The following is the text of speech given at the September 27, 2023 meeting of Torist International S.S,.
Whiskey and Sodality: The Unique History
and Power of the Sherlockian Scion Society
By Steven Doyle
I want to thank you all for having me here this evening. I have been, since a boy of 14 or 15
years old, a very great admirer of the Chicago Sherlockian scene, so any time I can participate in
activities here, I will leap at the opportunity. Chicago’s constellation of BSI scion societies has
always held a place in my imagination almost from the moment I acquired a severe case of
Sherlockomania at the age of 14 years old. I grew up almost straight east of here, in the shadow
of the Golden Dome of the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. Chicago was the
“big city.”
It was 1975. Nicholas Meyer’s bombshell The Seven-Per-Cent Solution had appeared the
previous year and had been riding the top of the New York Times bestseller list for the better part
of a year, warping and expanding, and forever changing what we have come to know as the
Sherlockian Universe. At that time, I was on fire with not only Sherlock Holmes, but also with
numerous science fiction pursuits. There was a childhood obsession with classic horror movies.
Planet of the Apes and Star Trek. I was besotted with the Beatles, and life was good for a kid.
But…I was also a late-bloomer, naïve, a bit shy and sheltered, and very, very nerdy.
It is true that we often can’t see or understand the significance of a moment in time until we
have distance from it. It is only in looking back that we see how something was, perhaps, pivotal
in creating who we are today. For me, it was that year’s Christmas-time, and I had received a
facsimile set of The Adventures and Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes for Christmas, illustrated with
the original Sidney Paget drawings. That was a tremendous! Then immediately into my reading
list came The Seven-Per-Cent Solution, followed by Vincent Starrett’s The Private Life of
Sherlock Holmes, as well as a few specialty magazines found on the newsstand. For a 14-year-
old boy predisposed to genre fiction and escaping into fictional worlds, this was a godsend.
It was somewhere in these early readings…early to me, anyway...that I learned of The
Baker Street Irregulars. I read of their annual dinners in New York City. Imagine that… My
teenaged head was full of scenarios in which learned Sherlockian scholars debated esoteric
points of canonical minutia while drinking martinis and laughing at each other’s witty repartee.
Never mind that most of my imaginings of New York City were derived from watching Thin
Man movies on WGN. I just knew I would never, ever experience anything like that myself.
And then, wait…what is this? “Scion societies”…. I didn’t even know what the word
“scion” meant…but wow, scion societies. There were local chapters of the Baker Street
Irregulars? But then, reading further, my heart sank yet again as I realized the account I was
reading was talking about these clubs being in Boston, and Philadelphia, and Chicago. Though
just west of South Bend, Chicago might as well have been on the dark side of the moon. For me,
Chicago meant blowing a Saturday with my family visiting my grungy cousins, not answering
the distant view-halloo.
But then, to my shock and amazement, one day I read in The South Bend Tribune of a BSI
scion society right there in South Bend, Indiana, The Solitary Cyclists of South Bend. In my
naïve enthusiasm, I petitioned for membership. The club, made up of mostly adult college
faculty from The University of Notre Dame, welcomed me. It would have been reasonable to
expect (and I did expect it) to have been gently turned down and told to come back when I was a
few years older. This was the first milestone in my personal Sherlockian journey that, in
retrospect, I recognize as a moment of fate. Had Professor Michael Crowe and the Solitary
Cyclists turned me away, well…it is quite likely I would have just gone away, never to return.
And so, very early I learned what membership in a BSI scion society can mean to a person.
It is because of this I have a calling to remind our hobby, our Sherlockian Universe, the
history of, and more importantly, the value of this unique, unprecedented, and now I believe
under-appreciated phenomenon of the Sherlockian movement…the Sherlockian Scion Society. It
is my belief that local societies are the life’s blood of this hobby, and are overdue for a
renaissance.
So, while this may seem redundant at a BSI scion society meeting, perhaps I should take a
moment and talk about what a scion society actually is, and even a bit about what it isn’t.
