The Life and Times of Sherlock Holmes

Essays on Victorian England (Volume Book 3)

This title was previously available on NetGalley and is now archived.
Buy on Amazon Buy on Waterstones.com
*This page contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you.
Send NetGalley books directly to your Kindle or Kindle app

1
To read on a Kindle or Kindle app, please add kindle@netgalley.com as an approved email address to receive files in your Amazon account. Click here for step-by-step instructions.
2
Also find your Kindle email address within your Amazon account, and enter it here.
Pub Date 16 Nov 2020 | Archive Date 3 Dec 2020

Talking about this book? Use #TheLifeandTimesofSherlockHolmes #NetGalley. More hashtag tips!


Description

What do "slop shops," "scissorizing," "agony aunts," and "foolscap" have in common?

These and other Victorian references appear throughout the original Sherlock Holmes tales. What was part of everyday existence to the Victorian has the modern day reader running to references books to discover its significance. These twenty-four short essays explore various aspects of life mentioned in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s original Sherlock Holmes tales, providing modern-day insight into the nineteenth century world. Topics include: 

Violins 

Electric vs. Gas Lighting

Scrapbooking

Agony Columns

The Agra Fort

Cardboard

Sound Recordings

Telephones

Jellyfish

Rugby

Brandy

The Opera

The Crown Jewels

Yellow Fever

Snakes

Italian Political Organizations

Banks

Diabetes

Pocket Watches

Writing Paper

Coroners

Pawnshops

Clothing

Calling Cards

This collection also includes a bonus essay—"Evil Women: The Villainesses of the Canon," originally published in the Baker Street Journal.

What do "slop shops," "scissorizing," "agony aunts," and "foolscap" have in common?

These and other Victorian references appear throughout the original Sherlock Holmes tales. What was part of...


Advance Praise

"These essays are gems of fascinating research and insight on the culture that produced Sir Arthur's most notable character. They are beautifully compact and illustrated and will lure the reader into revisiting the stories for fuller comprehension of the period and Conan Doyle's life and interests. Author Liese Sherwood-Fabre has ferreted out many sources and footnotes them thoroughly. So settle in and prepare to be enlightened and entertained.

Carole Nelson Douglas, Bestselling Author"

"These essays are gems of fascinating research and insight on the culture that produced Sir Arthur's most notable character. They are beautifully compact and illustrated and will lure the reader into...


Available Editions

ISBN 9781952408076
PRICE US$1.99 (USD)

Available on NetGalley

NetGalley Shelf App (EPUB)
Send to Kindle (EPUB)
Download (EPUB)

Average rating from 25 members


Featured Reviews

Reference To Holmes....
Exploring Victorian references as they appear in the Sherlock Holmes tales through a series of short essays, this is volume three of a set. Short but enjoyable, interesting and enlightening. Of course, whilst these could be easily searched this is a perfect potted reference source.Ideal for any Holmes fans or aficionados of the Victorian era.

Was this review helpful?

Fascinating insights to the context in which the Sherlock Holmes stories were set. A collection of essays make up this short book. At times I wished there was a little more depth but this would make a great Christmas present for a Holmes fan.

Was this review helpful?

i really enjoyed reading this I enjoyed the series of essays. I've always been a fan of the Sherlock Holmes series and these essays have been great.

Was this review helpful?

As an enamoured Sherlock Holmes fan, these snippets were such fun to read! Each chapter is a brief description of different aspects of the time, linking them to Sherlock Holmes mysteries, sort of appetizers to whet the reader's appetite...with great success in my case. I've read loads and loads of fiction and nonfiction books written in/about the Victorian era so was thrilled to devour even more! It's obvious that the author took pains and a lot of research in writing this book.

When making notes on this delightful book, I started marking my favourites. Well, after a short time the realization dawned nearly all are my favourites! But some which stand out are the dangers of gas lamp lighting, the invention of scrapbooking and cardboard, information about venomous jellyfish and snakes (both of which I love!), yellow fever and telling time.

