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Sherlock Holmes

The world's foremost consulting detective and self-described 'criminal agent,' Holmes is lean, keenly observant, and fiercely logical. He faked his death at the Reichenbach Falls to evade Moriarty's surviving confederates, spending three years traveling under the alias Sigerson before returning to London in 1894. He maintains rooms at 221B Baker Street, plays the violin, keeps a Persian slipper stuffed with tobacco, and maintains extensive biographical indexes of criminals.

Dr. John H. Watson

Holmes's trusted friend, chronicler, and partner in investigations, Watson is a former army doctor who narrates the cases. Loyal and courageous, he accompanies Holmes on dangerous nocturnal operations armed with his revolver. After Holmes's apparent death Watson attempted to apply Holmes's methods himself, with 'indifferent success,' and later sold his Kensington medical practice to return to Baker Street.

Colonel Sebastian Moran

A retired British Indian Army officer—formerly of the 1st Bangalore Pioneers—Moran is described as 'the second most dangerous man in London' and the best heavy-game shot in the Eastern Empire. He served as Moriarty's chief of staff and used a custom air-gun to commit untraceable murders. Despite a distinguished military career he turned criminal, living off card-sharping and hired killing; he is ultimately captured by Holmes in the Empty House affair.

Professor James Moriarty

The deceased 'Napoleon of Crime' and arch-nemesis of Holmes, Moriarty was a criminal mastermind of towering intellect who organized much of London's underworld. He fell to his death at the Reichenbach Falls after a physical struggle with Holmes. Though dead by the story's present, his gang and legacy continue to threaten Holmes, and references to him permeate the early cases.

Inspector Lestrade

A Scotland Yard detective and recurring official police contact for Holmes. Lestrade is competent but lacks Holmes's deductive brilliance; Holmes often lets him take public credit for arrests. He assists in the capture of Colonel Moran at the Empty House and maintains a collegial if somewhat subordinate relationship with Holmes.

Mycroft Holmes

Sherlock Holmes's elder brother, Mycroft served as Holmes's sole confidant during the three years of faked death, providing money and preserving Holmes's Baker Street rooms and papers. He is described as possessing an even keener mind than Sherlock but is disinclined toward active fieldwork.

Mrs. Hudson

The landlady of 221B Baker Street who maintains Holmes's rooms with devoted care during his three-year absence. During the Empty House trap she bravely manipulated the wax dummy of Holmes on her knees to make it appear lifelike, drawing Moran's fire.

The Honourable Ronald Adair

A young aristocrat and the victim of the Park Lane Mystery—shot through a locked second-floor window by Colonel Moran using an air-gun firing soft-nosed bullets. Adair was the second son of the Earl of Maynooth and a keen but cautious card player; he was apparently killed because he had discovered Moran was cheating at cards and threatened to expose him.

John Hector McFarlane

A young bachelor solicitor who bursts into Baker Street in a panic, claiming to be the most unfortunate man in London and expecting to be arrested for the murder of Jonas Oldacre of Lower Norwood. He is the client in the Adventure of the Norwood Builder.

Parker

A garroter-by-trade employed as a street sentinel by Moran's faction to watch Baker Street for Holmes's return. Holmes considers him relatively harmless but notes him as a performer upon the jew's-harp. He represents the lower tier of Moriarty's surviving criminal network.

Von Herder

A blind German mechanic who constructed the custom compressed-air gun used by Colonel Moran, built to the commission of Professor Moriarty. Holmes had been aware of the weapon's existence for years before finally handling it.

221B Baker Street

The legendary shared lodgings of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson in London. The rooms feature a chemical corner with an acid-stained table, shelves of criminal biography indexes and scrap-books, a violin case, a pipe-rack, and a Persian slipper holding tobacco. Preserved by Mycroft Holmes and Mrs. Hudson during the detective's absence, the rooms serve as Holmes's operational base and the heart of the series.

Camden House

An empty, derelict house directly across Baker Street from 221B, used by Holmes as a covert observation post during the Empty House trap. Its darkness, bare floorboards, and peeling wallpaper made it ideal cover; Moran independently chose the same building to attempt his assassination, entering through the back.

427 Park Lane

The Maynooth family's London townhouse and scene of the Park Lane Mystery. Ronald Adair was shot through the open second-floor window by Moran's air-gun; the locked room, undisturbed flower bed, and absence of a weapon created a seemingly impossible crime scene.

