The Ultimate Sherlock Holmes Encyclopedia

In this essential and authoritative A-to-Z dictionary of the world's greatest detective can be found literally every person, place, and thing associated with Sherlock Holmes - the world encompassed by the four novels and fifty-six stories of Holmes and his famous biographer, Dr. Watson. With more that 3,500 main entries, 8,000 stories citations, an exhaustive system of crossreferences, and nearly 200 illustrations, this is an important volume for all who have consulted with the Master, as well as for anyone anticipating the excitement of that first visit to 221b Baketr Street. The ingenuity and resourcefulness of Sherlock Holmes continues to delight the modern reader, yet the years have obscured many of the phrases, customes, and daily circumstances once taken for granted by the Victorian and Edwardian readers to whom Dr. Watson originally addressed his famous stories. What is a dog-cart? An MIRCS? The Jowaki campaign? A four gin hot? Who were Charles Peace and Norman Neruda? And what do you need to know about Scotland Yard, the Indian Empire, and the British peerage to best understand the Holmes tales? This book will answer all of these questions and many more! Each entry in this fascinating book conjures up the thrill of discovering the stories for the first time, or casts light upon some obscure Victorian phrase or custom for a current reading or rereading. This is a book to deepen our wonder at and increase our understanding of the world's best-loved detective, the immortal Sherlock Holmes.