The opening lines of A Study in Scarlet are rich with details about Dr. Watson's past. His medical degree, his army service, even his injury. He recalls how he came to London without knowing anyone in the city and proceeded to blow through his cash reserves.

Just how far could one get on 11s. 6p. per day in 1881? And how fortunate we are that Watson couldn't keep to his budget. For his cash situation is what required him to find a flatmate...

• The Man Who Created Sherlock Holmes: the Life and Times of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle by Andrew Lycett
• Teller of Tales: The Life of Arthur Conan Doyle by Daniel Shashower
• A Study in Scarlet

The opening lines of A Study in Scarlet are rich with details about Dr. Watson's past. His medical degree, his army service, even his injury. He recalls how he came to London without knowing anyone in the city and proceeded to blow through his cash reserves.

Just how far could one get on 11s. 6p. per day in 1881? And how fortunate we are that Watson couldn't keep to his budget. For his cash situation is what required him to find a flatmate...

• The Man Who Created Sherlock Holmes: the Life and Times of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle by Andrew Lycett
• Teller of Tales: The Life of Arthur Conan Doyle by Daniel Shashower
• A Study in Scarlet

The new year usually brings resolutions and offers a new beginning. In our new podcast which begins in January 2017, we thought it was the ideal time to look at optimism in the Sherlock Holmes stories.

Was there more hope or despair in the Canon? Certainly, many cases began with despair, but which ones ended in optimism?

From "The Stockbroker's Clerk" to "The Copper Beeches," we have clients who were optimistically heading into new jobs. But all was not as it seemed... And what ends well for Sherlock Holmes does not always mean the same thing for his clients.

• Maria Konnikova on Episode 91 of I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere, discussing The Confidence Game.
• The Sherlock Holmes stories online

The new year usually brings resolutions and offers a new beginning. In our new podcast which begins in January 2017, we thought it was the ideal time to look at optimism in the Sherlock Holmes stories.

Was there more hope or despair in the Canon? Certainly, many cases began with despair, but which ones ended in optimism?

From "The Stockbroker's Clerk" to "The Copper Beeches," we have clients who were optimistically heading into new jobs. But all was not as it seemed... And what ends well for Sherlock Holmes does not always mean the same thing for his clients.

• Maria Konnikova on Episode 91 of I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere, discussing The Confidence Game.
• The Sherlock Holmes stories online