A Balls-up in Bohemia

Dr. Watson was the chronicler of every Sherlock Holmes adventure published in The Strand magazine between 1887 and 1927. He reported them with honesty in the bluff, army-style of a military doctor, so frank in their account of human behaviour that they were too risque for the morals of Victorian England. George Newnes, the editor, purged each story before its publication. Newnes also replaced Watson’s jocular illustrations with Sidney Paget’s more innocuous portrayals.

Newnes deleted everybody’s backgrounds but in these accounts Watson reveals Holmes’s family: his father, Professor Julian Cornelius Bortzoy Holmes; his wife, Wendy; his sister, Rachel, as well as Mycroft. Watson also exposes Mrs. Hudson’s property empire and he tells us how Professor Moriarty became the Napoleon of crime. Some of this new material is shocking, even by today’s standards!

Book 1 synopsis, An esteemed new client engages the services of Sherlock Holmes. He embarks upon an adventure that takes him all the way across London whilst Dr. Watson tries to extricate himself from a very unwise marriage. Watson moves in to 221 Baker Street where he receives an unexpected early-morning call from Mrs. Hudson, who has something of great importance to share with him.