Sherlock Holmes of Baker Street

{{short description|1962 novel by William S. Baring-Gould}}

{{Infobox book |

| name = Sherlock Holmes of Baker Street

| title_orig =

| translator =

| image = File:SherlockHolmesOfBakerStreetBaringGould.jpg

| caption = First edition

| author = William S. Baring-Gould

| cover_artist =

| country = United States

| language = English

| series =

| genre = Mystery novels

| publisher = Bramhall House

| release_date = 1962

| media_type = Print (hardback and paperback)

| pages =

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}}

Sherlock Holmes of Baker Street: A Life of the World's First Consulting Detective is a 1962 novel by William S. Baring-Gould. The book purports to be a biography of Sherlock Holmes.{{cite book|last=Hardy|first=Phil|title=The BFI Companion to Crime|publisher=University of California Press|year=1997|page=[https://archive.org/details/bficompaniontocr0000unse/page/168 168]|isbn=9780520215382|url=https://archive.org/details/bficompaniontocr0000unse/page/168}} It is considered to be the "definitive" biography of Sherlock Holmes.{{cite book|last=Boström|first=Mattias|title=From Holmes to Sherlock|publisher=Mysterious Press|year=2018|pages=321|isbn=978-0-8021-2789-1}}

Some aspects of the book were loosely based on the life of Baring-Gould's paternal grandfather, Sabine Baring-Gould.{{cite book|last=Redmond|first=Christopher|title=Sherlock Holmes Handbook|publisher=Dundurn|year=2009|page=180|isbn=9781770705920|edition=second}} Many of the theories put forth by Baring-Gould have become accepted knowledge about Sherlock Holmes, such as the full name "William Sherlock Scott Holmes", which is used in the film Sherlock Holmes in New York starring Roger Moore{{cite book |last=Barnes|first=Alan|authorlink=Alan Barnes (writer) |title=Sherlock Holmes on Screen |year=2011 |publisher=Titan Books |pages=224 |isbn=9780857687760}} and the episode "His Last Vow" from series 3 of the BBC television series Sherlock.{{cite web|last=Mellor|first=Laura|title=111 things You Might not Know About Sherlock Season 3|url=https://www.denofgeek.com/us/tv/sherlock/241667/111-things-you-might-not-know-about-sherlock-season-3|website=Den of Geek|date=November 26, 2014|accessdate=January 3, 2019}} Other details established by Baring-Gould, such as Professor Moriarty being Holmes' childhood mathematics tutor,{{cite book |author=Allen Eyles |title=Sherlock Holmes: A Centenary Celebration |year=1986 |publisher=Harper & Row |pages=[https://archive.org/details/sherlockholmesce0000eyle/page/105 105-106] |isbn=0-06-015620-1 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/sherlockholmesce0000eyle/page/105 }} that Holmes was once an actor,{{cite book|last1=Greenberg|first1=Martin|last2=Lellenberg|first2=John L.|last3=Stashower|first3=Daniel|authorlink3=Daniel Stashower|title=Sherlock Holmes in America|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781602393523|url-access=registration|publisher=Skyhorse Publishing|year=2009|page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781602393523/page/50 50]|isbn=9781602399341}} and the continuing affair and one-night stand with Irene Adler, leading up to the birth of a son (who is implied in the book to be Nero Wolfe),{{cite book|last=Redmond|first=Christopher|title=In Bed With Sherlock Holmes: Sexual Elements in Arthur Conan Doyle's Stories of the Great Detective|publisher=Dundurn|year=2002|page=57|isbn=9781770700376}} have continued to be a part of the Great Game and have been used in other Sherlockian pastiches. The book also offers one of the earliest versions of Sherlock Holmes meeting Jack the Ripper.{{cite book|last1=Doyle|first1=Steven|last2=Crowder|first2=David A.|title=Sherlock Holmes For Dummies|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|year=2010|page=239|isbn=9780470484449}}

Five years later in 1967, Baring-Gould would go on to publish The Annotated Sherlock Holmes, which would also be considered definitive,{{cite web|last=Hickling|first=Alfred|title=A four-pipe poseur |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2004/dec/04/classics.arthurconandoyle|work=The Guardian|date=December 3, 2004|accessdate=December 19, 2017}}{{cite book|last=Redmond|first=Christopher|title=Sherlock Holmes Handbook|publisher=Dundurn|year=2009|page=81|isbn=9781770705920|edition=Second}} at least until Leslie S. Klinger published The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes in 2004–2005.{{cite web|last=Weingarten|first=Marc|title=Case of the Lawyer With a Sherlock Holmes Bent|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/30/books/case-of-the-lawyer-with-a-sherlock-holmes-bent.html|work=The New York Times|date=December 30, 2004|accessdate=December 19, 2017}}{{cite book|last=Redmond|first=Christopher|title=Sherlock Holmes Handbook|publisher=Dundurn|year=2009|page=83|isbn=9781770705920|edition=second}} Baring-Gould used many biographical details that he invented in Sherlock Holmes of Baker Street for his two annotated volumes.