Baker Street Irregulars

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Baker Street Irregulars
Sherlock Holmes character
SH STUDY-10.png
Sherlock meets the Irregulars in A Study in Scarlet, as illustrated by Richard Gutschmidt.
First appearance A Study in Scarlet (1887)
Last appearance"The Adventure of the Crooked Man" (1893)
Created by Arthur Conan Doyle
In-universe information
NationalityBritish

The Baker Street Irregulars are fictional characters who appear in three Sherlock Holmes stories, specifically two novels and one short story, by Arthur Conan Doyle. They are street boys who are employed by Holmes as intelligence agents. The name has subsequently been adopted by other organizations, most notably a prestigious and exclusive literary society founded in the United States by Christopher Morley in 1934.

Contents

Fictional profile

The original Baker Street Irregulars are fictional characters in the Sherlock Holmes stories of Arthur Conan Doyle. The group of street urchins is led by a boy called Wiggins. They run errands and track down information for Holmes. According to Holmes, they are able to "go everywhere and hear everything". Holmes also says that they "are as sharp as needles, too; all they want is organisation." [1] In The Sign of the Four, which takes place in 1888, [2] it is shown that Holmes pays them each a shilling per day (equivalent to £7in 2023) [3] , and Holmes offers a guinea prize (equivalent to £148in 2023) [3] as a reward for the one who locates the steam launch that he wants them to find. [4]

The group appears in the first Sherlock Holmes story, the novel A Study in Scarlet (1887), [4] which is set in 1881. [5] When Watson meets the group, he describes them as "half a dozen of the dirtiest and most ragged street Arabs that ever I clapped eyes on". Holmes introduces them as "the Baker Street division of the detective police force". The group enters 221B Baker Street together, but since they upset Holmes's landlady (who is unnamed in this story but later named Mrs. Hudson), Holmes tells them that in future, only their leader Wiggins should report to him. He pays them each a shilling to track down a certain cabman. They find the cabman, Jefferson Hope, successfully. Wiggins brings him to 221B Baker Street, where the cabman is apprehended by Holmes. [1]

They also appear in the next novel, The Sign of the Four (1890), set in 1888, [2] in which one of the chapters is titled "The Baker Street Irregulars". In this story, Holmes describes them as "the unofficial force — the Baker Street irregulars". [6] As in A Study in Scarlet, the group enters 221B Baker Street together and Holmes instructs them to only have Wiggins report to him in future. Wiggins receives three shillings and sixpence (which he calls "Three bob and a tanner" [6] ) from Holmes for expenses in addition to his regular wage. Holmes directs the Baker Street Irregulars to search for a steam launch called the Aurora. However, they do not succeed and Holmes ultimately joins the search by disguising himself as a sailor. Though approximately seven years have passed since A Study in Scarlet, Wiggins is still the leader of the Baker Street Irregulars. He is described as being taller and older than the others, and has an "air of lounging superiority". [1]

One of the group appears in the short story "The Adventure of the Crooked Man" (1893). In the story, Holmes has a member of the group, named Simpson, watch Henry Wood. As Holmes says, "I have one of my Baker Street boys mounting guard over him who would stick to him like a burr, go where he might". Simpson, whom Watson describes as "a small street Arab", briefly appears in the story to report to Holmes. [7]

Though not one of the Baker Street Irregulars, a similar character named Cartwright appears in The Hound of the Baskervilles (1902). Cartwright, who works in a district messenger office, secretly runs errands for Holmes on the moor and keeps him supplied while disguised as a country boy. At one point Watson sees the disguised Cartwright running errands, and describes him as "a small urchin" and a "ragged uncouth figure". [1] Cartwright is described as a "lad of fourteen" in the novel. [8] Another similar character, a pageboy named Billy, assists Holmes in "The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone". [9]

According to Daniel Smith in his book The Sherlock Holmes Companion, Holmes was skilled at developing a network of agents who could assist him in any situation, and this network included multiple "outsider" figures such as the Baker Street Irregulars as well as Cartwright, Billy, and former criminal Shinwell Johnson. Smith wrote that this shows that Holmes "realised the value of reliable assistants and was humble enough to look for them in places where others of his status might have never deigned to tread". [9]

Adaptations

Television and film

Radio and audio dramas

Stage

Video games

The Irregulars as pictured in Sherlock Holmes Versus Jack the Ripper. SH5 - Les Baker Street Irregulars.png
The Irregulars as pictured in Sherlock Holmes Versus Jack the Ripper .

Board games

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