Holmes & Watson

Secret Sherlock Holmes #4

by June Thomson

Sherlock Holmes and Dr John Watson, famous for their crime-solving capabilities, are mysterious figures themselves. What is known about their pasts, and the reasons behind their very different personalities? What led two strikingly different individuals to form a relationship which would last for over forty-six years?

Genres: Biography, Mystery, Nonfiction, Crime, 19th Century, British Literature, History

167 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 31, 1995

About the author

June Thomson, a former teacher, has published 24 crime novels, 18 of which feature Detective Chief Inspector Jack Finch and his sergeant, Tom Boyce. She has also written six short story collections of Sherlock Holmes pastiches. Her books have been translated into many languages. She lives in St Albans in Hertfordshire.

Reviews

[Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderfully writen and exhaustively canonically researched study of the two most famous men in the annals of crime fiction, including interesting theories as to what Holmes really got up to during his missing years and whether Watson did marry twice.

Sadly now out of print, but highly recommended.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good enough fictional biography of Holmes and Watson which creates a timeline of their lives,interests and times from clues within the Conan Doyle Canon.
It relies much on explaining errors in regard to Watson wishing to create a record of Holmes cases whilst planting falsehoods throughout to maintain confidentiality in regard to sensitive data.
It falls downs in parts especially in regard family history and even deaths as due to the fictional nature on the subjects genealogy is not really possible...however the regular announcements along the lines of 'no information can be found to support this' and the likes around certain aspects unfortunately ring false...but as a fiction could it be any other way...
In reality Holmes family tree would be traced back far further than the two generations in the book and definitive records of schooling would exist...I understand the reticence of the author to fill in gaps and do admire that..though it also leads to a far from complete picture.
Good fun though and a good attempt at what it trys to do.

[Cris · Rating 2 out of 5]

A serious-minded and well-researched biography of two fictional people. Holmes and Watson reads like a biography written by an academic for a lay audience.

I found Thomson's attempts to reconcile contradictions within the Canon interesting and surprisingly sensible. (For example, Thomson attributes some of the mistakes in dates to typesetting errors or Watson mistaking a '7' for a '9' when reading from notes he'd written eight or even twenty years before.) And I enjoyed Thomson's attempts to explain Holmes' behavior and attitudes using psychology.

I found Thomson's sly references to various pastiches of Holmes amusing. (She referred to pastiches as theories put forth by other Sherlockian scholars.)

Holmes and Watson wasn't what I was expecting, but it proved interesting.

[Roger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Holmes and Watson is a biography-a portrait of the friendship of the two most famous characters in detective fiction. As I read in a bit of poetry the other day, they have never lived and will never die. June Thompson is one of a plethora of authors to have written this type of book. She uses facts sifted from the canon (the original group of stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle) to paint portraits of both Sherlock and Watson. I enjoyed Thompson's interpretations for a variety of reasons. For one thing Thompson concentrates on both characters equally. Also she is not afraid to comment on those times Holmes is a jackass-we get a look at the flaws of both men as well as their good qualities. I am only an amateur Sherlockian and stand in awe of the massive scholarship inherent in this undertaking. Thompson also gently demolishes some of the wilder fan theories about Holmes and Watson that have sprung up over the years, such as the idea that they were homosexual lovers (they weren't, and Thompson can tell you why) and she also clarifies other matters such as the identity of Dr. Watson's second wife. I think you really have to love the Sherlock Holmes stories to read this book. I even devoured both appendices something I rarely do. Two thumbs way up. The game, as always, is afoot. We shall play it to the end.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

With the caveat that this is for big Holmes/Watson fans only, this is a great book.

It is part of a half hilarious, half ingenious enterprise known as (I believe) the great game, in which modern commentators treat the Holmes canon as historical fact and not as the fictional output of Arthur Conan Doyle.
This book is a biography of the two great men, all told without any reference to the fact that it is all fictional (the only mention of Doyle comes in the bibliography and acknowledgements sections at the end. And it's great stuff.
The problem with many books of this sort is that, in order to make all of the dates and events fit together properly, you really have to portray Watson as a bit of a doofus - a guy who is perpetually getting dates and details wrong. But Thomson does her best to present Watson in a fair light, in spite of his failings.

