The Canon, The Very Basics
The Canon II, The Christ & Co. Codes
The Canon III, Common Characters
Reflecting The Film to The Canon
Holmesian and/or Sherlockian
Sherlockia, Sherlockiana, Sherlockism, etc.
Other Writings, Parodies and Pastiches
Other Writings, The Shaw 100
Societies and Scions
The Definitive Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes is a character created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Doyle first introduced Holmes in the novel A Study in Scarlet (STUD), first published in 1887 in Beeton's Christmas Annual. Following this popularity, Doyle wrote a total of 56 short-stories and 4 novels concerning Holmes. The Doyle's SH books are the following: A Study in Scarlet, The Sign of Four, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (12 stories), The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (11 stories), The Hound of the Baskervilles, The Return of Sherlock Holmes (13 stories), The Valley of Fear, His Last Bow (8 stories), and The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes (12 stories).

These original 60 stories together are referred to as The Canon. The adjective canonical, such as "canonical study," is to be used to indicate anything directly related to those original 60 stories. Sometimes The Canon is referred among the most devoted Sherlock Holmes scholars as The Sacred Writings. The most famous Holmes illustrator is Sidney Paget for the British magazine The Strand, second most famous is Frederic Dorr Steele for the American magazine Collier's Weekly. The best web-place to read The Canon would be The Camden House (referenced by The Complete [Doubleday] Sherlock Holmes page numbers) with most of the original illustrations, including Paget and Steele.

Award-winning author Eve Titus created Basil of Baker Street in 1958 (illustrated by Paul Galdone), which is a mouse-form of Sherlock Holmes to appeal to younger audiences, as known as The Great Mouse Detective, thanks to Disney's 1986 animated feature film under the same name. The volumes of the Eve Titus series are the following: Basil of Baker Street (duh!), Basil in Mexico, Basil in the Wild West, Basil and the Lost Colony, and Basil and the Pygmy Cats. Now in the Great Mouse Detective (GMD) world, the term The Canon is also used for Eve Titus' series, to avoid confusion The Titus Canon is equally acceptable, and the term The Sacred Writings is NOT to be used however, it is reserved respectively for Doyle ONLY!

A shorthand 4-letter designation for each of the original Canon by Doyle, suggested by famed SH scholar Jay Finely Christ [rhymes with "list"], is known as Christ & Co. Codes. For example, The Hound of the Baskervilles is shorten to HOUN and A Scandal of Bohemia is shortened to SCAN. For the entire Christ & Co. Codes list, consult the site Oh, You Don't Know Sherlock Holmes Yet? Titus has no such official codes, instead it is simply shorten to the last two words of each book: Baker Street, In Mexico, Wild West, Lost Colony, and Pygmy Cats.

Of course, the most recognized character is Sherlock Holmes. An eccentric gentleman who pursued a unique profession as The World's First Unofficial Consulting Detective, modeled after Doyle's old University professor Doctor Joseph Bell. He solves his cases by the use of unconventional but highly logical deductions. Though a genius, he is also a social outcast -- moody, quick, and flawed! He is also a self-taught violinist, lightweight boxer, swordsman, trained stage actor/make-up artist, chemist, scientist, sharpshooter, martial "baritsu" artist, and a profound tobacco smoker. His other nicknames include SH, The Great Detective and, by the most devoted, The Master. He is the equivalent to Titus' Basil of Baker Street.

Doctor John H. Watson is Holmes' flatmate, friend, and biographer. Almost all the canonical tales are seen through Watson's eyes, either through his experience with Holmes' adventures or Holmes recollecting them to him. It is wrong to say Watson is an "bumbling idiot," like so many have pictured him; that's a wrongful stereotype. He is a "doctor" and therefore his intelligence is well above average. He is kind, considerate, tolerant, and the loyalest friend one could have! He served in the Afghan War and injured either his shoulder or leg, or both by a Jezail bullet and was married once or more. He is the equivalent to Titus' Doctor David Q. Dawson.

