Sleuth-Hound: The Case of the Real Sherlock Holmes

“Without Joseph Bell, it is unlikely that the Sherlock Holmes the world has come to know and love would even exist. But the fictional exploits of the Baker Street detective have eclipsed the life, work, and humanity of the real-life sleuth-hound whose talents shaped the minds of generations of medical students, cracked a multitude of criminal cases, and diagnosed the mysterious illnesses plaguing both the young and the old in his care. The time has come to place Bell and his extraordinary abilities at the center of his own tale.” Almost everyone knows the name Sherlock Holmes, but almost no one knows the name of Joseph Bell, the man who inspired the creation of Holmes. This is the untold story of Joseph Bell, an Edinburgh doctor who became the model for Sherlock Holmes, and his unique ways of paying attention to the little details that allowed him to diagnose his patients. It is also the story of Henry Duncan Littlejohn, a police surgeon who frequently called upon Bell to help with police cases, and Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes. If Lindsey Fitzharris writes it, I will read it. Before reading this, I had little interest in reading a Sherlock Holmes book, nor did I ever really think about who might have inspired the character. Now, I want to give the Sherlock Holmes stories a try, especially since I now know all about who influenced the character. Also when I initially started reading this book, I never expected it to cover so many of my favorite topics to learn about, because like most people I didn’t know who Bell was before this or the influence he had upon medicine and criminology. This covers everything from surgery, new techniques in police investigations, like photography and fingerprinting, and criminal trials. Joseph Bell was a Scottish surgeon and lecturer at the University of Edinburgh. He had a very unique way at assessing his patients, and people in general. His ability to use all the tiny details of a person, like calluses and cuts on the hands or the way they walk, to determine their profession or what their medical issues were. He taught this to his students, which is how Arthur Conan Doyle, who was a medical student, gathered inspiration for his idea of Sherlock Holmes. Joseph Bell was an absolutely fascinating man and I was hooked on the story Fitzharris’ wove of his life, and how his teaching of his unique way of looking at patients led to the creation of Sherlock Holmes. Bell was a man who really paid attention to details and utilized those in his career. I would have loved to have been taught by him because his methods sound so fascinating and memorable. But, while we learn how revolutionary Bell was when it came to diagnosis and also to be an expert witness for trials, we learn the toll Sherlock Holmes had on him. Holmes overshadowed all the magnificent things Bell accomplished in his lifetime and the media could not distinguish the man from the fictional character. Honestly, it was a bit heartbreaking to learn how this character overshadowed the real work he did, especially considering it didn’t make him bitter or stop him from being a supporter of Conan Doyle and the Sherlock series. “Harold Emery Jones…later wrote that “while Joseph Bell [was] the original Sherlock Holmes, the man who, unknowingly perhaps, influenced Doyle in adapting that character to the detection of crime, was Sir Henry Littlejohn.” But this story isn’t just about Bell, it’s also about Henry Duncan Littlejohn, a police surgeon who served as an expert witness during trials and taught classes about it. Littlejohn’s work as a police surgeon involved investigating how murders happened using the evidence on the body, and then used that information on the stand as an expert witness to inform the jury. Littlejohn is a man who, again, I had never heard of, but also heavily influenced his field and the students he taught. He was fascinating and again seemed like a great teacher to have, just like Bell. In this book, we see how Bell and Littlejohn’s career’s and experience with surgery and police cases wove together to influence their student, Arthur Conan Doyle, and how it led to him creating the character of Sherlock Holmes. Fitzharris takes us on a journey by diving into these three men’s lives, the cases they worked on, the changes happening in medicine and policing, and the impact Sherlock Holmes had on their lives. Overall, this was just a fantastic blend of medical history, police investigations, murder trials, and the creation of a genre defining character. I was hooked from the very beginning and learned so much from this book. If you are a fan of Sherlock Holmes, criminology, medical history, or just want to know about a forgotten person from history, I highly recommend picking up this book. TW: graphic depictions of medical content, death (including children), animal deaths in experimentations, executions, child abuse, alcoholism, institutionalization, rape and domestic violence *ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*