThe Crucifer of BloodThe Crucifer of Blood is a play by Paul Giovanni that is adapted from the Arthur Conan Doyle story The Sign of the Four. It depicts the character Irene St...
starring Charlton HestonCharlton HestonCharlton Heston was an American actor of film, theatre and television. Heston is known for heroic roles in films such as The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, El Cid, and Planet of the Apes...
as Sherlock Holmes. In this adaptation, Morstan is renamed "Irene St. Claire". - In the Russian film Priklyucheniya Sherloka Kholmsa i doktora Vatsona: Sokrovishcha Agry by Yekaterina Zinchenko
- In the 2001 film The Sign of Four with Matt FrewerMatt FrewerMatthew "Matt" Frewer is a Canadian American stage, TV and film actor. Acting since 1983, he is known for portraying the 1980s icon Max Headroom and the retired villain Moloch in the film adaptation of Watchmen.-Life and career:...
as Sherlock Holmes and Kenneth WelshKenneth WelshKenneth Welsh, CM is a Canadian film and television actor . He is known to Twin Peaks fans as the multi-faceted villain Windom Earle, and has more recently played the father of Katharine Hepburn in Martin Scorsese's The Aviator.In 1984 he was nominated for a Genie Award as Best Actor for his...
as Dr. Watson, by Sophie LorainSophie LorainSophie Lorain is a French Canadian actress and producer. She is known for having played "Anne Fortier" in the highly-rated television series Fortier that first aired in Quebec, Canada...
. In this version, Mary Morstan becomes engaged to Thadeus Shalto rather than Dr. Watson - In the Guy RitchieGuy RitchieGuy Stuart Ritchie is an English screenwriter and film maker who directed Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, Revolver, RocknRolla and Sherlock Holmes.-Early life:...
film Sherlock HolmesSherlock Holmes (2009 film)Sherlock Holmes is a 2009 action-mystery film based on the character of the same name created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The film was directed by Guy Ritchie and produced by Joel Silver, Lionel Wigram, Susan Downey and Dan Lin. The screenplay by Michael Robert Johnson, Anthony Peckham and Simon...
, opposite Robert Downey, Jr. as Sherlock Holmes and Jude LawJude LawDavid Jude Heyworth Law , known professionally as Jude Law, is an English actor, film producer and director.He began acting with the National Youth Music Theatre in 1987, and had his first television role in 1989...
as Dr. Watson, by Kelly Reilly. In the film, Mary is first introduced to Holmes as Watson's fiancee rather than as a client. Reilly will reprise her role in the upcoming 2011 film Sherlock Holmes: A Game of ShadowsSherlock Holmes: A Game of ShadowsSherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is an upcoming 2011 British-American action mystery film directed by Guy Ritchie and produced by Joel Silver, Lionel Wigram, Susan Downey, and Dan Lin. It is a sequel to the 2009 film Sherlock Holmes, based on the character of the same name created by Sir Arthur...
.
Langdale Pike
Langdale Pike is a celebrated gossipmonger whose columns are published in numerous magazines and newspapers (referred to as the "garbage papers" by Watson). He's introduced in The Adventure of the Three GablesThe Adventure of the Three Gables
"The Adventure of the Three Gables", one of the 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories written by British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is one of 12 stories in the cycle collected as The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes.-Synopsis:...
in which he helps Holmes learn the name of the woman who led Douglas Maberley to his demise, although he does not actually appear in the story itself and is only referred to by Watson who describes Pike as "strange" and "languid" and states that all of Pike's waking hours are spent "in the bow window of a St. James's Street club". His character has however been expanded on or fleshed out elsewhere. In William S. Baring-Gould
William S. Baring-Gould
William Stuart Baring-Gould was a noted Sherlock Holmes scholar, best known as the author of the influential 1962 fictional biography, Sherlock Holmes of Baker Street: A life of the world's first consulting detective.-Biography:...
's biography of Sherlock Holmes it is claimed that Pike is a college acquaintance of Holmes who encourages a young Holmes to try his hand at acting. Here his real name is given as 'Lord Peter'. In Bert Coules' radio play, Pike's real name is said to be Clarence Gable. Here he is also an old school-friend of Holmes's and is nervous of strangers and reluctant to leave his club for this reason. In the Granada television adaptation starring Jeremy Brett as Holmes meanwhile, Pike (played by Peter Wyngarde
Peter Wyngarde
Peter Paul Wyngarde is an Anglo-French actor best known for playing the character Jason King, a bestselling novelist turned sleuth, in two British television series in the late 1960s and early 1970s: Department S and Jason King .-Biography:He was born Cyril Goldbert in Marseilles, France, the...
) is also apparently an old university friend of Holmes's. Here he claims to be the benevolent counterpart of Charles Augustus Milverton (the eponymous blackmailer of The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton), who suppresses more information than he exposes. Though Watson is rather scathing about Pike, Holmes is more sympathetic towards him, suggesting that Pike is isolated, much like Holmes himself.
Wiggins
Wiggins is a street urchin in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and head of the Baker Street Irregulars
Baker Street Irregulars
The Baker Street Irregulars are any of several different groups, all named after the original, from various Sherlock Holmes stories in which they are a gang of young street children whom Holmes often employs to aid his cases.- Original :...
. He has no first name in the stories. His first appearance is in "A Study in Scarlet
A Study in Scarlet
A Study in Scarlet is a detective mystery novel written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, introducing his new character of Sherlock Holmes, who later became one of the most famous literary detective characters. He wrote the story in 1886, and it was published the next year...
" (1886).
The film The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes
The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes
The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes is a 1970 film directed and produced by Billy Wilder; he also shared writing credit with his longtime collaborator I. A. L. Diamond. It starred Robert Stephens as Sherlock Holmes and Colin Blakely as Dr. Watson...
, directed by Billy Wilder, features a character called Wiggins (played by Graham Armitage) who is a footman
Footman
A footman is a male servant, notably as domestic staff.-Word history:The name derives from the attendants who ran beside or behind the carriages of aristocrats, many of whom were chosen for their physical attributes. They ran alongside the coach to make sure it was not overturned by such obstacles...
at the Diogenes Club. He delivers a note to Mycroft Holmes
Mycroft Holmes
Mycroft Holmes is a fictional character in the stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle. He is the elder brother of the famous detective Sherlock Holmes.- Profile :...
(played by Christopher Lee
Christopher Lee
Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee, CBE, CStJ is an English actor and musician. Lee initially portrayed villains and became famous for his role as Count Dracula in a string of Hammer Horror films...
) and receives instructions concerning various items.
Non-canonical
Some fictional characters associated with Sherlock Holmes are not part of the Conan Doyle canon and were created by other writers.Enola Holmes
Enola HolmesEnola Holmes
The Enola Holmes Mysteries is a series of juvenile detective novels by American author Nancy Springer, starring Enola Holmes, the fictional fourteen-year-old sister of Sherlock Holmes...
is the younger sister and youngest sibling of Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes. She appears in the series The Enola Holmes Mysteries by Nancy Springer
Nancy Springer
Nancy Connor Springer is an American author of fantasy, young adult literature, mystery, and science fiction. Her novel Larque on the Wing won the Tiptree Award, and she has also received the Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America.-Series:Book of the Isle* 1. The White Hart * 2...
and it could be inferred that she appears in the story The Copper Beeches as Violet Hunter, however there is not enough evidence to support the fact. Enola is a very independent and rebellious girl who likes to wear trousers while riding her bike. She becomes a Perditorian, or finder of lost things, when her mother runs away with the gypsies and her brothers try to send her to boarding school. Using her natural cunning which seems to be inherited by every Holmes known to man, she creates multiple disguises on her quest to be reuninted with her mother and evade her brothers.
Raffles Holmes
Raffles Holmes, the son of Sherlock HolmesSherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
, is a fictional character in the 1906 collection of short stories Raffles Holmes and Company by John Kendrick Bangs
John Kendrick Bangs
John Kendrick Bangs was an American author, editor and satirist.-Biography:He was born in Yonkers, New York. His father was a lawyer in New York City....
. He is described as the son of Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
by Marjorie Raffles, the daughter of gentleman thief A.J. Raffles.
Wold Newton family
Wold Newton family
The Wold Newton family is a literary concept derived from a form of crossover fiction developed by the science fiction writer Philip José Farmer...
theorist Win Scott Eckert
Win Scott Eckert
Win Scott Eckert is an author and editor, best known for his work on the literary-crossover Wold Newton Universe, created by author Philip José Farmer, but much expanded-upon subsequently by Eckert and others. He holds a B.A...
devised an explanation in his Original Wold Newton Universe Crossover Chronology to reconcile the existence of Raffles Holmes with canonical information about Sherlock Holmes and A.J. Raffles, which fellow Wold Newton speculator Brad Mengel incorporated into his essay "Watching the Detectives." According to the theory, Holmes married Marjorie in 1883, and she died giving birth to Raffles later that year. Since Raffles and Holmes are contemporaries, it has been suggested that Marjorie was actually Raffles' sister.
