Scrupulously searching out the clues and uncovering all the shreds of evidence in the works of Arthur Conan Doyle, Holmesian scholar and crime writer June Thomson explores and illuminates one of English literature's most celebrated friendships in this fictional biography of the inscrutable sleuth Sherlock Holmes and his redoubtable companion, Doctor Watson. Speculative only when precise data is wanting, Thomson examines in striking detail the personalities of Watson and Holmes, traces the development of their partnership in crime detection, and addresses such long disputed issues as the possible homosexual implications of their relationship, Holmes's disappearance for three years, and the identity of the second Mrs. Watson.With theories as to the location of 221B Baker Street, the actual person of the King of Bohemia, the dating of The Hound of the Baskervilles, and other matters much debated by Sherlock Holmes experts, Thomson offers fans of the Great Detective a fascinating companion volume to Conan Doyle's tales. And for anyone who has enjoyed the Holmes stories in print or in their adaptations for film, television, and radio, she provides an engaging biographical account of the immortal literary friendship born of a bond between a sleuth and a physician that thrived for forty-six years. Read Less