Mrs. Hudson is Holmes' and Watson's landlady from whom they rent rooms at 221B Baker Street (nicknamed also as Two-Twenty-One or The Digs). Though it is not in her apparent job subscription, the "Scotswoman" also cleans, cooks, and answers orders from them. She is the equivalent to Titus' Mrs. Judson.

Professor James Moriarty is known as The Napoleon of Crime! He is Holmes' nemesis and archenemy, first mentioned by name in The Adventure of the Final Problem (FINA). He, according to Holmes, is responsible for most of the organized crime in England and maybe even parts of Europe. Though Moriarty is commonly regarded as being The Sacred Writings' archvillian whose name is synonymous to evil, he never actually appears, except through second-hand allusions from others in The Sacred Writings who claim to know him or to have seen him. He is the equivalent to Titus' Professor Ratigan. In the Titus Canon, Ratigan is actually a large mouse, not a rat; yet in the Disney film, he is official represented as A RAT!

Colonel Sebastian Moran is Moriarty's second-in-command, mentioned in The Adventure of The Empty House (EMPT). Seeking revenge for Moriarty's death, Moran attempted to assassinate Holmes. He is the equivalent to Titus' Capt. Doran. Doran is mention in two Titus books, but he is never confirmed to be British however, I believe he was defined as "Mexican" in her series. He is not mentioned in the Disney film (see The Pastiched GMD Cast).

The famous American opera singer-actress-adventuress from A Scandal in Bohemia (SCAN), Irene Adler was one of only four persons to have ever outwitted Holmes, and the only female to have done so, in fact. Because of her beauty and cunning, Holmes developed a respectful reverence for her, something he did for no woman. Some Holmes scholars say his affection went well beyond "respect," though it has never quite been proven or disproven that he did or not. Nonetheless, due to this "respect," Holmes is always refers to her as The Woman and is rarely addressed as any other name. She is the equivalent to Titus' Mlle. Relda, which is ironically "Adler" spelled backwards. Yet unlike the Sacred Writings, Titus enters Relda as merely a cameo (in three books), a soprano superstar who apparently is captured my Basil's all-too-clear attention. She is not mentioned in the Disney film (see The Pastiched GMD Cast).

Inspector G. Lestrade is Holmes' Scotland Yard contemporary in the detective biz and is a semi-regular in the Sacred Writings. It is very unfortunate that the police are seen as buffoons, something like the Keystone Kops, and this view even comes to Lestrade. Lestrade is very intelligent man, who is known by Holmes as "the best of the professionals" but lacks imagination investgates his cases with traditional methods - not everyone is a Sherlock Holmes, mind you. He appears in The Study in Scarlet (STUD), The Adventure of the Norwood Builder (NORW), The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton (CHAS), (NORW), The Adventure of the Six Napoleons (SIXN), The Adventure of the Second Stain (SECO), The Hound of the Baskerville (HOUN) and The Adventure of the Cardboard Box (CARD). Yet unlike the Sacred Writings, Titus mentions an Inspector Vole only ONCE. He is not mentioned in the Disney film (see The Pastiched GMD Cast).

Mycroft Holmes is Holmes' elder (some say, smarter) brother, seven years his senior. He is a member of The Diogenes Club, a London men's club which is so private that the members are not allowed to talk to each other. He also apparently holds an mysteriously unknown position in the British Government. Mycroft is lazier and roomier in build than Sherlock. He appears in The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter (GREE) and The Adventure of Bruce-Partington Plans (BRUC). Titus never mentions Basil having a brother, but has mentioned The Diogenes Club by name alone (no detail on what it is) in one book. He is not mentioned in the Disney film (see The Pastiched GMD Cast).