Eckert further proposed in his Crossover Chronology that (1) Raffles Holmes was the same character as the "lovely, lost son" of Sherlock Holmes referred to in Laurie R. King
Laurie R. King
Laurie R. King is an American author best known for her detective fiction. Among her books are the Mary Russell series of historical mysteries, featuring Sherlock Holmes as her mentor and later partner, and a series featuring Kate Martinelli, a fictional lesbian San Francisco, California, police...
's Mary Russell novels, and (2) Raffles Holmes was the father of Creighton Holmes, who is featured in the collection of short stories The Adventures of Creighton Holmes by Ned Hubble.
Mengel's online essay was revised for publication in the Eckert
Win Scott Eckert
Win Scott Eckert is an author and editor, best known for his work on the literary-crossover Wold Newton Universe, created by author Philip José Farmer, but much expanded-upon subsequently by Eckert and others. He holds a B.A...
-edited Myths for the Modern Age: Philip José Farmer's Wold Newton Universe (MonkeyBrain Books
MonkeyBrain Books
MonkeyBrain Books is an independent American publishing house based in Austin, Texas, specialising in books comprising both new content and reprinting online, international or out-of-print content, which show "an academic interest," but which "reach a popular audience as well."-A brief history of...
, 2005), a collection of Wold Newton essays by Farmer and several other "post-Farmerian" contributors, authorized by Farmer as an extension of his Wold Newton mythos.
He does not appear or is ever mentioned in any of the original stories of Sherlock Holmes and is not a creation of Sir A.Conan Doyle.
Sherrinford Holmes
Sherrinford Holmes is a hypothetical elder brother of Sherlock HolmesSherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
and Mycroft Holmes
Mycroft Holmes
Mycroft Holmes is a fictional character in the stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle. He is the elder brother of the famous detective Sherlock Holmes.- Profile :...
. It is believed that his deduction skills exceed those of both his younger brothers. His name is taken from early notes as one of those considered by Arthur Conan Doyle
Arthur Conan Doyle
Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle DL was a Scottish physician and writer, most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, generally considered a milestone in the field of crime fiction, and for the adventures of Professor Challenger...
for his detective hero before settling on "Sherlock Holmes".
He was first proposed by William S. Baring-Gould
William S. Baring-Gould
William Stuart Baring-Gould was a noted Sherlock Holmes scholar, best known as the author of the influential 1962 fictional biography, Sherlock Holmes of Baker Street: A life of the world's first consulting detective.-Biography:...
who wrote in his famous 'biography' "Sherlock Holmes of Baker Street" that Sherrinford was the eldest brother of Sherlock Holmes. Holmes once stated that his family were country squire
Squire
The English word squire is a shortened version of the word Esquire, from the Old French , itself derived from the Late Latin , in medieval or Old English a scutifer. The Classical Latin equivalent was , "arms bearer"...
s, which means that the eldest brother would have to stay to manage the house. If Mycroft were the eldest then he couldn't play the role he does in four stories of the Sherlock Holmes canon
Canon of Sherlock Holmes
Traditionally, the canon of Sherlock Holmes consists of the fifty-six short stories and four novels written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. In this context, the term "canon" is an attempt to distinguish between Doyle's original works and subsequent works by other authors using the same...
, so Sherrinford frees them both. This position is strengthened by the fact that Mycroft's general position as a senior civil servant
Civil service
The term civil service has two distinct meanings:* A branch of governmental service in which individuals are employed on the basis of professional merit as proven by competitive examinations....
was a common choice among the younger sons of the gentry
Gentry
Gentry denotes "well-born and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past....
.
The character appears (also misspelled Sherringford), along with his brothers, in the Virgin New Adventures
Virgin New Adventures
The Virgin New Adventures were a series of novels from Virgin Publishing based on the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who...
Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
novel All-Consuming Fire
All-Consuming Fire
All-Consuming Fire is an original novel written by Andy Lane and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The novel is a crossover with Arthur Conan Doyle's fictional detective Sherlock Holmes featuring the characters of both Holmes and Doctor Watson, and also...
by Andy Lane
Andy Lane
Andrew Lane , who also writes as Andy Lane, is a British author and journalist. He has written a number of spin-off novels in the Virgin New Adventures range and audio dramas for Big Finish based on the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who , as well as assorted non fiction books based...
, where he is revealed to be the member of a cult worshipping an alien telepathic slug that is mutating him and his followers into an insect-like form; the novel culminates with Holmes being forced to shoot his brother to save Watson.