My plan is to read the other volumes of this set (this is #3). The author definitely left me wanting more! This book would be ideal for Sherlock Holmes readers as well as those interested in the Victorian era. When reading each chapter I envisioned the corresponding stories and Jeremy Brett episodes on TV.

My sincere thank you to BooksGoSocial and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC for this charming and fascinating book in exchange for an honest review. Much appreciated.

Was this review helpful?

I was delighted to be able to understand more of the world Sherlock Holmes occupied. Each chapter delves into something significant to a case or Sherlock himself.

The section on lighting, brandy and diabetes were fascinating, I skipped the chapter on Opera.

I can see this book making a great present for my father, and any Conan Doyle fan.

Was this review helpful?

A very good book for all those who are interested in the background of Sherlock Holmes era or just in the Victorian age.
Well written and documented, and fun to read.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC

Was this review helpful?

Another great book from Lise Sherwood-Fabre. Every chapter is full of information about the context and period of Sherlock Holmes. One does not get tired of the information, the relevance of the descriptions and the accuracy of the details make it a clever and intriguing read.
I received a copy , all opinions are mine.

Was this review helpful?

The Life and Times of Sherlock Holmes: Essays on Victorian England, Volume 3 (ebook)
by Liese Sherwood-Fabre
The fans almanac of the Arthur Conan Doyle's work. It reads like one of Sherlock Holmes memo graphs, the specific nature of the resources and information held in the stories, for the crime rate of women in the series to the nature of wood used in a violin. It is amazing how progressive Doyle was how much his stories were on the edge of technology of the time, from Phonographs, to finger prints, and everything in between. Each segment is another aspect of the stories that allows the reader to learn more of Doyle's insight and all the parts and pieces of his stories.

Was this review helpful?

I found this to be an interesting read. This is well researched and it covers life during the time period of Sherlock Holmes. It was interesting and entertaining to learn how life was different.

Was this review helpful?

As an amateur historian and lover of all things Victorian English, I really enjoyed this book! I was expecting more of a day-to-day guide to someone like Holmes, but instead found a guide based on interesting topics mentioned in the Holmes stories. I admit it took me a little while to get into it, and some parts were pretty boring, but I later found myself telling people about the history of cardboard, for example, haha. Don’t expect anything in-depth about The Great Detective, but instead trivia about minor topics that appear in the stories; for that quality it’s five stars from me!

Was this review helpful?

Such an interesting read, Ive always bee fascinated with Victorian times, this book bought it into crystsl clear focus.

Liese Sherwood-Fabre has thoroughly researched her subjects and explains her topics extremely well.

I will be looking for more books by this author

Was this review helpful?

Since I love Sherlock Holmes, I had to give this book a read! The book covers topics that are mentioned in the Sherlock Holmes stories that might not be familiar to today's readers. This would be a great read for middle school or high school students who are interested in diving deeper into the time period, for history lovers, or for fans of Sherlock Holmes.

Was this review helpful?

It wasn't until 2020 that I decided to take the plunge into Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, and now I can't get enough! I had to pick this one up as soon as I saw the title and that beautiful cover - yeah, I'm a cover buyer. It was awesome and so well thought out! I felt like I needed to read it all in one sitting and really hated that real life got in the way of me binge reading this. Thankfully it's a collection of multiple essays, and each was just as good as the last. I appreciate all the work Sherwood-Fabre put into this collection.

Was this review helpful?

I'm a huge fan of Sherlock Holmes and the entire Holmesian phenomenon -- anything from the detective to the author, to the fandoms and modern adaptations. So, I actually search often on NetGalley and other bookish sites for Sherlock Holmes related literature. There is always something coming out about the detective or related areas. I think this book did a very good job of collating essays about SH. There is so much about the "life and times" including Victorian tidbits that are really interesting to someone like me who loves Brit history. I think that this book is a valuable collection and the author really did a great job of researching and conveying the information back to readers effectively and accessibly.

Was this review helpful?

This is a super fun read. I really enjoyed this one!

Many thanks to the author, the publisher, and Netgalley for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

Was this review helpful?

Readers who liked this book also liked: