The Authentic World of Sherlock Holmes: An Evocative Tour of Conan Doyle's Victorian London

by Charles Viney

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, in his vivid scene-setting for the Sherlock Holmes stories, has probably done more to shape our image of late-19th-century London, England, than any other writer. His portrait of a huge, fog-bound, romantic, and sinister city at the peak of its imperial greatness remains, to this day, convincing and atmospheric.

Holmes and Watson ranged far and wide across the metropolis, and Charles Viney retraces their footsteps in over 200 contemporary photographs of London, taken between 1879 and 1914. Each illustrates an event from one of the stories in 'The Complete Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, and its location is pinpointed on a Victorian street map of the city.

'The Authentic World of Sherlock Holmes' is a tribute to the authenticity of Conan Doyle's descriptive writing, a record of a vanished world... and a reference and guidebook for all Holmes fans.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Historical

168 pages, Hardcover

First published October 26, 1989

Reviews

[Gerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author Charles Viney does an excellent job of bringing together words from the Sherlock Holmes books and photographs of the locations mentioned; the research to find the passages from the works and then source the photographs must have been immense.

The result is a fascinating book that (a) makes the reader want to read the complete Sherlock Holmes canon and (b) enjoy the sites of old London and also feel nostalgic about a London long since disappeared (in the main).

Each passage from the works stands alone with the associated sepia photograph representing what either Holmes or Watson were talking about or what Conan Doyle was describing. In addition the photographs are accompanied by meaningful captions that tell the reader more about the location depicted, often a little known fact being used.

This most enjoyable book is a must for Holmes' buffs and also for those who wish to enjoy the sites of London as it was between 1874 and 1914. This is indeed Holmes' world as he would have known it.

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating 4.5 stars. This book was an amazing paring of pictures from London, during the Victoria era, and quotes from the stories about Holmes. What more can a reader, who loves ,all things Holmes desire? The pictures that follow his stories are wonderful. Everything is there , just as his books, and movies, have explained his life in London streets. I would highly recommend this book for any Holmes book collector. There is nothing like looking at the actual places, that many of his stories take place in. I really liked it.... The information. is excellent concerning, all that is Sherlock Holmes, in photographs, and in detailed paragraphs.

[Oliver Baer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a must for Sherlock Holmes fans. It's pairing of photos of the places mentioned with the appropriate passage from the story gives one a new layer in which to enjoy the canon. One can actually get more of an idea of the London that Holmes and Watson were afoot in. The captions underneath the photos are also informative in that they not only tell you about the photo in question but occasionally have a brief historioal fact about the place. The addition of the London map appendix at the end of the book adds to one's immersion by allowing you to place yourself in the area of London in which the photo was taken so you can "travel" with Holmes and Watson from place to place. I would also recommend this book to anyone who loves looking at old maps.

[Cherie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a Sherlock Holmes fan and a lady with whom I am friends at the bookstore where I work gave me this book which in turn had been given her by her brother. What a valuable treasure it is. Inside are pictures from Victorian times of the various locations described or mentioned in some of the Sherlock Holmes stories. Amazing!

As an added bonus I enjoyed seeing places which are mentioned in historical romance stories that I've read. It's nice to have a visual look at St. James, Piccadilly, Covent Garden, Hyde Park, Rotten Row, etc.

Time to re-read Sherlock.

[Darlene Cypser · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful old photos of London as it was in Sherlock Holmes' day.

[Don Carey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting to see what Holmes and Watson would have seen, as they went about their 'business'!

[Blasr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extracts from the stories with suitable photos of Victorian London, plus maps.

[Christian Petrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had read this book a few years back. Recently for NaNoWriMo I took it out as I needed some reference for a story I was working on. I figured I might as well give this a read again.

For Sherlock Holmes fans this is a great book. The author takes extracts from the stories and places them with pictures of London that are referenced in the stories. It helps to bring alive how things looked back then. It is great for bringing the time period alive.

If you are wanting to do research on the time period, this book is a great tool for you as well. It helps give you some references and visual images of London. It can help you set a story there. To help your geography it includes a map to see where the places are.

The downside to the research side is I wish it gave more information on the locations. You are given a few sentences on each place. Most of the text is comprised of extracts from the stories.

For me personal, I would have enjoyed this more with additional background information to what was included. Still it is a decent book for those looking for reference materiel and for the Sherlock Holmes fans.