One of the persons most responsible for motivating the creation of new clubs in the 1970s
and early 1980s was none other than John Bennett Shaw. I am going to assume you all know of
Shaw, who was for many years the secretary of the Baker Street Irregulars. Shaw virtually
created the phenomenon of the weekend Sherlockian conference, and in his heyday was the
highest profile Sherlockian in the country, if not the world. It was John Bennett Shaw who made
the quip “All you need to form a Sherlockian society is two Sherlockians and a bottle. And in a
pinch, you can dispense with one of the Sherlockians.”
Now…that’s a good line. It echoes the hard-drinking early days of the Baker Street
Irregulars (well, maybe the not so early days as well…), and it gets a laugh. It imparts the sense
that starting a local society isn’t an exclusive or difficult goal, which is a good thing. And it also
accurately conveys a social aspect to the effort. But unfortunately, it is in the most important
aspects, wrong, or at the very least…crucially incomplete if he is referring to scion societies.
Of course, anyone can form a Sherlock Holmes club, and perhaps that is what Shaw meant.
I am sure many of us here have heard a fellow Holmes traveler quip “Hey, this is a new scion!”
You know what I mean…Sherlockians gathered together for what is often something fun or
offbeat declaring themselves a “scion.” I confess I have done it myself. But something like “The
Denizens of the Stuck Elevator” doesn’t meet the formal criteria of BSI Scion Society.
And of course, non-BSI affiliated groups can and do exist in reality. My own 140 Varieties
of Tobacco Ash, while consciously modeled on the earliest days of the BSI, is not a BSI scion
society. We just celebrated our 25th anniversary. And then there’s the weirdness of SPODE,
which has been called more of a movement than an organization.
So, let’s formally define Scion Society.
First off, and perhaps most importantly, it requires formal recognition from Wiggins of the
Baker Street Irregulars. While it may seem like this is a quaint and outdated formality, I assert
that it is crucial, and I will explain what I mean by this later.
And secondly, my personal opinion, born of a lifetime of Sherlockian life, is they must
actually meet. Regularly. Once a year. Twice a year. Once a month. Whatever it is, actively and
regularly and enthusiastically, thus fostering a sense of community and connectedness that is
such a part of…indeed, is the fabric of Sherlockiana.
In the title of this talk is the phrase “Whiskey and Sodality.” That is a phrase of Christopher
Morley’s. There is a quote in the BSI Archival History website that says of scion societies: “The
best set a high standard, one of wit, humor, scholarship, fellowship, and of exuberant sodality —
very much the whiskey-and-sodality that Christopher Morley boasted of — exactly the qualities
we need.” Indeed.
Christopher Morley referred to the Canon as “a textbook of friendship,” and the entire
Sherlockian world was born out of his love of “kinsprits”, friends who shared a love of both
Sherlock Holmes, and the whimsical community that would gather in Holmes’s name.
Remembering this allows us to understand that the Sherlockian Universe is not a noun, but a
verb.
So, beyond formal recognition and being active…what else is there? Well, to be honest,
that’s it. The BSI quite properly has no jurisdiction within a local club when it comes to how that
club conducts its business. This is a good thing, but it can be a double-edged sword. This official
hands-off aspect of scion societies places an extra responsibility on both leadership and members
of local clubs. Entropy, routine, “tradition”… these can all be enemies of vitality, and growth,
and most importantly…enjoyment.
I mentioned earlier that the Sherlockian Universe (which classically refers to that which
exists within and around local scion societies) was unprecedented and unique. I believe it
remains unique. Sure, nowadays there are countless “communities” organizing around books or,
more commonly, television shows and film franchises. Harry Potter and the Twilight vampire
franchises are perfect examples. But those two words…“community” and “franchise”…they are
what make them not quite the same. The word “community” is as overused as it gets.
Community implies, indeed demands more than merely enjoying the same movie as a million
other people. A formal definition of community is:
a group of people together in one place, especially one practicing common ownership.
“Practicing” common ownership…again, community as a verb…requiring action and
activity together.
The word “franchise” is another one, and it is never applied to the Sherlockian universe.
