The Life and Times of Sherlock Holmes

Essays on Victorian England, Volume Two

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Pub Date Sep 15 2018 | Archive Date Dec 24 2018

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Description

Fans of Sherlock Holmes, Victorian England, and history in general will all find interesting tidbits to carry away.

 

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle references many everyday Victorian activities and aspects that are lost on the twenty-first century reader. These short essays provide modern readers a better understanding of Victorian England and greater insight into the world of Sherlock Holmes. His cases take on richer meaning when the reader grasps the subtilties of such details as the blue ribbon mentioned in “The Adventure of the Cardboard Box,” the doss houses Shinwell Johnson knew about, or how one contracted brain fever.

 

Originally published in Sherlockian newsletters across the world, these short essays carry the reader back to London, 1895 and the world of the most famous consulting detective. Topics covered include:

 

Horse racing

The Victorian Wedding

Boxing

The Temperance Movement

Fencing

London Smog

Brain Fever

Circuses

The Port of Dundee

Doss Houses

Vampires

Bradshaw’s Companion

Bicycles and the New Woman

Clergymen

Public Houses

Microscopes and Magnifying Glasses

Governesses

Ciphers and Codes

Eton

Cambridge and Oxford

The Art of Disguise

Typewriters

Brief History of Tea

 

Return, once again, to Victorian England and the residents of 221B Baker Street.

 

“We have…always found [Dr. Sherwood-Fabre’s] essays to be both entertaining and informative as well as very well researched.”

--Joel Senter, editor The Sherlockian E-Times

Fans of Sherlock Holmes, Victorian England, and history in general will all find interesting tidbits to carry away.

 

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle references many everyday Victorian activities and aspects...


Advance Praise

“We have had the privilege of publishing Liese’s essays in our Sherlockian E-Times each month for the past few years…. [W]e here on The Times’ editorial staff look forward to each month’s contribution. We have, personally, always found her essays to be both entertaining and informative as well as very well researched. We have had nothing but expressions of interest and praise from our several hundred subscribers over the years.”

 

Joel Senter, Editor, The Sherlockian E-Times

 

“Liese Sherwood-Fabre, through her extensive research into the life of the 1890’s London, has provided Sherlockians across the country amazing insights of how residents of the Victoria period lived.  The range of subjects … brings to life a society which we have only dreamed of being a resident of.”

 

Steve Mason, The Crew of the Barque Lone Star scion


“We have had the privilege of publishing Liese’s essays in our Sherlockian E-Times each month for the past few years…. [W]e here on The Times’ editorial staff look forward to each month’s...


Available Editions

EDITION Ebook
ISBN 9780998411248
PRICE $1.99 (USD)

Average rating from 15 members


Featured Reviews

Fans of Sherlock Holmes and Watson (two of my favorite characters) will enjoy the added insight and factual details provided by Liese Sherwood-Fabre, PhD. The book is a quick read and enlightening, as well as entertaining! The essays elaborate on what we already know of the genius that is Sherlock Holmes and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. #SherlockholmesFabre #NetGalley

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I am a fan of Sherlock Holmes stories. I read Holmes stories from different authors. But my favourite is always Arthur Conan Doyle. This book has lots of informations and details about Victorian era. I really enjoyed reading it.

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This is a quick and entertaining read for anyone interested in the Victorian era, and it's a special treat for fans of Sherlock Holmes. Even if you think you know the Holmes canon from every angle, I think you might pick up on some nuances you'd overlooked after reading these essays.

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A very good book for all those who are interested in the background of Sherlock Holmes era or just in the Victorian age.
Well written and documented, and fun to read.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC

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This book is the perfect companion to have within a hand's reach when one is reading Sherlock Holmes stories or novels set in the Victorian era. The author knows the material she discusses and she writes in a clear, comprehensible way.

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" These short essays provide modern readers a better understanding of Victorian England and greater insight into the world of Sherlock Holmes."
I love this book, it is an excellent reference for anyone who likes historical fiction of the Victorian era. It is not just for Holmes fans (although I am one), it gives excellent insist into Victorian life from fencing to weddings and 'brain' fever to public houses! A little treasure trove of information.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. The opinions are all my own.

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This book is a collection of 24 short essays on the historical context of things mentioned in Sherlock Holmes stories. Each essay was inspired by a comment or incident in a Sherlock Holmes story, and we're told where the essay topic is mentioned. We're then given a brief history or background information on the topic. Sports were given a brief overview from origin to modern day, but other topics focused primarily on Victorian times. The footnotes show that most of the information was found online or in a small number of books about Victorian England, so you could look up much of this information for yourself if so motivated. However, it is an interesting and informative read.

