Several Sherlockians have claimed “The Mystery of the Scarlett Homes of Sherlock”, the first of the lost diaries of Arthur Conan Doyle ,  is a blatant hoax. I have embarked on a series of investigations to determine  the veracity of the diaries. I started the enquiry in Edinburgh on a Sunday morning at number one Picardy Place, the birthplace of Arthur Conan Doyle. There, across the street, was Sherlock Holmes on a pedestal wearing his deerstalker hat.  Not far away I found the Conan Doyle Pub which served the exact same type of meat pie and beverages, [single malt whiskey and ale, that ACD mentioned in his diary. Next, on a dark, moonless night, with the aid of a hooded bulls-eye lantern, I jimmied the locks on a rear door to the Royal College of Surgeons on Nicholson Street and entered the archives. There, hidden away in a locked box was the original correspondence between Dr. Joe Bell and ACD. These letters, written by hand confirmed the close relationship between Dr. Bell and the young ACD. and the fact that ACD modelled Sherlock Holmes on his friend and teacher, Dr. Joe Bell. My investigation led me to the museum of the RCS. There, midst skeletons, dissected anatomical specimens and vicious surgical instruments I found a small alcove, almost hidden from view, with  a portrait of Dr. Bell and a movie clip of ACD, in person discussing the origins of the famous detective.  Thus far, my investigations confirm the truth of the opening pages in ACD’s lost diaries. These investigations prove beyond the shadow of doubt, the first scenes mentioned in “The Mystery of the Scarlett Homes of Sherlock”.  I intend to study steamship  passenger lists as well as the files of the Rush Medical School in Chicago for discussions of Dr. Bell’s lectures while he was an invited consultant.

John Raffensperger, MD, Author of The Mystery of the Scarlet Homes of Sherlock

The Mystery of The Scarlet Homes Of Sherlock is available from all good bookstores including The Strand Magazine, Amazon USA, Amazon UK, Waterstones UK and for free shipping worldwide Book Depository.  In ebook format it is in Kindle, Kobo, Nook and Apple iBooks (iPad/iPhone).