Canon of Sherlock Holmes - Extracanonical Works

Extracanonical Works

Since the author's death, professional and amateur Sherlockians have discussed endlessly the expansion of this canon, to include other works by Doyle, including works in other media, into the current complete adventures. Rumours have always surrounded lost works, and in recent years further investigations have revealed more to the traditionally collected canon. As there exists no definitive body to argue what is, and what is not canon beyond the already established novels and stories, it is unlikely that any piece, no matter how good its claim to be 'canonical' will ever be popularly received into published versions of the Complete Sherlock Holmes. However, as many as eighteen works have been cited as possible entrants. These works include plays, poems, essays on the character, and even short stories.

Three works which speak most on this subject were published in the late 1980s and 1990s: Sherlock Holmes: The Published Apocrypha edited by Jack Tracy, The Uncollected Sherlock Holmes, edited by Richard Lancelyn Green, and The Final Adventures of Sherlock Holmes edited by Peter Haining. These works discussed several titles and their place in the canon. More recently, the final volume of Leslie Klinger's Sherlock Holmes Reference Library contained the Apocrypha. All of these works have at least slightly different contents.