Hello, friends!
I am filling in for Matthew today, and was delighted to realize that it is Sherlock Holmes Day! What is that, you ask? Well, every year on May 22, readers around the world mark Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s birthday with a bit of a tribute to his most famous creation: the great detective himself, Sherlock Holmes.
Conan Doyle famously had a contentious relationship with Holmes’ popularity, even going so far as to (briefly) kill the character off in an attempt to bring an end to the public’s fascination. He was a doctor and an activist, and worried that Holmes overshadowed his work in other areas.
Indeed, it is worth remembering that Conan Doyle was in many ways ahead of his time, from writing articles that ranged from denouncing the prevalent use of opioids in Britain to lauding the importance of compulsory vaccinations and to championing the Spiritualist movement.
Conan Doyle even involved himself in several judicial cases, paying legal fees and helping exonerate two wrongly convicted men who had been arrested due to prejudice rather than evidence: George Edalji, a man of British and Indian descent accused of sending threatening letters to people and mutilating livestock; and Oscar Slater, a Jewish immigrant wrongly convicted of murder.
It is easy to see why he wanted to be remembered for more than short stories. However, the public’s enduring love of Sherlock Holmes saw Conan Doyle revive the character three years after his supposed demise, and he has been with us ever since.
The Sherlock Holmes stories can rightly be given a lot of the credit for the popularity of detective stories. They set the stage for the model (eventually further codified by the likes of Agatha Christie and the other Golden Age mystery writers) of the brilliant private detective and his admiring sidekick solving the mysteries that baffle the police. It is still a winning format, and Skidompha has shelves and shelves of modern variations on that theme.
But I do think our cultural love of the characters transcends the puzzles and mysteries, and is rooted in the humanity of Conan Doyle’s approach to his writing. The foundation of those stories is a remarkable friendship, a devotion to truth and justice, and the promise that we will always be safely back home in Baker Street by the end. It is warm, welcoming, and reassuring.
In 1942, in a world staring down the horrors of the Second World War, Vincent Starrett wrote a poem called “221B” that is a fine tribute to the legacy the stories left us:
Here dwell together still two men of note
Who never lived and so can never die:
…
Here, though the world explode, these two survive,
And it is always eighteen ninety-five.
Recently, while getting ready to celebrate Skidompha’s centivintennial, we came across a catalogue of the library’s collection from 1906, and it included “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.” While that exact copy is not still on our shelves, Skidompha still has plenty of Sherlock Holmes on offer. It was wonderful to see that we have things in common with our founders, including the stories we choose to read.
So, today, we recommend taking a moment to enjoy a good mystery, and raise a toast to Sherlock Holmes, Doctor Watson, and – of course – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Be well,
Meghan Hawkes
Skidompha Public Library
(Skidompha Library has been supporting our community since 1885 in downtown Damariscotta. You can find us online and view our full calendar at skidompha.org.)