You might find it applied to something like the Robert Downey, Jr. films, or the BBC Sherlock
series, but never to our collective world. We are not a franchise.
In the late 1920s, Christopher Morley began to plant Sherlockian references in his Saturday
Review of Literature column. These were seeds for the future community of Sherlockians.
Suddenly, there were like-minded folks who were responding to his column’s references, but like
the cosmic universe in its earliest incarnation, things had not coalesced into a recognizable form.
You have all heard about his habit of forming clubs, usually one-off groups who met for a long
lunch. While most were short-lived, two actually became recurring. The first was called “The
Three Hours for Lunch Club.” Another was the Grillparzer Sittenpolizei Verein (Grillparzer
Morals Police Association) or simply the Grillparzer Club. Membership of both clubs
overlapped, and included many names that ended up in The Baker Street Irregulars.
In 1930 Arthur Conan Doyle died.
In 1932 a number of classic Sherlockian titles appeared, especially Starrett’s Private Life of
Sherlock Holmes.
In late 1933, Morley called for a cocktail party at the Hotel Duane to celebrate Sherlock
Holmes’s birthday, which he believed was January 6, and many of this three hour for Lunch Club
and Grillparzer pals came. Three weeks later, Morley reported on it in the Saturday Review of
Literature. The BSI…indeed, the entire Sherlockian Universe…was thus born.
The Big Bang of expansion came in the mid-1940’s however, with the birth of the BSI scion
society. Now, I am not qualified to discuss the Hounds of the Baskerville (sic). It is pretty clear
that Starrett saw the Hounds as a co-equal branch of the BSI, so I will leave it to the Hounds
leadership to say whether the group, which I am proud to be a member of, is a scion society or
something else.
But it was during this glorious period of the mid-1940s that we saw some of the great
Sherlockian societies in our history appeared like dandelions across the fruited plain.
The Amateur Mendicants of Detroit (still there)
The Illustrious Clients of Indianapolis (still there)
The Six Napoleons of Baltimore (still there)
The Speckled Band of Boston (still there)
The Sons of the Copper Beeches of Philadelphia (still there)
Hugo’s Companions of Chicago (still there)
And there were many others as well, and others that are not in existence anymore. But
consider this. Within a few years, there were officially affiliated scion societies blossoming all
over the country from coast to coast. There was no precedent for this, but there have been many
imitators in the following years. If you ever have the opportunity to read correspondence from
these early days, often between these societies, do so. The energy and excitement is palpable.
They were doing a New Thing, and they knew it. Not only were they playing a brand-new game,
one that had no precedent, they were reveling in their affiliation with each other and with the
Baker Street Irregulars.
The Second Great Wave of scion creation came in the 1970s, with the aforementioned
impact of The Seven-Per-Cent Solution, which transformed what was a quirky, boutique hobby
into a much larger world-wide phenomenon. Again, there was a wave of scion society creation,
and many currently active groups can date their start to this time.
The last great period of scion society formation was the mid-to-late 1980s, with the twin
impacts of the Granada television series and the centennial celebration of A Study in Scarlet.
But then, in the ensuing decades, something happened. Club formation and participation
began to decline, and many simply evaporated.
We’ve all heard comments like, “We need to attract young people.” That is not true, and is
simply a misunderstanding of the situation.
Truly ignorant are some bloggers with an interest in redefining the Sherlockian Universe,
making claims like, “We don’t need traditional organizations. The new reality is everything is
now on the internet.” So, so wrong.
So, what happened?
Personally, I simply think we…the hobby as a whole…got complacent. Perhaps it is
inevitable with any long-lasting institution. It isn’t a criticism, it just happens. But a few other
things happened as well.
Regional societies become competitive, and then perhaps even…if not hostile, then let’s say
uncooperative with each other. I am aware of this happening on the east coast, which has many,
many scion societies. I think this has been the case here in Chicago. We even have had it in
Indianapolis. A number of years ago a group of Illustrious Clients members splintered off and
started their own group. But it became quickly apparent that their real reason for existing was to
stand in opposition to the Clients. It was incomprehensible to me, and as most of these things go,
they as an organization eventually did not thrive, and died out. But it was a depressing and
counterproductive time, and did, I confess, bring out the worst in people.
