International Honour Brings a 90-Year Literary Tradition to Cape Breton University

Sherlock Holmes has been studied, debated and reinterpreted for more than a century by readers and scholars around the world. That global tradition now includes Cape Breton University, following the recent investiture of Dr. Tom Ue, Assistant Professor in English of the Long Nineteenth Century, as a Baker Street Irregular, a member of one of the most established and selective literary societies devoted to Arthur Conan Doyle’s character.

The investiture took place recently in New York and recognizes sustained contribution rather than a single achievement. Dr. Ue is one of only two Baker Street Irregulars in Nova Scotia, placing him within a small, global network of scholars, writers and professionals recognized for their engagement with the Holmes canon.

“I’ve always enjoyed sharing my enthusiasm for all things Victorian,” said Ue. “It’s great to be recognized by the Baker Street Irregulars for doing something I love.”

Founded in 1934, the Baker Street Irregulars is the oldest and most prominent Sherlock Holmes literary society in the world. Membership is by invitation only and is typically extended to individuals who have made significant contributions to Holmes scholarship or to their professional fields alongside deep engagement with Conan Doyle’s writing.

For Ue, the recognition reflects years of teaching, publishing and editorial work focused on Sherlock Holmes and Victorian literature. He publishes extensively on Holmes and has worked to bring that scholarship into both the classroom and beyond.

“I like to think that my promotion of Holmes, in teaching and in my public-facing scholarship, has led to this recognition,” Dr. Ue said.

Ue’s work also includes serving as editor of The Magic Door, the journal of The Friends of the Arthur Conan Doyle Collection in the Toronto Public Library, a role he has held since 2021. Through that work, he has mentored students and emerging scholars, including several Cape Breton University students in publishing their work there. One of Dr. Ue’s students, Sasha Young, reflected on her and her colleague Chelsea Mugford’s work appearing in The Magic Door and the impact of Dr. Ue’s guidance.

“Working on my essay for The Magic Door opened my eyes to a project I never thought I would ever be able to do,” Young said. “The process was smooth and I never doubted my capabilities for a second, thanks to [Dr. Ue’s] unwavering confidence in me and Chelsea. It was a bountiful learning process that also served as something fun to do.”

The continuing academic interest in Sherlock Holmes, Ue said, speaks to the value of the humanities.

“We live in a climate when the value of the humanities is so often, too often, scrutinized,” Dr. Ue said. “The continuing interest in Holmes offers a counternarrative: it connects generations of readers and, what’s more, it reveals our commonalities.”

At Cape Breton University, Ue regularly teaches Sherlock Holmes stories and novels in his “Reading and Writing: Culture” and “Short Story” classes. Many courses in genre fiction are also offered within the department. He sees the fiction of Holmes as an effective entry point into Victorian literature, genre writing and the study of English more broadly. In the classroom, Ue emphasizes the connection between literary discussion and ongoing scholarly debate, helping students see how academic inquiry unfolds over time.

“In my classroom,” says Dr. Ue. “I show that the questions that we are discussing are analogous to the debates in which scholars have been (and often continue to be) actively engaged.”

As part of the Baker Street Irregular tradition, new members are invested under a symbolic name drawn from the Holmes canon. Ue’s investiture title, “London University,” reflects his academic background. He earned his PhD at University College London. The name also carries literary resonance. Dr. Watson received his medical degree from the University of London, and Watson and Holmes first met within that academic and hospital system.

While the honour connects him to a nearly century-old literary tradition, Ue remains focused on its everyday impact at Cape Breton University, and the students who drive him to keep sharing the literature he loves.

“My students have been my most reliable source of enthusiasm and inspiration. They constantly push me to up my game. I’m incredibly proud of their accomplishments,” Dr. Ue said. “The next great book and the next great essay, as I routinely tell them, are the ones that they will be writing. I count myself lucky to be working with such bright and inquisitive minds.”

Want to take one of Dr. Ue’s classes? Students in Cape Breton University’s Bachelor of Arts program can explore English, literature, writing, and genre fiction with faculty whose work connects the classroom to the world. 

Congratulations to Dr. Tom Ue on his investiture as a Baker Street Irregular!