Vincent Starrett

Born in Toronto in 1886 and raised mostly in Chicago, Vincent Starrett grew up close to the world of books from the very beginning—he later wrote that he was born above his grandfather's bookshop. He started newspaper work young, first with the Chicago Inter-Ocean and then with the Chicago Daily News, building a long career as a reporter, feature writer, editor, and columnist.

Starrett wrote in many forms: mystery and supernatural fiction, poetry, essays, criticism, and biography. He is especially remembered for his deep love of Sherlock Holmes. His 1933 book The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes is widely known as an important early work of Sherlockian scholarship, and he was also associated with the Baker Street Irregulars.

He died in Chicago in 1974. Today, he is remembered as both a versatile man of letters and a warm, deeply knowledgeable literary enthusiast whose writing helped keep classic mystery and book culture alive for later readers.