Sherlock Holmes
I took time out to go and see the statue of Sherlock Holmes in Picardy Place, Edinburgh. This is in tribute to the author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who was born close to this spot on the 22nd May 1859. I think it’s a fitting tribute, as a writer, not to have a statute of yourself, but of a character you created, one that has become part of popular culture. The books are still selling today, and films and TV adaptations are bringing the stories to new generations. There are even new stories imagined by new writers, using the characters and settings and I think it’s fair to say that most crime writers will give a nod every so often to the original sleuth.
Just across the road there is a pub called The Conan Doyle. Again, I don’t think it gets much better than that. If you were to ask me what are my writing goals, I would have to say a statue of one of my characters and a pub named after me. I’ve just remembered I did find a pub named after me in Barcelona in Spain of all places, but obviously they weren’t thinking of me when they named it. I did try and blag a free drink on the basis of my name, but they weren’t having any of it. Worth a shot though.
While I’m reminiscing, I have visited Baker Street in London to see where Sherlock Holmes was supposed to have stayed. This was many years before the Sherlock Holmes museum opened at 221B Baker Street which is where Holmes was supposed to have stayed. However, at the time the novels were published, the street numbers did not go as high as 221. The street was extended many years later and you can read the debate over ownership of 221B address online. It seems there has been a fair bit of debate and controversy surrounding it. The museum is on my list to visit.
I have read a few of the Sherlock Holmes book and I’m planning on reading some more. TBR (to be read) piles are always challenging, but a welcome one at that. I will shuffle it about to make sure another Holmes case makes it to the top. I’ve yet to visit The Conan Doyle pub so that is also on my list.
The Fiction Factory 