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Mycroft Holmes and Learie Constantine

Tuesday 27th October 2026

World-renowned Holmesian writer Orlando Pearson explores an imaginative connection between Mycroft Holmes and Trinidadian cricketing legend and civil-rights campaigner Learie Constantine.

In this fascinating Black History Month talk, Orlando Pearson brings together the fictional world of Sherlock Holmes and the remarkable true story of Learie Constantine.

The talk considers how Mycroft Holmes—Sherlock Holmes’s brilliant older brother and a powerful figure within the British establishment—might have helped Constantine during a landmark legal battle against racial discrimination.

In 1943, Constantine and his family were refused their pre-booked accommodation at London’s Imperial Hotel because of the colour of their skin. Constantine took legal action against the hotel and won his case.

The case became an important moment in the history of the struggle against Britain’s colour bar and helped to pave the way for the Race Relations Act 1965.

Born in Trinidad in 1901, Learie Constantine became internationally famous as a talented and charismatic cricketer. Away from the cricket pitch, he was an influential campaigner against racial discrimination.

Constantine later qualified as a barrister and served as Trinidad and Tobago’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. In 1969, he became the first Black person to sit in the House of Lords.

Combining Holmesian imagination with an important story from Black British history, Orlando Pearson’s talk will explore justice, discrimination and the life of one of the twentieth century’s most significant Black sporting and political figures.

For booking information and enquiries, contact OrlandoDLPearson@gmail.com.

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Barnet Tuesday 27th October 2026

Mycroft Holmes and Learie Constantine

World-renowned Holmesian writer Orlando Pearson explores an imaginative connection between Mycroft Holmes and Trinidadian cricketing legend and civil-rights…