The Baker Street Irregulars (BSI) were a band of a dozen young street urchins recruited by Holmes to assist him in his cases; first acknowledged in the novel The Sign of Four (SIGN). In Titus' Basil of Baker Street book, Basil in Mexico, Basil recruited a band of young street mice that assists him in his case. He calls them The Panarado Calle Irregulars. The literal Spanish translation is The Baker Street Irregulars -- Hey, he is in Mexico! Today, the BSI applies the first and one of the most prestigious SH societies in the world (see below for more details)! The group is not mentioned in the Disney film (see The Pastiched GMD Cast).

The film The Great Mouse Detective (GMD) has parts that are obviously inspired from The Canon. Both the dectives deduced the background of the doctors at their very first meeting of each other. Holmes did this in the first novel A Study in Scarlet (STUD) and Basil did this is in the GMD film:

	Holmes: You have been in Afghanistan, I perceive...Here is a gentleman of a medical type, but with the air of a military man. Clearly an army doctor, then. He has just come from the tropics, for his face is dark, and that is not the natural tint of his skin, for his wrists are fair. He has undergone hardship and sickness, as his haggard face says clearly. His left arm has been injured. He holds it in a stiff and unnatural manner. Where in the tropics could an English army doctor have seen much hardship and got his arm wounded? Clearly in Afghanistan.	Basil: If you'll excuse me... Hold this please, Doctor...A surgeon, to be exact, just return from military duties in Afghanistan, am I right? Quite simply really! You have sewn your torn cuff-link with a Lambert stitch which, of course, only a surgeon uses. And the thread is an unique form of cat-gut, easily distinguished by its peculiar pungency, found only in the Afghan provinces.

In the film GMD, Basil does an amazing deduction on the shopping list left by Fidget. It is very similar to Holmes' deductions of a letter send by an supposed dead husband in The Man with the Twisted Lip (TWIS):

	Holmes: Coarse writing...I perceive also that whoever addressed the envelope had to go and inquire as to the address. The name, you see, is in perfectly black ink, which has dried itself. The rest is of the grayish colour, which shows that blotting-paper has been used. If it had been written straight off, and then blotted, none would be of a deep black shade. This man has written the name, and there has then been a pause before he wrote the address, which can only mean that he was not familiar with it. It is, of course, a trifle, but there is nothing so important as trifles. Let us now see the letter. Ha! there has been an enclosure here! ...Written in pencil upon the fly-leaf of a book, octavo size, no water-mark. Hum! Posted to-day in Gravesend by a man with a dirty thumb. Ha! And the flap has been gummed, if I am not very much in error, by a person who had been chewing tobacco.	Basil: Offhand, I can deduce very little. Only that the words were written by a broad-pointed quill pen, which has been spattered -- twice! That the paper is of native Mongolian manufacturer, no watermark, and has been gummed, if I am not very much in error, by a bat who has been drinking Rodent's Delight. The cheap brand is sold only at the seamiest of pub spots...Perhaps a closer inspection? Hum! Ah-hum, coal dusts, clearly of the type used in sewer lamps...Ah-ha! we've done it, old fellow! This reaction can only be triggered by the paper's extreme saturation with distillation of sodium-chloride. It proves beyond a doubt, ah, this list came from the riverfront area! ...We merely have to find a seamy pub at the only spot, where the sewer connects with the riverfront.

In the study of 221B Baker Street, the audience sees Holmes (in actuality his shadow on the wall) telling Watson, "I obverse that there is a good deal of German music on the programme...It is introspective, and I want to introspect." That line is from The Adventure of The Red-Headed League (REDH).

