Editing Sherlock Holmes (section)

==={{anchor|Life with Dr. Watson}}Life with Watson===
[[File:The Adventure of Silver Blaze 01.jpg|right|thumb|alt=Holmes (in deerstalker hat) talking to Watson (in a bowler hat) in a railway compartment|Holmes (right) and Watson in a [[Sidney Paget]] illustration for "[[The Adventure of Silver Blaze]]"]]

In the first Holmes tale, ''A Study in Scarlet'', financial difficulties lead Holmes and [[Dr. Watson]] to share rooms together at [[221B Baker Street]], London.<ref>Klinger III, pp. 17-18, 28—''A Study in Scarlet''</ref> Their residence is maintained by their landlady, [[Mrs. Hudson]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://arthurconandoyle.co.uk/character/mrs-hudson|title=Mrs Hudson|last=Birkby|first=Michelle|website=The Official Conan Doyle Estate Ltd.|access-date=27 December 2019|archive-date=27 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191227073313/https://arthurconandoyle.co.uk/character/mrs-hudson|url-status=live}}</ref> Holmes works as a detective for twenty-three years, with Watson assisting him for seventeen of those years.<ref>Klinger II, pp. 1692, 1705-1706—"[[The Adventure of the Veiled Lodger]]"</ref> Most of the stories are [[frame narrative]]s written from Watson's point of view, as summaries of the detective's most interesting cases. Holmes frequently calls Watson's records of Holmes's cases sensational and populist, suggesting that they fail to accurately and objectively report the "science" of his craft:

{{Blockquote|Detection is, or ought to be, an exact science and should be treated in the same cold and unemotional manner. You have attempted to tinge it [''A Study in Scarlet''] with romanticism, which produces much the same effect as if you worked a love-story or an elopement into the fifth proposition of [[Euclid]].&nbsp;... Some facts should be suppressed, or, at least, a just sense of proportion should be observed in treating them. The only point in the case which deserved mention was the curious analytical reasoning from effects to causes, by which I succeeded in unravelling it.<ref>Klinger III, p. 217—''The Sign of Four''</ref>|sign=|source=}}

Nevertheless, when Holmes recorded a case himself, he was forced to concede that he could more easily understand the need to write it in a manner that would appeal to the public rather than his intention to focus on his own technical skill.<ref>Klinger II, pp. 1482-1483—"[[The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier|The Blanched Soldier]]"</ref>

Holmes's friendship with Watson is his most significant relationship. When Watson is injured by a bullet, although the wound turns out to be "quite superficial", Watson is moved by Holmes's reaction:

{{Blockquote|It was worth a wound; it was worth many wounds; to know the depth of loyalty and love which lay behind that cold mask. The clear, hard eyes were dimmed for a moment, and the firm lips were shaking. For the one and only time I caught a glimpse of a great heart as well as of a great brain. All my years of humble but single-minded service culminated in that moment of revelation.<ref name="auto">Klinger II, p. 1598—"[[The Adventure of the Three Garridebs]]"</ref>}}

After confirming Watson's assessment of the wound, Holmes makes it clear to their opponent that the man would not have left the room alive if he genuinely had killed Watson.<ref name="auto"/>