Sherlock Holmes was more than a fictional creation of Victorian novelist Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Through his adventures, Holmes, along with his dear Dr. Watson, promoted the application of scientific deduction to the resolution of murder mysteries. In the process, the bestselling stories educated generations the world over on the rudimentaries of handwriting comparison, document analysis, serology, finger-marks, and so forth.
It is said that this fictional detective was actually the first to apply the principles of chemistry to resolve a mystery -- to the point that the British Royal Society of Chemistry named Sherlock Holmes -- a man who never existed -- as an honorary fellow in 2002.
An editor at a publishing house, Wiley, read of Holmes' society induction and thought that it was time to find someone to make a thorough examination of all the detective's contributions to forensic science. The editor cast about for a writer who had the requisite background to delve into the subject and came across an American who had lectured on Doyle's forensics and the dabbling he did in the investigation of true crimes. The final result is a new book, The Science of Sherlock Holmes: From Baskerville Hall to the Valley of Fear, the Real Forensics Behind the Great Detective's Greatest Cases.
In her book, writer and criminal history expert E.J. Wagner (see her excellent website) takes a long and loving look at the fictional detective and his crime-solving methods. She examines forensic science in its elementary days, from the puzzles that challenged Conan Doyle's mastermind to the application of science in real murder cases, such as America's classic murder, the death of Dr. George Parkman of Harvard. Along the way, she looks at the work of such early luminaries in the forensic field as Eugene Vidocq and Sir Francis Galton.
The hardcover's official release comes in April, and it will retail for $24.95 , £13.95. (Amazon has it for $15.72.) The table of contents and a 16-page appetite-whetting chapter excerpt are available from the publisher here.
The mere announcement of the forthcoming book has already thrilled fans of the detective. Advanced copies have earned kudos from noted Sherlockians and forensic science experts. Even those who haven't seen it yet are already declaring that they "have a good feeling about this book."
For more on Sherlock, see The Arthur Conan Doyle Society, an Amazon listmaker's list of important Holmes titles, The Sherlock Holmes Museum, and the Sherlock Holmes Society of London.
(For spicy controversy, see Was Sherlock Holmes Born of a Killer?)
Laura,
Thank you for your nice comments on T.O. Crime. I just wanted to return the compliment. In fact, I can't tell you how excited I was when I first visited CLEWS. It's like a kaleidoscope of the most vibrant crime writing around. I love it.
On Sherlock Holmes, I thought I'd mention an article I read in this year's Best American Crime Writing anthology, if you haven't seen it already. It's an article by David Gran about the death of Richard Lancelyn Green, a well-known Sherlock Holmes scholar. Green was found garrotted in his home, and the author does some truly Holmsian detecting in an attempt to determine if it was murder or suicide.
Best,
H-
Posted by: Harding | March 22, 2006 at 04:56 PM