Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's stories are full of everyday Victorian activities and events that send the twenty-first-century reader to consult their reference books. Few, for example, are intimately acquainted with the responsibilities of a country squire, the importance of gentlemen's clubs, or the intricacies of the Victorian monetary system.

These forty-eight short essays, gathered together from the first two volumes of "The Life and Times of Sherlock Holmes" series, explore various aspects of life mentioned in the original stories. Readers gain modern-day insight into the nineteenth-century world. Untangle the complexities of inheritance, the Victorian wedding, and the treatment of brain fever. Discover the pleasures of the circus, the Turkish bath, and beekeeping. Such examinations bring deeper meaning and color to the adventures of the world's most famous consulting detective.