Tag Archives: Arthur Conan Doyle

This term has recently achieved particular recognition as part of the title of a bestselling book in 2003 by Mark Haddon and, even more recently, as a stage production. It derives from the following conversation between Sherlock Holmes and Police Inspector Gregory in one of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s 1892 short stories from the Great Detective’s memoirs, Silver Blaze. A racehorse by that name is stolen and the trainer − one John Straker − lies dead, with his head “shattered by a savage blow from some heavy weapon”. Gregory: “Is there any other point to which you would wish to draw my attention?” Holmes: “To the curious inciden