To me, I personally feel that any book on the history of Sherlock Holmes has a duty to include the queer-coding and romantic nature of the original Holmes canon. To simply not address this, whether or not you agree with it as the author, seems absurd. Any true Sherlockian creating what is meant to be a comprehensive, wide-reaching text would at the very least address and acknowledge the queer history of this character. Unfortunately, this book continues the trend of regarding Holmes as a robotic, unfeeling sociopath and forcing this character into a heteronormative box. While of course any literary character is open to interpretation, I simply don't see the need for yet another work of non-fiction that claims to be expansive in which the queer history of the Holmes canon is not addressed.

Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle was born in Edinburgh in 1859 and later became a ship doctor who through no fault of his own had too few patients. But he enjoyed writing and was great at it. As the supporter of his family, he needed to write to make money and in 1887 thankfully created iconic detective Sherlock Holmes. If Doyle knew how widely known and beloved his Holmes still is...!

Jeremy Black writes about the history of England through the eyes of Holmes in his various adventures, of which we all have favourites. Doyle draws from the "real" Victoria, warts and all which I really appreciate. Black refers to other writing greats such as Wilkie Collins, Thomas Hardy, George Gissing, Charles Dickens and Agatha Christie (whose characters occasionally mention Holmes). I very much enjoyed how Black refers to details of Doyle's stories and characteristics of Holmes and others to reinforce his points.

Doyle also utilized new innovations such as fingerprinting and profiling in his stories. As other writers did, he drew on London buildings, notorious thick fog and horse traffic to add atmosphere and realism. He also included stereotypes, geography, military figures, medical advances and the huge influence of the Empire (such as Australia, Canada and India). Interestingly, as Doyle was Scottish classes mattered less to him than to many others. Included at the end of the book is a section about adaptations, including recent modern re-tellings. In my mind Sherlock Holmes = Jeremy Brett.

Fans of Sherlock Holmes (in my mind he's a real person) ought to get your hands on The Game Is Afoot. Black has clearly meticulously researched all things Sherlockian to write this informative, entertaining and absorbing book

My sincere thank you to Rowman & Littlefield and NetGalley for the privilege of reading this wonderful book!

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Rowman & Littlefield for an advanced copy of this new studio on the enduring legacy of Sherlock Holmes.

Sherlock Holmes was a man of his time and and more than 130 years later has become a man of all times. Under the guidance of his creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Holmes was a Victorian Englishman, loyal to Queen and country and proud of his place and his nation's place in the world. Under other writers he's become a devoted husband, a foe of Dracula and Mr. Hyde, gone into therapy under Dr. Freud, been an uncle to a superspy, taught a young Bruce Wayne the skills of detection, and even suffered dementia near the end of his life in Sussex. Whatever his writer, whatever his era Holmes will still be able to look at a speck of dirt and a worn patch on a sleeve and deduce both the home, marital status, occupation and what a person had for breakfast. In his book The Game Is Afoot: The Enduring World of Sherlock Holmes, Jeremy Black traces the origins, influences and legacy of the world's greatest consulting detective.

The book begins with a general history of the character and his creator's world. The rise of Empire and industrialization, the rise of crime and anarchy groups, plus the numerous attempts on the life of Queen Victoria, which gave a sense of lawlessness in the air. Professor Black explores London and its influences, from high society to the lowest levels, the architecture and design of the city and the outer areas, describing life for both the urban and rural inhabitants. Sir Arthur is discussed, as he grew older he took on more interests, and many different views that slowly worked into his writing and influencing the character and his stories.

The writing is very good, full of details about Doyle, the world of Holmes, and how both were viewed by England and the world. Knowledge of the stories is helpful, but that is to be expected when reading a title like this. Professor Black has a very keen eye for finding and elaborating on many interesting facts and his discussions and explanations are very informative and clear.

A delightful book for Holmesians with many diverse subjects about the detective, his era and his continuing popularity. Readers can see how a character so different and yet so of his ear could continue to gain new readers and new fans, not just based on who might be portraying Holmes in a given production, either Henry Cavill, Benedict Cumberbatch, Basil Rathbone or Jeremy Brett come to mind, it is always the character, Holmes, that people latch onto. His knowledge, his fairness, his strong sense of right against wrong, and his friendship with John Watson has made him a character people wished was real, wanted to emulate, and for some write and continue his adventures. As a long time fan of Holmes and the numerous pastiches that have followed I enjoyed this book quite a lot. Recommended for mystery fans, both new to the stories and old hands.

Jeremy Black evokes Victorian England to paint a picture of Doyle’s experiences while writing the famous Sherlock stories. While the history surrounding the epoque is undoubtedly fascinating, readers may find the presentation here a bit dry when compared to the evocative mysteries of the master sleuth. For true, deep Sherlock fans only.

**I was given a copy of this book by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to Rowman & Littlefield and Netgalley**

Historian Jeremy Black does a fantastic job that any "Sherlockian" would be happy to own and enjoy. Excellent source for a character study of how Sherlock Holmes became the most popular sleuth of all time.

I appreciate the publisher allowing me to read this book. If you like Sherlock Holmes you will like this book.