graph TD
A[Sherlock Holmes] --> B[The Hound of the Baskervilles]
A[Sherlock Holmes] --> C[The Adventure of the Speckled Band]
A[Sherlock Holmes] --> D[The Sign of the Four]
A[Sherlock Holmes] --> E[The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle]
A[Sherlock Holmes] --> F[The Final Problem]
A[Sherlock Holmes] --> G[The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual]
A[Sherlock Holmes] --> H[The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb]
A[Sherlock Holmes] --> I[The Adventure of the Priory School]
A[Sherlock Holmes] --> J[The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet]
B --> K[Dr. Watson]
C --> K
D --> K
E --> K
F --> K
G --> K
H --> K
I --> K
J --> K
K --> L[Villain: Dr. Grimesby Roylott]
K --> M[Villain: Jonathan Small]
K --> N[Villain: Charles Augustus Milverton]
K --> O[Villain: Professor Moriarty]
K --> P[Villain: John Hector McFarlane]
K --> Q[Villain: Hugo Baskerville]
K --> R[Villain: Charles Baskerville]
B --> S[Setting: Baskerville Hall]
C --> T[Setting: Stoke Moran]
D --> U[Setting: The Andaman Islands]
E --> V[Setting: London]
F --> W[Setting: Reichenbach Falls]
G --> X[Setting: Musgrave Manor]
H --> Y[Setting: The Engineer’s Workshop]
I --> Z[Setting: The Priory School]
J --> AA[Setting: The Jewelers' Shop]
L --> AB[Death of Helen Stoner]
M --> AC[The Hunt for the Treasure]
N --> AD[Blackmail Plot]
O --> AE[Reichenbach Falls Death]
P --> AF[Inheritance Conspiracy]
Q --> AG[Hound Mystery]
R --> AH[Baskerville Family Curse]
S --> AI[The Hound of the Baskervilles]
T --> AJ[The Poisonous Snake]
U --> AK[Treasure Hunt]
V --> AL[The Blue Carbuncle]
W --> AM[Holmes and Moriarty's Final Confrontation]
X --> AN[Musgrave's Ritual]
Y --> AO[The Engineer's Dilemma]
Z --> AP[The Missing Schoolboy]
AA --> AQ[The Robbery of the Beryl Coronet]
Sherlock Holmes - Can you graph literature?
2025-04-24
This evening I’m watching a Sherlock Holmes adaptation and my mind turns to the interconnectedness of all of the tales. I wonder if it’s possible to apply a graphical rendering to the collected works…
… It turns out that the Sherlock Holmes story network is a fascinating way to visualize the relationships between characters, stories, settings, and themes in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s detective canon. By imagining the stories as nodes in a graph and connecting them by shared elements, we can explore how the world of Holmes is intricately interwoven.
Here’s a breakdown of the main elements in such a network:
Key Nodes in the Network
1. Central Character Node
Sherlock Holmes is the hub. He appears in nearly every story. Connected to: Every case, Dr. Watson, clients, villains, Scotland Yard, and locations.
2. Dr. John Watson
Holmes’ companion and chronicler. Present in most stories, especially earlier ones. His medical background and moral compass balance Holmes’ deductive detachment.
3. Recurring Supporting Characters
Mycroft Holmes – Sherlock’s brilliant but lazy brother. Inspector Lestrade, Gregson, Hopkins – Scotland Yard detectives. Mrs. Hudson – Holmes’ landlady. Professor Moriarty – Criminal mastermind, Holmes’ arch-nemesis. Irene Adler – “The Woman,” only appears once but has lasting impact.
4. Stories as Nodes
There are 60 stories (56 short stories, 4 novels): Novels: A Study in Scarlet, The Sign of the Four, The Hound of the Baskervilles, The Valley of Fear Collections include: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, The Memoirs, The Return, His Last Bow, The Case-Book, etc.
5. Villains
Some are connected to multiple stories (e.g., Moriarty is mentioned across a few). Others are one-offs but memorable (Dr. Roylott in Speckled Band, Jonathan Small in Sign of the Four).
6. Settings
- 221B Baker Street – Always home base.
- London – Primary playground for urban mysteries.
- English countryside – Many rural cases, e.g., The Copper Beeches, Hound of the Baskervilles.
- International elements – Some stories link to India, the US, Andaman Islands, etc.
Connections in the Network
Story to character (e.g., The Speckled Band → Dr. Roylott) Story to location (e.g., The Hound of the Baskervilles → Baskerville Hall) Character to character (e.g., Holmes ↔︎ Moriarty) Theme links (e.g., inheritance disputes, revenge, justice, deception)
Why Map This Network?
Educational: Great for literature analysis or classroom discussion. Fun for fans: Spot patterns and hidden relationships. Computational analysis: You can apply network science to study centrality (Holmes wins!), clustering, or the evolution of story arcs.
Here’s the plot:
Breaking down an individual story:
Having plotted the cannon I wonder if there are equivalent ways to lay out the stories. It seems a shame to reduce the twists and turns of the plot to a clear graphic, however; 1 - It’s an intellectual idea for fun 2 - I’m experimenting with what’s possible 3 - It might give a new, different, glimpse at a favourite old story.
Here’s how one can represent a Sherlock Holmes sequence diagram using Mermaid in an R Markdown document. This example shows a simplified sequence of investigation in one of the classic stories, The Adventure of the Speckled Band…
sequenceDiagram
participant Helen as Helen Stoner
participant Holmes as Sherlock Holmes
participant Watson as Dr. Watson
participant Roylott as Dr. Roylott
participant Inspector as Inspector
Helen->>Holmes: Requests help for her sister's mysterious death
Holmes->>Watson: Summarizes the case
Holmes->>Helen: Asks detailed questions
Helen->>Holmes: Mentions whistle and metallic sound
Holmes->>Roylott: Receives visit and threat
Holmes->>Watson: Decides to investigate Stoke Moran
Holmes->>Helen: Plans to stay hidden in her room
Roylott->>Helen: Sends her to sleep in her old room
Holmes->>Roylott: Waits with Watson overnight
Roylott->>Holmes: Releases snake through ventilator
Holmes->>Snake: Strikes it with a cane
Snake->>Roylott: Returns and bites Roylott
Roylott-->>X: Dies from snake bite
Holmes->>Inspector: Explains the events