Of course, arguably the most famous catch phrases in the Sherlock Holmes world are Elementary, my dear Watson! and The game's afoot! However it MUST be told that in The Canon, Holmes NEVER EVER uttered the phrase Elementary, my dear Watson! in any of the stories. It is a combination of two canonical lines that were used by William Gillette (the first actor who played Holmes). In The Adventure of The Cardboard Box (CARD), Holmes performs the feat of reading Watson's mind, saying afterwards "...it is very superfical, my dear Watson, I assure you." In the start of The Adventure of The Crooked Man (CROO), Holmes responds to Watson's surprise at one deduction by saying "elementary" (and no additional attachment to that). This little mis-expression is a serious pet-peeve to many SH fans (including myself). The best known user of the catch-phrase is the actor Basil Rathbone. Unlike the previous maxim, The game's afoot was uttered by Holmes in The Adventure of The Abbey Grange (ABBE). Though the phrase was not originally considered for dramatics as it is now.

Another stereotype would be the famous or infamous costume of the deerstalker cap (also known as a fore-and-aft), Inverness, calabash and/or meerschaum pipe, three of the most familiar items that instantly label "Sherlock Holmes." There is no caricature, no reference that is complete without some mention or depiction of SH in these. In The Canon, there is actually no specific mention of these items. In The Boscombe Valley Mystery (BOSC), Holmes is descibed wearing "his long gray travelling-cloak and close-fitting cloth cap" -- nothing more. The credit of the deerstalker and Inverness goes to the artist Sidney Paget who drew Holmes in this costume in The Strand magazine. He again illustrated Holmes in this similiar costume in The Adventure of Silver Blaze (SILV), The Adventure of The Priory School (PRIO), and The Adventure of The Final Problem (FINA). Frederic Dorr Steele, the illustator of the cases in the Americam magazine Collier's Weekly, also adopted the deerstalker cap alone, wearing some tasteful, well-fitting suits. The calabash and/or meerschaum, a large curved pipe, was never specifically mentioned in The Canon as well. It was contributed by the renowned actor William Gillette in 1899, the first actor to play Holmes ever, in the play Sherlock Holmes. Gillette apparently had an easier time delivering his lines with a curved pipe than a straight by clamping it between his teeth. The image just stuck and never wavered.

This is merely ironic pretext: In the short-story by Doyle, The Adventure of The Black Peter (BLAC), Holmes used the alias Captain Basil in his investigation of the murder of Peter Carey. Disney actually got the idea of Captain Basil disguise from the 1939 film The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Basil Rathbone, who in one scene disguises himself as a lame-legged naval captain to pry information in a sleazy sea-side pub (complete with dancing showgirls).

The climax, the dueling battle between Basil and Ratigan on top of Big Ben clock-tower, is an equivalent to the dueling battle between Holmes and Moriarty at top of Reichenbach Falls, Switzerland. Both heroes survived the dramatic fight, and the villains both accordingly fell to their death. Both villains' bodies were neither found or recovered afterward as well.

In England, Sherlock Holmes fans, or more precisely hobbyists, people who have a sufficient interest in Holmes to reading books about him, collecting Sherlockiana (term explained below), belonging to clubs, entering correspondence about him with others, etc., are known as Holmesians. Outside of England, these fans are called Sherlockians. This is because it is more commonplace in England to address another by their surname rather than their first. It is "bad form" to address a Sherlockian as a Holmesian, or vice versa.

Holmesian and Sherlockian can be also used as adjectives to describe all things related to Sherlock Holmes. Holmesian is more properly associated with Britain, and Sherlockian, for the rest of the world. For example, "There is a Sherlockian society in Brazil."

The GMD fan-world has no official term to call Basil of Baker Street fans. Though I personally do call them Basilians. I do not use it as an adjective, only to describe GMD fans. This term does not intentionally speak for anyone else.

Believe it or not, these are official terms used by Sherlockians/Holmesians: Sherlockia is a sort of an intellectual game played by SH fans, in which the underlying assumption is that all the characters in the Sacred Writings were real and all the events actually happened. With 2 or 3 exceptions, it is also assumed that all the stories were written by Watson rather than the actual author, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Because of this, many Sherlockians nickname Doyle as The Literary Agent. It is very often referred to as just The Game. Apparently, Holmesia is not a term.

