Introduction

From the mind of Arthur Conan Doyle, ever inquisitive, ever exploratory, never quite satisfied, emerged a figure we came to know as a man of unique abilities - unique, not so much in the fact of each individual facet of his character, but unique in the strength that each of those facets had in its development and unique in the power of the combinations each formed with others. We all, as he would repeatedly assert, possess the same senses but most of us fail to use the capacities of our minds to recognise what we perceive for what it is and what it means. Part extrovert, part introvert, both man of his time and social misfit, Sherlock Holmes presented an enigma –a man, at the same time amazingly adroit yet extremely annoying, demanding of himself yet impatient with and often dismissive of others. The circumstances of his extraordinary meeting with John Watson were as fortuitous as they were coincidental, two characters inhabiting different worlds brought together by a mutual friend who just happened to meet with both on the very same day they were seeking shared accommodation. But was it coincidence, or was it fate? It was certainly far more than fiction.

On first encountering Sherlock Holmes, John Watson had been downcast - a man of action reduced to a feeble and fumbling idler trying desperately to recover his former life, a reason to live, even to exist. His medical knowledge was sound, his background was solid, but his confidence was shattered as much as had been the bone in his shoulder upon receiving his fateful wound at Maiwand, disabling but not so much as his almost succumbing to the ravages of the Enteric Fever he contracted while convalescing at Peshawar.

It was John Watson’s good fortune, as it has been ours as readers of the exploits he came to describe, to meet such a man as Holmes and find that he and Watson complimented each other with the skills and strengths each brought to a partnership whose fame was to blossom in their creator’s time, never to wilt and die, only to grow in strength despite the passage of time, changes in writing styles, advances in detection methodologies and revolutions in forensic analysis. Successive generations have shared and enjoyed Holmes’ and Watson’s adventures in the days of Britain’s industrial, geographical, commercial and naval supremacy by being able to feel they were part of the story and part of the team as felons were pursued and problems were solved by the use of Holmes’ enhanced powers of observation and deduction, ably, though exasperatingly, kept in focus through the unfailing efforts of John Watson, M.D.

We, too, in modern times, find a sense of reassurance in the partnership of Holmes and Watson - we find a chance for order amidst the chaos which surrounds us and hope for those who choose the hard and noble road of honest effort on the surface of the sunlit Earth and not the deceitful and treacherous track followed by the felon lurking in the shadow. Their stories glorify the success of those battling adversity and injustice and view any positive outcome for the malefactor as an unfortunate but temporary aberration, something to be overcome in time by the vigilant and virtuous.

There have been many cases denied to Watson’s pen in the interest of an innocent party whose exposure might have led to severe embarrassment, even ruin, were the facts of such a case ever to come before the Public. The very fact that Sherlock Holmes can act outside the control and constraints of officialdom gives him the ability to use his considerable discretion when it comes to what and to whom he tells of that which he has uncovered. He has, at times, acted as both judge and jury when feeling that justice has been sufficiently served and that further action might inflict undue harm upon the innocent, or that the guilty party has shown sincere remorse for undertaking actions under extreme duress. That a case should be seen for its entirety of cause and consequence is something for which the Great Sleuth would give his wholehearted support. Though this remarkable man acts primarily to keep his ever-active mind diverted from the drudgery of the everyday world, he is none-the-less a man of principle ever-ready to risk both life and limb to render impotent the evil-doer and the miscreant. Ability, justice and compassion are the three sturdy pillars of his personal world and, holding firm and true as they do against all adversity, they constitute the very essence of the very essential Sherlock Holmes.