Sherlock Holmes, Women, And Chronology

by Bruce Harris

About the Author: Bruce Harris is the author of two Sherlock Holmes chronology books: It's Not Always 1895 and The Duration Debate.

Excerpt

At the onset of “The Adventure of the Reigate Squire,” Sherlock Holmes is ill, and badly in need of rest. One of Doctor Watson’s friends, a Colonel Hayter, offers his country house near Reigate, in Surrey, for a week of relaxation. The invitation was made to Watson, but was extended to Holmes as well. The two accept the Colonel’s hospitality. In so doing, Watson makes an enigmatic statement about Holmes. He writes, “A little diplomacy was needed, but when Holmes understood that the establishment was a bachelor one [italics added], and that he would be allowed the fullest freedom, he fell in with my plans and … we were under the Colonel’s roof.” What makes Holmes’s demand so intriguing is that the Reigate Squire case occurred in 1887.[1] Apparently, his attitude did not improve over time. A year later, in The Sign of Four, Holmes goes on to say, “Women are never to be entirely trusted—not the best of them.”

Nine published cases took place prior to the Reigate Squire affair in which Holmes first displays a negative attitude toward females. In those nine tales, there is nothing to indicate that Holmes had anything but positive or neutral interactions with the fair sex. So, what prompted his insistence that no women be present at Colonel Hayter’s home before accepting the invitation?

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