Sherlockiana is accoutrements associated with Sherlock Holmes lore, such as garments, books, posters, statues, journals, clubs, and the like that hold interest to a SH fan. This term also shorten version of the large phrase Sherlockian memorabilia. For example, "I collect Sherlockiana." Holmesiana is used for accoutrements which are products of Britain, like British published books and/or other memorabilia. Doylana is also an official term, it is used for items associated mainly with Conan Doyle himself, like biographies or his other literary works (apart from Sherlock Holmes), such as the original The Lost World novel.

Sherlockism, though rarely used but in terminology, is the name of the hobby which Sherockians/Holmesians immerse in. Some have nicknamed it "the bug" which bites and hooks fans into the hobby and immense interest of SH. There is no such word as Holmesism.

Pastiches are literally defined as stories that imitate the original writing style. In the Sherlock Holmes world, this word in context is categorizes ALL stories with Sherlock Holmes as a character, not originally written by Doyle. Parodies are literary works in which the style of an author or work is closely imitated for mainly comical effects. Titus' Basil of Baker Street series is an example of an affectionately done parody. Parodies are a form of pastiches. In the general sense, pastiches are fan-fiction.

Unlike the SH world, in the GMD fan-world, there is a GREAT difference between pastiche and fan-fiction: Pastiches usually remain as loyal as possible to the original concepts and designs of the characters and settings. In pastiches, there are a set rules, many of them set in stone, which are usually to be followed. As one correspondent placed it as stories that "keep-it-real." Fan-fiction, for the most part, "twist" or "break" these usual rules. As I have experienced, they are more than often involve the main character(s) in unlikely situations and/or off-the-mark personalities. One of the most popular genres of fan-fiction is "amorous adventures."

So if you are looking for great off-the-wall "amourous adventures" of Basil of Baker Street or Professor Ratigan (or others from the film or books), I am not the one to read. I do pastiches, not fan-fiction (see The GMD Pastiches). If you're looking for fan-fiction (in general), consult Basil's Public Reading Forum or The Animated Lust (Rated PG!): Basil of Baker Street Fanfics. Apparently most of the fictional GMD stories out there are generally "fan-fiction," but there are a selected few who actually do pastiches, like myself and those in Basil's Pastiche Parlour (which is dedicated exclusively to pastiche writings) and More Pastiches & Parodies.

John Bennett Shaw, member of the BSI (detailed below), was one of the greatest Sherlockians to have ever lived! His Sherlockiana collection eventually took over most of his house in Santa Fe, New Mexico until he donated it to the University of Minnesota. Shaw complied a great list of 100 of some of the best or most important books, pamphlets and periodicals relating to Sherlock Holmes, known as The Shaw 100. It is (1) an in-depth view of the entire Holmesian culture, and (2) a easy grocery-list for those new SH recruits to read and learn about Holmes and further. Known also as The Basic One Hundred, it was first compiled by Shaw in 1983, then revised in 1988. Among one of the many books in The Shaw 100 is Eve Titus' Basil of Baker Street! For the entire Shaw 100 listing, consult the site Yoxley Old Place.

There are many, many clubs, societies, associations, and the like which constitute collections of Sherlockians/Holmesians who meet, or at least communicate with each other, to express their mutual interest in and devotion Sherlock Holmes. Among the most prestigious is The Baker Street Irregulars (BSI) of New York, named after a band of a dozen young street urchins recruited by Holmes to assist him in his cases, first acknowledged in the novel The Sign of Four (SIGN). Other highly prestigious societies are The Sherlock Holmes Society of London, La Société Sherlock Holmes de France, The Northern Musgraves, Hugo's Companions, Sherlockians By Invitation Only (SBIOS), The Franco-Midland Hardware Company, and The Japan Sherlock Holmes Society (the largest in the world with over 24,000 members).

