Date of Meeting: 21st January 2026
Location of Meeting:
The Sherloft, My House, Portsmouth, UK
Attendees:
"The Entire Canon" (Paul Thomas Miller)
Apologies:
"The Entire Canon" (Paul Thomas Miller) apologised for the way he felt about that thing you are wrong about.
Toast:
Paul Thomas Miller (The Entire Canon) toasted thusly:
It is too much to hope for
That Holmes could open up my door
And step inside and then proclaim
"Sherlock Holmes is my name!"
Because I do not own any doors.
Presentation:
Paul Thomas Miller (The Entire Canon) presented his evidence for his Holmesdini Theory:
My Holmesdini Theory
It would seem, from the text, that Holmes had an innate ability
with lock picking. In CHAS 1:297-301, Watson speaks about Holmes tackling
Charles Augustus Milverton’s safe:
“I knew that the opening of safes was a particular hobby
with him, and I understood the joy which it gave him to be confronted with this
green and gold monster… Holmes laid out two drills, a jemmy, and several
skeleton keys… For half an hour Holmes worked with concentrated energy, laying
down one tool, picking up another, handling each with the strength and delicacy
of the trained mechanic. Finally I heard a click, the broad green door swung
open…”
There are also several instances of Holmes exhibiting a
flair for breaking into places. He broke into Hugo Oberstein’s home in BRUC. In
RETI 1:369 he admits “Burglary has always been an alternative profession had I
cared to adopt it, and I have little doubt that I should have come to the
front.” And back in CHAS 1:218 Holmes shows Watson the gear he has for just
this purpose:
“This is a first-class, up-to-date burgling kit, with
nickel-plated jemmy, diamond-tipped glass-cutter, adaptable keys, and every
modern improvement which the march of civilization demands.”
As well as being a lock-breaker, Holmes was also something
of a showman. As Watson observed in SCAN 2:147: “The stage lost a fine actor,
even as science lost an acute reasoner, when he became a specialist in crime.”
And Holmes would be the first to admit this is the case. “…Watson
here will tell you that I never can resist a touch of the dramatic.” said he in
NAVA 1:761. Again, in EMPT 1:92 he refers to his “…unnecessarily dramatic
reappearance.”
He is also often regarded as something of a magician. Bob
Ferguson described Holmes as “…this
gentleman, who seems to have powers of magic” (SUSS 1:501). “Why, you are like
a magician,” said Mary Holder in BERY 1:346. And in NORW 1:448, Watson
describes how “Holmes stood before us with the air of a conjurer who is
performing a trick.”
Combining these aspects of Holmes’ skill set, it is
difficult not to be drawn to thoughts of another so-gifted individual of the
time: Harry Houdini. The only real difference is that Holmes was adept at
breaking in and Houdini was adept at breaking out.
Having noticed this, I took a slightly closer peek and saw
some interesting cross-overs in the duos timelines. To begin with, Houdini’s career
in magic started in 1891. This is the same year that Holmes disappeared and
began the period known as The Great Hiatus. It is to be remembered that the
version of his travels Holmes gave when he reappeared in 1894 was rather
fanciful. He claimed to have been to places that were barred to Westerners at
that time.
“I travelled for two years in Tibet, therefore, and amused
myself by visiting Lhassa and spending some days with the head Llama… I then
passed through Persia, looked in at Mecca, and paid a short but interesting
visit to the Khalifa at Khartoum, the results of which I have communicated to
the Foreign Office.” – EMPT 1:179-181
This journey would have been impossible for someone like
Holmes.
The conclusion is obvious – in reality Holmes travelled to
New York where he began to create a back story for a new identity – Harry Houdini.
Using his dramatic skills, natural lock picking abilities and natural magician
like ways, he became the famous conjurer who specialised in daring escapes.
The benefits of this deception, as will be seen, are that he
could establish an important connection with America and still be able to
travel the world without arousing suspicions. In short, I believe he saw the First
World War approaching and was doing his bit for British espionage.
In 1893 Houdini married Wilhelmina Beatrice Rahner, better
known as Bess. Now, we know that for Holmes romantic emotions “were abhorrent
to his cold, precise but admirably balanced mind.” (SCAN 1:5) So what on Earth
was he doing marrying? This is of course a sham marriage, designed to cover up
Holmes’ employment of an agent to assist in his work. A similar example of this
can be seen with the character of Martha in LAST. You see, in 1894 Holmes
returned to London. He needed Bess on the other side of the Atlantic to
convince people Houdini was still about and to relay any necessary information
back and forth.
