The Life and Times of Sherlock Holmes, Volume Two by Liese Sherwood-Fabre

The Life and Times of Sherlock Holmes Volume Two by Liese Sherwood-Fabre ISBN-13: 9780998411248 ebook: 98 pages Publisher: Little Elm Press, LLC Released: May 13, 2018

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from NetGalley:
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.


My Review:
The Life and Times of Sherlock Holmes 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.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.