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“who helped us in the bogus laundry affair” [CARD] 


There are certain aspects of Baker Street life that aren't mentioned in the Sherlock Holmes stories, but Watson doesn't tell us about them. Perhaps he does so out of a sense of discretion. Or simply because such minutiae would interfere with a good story.

For example, dental hygiene is important, as Holmes suggests Watson's overnight accouterments for a trip to Stoke Moran:
“An Eley’s No. 2 is an excellent argument with gentlemen who can twist steel pokers into knots. That and a tooth-brush are, I think, all that we need.” ["The Speckled Band"]
Although it immediately raises the question as to why Holmes and Watson might share a toothbrush...

Similarly, we wonder about the laundry situation in Baker Street. Like any other normal humans living in similar conditions at the time, Holmes and Watson would have required fresh linens and clean shirts and undergarments. But other than Lestrade mentioning "Aldrige, who helped us in the bogus laundry affair," there's no mention of washing clothes in the Canon.

We come close to is from hearing about Holmes's "cat-like love of personal cleanliness," and that even in his rudimentary dwelling on the moors in The Hound of the Bakervilles, he arranged things such that "his chin should be as smooth and his linen as perfect as if he were in Baker Street."

Back at Baker Street, it's likely that Mrs. Hudson arranged clean bed linens and towels, as any boarding-house operator would [Related: listen to our discussion about Boarding Houses on Trifles]. But what about the laundry? Would she do that herself? Given Holmes's "princely" payments, our supposition is that she likely had a washerwoman to take care of it.

Which brings us to Mrs. Turner. She's only mentioned once (in "A Scandal in Bohemia"), and she's called the "landlady." But perhaps she was a close associate of Mrs. Hudson's who was familiar enough with the establishment and its occupants, as a launderer of Holmes's and Watson's underwear might be. Was Mrs. Turner really the Baker Street washerwoman?

She may have gotten her start at Baker Street Elementary...














Baker Street Elementary follows the original adventures of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson, as they and their friends work through the issues of elementary school in Victorian London. An archive of all previous episodes can be viewed at www.bakerstreetelementary.org.

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