This pretence was kept up for a few years, but in 1899 Houdini
began to be famous. This is the point in time when Holmes’ casework began to
dwindle. Watson only recorded one adventure in 1899 (RETI). This is because
Holmes was mostly busy in America where, as Houdini, he was high demand at top vaudeville
houses across the country. 1900, however, saw Houdini set sail for England – where he spent a lot of time for
several years. He also travelled all over Europe in this time and made repeated
returns back to America. This gave him a few occasions when he could return to
Baker Street as Holmes, but not many. And so, we see SIXN and THOR in 1900, PRIO
in 1901 and 2GAR, 3GAB, ILLU and REDC in 1902. In the year of Holmes’ retirement,
1903, he undertook only three cases – BLAN, MAZA and CREE.
This was now a time of growing tensions in Europe. The
ability to pass borders uncontested would have made Holmes a rather good agent
for intelligence gathering on behalf of the British Government. Especially as
Houdini’s shows attracted some rather important people. He toured Germany and
Russia. He performed for the Russian Imperial Family in 1903 and is believed to
have conversed with the Tsar. Who knows what intelligence he gathered on these
occasions. In each city he visited, Houdini challenged local police to restrain
him with shackles and lock him in their jails. What a great way to find out
about the layout of important buildings and the facilities they have!
After his 1903 retirement, Holmes was rather absent from the
public eye. In 1907 he described how “Watson had passed almost beyond [his]
ken.” (LION 1:3) It was easier now for Holmes to adopt the personality of
Houdini on an almost permanent basis. Houdini began travelling all over the
place – no continents or countries seemed barred to him. In this disguise
Holmes was able to go everywhere and hear everything with no one suspecting anything.
In 1913 Houdini’s mother died and a mourning Houdini
travelled back to the US where his career seems to have quietened down a bit.
Obviously, Houdini wasn’t a real person and so had no mother. This was an
excuse to put Houdini on the back burner for a bit while Holmes was
transitioning to yet another personality – that of Altamont. He describes this
period to Watson in LAST 1:378-379:
“It has cost me two years, Watson, but they have not been
devoid of excitement. When I say that I started my pilgrimage at Chicago,
graduated in an Irish secret society at Buffalo, gave serious trouble to the
constabulary at Skibbareen, and so eventually caught the eye of a subordinate
agent of Von Bork, who recommended me as a likely man, you will realize that
the matter was complex.”
It's plain enough what Holmes did. As a mourning Houdini he travelled
to New York and let Houdini fade from public view a little. He then skipped across
to Chicago and began creating the back story for Altamont.
The Altamont episode of Holmes’ life was not a new vocation,
then. He had been practicing this sort of espionage for a long time previously.
Indeed, this is probably why he only required two years to worm his way so thoroughly
into the confidences of the Kaiser’s network. The achievements of Holmes, as Altamont,
are a matter of record. What was not previously on record were the years of
preparatory work that Holmes had undertaken before the invention of Altamont.
So far, the dates make my findings indisputable. But one may
offer a criticism of how different in appearance Holmes and Houdini were.
Houdini was described as short, stocky and bow-legged.
Holmes was tall and gaunt. However, Holmes was also a master of disguise. In
EMPT 1:103 he managed to “a foot off his stature” to disguise himself as an old
book seller. And it is much easier for a thin man to disguise himself as portly
that the other way around. As for the bowlegs, this would have been no challenge
to Holmes – “Malingering is a subject upon which I have sometimes thought of
writing a monograph.” (DYIN 1:524)
Following the events of LAST, it seems Holmes chose to
remain in the Houdini character - Houdini is far more traceable in the history
books than Holmes is. It is notable though that he couldn’t entirely resist
reuniting with old friends. In 1920 Houdini is supposed to have met Arthur
Conan Doyle for the first time. Their friendship was rather famous at the time –
they even holidayed together. This was, of course, Holmes reuniting with an old
friend, for Doyle had always acted as Watson’s literary agent – there is no possibility
that they had never met before. No doubt they also met up with Watson, but this
was kept quiet – if photos had been published of Watson meeting up with Houdini,
someone would notice that Houdini had a keen, sharp-chinned, sharp-cheek-boned
face housing bright alert eyes that were rather reminiscent of a certain consulting
detective…
Any Other Business:
"The Entire Canon" (Paul Thomas Miller) thinks it is a shame and said as much and tutted.
