All Things Conan Doyle & Holmes

[Steven Russell]

William S. Baring-Gould, The Annotated Sherlock Holmes, vol. 1, p. 85:

221 Baker Street---it is one of the most famous addresses in all literature.... The "B" in 221B need not concern us long: it probably stood for bis, literally meaning twice, which was a frequent English identification for a subsidiary address.

I could probably find another dozen examples of authors making this point in the Sherlockian/Holmesian literature, but it's not worth the effort.

So what? My points still apply. Plus, Holmes and Watson do not appear to have their own doorbell or letterbox. Postmen are very particular about where they stick their letters. 221 is never mentioned in the canon without the 'B'.

Best wishes,
Steve.

[The Grave Maurice]

William S. Baring-Gould, The Annotated Sherlock Holmes, vol. 1, p. 85:

221 Baker Street---it is one of the most famous addresses in all literature.... The "B" in 221B need not concern us long: it probably stood for bis, literally meaning twice, which was a frequent English identification for a subsidiary address.

I could probably find another dozen examples of authors making this point in the Sherlockian/Holmesian literature, but it's not worth the effort.

[Steven Russell]

I cannot agree. "The rooms at No.221B, Baker Street" suggests to me that they were rooms within 221B and not that the rooms had their own address. The "No." is significant.

I learned about bis in an early French lesson at school when writing my own address which was 119A, Masefield Road. This was a complete house and not a flat within a larger property. Presumably suffixes like this occur when new houses are built on the site of older ones or on parts of the street which did not have houses and there are not enough numbers to accommodate the new dwellings.

But perhaps we need to find a letter addressed to Mrs. Hudson before you are fully convinced.

Best wishes,
Steve.

[The Grave Maurice]

Jack Tracy, The Encyclopedia Sherlockiana:

There is no...No. 221. Sherlock Holmes's legendary address...is clearly a disguise for the actual number. The B represents the French designation bis, meaning the address is a subsidiary one, in this case on an upper floor, Holmes's landlady Mrs. Hudson being in residence on the ground floor.

Movies and television shows usually stick a B on the address, because that is what people expect to see, not because it's accurate.

[Steven Russell]

"We met next day as he had arranged, and inspected the rooms at No. 221B, Baker Street, of which he had spoken at our meeting." - A Study in Scarlet.

In Leslie S. Klinger's masterful The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes, Mr. Klinger notes, "Many U.S. editions omit the 'B'". Also, while this cannot be considered as absolute proof, the BBC series with Peter Cushing and the Granada series with Jeremy Brett both show '221B' on the house.

Best wishes,
Steve.

[The Grave Maurice]

Maurice - it is221B.

No, Holmes's postal address was 221B, but the number on Mrs. Hudson's house was just 221.

[Steven Russell]

Zodiac - I'm quite envious that you got to see Brett and Hardwicke live and am not surprise in the least that they were excellent. Edward Hardwicke can currently be seen in the UK on reruns of the 1970s series "Colditz" on weekdays (Yesterday Channel).

Maurice - it is 221B.

Best wishes,
Steve.

[Zodiac]

Sherlock!

In answer to your question, yes I did indeed both watch and thoroughly enjoy the BBC's "Sherlock". I myself, for my own part, found it to be an excellent and indeed loving treatment of the original source material, transported, I felt, almost seemlessly into the 21st Century!!! This should have come as little surprise though when one considers that such "League of Gentlemen" veterans as Mark Gatiss were involved!!! If you have never had the great pleasure of watching "The Curse of Karrit Poor" then please allow me, without prejudice, to recommend that you obtain, at your earliest convenience, a copy of the BBC's "The League of Gentlemen" DVD Boxed Set.

PS, By the way, I am a HUGH fan of the late, great, and much missed Jeremy Brett. I had the very good fortune of being taken, many years ago, as a "surprise 21st Birthday Present" to see a performance of "The Secret of Sherlock Holmes" staring Jeremy Brett and Edward Hardwicke, at the Bradford Alhambra Theatre. Brett's "Stage Presence" was AMAZING to say the least, and the very real and genuine chemistry/friendship between Brett and Hardwicke was clear for all to see. Brett was one of the very first "celebrities", along with the great Spike Milligan, to publicly admit to suffering from Manic Depression. For me, as a fellow sufferer, this was such an amazing thing for him to do, and made the lives of myself and other sufferers of what was, back in those days, an illness that wasn't talked about or admitted to, just that little bit easier when it came to trying to explain our condition to other people. So, while Brett and Hardwicke will forever be "My Holmes and Watson", this doesn't mean, in any way, shape or form, that I cannot enjoy and, indeed, revel in, Cumberbatch's Holmes and Martin Freeman's Watson!!!

Long may these fantastic tales be retold for each new generation!!!

"Watson... Bring the Gun... The game is afoot!!!"...

Best wishes,

Zodiac.

[The Grave Maurice]

Sherlock

Are people watching the new BBC/WGBH series, Sherlock? I'll tip my hand by saying that I think it's brilliant. The people involved have reinvented the stories, but retained enough of the original tone to keep it true to the source. Unlike some around here, I never liked the Brett interpretation of Holmes, but Cumberbatch, in my opinion, absolutely nails it. The only mistake I've seen so far is that they put a B after the 221 when they did a shot of the address.

[Adam Went]

Thought of another famous line that never actually was....

In Dickens' "Oliver Twist", when Oliver uttered those immortal words, "Please, Sir, I want some more" - I've heard and seen a lot of versions where the response is "More? You want MORE?". Not so. According to the original book, the warden only manages to say "What!", before Oliver repeats himself and then has a soup ladle come rapidly towards him.

Cheers,
Adam.

[Steven Russell]

Tom Baker

Nice one, Belinda! Let us know if you succeed.

Best wishes,
Steve.

[Robert]

I believe Holmes's words to the Hound are, "Have a jelly baby."

[belinda]

I found my video of the little known but very good Tom Baker Hound Of The Baskervilles

I will try and get it on Yu tbe

[Steven Russell]

Jeremy Brett book

Dear all,
I hope I am not breaking any rules here but I thought some of you might be interested to hear that I am flogging a book on ebay called "The Jeremy Brett - Linda Pritchard Story". It's written by Ms. Pritchard (with a ghost writer) and tells the tale of her friendship with Brett during the last seven years of his life. There is a deal of discussion of Brett's portrayal of Holmes and his battles with a heart condition and manic depression. Brett fans should also enjoy the appendix and illustrations.

A word of warning though: I found the writing appallingly gushing and cloyingly sentimental. For me, this rather spoiled what would otherwise have been a very enjoyable read. Someone else is advertising a copy at £130! but bidding on mine starts at £3. Anyone interested can feel free to PM me.

Best wishes,
Steve.

[Robert]

"And a certain Zen Master had a way of holding up his little finger every time his students asked him a question. And soon one of his students began to do the same. Every time he was asked a question, the student would hold up his little finger, just like the Master. And when the Master found out, he ordered that the student's little finger be chopped off. And the Master said to the student, 'There! What has that taught you?' And the student replied, 'Not to fool around with your wife.' "