Be as smart as Sherlock Holmes!

Arthur Conan Doyle's original tales include many references to everyday Victorian life that are no longer part of current readers’ world. What Holmes would have eaten from a can while searching for the hound of the Baskervilles, Watson's enjoyment of a yellow-back novel, or the proper use of a gasogene would have been common knowledge to the Victorian contemporary but compels modern readers to run to the nearest reference book. These twenty-four short essays pull such items from the past and expand on their significance in the story. As an additional bonus, this book contains an essay on the role of scandal in Holmes' cases, originally appearing in a collected volume of essays on feminism and agency. After enjoying these concise treatises on Holmes’ world, readers will have a deeper understanding and appreciation of both the times and the life of the world’s greatest consulting detective.

Volume 4 essays cover:

The Pinkerton Agency
Victorian Firearms
Handcuffs
Gossip
Canning
Collecting
Ears
Stocks and Bonds
Yellow Paperbacks
Opium Dens
Handkerchiefs
Plaster of Paris
Seltzer Water and Gasogenes
Voodoo
Curare
Cocaine and Other Addictions
Freemasonry
Tweed
Leprosy
Whist
Homelessness
Chemistry
The London Underground
Scandal in the Canon

"Prepare to be enlightened and entertained!" - bestselling author Carole Nelson Douglas

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