Reichenbach Falls

A dramatic waterfall in Switzerland where Holmes and Professor Moriarty struggled on a narrow cliff path, resulting in Moriarty's fatal plunge. Holmes escaped by climbing the sheer rock face and fled across Europe. The falls are the defining event of Holmes's 'death' and his three-year disappearance, and remain a symbolic location in the canon.

The Bagatelle Card Club

One of several gentlemen's card clubs frequented by Ronald Adair. It was here that Adair and Colonel Moran partnered to win £420 from Godfrey Milner and Lord Balmoral, and where Adair last played cards the evening of his murder. Moran's cheating at this club provided the motive for Adair's killing.

Kensington (Watson's former practice)

The London neighborhood where Watson maintained a medical practice after Holmes's apparent death. He sold it—unknowingly financed by Holmes via a relation named Verner—to return to Baker Street when Holmes reappeared.

The Moriarty Gang

A sophisticated criminal network organized by Professor Moriarty that dominated London's underworld. Following Moriarty's death at the Reichenbach Falls and a subsequent trial, most members were imprisoned, but at least two highly dangerous members—including Colonel Moran—remained free and continued to threaten Holmes. The gang's remnants watched Baker Street and attempted to assassinate Holmes upon his return.

Von Herder Air-Gun

A custom-built, noiseless compressed-air gun of tremendous power, constructed by the blind German mechanic Von Herder to Moriarty's commission. It fires soft-nosed revolver bullets capable of causing instantaneous death, yet produces only a faint whizzing sound. Moran used it to kill Ronald Adair through a closed window and attempted to use it against Holmes's wax dummy. Holmes intended it to be placed in the Scotland Yard museum after Moran's arrest.

Wax Bust of Sherlock Holmes

A lifelike wax effigy of Holmes sculpted by Monsieur Oscar Meunier of Grenoble, used by Holmes to create the illusion he was sitting in his Baker Street window. Mrs. Hudson repositioned it periodically on her knees to simulate natural movement. Moran's air-gun bullet passed through its head and flattened against the wall, proving both Moran's guilt and the trap's success.

Holmes's Criminal Biography Index

Extensive personal reference volumes maintained by Holmes at Baker Street cataloguing dangerous individuals by name, with handwritten margin notes such as 'the second most dangerous man in London' beside Moran's entry. The index includes entries for criminals such as Moriarty, Morgan the poisoner, Merridew, and Mathews, and serves as Holmes's private intelligence archive.

Holmes's Three-Year Disappearance (The Great Hiatus)

After surviving the Reichenbach Falls confrontation, Holmes deliberately concealed his survival to neutralize Moriarty's remaining confederates. He traveled to Tibet (visiting Lhassa and the head lama under the alias Sigerson), passed through Persia, visited Mecca, met the Khalifa at Khartoum, and conducted coal-tar derivative research in Montpellier. Only Mycroft knew he was alive throughout this period.

Baritsu — Japanese System of Wrestling

The martial art Holmes used to break Moriarty's grip at the Reichenbach Falls, allowing him to slip free while Moriarty tumbled into the chasm. Holmes describes it as 'the Japanese system of wrestling,' which has proven useful to him on multiple occasions. It established that Holmes possesses formidable unarmed combat skills beyond his intellectual abilities.

Holmes's Deductive Method

Holmes's investigative philosophy centers on trained observation, elimination of impossible explanations, and finding 'the line of least resistance' as the starting point of every inquiry. He reads physical details—dress, posture, calluses, wear patterns—to deduce profession, habits, and history. Watson repeatedly attempts to apply these methods himself with only modest success, underlining how exceptional Holmes's gift is.

Key Dates — The Return of Sherlock Holmes

May 1891: Holmes and Moriarty struggle at Reichenbach Falls; Holmes fakes his death and begins three years of travel. 1891–1894: Holmes travels as 'Sigerson' through Tibet, Persia, Mecca, Khartoum, and France. March 30, 1894: Ronald Adair shot dead at 427 Park Lane. Spring 1894: Holmes returns to London, reveals himself to Watson, and traps Colonel Moran at Camden House. Thereafter Holmes resumes practice at Baker Street with Watson as his partner.