History in Children's Historical Fiction: A Test Case with the Baker Street Irregulars

Abstract

This investigation examines a collection of historical fiction for children linked by setting (late Victorian London) and protagonists (Sherlock Holmes’ Baker Street Irregulars, the children who assisted Holmes with his investigations). Common deviations from historical probability are treated as significant changes and are discussed in relation to the general study of historical fiction. It was found that the collected stories use similar stereotypes and show common choices which shift the content of the stories away from the most likely historical situation of late Victorian “Street Arabs.”