Virtual Book Tour and Giveaway - The Life and Times of Sherlock Holmes (Essays on Victorian England Volume 4) by Liese Sherwood-Fabre

Welcome to my stop on the virtual book tour for The Life and Times of Sherlock Holmes by Liese Sherwood Fabre. This book tour was organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. On my stop, I have an excerpt from the book as well as the author's favorite things about Sherlock. There's also the tour wide giveaway for a chance to win a $20 Amazon, Apple, or Barnes & Noble gift card. Be sure to visit the other stops on the tour for more content. Enjoy!

--

Title: The Life and Times of Sherlock Holmes
Series: Essays on Victorian England Volume 4

Author: Liese Sherwood-Fabre

Publisher: Little Elm Press

Publication Date: March 6th 2017

Print Length: 83 pages

Genre: Non-Fiction

~

Be as smart as Sherlock Holmes!

Arthur Conan Doyle's original tales include many references to everyday Victorian life that are no longer part of current readers’ world. What Holmes would have eaten from a can while searching for the hound of the Baskervilles, Watson's enjoyment of a yellow-back novel, or the proper use of a gasogene would have been common knowledge to the Victorian contemporary but compels modern readers to run to the nearest reference book.

 

These twenty-five short essays pull such items from the past and expand on their significance in the story. As an additional bonus, this book contains an essay on the role of scandal in Holmes; cases, originally appearing in a collected volume of essays on feminism and agency.

 

After enjoying these concise treatises on Holmes’ world, readers will have a deeper understanding and appreciation of both the times and the life of the world’s greatest consulting detective.

Goodreads * Amazon * Apple Books *

Barnes & Noble * Kobo * Other Purchase Links

---

EXCERPT:

The Intercontinental Reach of the Law

In two of Holmes’ cases, he meets Pinkerton agents: Edwards in The Valley of Fear and Leverton, who trailed Giuseppe Gorgiano from America in “The Adventure of the Red Circle.” By 1888, during the first encounter, the reputation of the Pinkerton Agency had been firmly established for almost 50 years and had already lost its founder, Allan Pinkerton. The Edwards character is said to have been based on James McFarland, who had garnered fame in the 1870s for infiltrating and testifying against the Molly Maguires, a secret Irish mining society. Leverton’s fame also preceded him as “the hero of the Long Island cave mystery.”

Allan Pinkerton was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1819 and worked as a barrel maker there until immigrating to the US in 1842. He settled outside of Chicago and continued his trade. In 1847, he fell into his new profession when he was out collecting materials for his barrels. A particular island not far from where he lived had a plentiful supply of poles, and while gathering them one summer day, he came across evidence of someone else using the island. He informed the sheriff, and the officer investigated, capturing a large gang of counterfeiters. Later, local shopkeepers asked Pinkerton to help capture yet another counterfeiter. Based on these efforts, he was appointed as Chicago’s first—and, in the beginning, only—police detective. Shortly, he had five detectives working under him, and his reputation continued to grow. Beyond his detective work, he was also an abolitionist. He had been involved in radical politics in Scotland, which was why he was forced to emigrate. His shop served as a station along the under‐ ground railroad, and he raised funds to help transport eleven slaves freed by John Brown. In 1850 he left public services to form his agency. Pinkerton’s National Detective Agency advertised “We Never Sleep” with an unblinking eye as its logo. This image lies behind the term “private eye.” The company included Allan’s brother Robert, who was a railroad contractor. The organization specialized in the capture of counterfeiters and train robbers, but also provided private military contractors and security guards. By 1853, Pinkerton Agencies existed in all the major Union cities. The company hired the first female detective (Kate Warne) in 1856, and during an investigation of a railway case, uncovered a plot to assassinate President-elect Abraham Lincoln in 1861. Warned of the threat, Lincoln changed his itinerary and, under a disguise, passed through the area at night unharmed.

---

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Liese Sherwood-Fabre knew she was destined to write when she got an A+ in the second grade for her story about Dick, Jane, and Sally’s ruined picnic. After obtaining her PhD, she joined the federal government and worked and lived abroad for more than fifteen years. Returning to the states, she seriously pursued her writing career, garnering such awards as a finalist in RWA’s Golden Heart contest and a Pushcart Prize nomination.

 

A recognized Sherlockian scholar, her essays have appeared in scion newsletters, the Baker Street Journal, and Canadian Holmes. These have been gathered into The Life and Times of Sherlock Holmes essay collection series. She has recently turned this passion into an origin story series on Sherlock Holmes. The Adventure of the Murdered Midwife, the first book in The Early Case Files of Sherlock Holmes series, was the CIBA Mystery and Mayhem 2020 winner.

Website * Amazon * BookBub *

Facebook * Goodreads * Twitter

---

GUEST POST:

These are a Few of my Favorite Things, About Sherlock!
by Liese Sherwood-Fabre

Did you know about 20% of people polled in England a few years ago reported that Sherlock Holmes had actually lived? The last Conan Doyle story was published in 1927—almost a hundred years ago, but people still buy and read the original books. Not to mention hundreds of adaptations and pastiches (a fancy word for fan fiction, like mine) continue to be published and produced. Debate: who’s the better Sherlock: Robert Downey, Jr. or Benedict Cumberbatch?

What makes this interest continue? He certainly was one of the original detectives where clues and evidence were pieced together into a whole through science, logic, and deduction. Sherlock, however, wasn’t the first (Edgar Allen Poe’s Dupin came before him), but Conan Doyle penned a whole lot more adventures and captured the imagination and interest of the public. When originally written, many of his methods were just beginning to be applied to solving true crimes, and some even anticipated actual application.

Flesh and blood forensic experts, among them Hans Gross and Edmund Locard, were developing procedures similar to those used by Holmes. Footprints, fingerprints, and variations in typewriter keys were all things mentioned in the stories, as well as the preservation of the crime scene. Some of these (like the uniqueness of typewriter keys), hadn’t even made it into the courtroom when described in one of Holmes’ cases. He always seemed to have to drag the Scotland Yard detectives into the use of modern crime investigation.

In the end, I have to admit I’m rather a nerd. I like science and logic, and in the sentiments of Dr. James Mortimer, I covet Holmes’ brain.

---

GIVEAWAY:

Liese Sherwood-Fabre will be awarding a $20 Amazon, Apple, or Barnes & Noble gift card to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter. Good luck!

(All the Ups and Downs is not responsible for this giveaway, its entries, or the prize. Goddess Fish Promotions and the author assume all responsibility over this giveaway.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway