Already there are computer games in which the player’s character moves about Holmes’s London. “The Case of the Rose Tattoo” is no longer available, but continues to intrigue users. Its London is greatly simplified, but increasingly powerful computers could base an authentic Victorian London on the details of Ordnance Survey maps. Today’s Internet user can take a “virtual tour” of the campus where I work, or of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. A computerized walk through Victorian London will soon be possible, and tomorrow’s gamer will not merely click on a polygon labeled “Scotland Yard,” but see the building, with little constables like the figures in SimCity streaming out of it. From there, it will be a very small step to travels through London in the company of Sherlock Holmes and his Watson—a Sherlockian escape into virtual reality from which it will be tempting not to return. Making this convincing will require detailed graphics and masses of data, but there can be few human settlements better documented than London during the Victorian era. The only obstacle is cost, and cost continues to go down as computers steadily become more powerful. If the program is powerful enough, and fully interactive, we may one day stroll down a Regent Street that will never exist in reality again, or ride out to Norwood, or spy on the sordid occupants of Mitre Square.
Until then, which may be sooner than we think, the Internet already has much to offer. Amazing as it is, it will soon be even more disorienting for those whose mental model of the world is not so very different from Watson’s or Conan Doyle’s. A good many of us may wither before its blast, as Holmes said in a somewhat different context. But I firmly believe that the Internet has the paradoxical ability to move us not just into the golden future, but into the golden past where we have already chosen to keep our hearts. I can hardly wait until my next chance to log on.
Some Essential Web sites
www.Sherlockian.net
(the author’s Web site)
www.special.lib.umn.edu/rare/holmes.html
(University of Minnesota Library’s Sherlock Holmes Collections)
www.bakerstreetjournal.com
(The Baker Street Journal [Baker Street Irregulars])
www.bcpl.net/~lmoskowi/hounds/hounds.html
(Hounds of the Internet)
www.ash-tree.bc.ca/acdsocy.html
(Arthur Conan Doyle Society)
www.acdfriends.org
(Friends of the Arthur Conan Doyle Collection [Toronto Public Library])
sherlock-holmes.org.uk
(Sherlock Holmes Society of London)
www.westminster.gov.uk/libraries/services/special/sherlock/index.cfm
(Sherlock Holmes Collection, Marylebone Library [London])
A SHERLOCKIAN LIBRARY
Jon Lellenberg and Daniel Stashower
THE AMOUNT OF material that has been published about Sherlock Holmes, just in the English language alone, is immense. In 1979, John Bennett Shaw of Santa Fe, New Mexico, a prominent Baker Street Irregular and bibliophile, compiled the list of one hundred basic books about Sherlock Holmes mentioned by Christopher Redmond in his preceding essay “Sherlock Holmes and the Internet.” Shaw revised and updated this list periodically; the last update was in 1993, a year before his death.
We have chosen to compile a new list of our own here, for a number of reasons. Some items listed by Shaw have since been eclipsed by newer ones better fulfilling the promise of their particular subject matter. Others on Shaw’s list were notable as rarities, hard to find and expensive to purchase. Some were so arcane, or so closely associated with the local chapters (“scion societies”) of the BSI that were publishing them, that they can only be truly appreciated after having been initiated into the mysteries of Sherlockiana.
We give you here fifty book and periodical titles written or edited by members or close friends of the Baker Street Irregulars, men and women who know and love Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson best. Editions noted, unless otherwise stated, are the first U.S. editions. Although many of them are out of print today, they are often available from used book dealers. So the game is afoot, and the persistent book sleuth has a great deal of good reading ahead.
THE CANON
As Redmond notes, most commonly found editions of Sherlock Holmes contain textual flaws that argue against them for anyone with more than casual entertainment in mind. Recommended here are three especially reliable (if still slightly different) editions of the text, the first of them richly introduced by leaders of the Baker Street Irregulars in its golden age, and the other two newly annotated for the edification and pleasure of readers.
1. The Adventures, Later Adventures, and Final Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (3 vols., Easton Press, 1995): The classic BSI edition published originally in the 1950s, with essays by Vincent Starrett, Edgar W. Smith, Christopher Morley, Elmer Davis, Rex Stout, Fletcher Pratt, and Anthony Boucher.
2. The Oxford Sherlock Holmes (9 vols., Oxford University Press, 1993): An edition annotated by some of Britain’s best Sherlock Holmes and Conan Doyle scholars, under the editorial direction of Owen Dudley Edwards of Edinburgh University.
3. The Sherlock Holmes Reference Library (Gasogene Books, 1998 and since): A new American annotation of the Canon edited by Leslie Klinger. Five volumes to date: The Adventures, The Memoirs, A Study in Scarlet, The Hound of the Baskervilles, and The Return.
4. The Baker Street Dozen, edited by Pj Doyle and E. W. McDiarmid (Congdon & Weed, 1987): The thirteen Sherlock Holmes stories that Conan Doyle thought best, with commentary on each by Baker Street Irregulars.
APOCRYPHA
In addition to the four novels and fifty-six short stories of the Canon, A. Conan Doyle also wrote parodies and plays about Sherlock Holmes, and a considerable amount of auctorial comment about the Great Detective.
5. The Uncollected Sherlock Holmes, edited by Richard Lancelyn Green (Penguin, 1983): Parodies, plays, prefaces, and miscellanea by Conan Doyle and one or two others.
6. Angels of Darkness, by A. Conan Doyle (Baker Street Irregulars, 2001): The previously unpublished play about Dr. Watson, based on the American section of A Study in Scarlet.
GENERAL WRITINGS
The “Writings about the Writings,” by Baker Street Irregulars and others, are truly vast. The titles below cover the scope of the scholarship, the changing perspectives of students of the Canon over time, and the public’s response to Sherlock Holmes over more than a century.
7. Sherlock Holmes of Baker Street, by William S. Baring-Gould (Clark-son N. Potter, 1962): A fanciful “Biography of the World’s First Consulting Detective” by the editor of The Annotated Sherlock Holmes, the first annotation of the entire Sherlock Holmes canon.
8. Sherlock Holmes in America, by Bill Blackbeard (Harry Abrams, 1981): A visually spectacular look at the Sherlock Holmes phenomenon in America over its first century.
9. A Sherlock Holmes Commentary, by Martin Dakin (Drake, 1972): Thought-provoking examination of the events in all sixty tales, by a prominent late member of The Sherlock Holmes Society of London.
10. The Sherlock Holmes Letters, edited by Richard Lancelyn Green (London: Secker & Warburg, 1986): A fascinating compilation of public reaction to Sherlock Holmes from 1887 on, through nearly a century’s worth of letters to newspapers over the years.
11. The Sherlock Holmes Scrapbook, edited by Peter Haining (Clarkson N. Potter, 1974): A breezy and visually pleasing whirl through the world of Anglo-American Sherlockiana.
12. In the Footsteps of Sherlock Holmes, by Michael Harrison (London: Cassell, 1958): Classic examination of the stories’ Victorian settings in London and the English countryside. A revised edition was published in 1971 by David & Charles (U.K.).
13. Sherlock Holmes in Portrait and Profile, by Walter Klinefelter (Syracuse University Press, 1963): A profusely illustrated history of how Sherlock Holmes has been depicted, and the stories illustrated, over the years.
14. The Sherlock Holmes Handbook, by Christopher Redmond (Toronto: Simon & Pierre, 1995): Wide-ranging and in-depth coverage of the cultural
phenomenon that is Sherlockiana in the English-speaking and reading world.
15. In Bed with Sherlock Holmes, by Christopher Redmond (Toronto: Simon & Pierre, 1984): Freudian psychological analysis of Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories, with much to provoke both thought and indignation.
16. The Standard Doyle Company, edited by Steven Rothman (Fordham University Press, 1990): The complete published writings about Sherlock Holmes by Christopher Morley, the American author and critic who founded the Baker Street Irregulars.
17. The Baker Street Reader, edited by Philip A. Shreffler (Greenwood Press, 1984): “Cornerstone Writings about Sherlock Holmes,” and the best one-volume introduction to the scope and breadth of Sherlockian scholarship.
