The Men Who Were Sherlock Holmes – A True-Life Victorian Murder Mystery

Author(s): Daniel Smith

Location(s): Scottish Highlands

Genre(s): Historical, Crime

Era(s): 1890s

The real-life inspiration for Holmes & Watson and a sensational murder mystery that rocked Victorian Britain.

First published as The Ardlamont Mystery in 2018, to great reviews, The Men Who Were Sherlock Holmes: A True-Life Victorian Murder Mystery is now repackaged in paperback (23 May, £10.99). Daniel Smith is available for interview, and extracts or features can be arranged.

In 1893, young army officer Cecil Hambrough was murdered on the Ardlamont estate, Argyll, unleashing one of the most gripping court cases Victorian Britain had ever known.

Remarkably, the case brought together two pioneering forensic experts – Edinburgh’s Joseph Bell and Henry Littlejohn – the two men upon whom Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes was based.

Daniel Smith outlines the key roles of the two men whose powers of deduction had so inspired Doyle and explores the real-world origins of Sherlock Holmes.

Reviews
‘An enthralling real-life murder mystery that also sheds new light on the creation of
fiction’s most famous detective’ Barry Turner, Daily Mail
‘A gripping read’ The Sherlock Holmes Journal
‘Fascinating and expertly written: a true murder story that brings the real background
of Sherlock Holmes strikingly to life’, Andrew Lycett, author of Conan Doyle

Daniel Smith
Daniel has written across a range of subjects, including politics, economics and social history. He is a scriptwriter for the award-winning podcast series, Real Dictators and A Short History of . . ., and his many books include How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes which has been translated into 15 languages. He lives in London and is a member of the Sherlock Holmes Society.

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