[Ross Vincent · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are thinking this is a novelization of the upcoming Will Farrell take on Hold - your wrong.
And you think this is the Cumberbatch Sherlock - nope.
It isn't even a look at Miller's Sherlock Holmes in NYC.

Nope, this is pure nonfiction. It is a look at the Canon and the placement of the various adventures of the Victorian era Holmes & Watson.

It is a definite must for hard core fans of the Canon. For everyone else - well, I would say pick up a fiction novel instead

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have been a fan of Holmes and Watson since I was a kid, and I generally enjoyed this "biography" where they were treated as actual people. I alternated between amused by Thomson's attempts to blame Arthur Conan Doyle's inconsistencies and continuity issues on Watson's reporting, and amazed that people have spent this much time speculating about what Holmes was doing between the stories!

[Outlander · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great reference source of facts about the Holmes canon, if you love Holmes then this is a must for your collection.

[Sabina · Rating 3 out of 5]

The description was promising: “Speculative only when precise data is wanting, Thomson examines in striking detail the personalities of Watson and Holmes, traces the development of their partnership in crime detection, and addresses such long disputed issues as the possible homosexual implications of their relationship...”

In actuality, speculation was rather abundant, especially about Holmes. I liked the part about Watson’s military career where there was some data about the Army Medical School at Netley, Watson’s probable route to Kandahar, and exact dates of the voyage of SS Orontes which existed in real life and in the Canon brought Watson back to England.

As for “the possible homosexual implications” being addressed, it was a brief dismissal in the beginning of the book without any attempt of exploration whatsoever.

[E A M Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It is well written and scholarly without being pedantic or heavy. However, I did find it odd reading a biography of people who don't exist For instance, as many biographers do, Ms Thomson speculates on what her characters were doing in the times not covered by the published stories. For real people this attempt to fill in gaps makes sense – they must have been doing something. But for fictional characters the true answer is 'nothing', and most of the time their creator probably didn't give the question any thought.
Reading this book has made me want to know more of the real facts and I hope to find a good biography of Conan Doyle in the nearish future.
I recommend this to anyone who enjoys the Holmes stories and who likes a stylish, fictional biography. If you haven't read any of the stories you'll miss out on a good deal of the references and nuances, so I suggest you get a few of them in before starting Ms Thomson's work.

[BookishWordish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thomson unfortunately has the very common Holmesian disease known as, Invent A Secret Wife For Watson, No This Time My Secret Wife Is The Real One. It is widespread amongst Holmes scholars, and sadly incurable.

Also, she's a bit hard on Holmes. A bit harsh. He's a big old nerd, not a war criminal.

However the historical details are excellent, the writing is highly readable, and the book doesn't suggest anything TOO bizarre. Considering how weird some theories about Holmes can be, this book sticks to the canon whenever possible.

[Mandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was mesmerised by this book. It introduced me to the world of academics and writers who investigate the novels of Arthur Conan Doyle as if they were in fact written by Watson and Holmes, and I found that reading the book presented in this way to be novel, interesting, and as the 'biography' looks for the real world events that reflect the accounts in the novels, actually rather revealing about the sources of inspiration for Doyle!

I will definitely look for more books by this author as I thoroughly enjoyed this one.

[Elli · Rating 5 out of 5]

My FAVORITE character study of the friendship between Sherlock and Watson --the kind of Sherlockian studies I can't seem to get enough of!!! incredibly insightful, with evidence both canonical and theoretical. I LOVED the use of psychology in analyzing the personalities of the characters, and the way Thomson follows the relationship's development throughout the canon is fantastic.

If you're serious about Sherlock and Watson, read this book!!!!

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're into Sherlock Holmes, and the relationship between Holmes and Watson interests you, then this is a book worth reading. It brings a lot of information together and attempts to answer a few previously unanswered questions.

[L.R. David · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meticulous, but I'm not the biggest fan of biographies, even of real people. Bit dry, lots do suppositi

[Vikas Datta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite a credible attempt at revealing the lives of Holmes and Watson beyond the mysteries..

[Cassandra]

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