Some of Sherlockian group are "sanctioned" or "authorized" by some other group which is deemed more prestigious and whose "sanction" is desired as a matter of prestige. Such "authorized" clubs are called scions, meaning "son or heir of," the group providing the authorization. In the USA, "scion societies" usually gain their scion status bestowed by the BSI. In Canada, organizations are sometimes scions of The Bootmakers of Toronto. It is "bad form" to refer a group as "scion" unless proper formal authorization has been bestowed. To see a list and/or find a local society in your area, consult the site Sherlocktron.

Apparently, the closest thing to a Basil of Baker Street society is The Irregulars of Basil of Baker Street, a webring membership run by Mlle. Irene Relda (that's ME). Second closest thing is prehaps social messageboard forums, the most popular and most active one of date is Basil of Baker Street's Forum run by The Mouse Queen.

The label of The Definitive Sherlock Holmes has interchanged throughout the ages. And to the majority of Sherlockians/Holmesians, it is a touchy subject. There have been over 160 actors who have portrayed Holmes in film, television, stage, and radio. (See Sherlock Holmes on Oxford Lane for an extensive list.) SH has been filmed more times than any other fictional character, ranking second is Dracula.

There are two actors who are immortalized association with the name "Sherlock Holmes." One is Basil Rathbone, often known affectionately as The Archetypal Sherlock Holmes. He starred in over 10 films and dozens of radio shows as The Great Detective, co-starring with Nigel Bruce as Watson. With the possible exception of William Gillette, the first actor ever to play Holmes in 1899, Rathbone is perhaps the most identified with Holmes. Though his films were not canonical, with a possible exception of The Hound of the Baskervilles of 1939, they frequently bounced The Great Detective to World War situations. Despite this severe change, his SH performance was excellent and highly memorable! Which is something that cannot be said of Nigel Bruce's performance as Watson; he unfortunately portrayed Watson as a "bungler" and the image stuck. Bruce was the one who started the "idoit Watson" stereotype.

Ranking second (or possibly third if the common populace still remember Gillette) is the The Quintessential Sherlock Holmes (and my personal favorite) is Jeremy Brett. For over 10 years, Brett has portrayed Holmes in 41 episodes on the popular Granada TV Sherlock Holmes series and on stage. The series remain, for the most part, very very loyal to the image of Holmes and his world as read from The Canon! He co-starred first with David Burke as Watson, who was later succeeded by Edward Hardwicke.

Due to their immense popularity, Sherlockians/Holmesians have adopted terms to honour their great influence to the SH world. Rathbonian is the name of a Rathbone fan, and also as an adjective to describe all things related to Rathbone. Brettian is the international name of a Brett fan, and the adjective Brettish more applies to all things related to Brett.

Other popular Holmeses, though not as familiar as Rathbone and Brett to the general public, are: Eille Norwood (made 47 SH films, the most of any actor), Vasili Livanov (popular Russian SH), Peter Cushing (The Hammer Film Holmes), Frank Langella (great stage Holmes in 1979, then again on HBO in 1981), Ronald Howard (1954-55 US TV series), Robert Stephens (of The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes in 1970) -- to name only a few.

Of course, this label of "The Definitive" varies. A Sherlockian may say Gillette was "The Archetypal" (makes sense since he was the first SH actor) and Rathbone as "The Definitive." In Russia, Livanov is "The Definitive;" while in Germany, "The Definitive" is many times said to be Cushing. Though every reference to "The Archetypal" usually appears as Rathbone and every reference to "The Quintessential" always appears as Brett. The precise "The Definitive Sherlock Holmes" label differs from Sherlockian to Sherlockian, age to age, country to country. Here's an example: For about 20 years, people referred to Gillette as "The Definitive," until Norwood. For about another 20 years, Norwood was "The Definitive," until Rathbone - who pretty much succeeded both Gillette and Norwood for the title. And for about 20 years, Rathbone has been referred to as "The Definitive," until Brett (arguably). Perhaps Bob Byrne's essay of "The Definitive Holmes" can explain it better than I.