Bizenghast while Lalibela, a holy town in northern Ethiopia, inspired Bali Lali's. Another minor character, Dr. Morstan, takes his name from Mary Morstan, Dr. Watson’s wife. "марионетка", the Russian word for marionette, inspired the name of the antagonist Maphohetka. LeGrow comments that the series "is about life, death and fabulous outfits (not in that order)" and notes that there are "a lot of religious themes" present. The town of Bizenghast "represents a world cut off from that sort of constant access [of technology]." The series was initially written to span about fourteen volumes and be divided into three seasons: the first
Minor Sherlock Holmes characters birth and she had no other relatives in England, although she was educated there (in accordance with the received wisdom of the time about children in the colony of India) until the age of seventeen. Shortly afterwards her father disappeared and she found work as a governess. Watson and Mary marry in 1889. Mary Morstan is mentioned in passing in "The Adventure of the Crooked Man" and "The Boscombe Valley Mystery", but by the time of "The Adventure of the Norwood Builder" (after Holmes's return) Mary Morstan has died and Watson has returned to his former lodgings in Baker Street.