Sherlock Holmes and the Shadwell Shadows

“What you perceive as calmness, Watson, is simply fixity of purpose. I cannot afford the luxury of giving free rein to my emotions. Fear is unproductive, it will only hinder my efforts.

Do you know how the city gained its name?”

“Surely from Londinium, the name the Romans gave it.”

“So the history books tell us. But the etymology of ‘Londinium’ itself is uncertain. According to Geoffrey of Monmouth a semi-mythological pre-Roman king called Lud was the actual founder of the city and ‘Londinium’ derives from his name, but scholars dispute this