As we know, in every generation or so there is a new wave of Sherlockian enthusiasm, and
historically this has fostered a new blossoming of scion society creation. But when the latest one
happened with BBC Sherlock, that wave of new enthusiasts didn’t produce this effect. Why is up
for discussion…but not tonight. It is sufficient to just note that it did not.
And then of course, there was covid, the socially destructive pandemic that had a
dampening effect on everything, everywhere.
But you know what? I think these are all just excuses.
I think the real responsibility is ours. I know that, in the Illustrious Clients, we had a long
stretch of standard meetings…quiz, story discussion, etc., that we all greatly enjoyed. But at
some point, I began to feel we started to bear more resemblance to a library book club than a
robust scion society of The Baker Street Irregulars. Once I became president of the club, I set my
mind on trying to up our game. First in our own club, and then beyond.
I think complacency has robbed our entire hobby of a vitality and spark. And not just the
regional clubs. I think the BSI itself would benefit from a closer, more vital relationship with the
regional groups that gather under its imprimatur. After all, nearly all Baker Street Irregulars
come from its scion societies. Many mistakenly think of the BSI as a top-down organization. But
that is incorrect. It is bottom-up.
“Whiskey and Sodality.” Of course, the whiskey helps with the sodality.
But it is the sodality…the connectedness…which is key to…everything, and the foundation
to everything in the Sherlockian Universe. The scion society foundation is where all the daily
good work of Sherlockian life really happens. Let’s face it, with a few exceptions, the BSI really
only meets one time a year. The very reason scion societies sprang into existence is because
Sherlockians wanted to get together and play the game with other Sherlockians. Scion societies
are a spontaneous, organically originating movement…whimsical, smart, intellectually
challenging, and socially enriching. And most importantly, founded on Sherlock Holmes.
Without Sherlock Holmes, we’d be long gone.
Of course, “Sodality” isn’t just for internal membership. It implies a mutual fellowship
beyond our own immediate society…a collegiality and open-handedness regionally, and even
nationally.
In that early, first wave of scion society formation of the 1940s, the communication and
cooperation between clubs was remarkable. For instance, my own hometown scion, The
Illustrious Clients, was urged into existence by Clifton R. Andrews of The Scandalous
Bohemians of Akron, Ohio. Andrews, upon connecting with a literate and enthusiastic
Sherlockian by the name of Jerry Williamson in Indianapolis, Indiana, immediately suggested
the creation of an Indianapolis based society. He even suggested our name, and sent a stream of
support and encouragement to our (unknown at the time to him) 14-year-old founder. But that is
how it was…and how it should be now. This is why I am here.
And this is what I see as a personal calling. The Illustrious Clients are operating at a level
that I’ve never known in the 30+ years I have been in the club. And we’ve been forging ties with
other mid-western clubs…
The Tankerville Club of Cincinnati
The Agra Treasurers of Dayton, Ohio
The Solitary Cyclists of South Bend
The Ribston-Pippins of the Detroit Area
We’ve had connections to St. Louis clubs (but more needs to be done here…just sayin’)
Nashville, Tennessee? I’m coming to a meeting of yours sometime. Just giving you a heads
up.
And I am here, now. It’s a regional, mid-western network that seeks to share ideas,
collaborate, encourage each other, and thrive. All of this is ultimately about people. All of it. It
isn’t primarily about the scholarship, or book publishing, or aspirations of becoming BSI, etc. All
of that flows out of the collective experience of participating in what I believe is the greatest
hobby of all time…one that is whimsical, intellectually stimulating, personally fulfilling, as well
as one that has provided the most amazing opportunities for experiences and friendships
imaginable. The 14-year-old boy in me is, to this day, agog at what Sherlock Holmes has given
me throughout my life. The boy who could never imagine any kind of experience in the
organized Sherlockian Universe was given it all because he joined a BSI scion society. I want
that for everyone.