Trevor H. Hall (1910–1991)

This is, hands down, the best book I have read attempting to pin down the "historical" Sherlock Holmes based upon history and a strict, meaningful exegesis of the Canon. Hall pins down, convincingly, I think, the heritage, birthplace, and education of Sherlock Holmes. He discusses his family, his early career, and he expertly explains why Watson repeats himself in two stories. Hall's scholarship is expert, he writes as if he was a Victorian/Edwardian historian of old (perfect for a Holmes show more scholar), citing his evidence in convenient footnotes and sticking to the Canon as if it truly was Scripture. This book is a must for any lover of the Holmes stories, especially for anyone who plays the Game. He does take some guesses here and there, that may stray too far, but still he has made some thought-provoking points. show less

A good, old-fashioned bit of Sherlockian gamery. Not as good as his first outing, 1969's Sherlock Holmes: Ten Literary Studies. In his first book he took some jumps, here he takes some leaps off into Reichenbach Falls. He errs in the Watson's wives chapter on placing too much stock in an apocryphal play. The guessing on the "Unpublished Cases" chapter is too much. And his guess on Holmes's death in the chapter "The Late Mr. Sherlock Holmes" is pure guessery. Not saying he isn't right about show more Baring-Gould's horrid guessery of a biography and all the "royal jelly" nonsense. But, I don't think Mr. Hall's guess is that much better. Still, good, old-fashioned exegisis, with exquisite old-fashioned footnotes! show less

LK: Carefully researched and interesting studies of many canonical topics, with extensive indices and tables of case references. Addresses such topics as SH's Schooling, Love Life, etc.