The Russell-Holmes Atlas

The
Mary Russell / Sherlock Holmes
Atlas

With some relevant links to places
in the books of Laurie King

Sussex Downs:
Home for
Holmes and Russell
1. Overview Map
2. Closer Up

Wales:
The pursuit of Jessica Simpson's kidnappers.

Dartmoor:
The land of The Rev. Sabine Baring-Gould
1. Map
2. Lewtrenchard Manor

Laurie King, the author of the Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes mysteries, says that England is her second home, which is no doubt why she is able to describe so beautifully the places in which she sets Russell and Holmes to sleuthing.

Being an Anglophile, a dreamer and an armchair traveler at heart, I can't help but read the novels and wonder about the places she describes. Lacking Ordinance Survey maps I turned to my atlas, now Microsoft's Virtual Globe, and the web. And so, for myself and any other web surfer infected with Russellitis, I've created this page locating several of the key locations of various Russell novels. Perhaps more locations will be added, perhaps not. As for the London locations, well, I have to throw up my hands; I've never been to England, let alone London, and besides, only Russell and Holmes know the location of his "hidey-holes."

If you've stumbled onto this page and have no idea of what's being talked about here, check out The Beekeeper Holmes Page, read the books, and then maybe you'll want to come back here. But by all means, read The Beekeepers Apprentice first.

And if you want to know more about Laurie King, check out her official website.
Laurie has a Blog going at Laurie R. King--Mutterings

Sussex Downs

The map at the right is an overview map of southeast England. The map below is a close up of Sussex Downs where Russell and Holmes live and first encounter each other.

There's no telling for this armchair traveler where Russell's farm or Holmes' cottage is located, but there are several clues from Beekeepers Apprentice:
1. Russell's farm and Holmes' cottage are about 6 miles apart.
2. The Monk's Tun, a favorite watering hole of Russell's farm manager Patrick, is located on the road between Lewes and Eastbourne, so it shouldn't be far from Russell's farm. Tony Slyvester lived near the river, west of Holmes house and about 20 minutes bicycle ride from The Monk's Tun.
3. The Barker Manor, with a good view of the sea, is but 3 miles from Holmes' cottage.

Conclusions?

Click here for location speculation

Bodlein Library Oxford, England	I suppose some would say that Mary's true home was the library. There's a very neat map of Oxford city center showing the location of the Bodley at the Bodleian Library's website.

Wales

Web links include: Network Wales and Wales/Cymru - Wales Tourist Board

In the pursuit of Jessica Simpson and her kidnappers, Holmes and Russell travel north from Cardiff and then west "into the hilly greensward that curled up toward the Brecon Beacons."
A day more, and then on the third day they passed the Simpson's camping place. Further north then again, so it's not certain where into the hinterland of Wales they have ventured.
It might be noted that Ms. King uses current terms for counties in Wales, and according to my encyclopedia, 1974 saw a major change in Welsh county names.

Dartmoor

There is a marvelous close-up map of Dartmoor in the front of The Moor, covering the area inside of the blue rectangle in the map at the left. This map shows a bit of a broader view to include Exeter and the sea.

Links to Devon and Dartmoor National Park include:
The official government site for the National Park.
The GenUKI site for Devon. Designed for genealogists, it has a lot of information and bibliography about Devon.

Lewtenchard Manor Hotel

The Rev. Sabine Baring-Gould's home.

Visit the Hotel's website
- you might just want to spend the night
Or this page for some more information.

Other Links:

Sabine Baring-Gould Pages, where there is a whole lot more information about Baring-Gould.

Links:

If you enjoyed this page I'm sure you'll like The Sherlock Holmes Atlas