Sherlock Holmes: Fact or Fiction? by Thomas S. Blakeney first edition 1932

BLAKENEY, Thomas Sydney (1903-1976). Sherlock Holmes: Fact or Fiction? London: John Murray, 1932.

First edition. Octavo. ix, 134 pp. Original blue cloth, spine lettered in gilt, with the original pictorial dust-wrapper. Cloth bright and clean, with slight rubbing to the extremities. Dust-wrapper retaining the publisher's price of 2s. 6d. net, with toning, particularly to the spine, scattered spotting and some wear and small nicks to the edges. Old tape reinforcement to the reverse at the head and foot of the spine. A very good copy.

An early book-length contribution to Holmesian scholarship, treating Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson as historical figures and examining their lives through the chronology and internal evidence of Conan Doyle's stories. Blakeney seeks to reconcile inconsistencies and establish a coherent account of Holmes's character and career, applying the conventions of historical biography to the fictional detective. The pictorial wrapper advertises the work as "The first really authoritative biography of this famous detective", with a colour portrait of Holmes smoking his pipe.