Dr Joseph Bell aka the model for Sherlock H.

[xinthrau]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Bell anyone know who his suspect was ? it does not say who he chose ? only that the killings "stopped" a week later? anyone have more info on his part in the investigation?

[Edarlitrix]

I have a collection of the Sherlock Holmes stories, and in one of the books there was a pamphlet that spoke of Dr. Joseph Bell, and it alluded to the Jack the Ripper case and his involvement.

It claimed that Montague Druitt and he each wrote onto a piece of paper the name of whom they thought the most likely suspect. Without looking to see which suspect the other person chose, they placed the pages into two separate envelopes, and sent them to the police. It was discovered when the envelopes were opened that Mr. Druitt and Dr. Bell had a mutual suspect in mind, although the police wouldn't say whom; however, it was and is still entirely a rumor, and there is no proof that either of them ever had an obstinate opinion on the murderer's identity.

[Mayerling]

I have a collection of the Sherlock Holmes stories, and in one of the books there was a pamphlet that spoke of Dr. Joseph Bell, and it alluded to the Jack the Ripper case and his involvement.

It claimed that Montague Druitt and he each wrote onto a piece of paper the name of whom they thought the most likely suspect. Without looking to see which suspect the other person chose, they placed the pages into two separate envelopes, and sent them to the police. It was discovered when the envelopes were opened that Mr. Druitt and Dr. Bell had a mutual suspect in mind, although the police wouldn't say whom; however, it was and is still entirely a rumor, and there is no proof that either of them ever had an obstinate opinion on the murderer's identity.

Not Montague Druitt (if it was that would be a discovery!), but the man Bell supposedly worked closely with on several Scottish murders (the Chantrell Case in 1877 and the Ardlamont Case in 1893) Professor Harvey Littlejohn.

Jeff

[Phil Carter]

Hello Jeff,

Indeed. Here is a link to that very man and his life.

http://archiveshub.ac.uk/features/forensics-littlejohnc.html

best wishes

Phil

[Edarlitrix]

I thank you for the correction, Jeff! And to you as well, Phil; I was quite ignorant of Prof. Littlejohn until having perused the contents of your link.

[xinthrau]

I thank you for the correction, Jeff! And to you as well, Phil; I was quite ignorant of Prof. Littlejohn until having perused the contents of your link.

I know what you meant though that person was thought to BE the name he gave for his suspect , have recently found out that his report to Scotland Yard was lost some time after 1888, so no one can say for sure that was who he and Prof. Littlejohn named.

[Mayerling]

I know what you meant though that person was thought to BE the name he gave for his suspect , have recently found out that his report to Scotland Yard was lost some time after 1888, so no one can say for sure that was who he and Prof. Littlejohn named.

I first came across this story in an essay about Bell that was written by the writer Irving Wallace, which first appeared in his collection THE FABULOUS ORIGINALS, which was about George Francis Train, Alexander Selkirk, Bell, and others who were the originals for Phineas Fogg (AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS), Robinson Crusoe (in Defoe's set of novels), and Holmes, as well as others (one was the original for Alexander Dumas Fils Camille). Later Wallace reused the essay in another collection called THE SUNDAY GENTLEMAN (a reference to Defoe, who frequently was in debt, and could only go out of his neighborhood without any fear of arrest - on Sundays, naturally). Wallace republished the essay on Bell with an update on his arguments with Conan Doyle's son Adrian who insisted his father was the original for the great detective. Of course, like all good characters in fiction, the creation is based on many people, here Doyle, Bell, and several fictional predecessors of Holmes (like Poe's C. Auguste Dupin).

By the way, the other famous fictional creation of Doyle, Professor Challenger from THE LOST WORLD and THE POISON BELT, was based on another college professor of his (I can't recall the name of that person though).

Jeff