When it comes to capturing the feel of Victorian London, some of the best historical fiction around is the series of Sherlock Holmes books by Conan Doyle. Holmes and his methods are now familiar to most of us even if we haven’t read the books; his deductions, his trademark cape, deerstalker hat and pipe, and his passion for the violin. The four novels and 56 short stories capture the atmosphere of late 19th century England as few other books have done, with the gas lit and foggy streets, the rattle of hansom cabs and the politics of the time. Since the books were first published, Holmes has been parodied as few other literary figures have been and the popular BBC series ‘Sherlock’ places him firmly in the present day. But for an intriguing reminder of Victorian London, it’s hard to beat the original Holmes stories.