Topics covered include Horse racing, Victorian Wedding Traditions, Boxing, Temperance Movement, Fencing, London Smog, Brain Fever, Turkish Baths, Circuses, The Port of Dundee, Lodging in Workhouses or Doss Houses, Vampires, Bradshaw’s Companion, Women Bicycling and Working, Vicars and Rectors, Public Houses, Microscopes and Magnifying Glasses, Governesses, Ciphers and Codes, Eton, Cambridge and Oxford, Principles of Disguise, Typewriters, Coffee and Tea.

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I enjoyed the collection of short essays comprised within this second volume of The Life and Times of Sherlock Holmes. Interesting tidbits and a variety of topics will interest any reader that wants to know more about life in Victorian England. My only problem is one that has lead me to wonder if there are more sources, besides Wikipedia (which is used numerously for multiple essays), that might be available for additional research into the topics discussed in this volume.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of this work in exchange for an honest review.

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This book basically takes one small item from a Holmes story and makes a small lecture out of it, but doesn’t really have anything to do with Sherlock. Each small entry feels like something out of the Sherlock Holmes Encyclopedia (which I proudly own) or wiki; in fact, according to the notes at the end of each chapter, some of the information down here is indeed gathered from Wikipedia.
Three of the first five essays cover sports.
While not putting down the research work that went into making each article, much more info could be found by a simple internet search. One can imagine the author never running out of topics in which to write these very short treatises, as only a mention in a Holmes story is required for inclusion.

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Full disclosure, I haven’t read any of the Sherlock Holmes books yet. I have read books inspired by them and I watch the tv shoe Elementary but I have not read any of the actual Sherlock Holmes books yet.
So, I thought it would be interesting to read this book and learn about the timeframe that inspired parts of the storylines.

I did find this to be interesting. It is explains a lot of elements from the books that would have made sense at the time they were written but aren’t as clear now.

Some topics covered:
Circuses
Boxing
Education
Poverty
Governesses

This book is short and well written. For a history book, it is not the slightest bit dry. It’s an easy read and you will likely learn some interesting facts by reading the book.

I got to read an early edition from NetGalley.

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Liese Sherwood-Fabre has documented and footnoted her essays to create wonderful stories. Providing us with interesting tidbits of information on things like ciphers and codes, microscopes and magnifying glasses, and vampires. Thank you for the opportunity to review this for my honest opinion.

Was this review helpful?

This book is a collection of 24 short essays on the historical context of things mentioned in Sherlock Holmes stories. Each essay was inspired by a comment or incident in a Sherlock Holmes story, and we're told where the essay topic is mentioned. We're then given a brief history or background information on the topic. Sports were given a brief overview from origin to modern day, but other topics focused primarily on Victorian times. The footnotes show that most of the information was found online or in a small number of books about Victorian England, so you could look up much of this information for yourself if so motivated. However, it is an interesting and informative read.

Topics covered include Horse racing, Victorian Wedding Traditions, Boxing, Temperance Movement, Fencing, London Smog, Brain Fever, Turkish Baths, Circuses, The Port of Dundee, Lodging in Workhouses or Doss Houses, Vampires, Bradshaw’s Companion, Women Bicycling and Working, Vicars and Rectors, Public Houses, Microscopes and Magnifying Glasses, Governesses, Ciphers and Codes, Eton, Cambridge and Oxford, Principles of Disguise, Typewriters, Coffee and Tea.

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A fan of Sherlock Holmes, I enjoyed a look into the history of Victorian Era. It is a short read and the extra information adds more to those who love Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Thanks to #NetGalley for an ARC for my honest review

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I've requested this for research. I'm an aspiring novelist and from Asia and I thought it would be very helpful to read stuff in Victorian England. I might find what I read useful someday. it's just a bonus that the things featured in the essays are from Sherlock Holmes. I love this collection.
This is a very short book, a short collection of short essays. And to be honest, I think that's my only complaint about this book, the essays are too short. I know it's mentioned in the description that the essays here are short ones but still. It's like the writer gave me a taste of something she won't want me to have. hehe. I don't mean that in a bad way. I'm actually saying the essays are really good, I want more of them. Now, I'm planning to buy the other volumes written by this author, because they're really very informative.

I was given a copy by the publisher/author via Netgalley. Thank you.

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