A Visit with England’s Greatest Sleuth

Disappointing Stops along the Way

As a writer in the mystery/suspense genre, I never thought I’d say this, but Sherlock Holmes was a disappointment. Not the books by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, but London’s depiction of England’s most famous sleuth.

On a recent trip to London with my daughters, we stopped in the Sherlock Holmes, St. James’ pub for lunch. Upstairs is a small room that depicts Holmes’ flat in Conan Doyle’s novels. I don’t think it’s changed since the last time I was there decades ago. It includes memorabilia from a Holmes exhibition long ago. But of course, what can be authentic about a fictional character? Certainly not the furniture and décor.

Holmes at home at the Sherlock Holmes, St. James Pub.

That said, the pub is festooned with Victorian decorations. The place was packed when we arrived after one o’clock in the afternoon. The wait for the upstairs dining room was forty-five minutes and there were no empty tables downstairs in the pub. We finally grabbed one in the pub’s front window when a couple left. The food was decent, nothing outstanding, which is saying something for England’s infamous reputation for “fine British dining.” (Being half British, I can attest to that.) But the beer was good.  

The beer was good. The food was British quality. We dined next to the large first floor window on the right.

Decades ago, when I first visited Baker Street in London, I knew what I would find––or rather wouldn’t. There was no 221-B Baker Street, the home of Sherlock Holmes and often that of his friend and sidekick Dr. John Watson. That is precisely why Holmes’ creator picked the address for his protagonist’s home. Holme’s fictional second story flat above his landlady, Mrs. Hudson, existed only between the pages of one of Conan Doyle’s novels and short stories.

But in June 2024, I found the Sherlock Holmes Museum on what is supposed to be 221-B Baker St. Well, let’s put it this way, it’s in the same block. The museum is not a museum but rather a collection of small spaces in a couple of large townhouses decorated to depict different rooms in Holmes’ flat. Nothing is real and there’s very little history save for one room with movie posters and busts of actors who played Holmes—a ploy, no doubt, to attract the masses who know little of Holmes except for what they’ve seen on the big and little screen. Except for the gift shop, it’s a house mostly filled with Victorian Era antiques that calls itself a museum.

The Sherlock Holme’s Museum had lots of Victorian-era recreations like this to depict Holmes’ lifestyle. Note the deerstalker’s and bowler hats, and the Meerschaum pipe on the table.

The gift shop sold lots of Holmes kitsch and maybe a total of six different books on Holmes, and one on Conan Doyle. And it calls itself a museum?

My daughter found me a nice pair of Sherlock Holmes cufflinks in the gift shop but where were all of the books analyzing Holmes, and Conan Doyle’s influence on the detective and mystery genres? Sadly, there is so little there. Any true fan will be disappointed unless you enjoy mannequins dressed in period costume and furniture either replicated or original from that era.

My friend book author Dan Stashower, a true Holmes expert (The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: the Ectoplasmic Man and Teller of Tales: The Life of Arthur Conan Doyle), told me the museum has struggled through a series of owners. That might explain the lack of a museum experience. Yet there was a long line to get in, so the place is popular.

Prior to visiting London, my daughters booked tickets for Warner Bro.’s “Harry Potter Experience” not far outside the city. Now that was a WOW!, and I’m no Harry Potter fan (but you can guess who is). If they can do something like that for Harry Potter, certainly the English can do better by Sherlock Holmes.

I’m Rick Pullen, former investigative reporter, magazine editor, and author of the best selling thriller Naked Ambition, its sequel Naked Truth, and a stand-alone thriller The Apprentice. I’m also a magazine columnist and feature writer. Currently, I’m working on my next crime novel and a non-fiction book about many of the authors who appear in Idol Talk.

Literary Agent Terrie Wolf of AKA Literary Management represents my work.

Thanks for reading Idol Talk! Subscribe for free or support my work with a paid subscription. — Rick Pullen