Review: Sherlock Holmes - The Hero with a Thousand Faces Vol 1

I have been given copies of volumes 1 and 2 of this work for the purposes of review.

This two-volume work by David MacGregor is certainly a significant achievement and clearly a labour of love. I am impressed at the quality of the research that has gone into it. 

Volume one, across six chapters, concerns itself with the creation of Holmes through to the films of the early 1930s.

Predictably it begins with very well-trodden ground concerning the origins of Sherlock Holmes. It covers the initial public reaction to the first novels and the later success of the short stories. Conan Doyle's love/hate relationship with Holmes is spelt out succinctly and an admirable job is done of explaining how the public sought a Holmesian 'fix' in rip-offs and imitators whenever Conan Doyle dared to lay down his pen.

All of the above will have been read by devotees in other books but MacGregor does something I've not seen done so well before. He takes a wide look at the literature and events before and during Holmes's time to see the potential influence on the adventures of the great detective. I've not seen any writer attempt it to the same degree of accessible depth. 

An example of this accessibility takes the form of MacGregor using the present to aid our understanding of the past. As a way of illustrating how the Sherlock Holmes stories appealed to all ages, for different reasons, he compares them to US cartoon series The Simpsons. On the face of it, this seems an absurd comparison but it does help you understand the more you think about it. It also shows a willingness on his part to take risks by assuming that his readers will be familiar enough with the cartoon to understand the point he makes.

Another great observation that he makes is that modern audiences have a fixed view, largely underpinned by screen adaptations, of Holmes and Watson as perpetual roommates in 221B Baker Street. However, to their original public, the duo’s fame took off when they were living apart. The first two stories, where they cohabited, largely failed to seize the public imagination. It was only when the short stories took off, and Watson was married to his wife Mary (and living away from 221B), that fame beckoned. It will no doubt surprise some readers that Watson would not be a resident of 221B (from a publication perspective) from 1891 until the early years of the 20th century. I certainly knew this but it had never been presented to me quite so well.

Roughly at the half-way point of the book, MacGregor moves onto the beginnings of Sherlockian scholarship and the work of people such as Ronald Knox. This is followed by detailed information covering the beginning of leading societies such as The Sherlock Holmes Society of London and The Baker Street Irregulars. Both subjects are handled well with just the right level of detail.

Chapter five of the book is entirely devoted to William Gillette’s Sherlock Holmes play of the early 1900s. MacGregor points out that this is when real liberties began to be taken with Holmes. For people today who get hot under the collar about changes made to the stories and characters in modern adaptations (including yours truly) it is a timely reminder that changes to Holmes have been going on for over 100 years and some were even sanctioned by Conan Doyle himself (if only because he saw the financial benefits.)

The William Gillette play is covered in considerable depth

The first volume concludes with a look at Holmes's initial outings on the silver screen. Barrymore, Brook, Norwood, and Wontner all get examined but, tantalizingly, MacGregor stops short of the Holmes that everyone remembers from the mid-twentieth century. We have to wait until volume two to get onto a certain Mr. Rathbone. One is tempted to assume that this was deliberate to ensure that people purchased the second volume.

This is a wonderful book but I do have two main criticisms. Number one is the length of the chapters. Volume one is almost 350 pages long and by page 95 you're only on chapter three. The book really should have been broken up into more digestible chunks. My second issue is the absence of an index. The ability to use any book as a serious reference work is harmed by the lack of an index.  The absence of one in this book is a rather shocking oversight. It contains so much useful information but people will struggle to find it in a hurry and that may prevent this book becoming the "go to" volume that it deserves to be.

Update August 8 2021 - I have learned that this book may yet get an index added prior to publication. This was not made clear to me before. If this is indeed addressed I will drop my second criticism.

Written by Alistair Duncan Buy my books here

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