18. Profile by Gaslight, edited by Edgar W. Smith (Simon & Schuster, 1944): Classic “Writings about the Writings” from the golden age of the BSI, compiled by its Buttons-cum-Commissionaire and the founding editor (in 1946) of the Baker Street Journal.
19. The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, by Vincent Starrett (Macmillan, 1933): The magnum opus of the best-loved student of Sherlock Holmes. An expanded edition, recommended, was published by the University of Chicago Press in i960.
20. Encyclopaedia Sherlockiana, by Jack Tracy (Doubleday, 1977): A fine readable reference guide to practically everything mentioned in the Sherlock Holmes stories. An expanded paperback edition was published by Avon in 1979.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Looking for more after reading the fifty books and periodicals in this list? Ronald De Waal may have missed a few items about Sherlock Holmes, and John Gibson and Richard Lancelyn Green a few by and about Conan Doyle, but no one in a lifetime could possibly find and read everything that they have cataloged.
21. The Universal Sherlock Holmes, by Ronald B. De Waal (Toronto: Metropolitan Toronto Reference Library, 1994): The third edition of the work that began in 1974 with De Waal’s World Bibliography of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson (New York Graphic Society).
22. A Bibliography of A. Conan Doyle, edited by John Michael Gibson & Richard Lancelyn Green (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1983): A valuable guide to Conan Doyle’s work, with a foreword by Graham Greene.
PERFORMING ARTS
Others turned Sherlock Holmes into plays in the 1890s, while the first stories were still appearing, and into movies as early as 1900. In more recent decades, many people first discovered Sherlock Holmes on a movie or television screen. These books provide the history of Sherlock Holmes in those forms, and the impact upon the public.
23. Sherlock Holmes, by William Gillette (Doubleday Doran, 1935): The legendary and often revived play, by the great American actor-playwright who performed it between 1899 and 1932, in the edition prepared by Vincent Starrett.
24. Sherlock Holmes on Screen, by Alan Barnes (United Kingdom: Reynolds & Hearn, 2002): A new, up-to-date, and excellent guide to Sherlock Holmes on the movie screen and on television.
25. The Pictorial History of Sherlock Holmes, by Michael Pointer (Mallard Press, 1991): A profusely illustrated guide to Sherlock Holmes on stage, movies, and television, up to date through Jeremy Brett.
JUVENALIA
Sherlock Holmes has often been abridged for children, or turned into new formats to entertain or instruct the young. Here are two of the best.
26. Basil of Baker Street, by Eve Titus (Washington Square Press, 1958): First of a series, beautifully illustrated by Paul Galdone, about a mouse who lives at 221 B Baker Street. (Filmed by Walt Disney as The Great Mouse Detective.)
27. Match Wits with Sherlock Holmes, by Murray Shaw (8 vols., Carolrhoda Press, 1990 and later): Simplified versions of the stories (two to a book), strikingly illustrated by George Overlie, challenging young readers to solve the mysteries themselves.
PARODY AND PASTICHE
Who has not wanted to write a Sherlock Holmes story of his or her own? These books are some of the best and most imaginative attempts.
28. Sherlock Holmes through Time and Space, edited by Isaac Asimov et al. (Bluejay Books, 1984): Best of several collections of Sherlock Holmes pastiches with a science fiction twist.
29. The Case of the Baker Street Irregulars, by Anthony Boucher (Simon & Schuster, 1940): A mystery, by a professional writer and critic, in which a Hollywood movie writer’s not unwelcome murder is investigated by the Baker Street Irregulars.
30. The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes, by John Dickson Carr and Adrian Conan Doyle (Random House, 1954): A collection of new tales by the famous mystery writer and one of Arthur Conan Doyle’s sons.
31. In Re: Sherlock Holmes, by August Derleth (Mycroft & Moran, 1945): First in a long series of loving pastiches about Solar Pons of Praed Street, by the prolific American writer.
32. The Incredible Schlock Homes, by Robert L. Fish (Simon & Schuster, 1966): First of two hilariously punnish collections of parodies by an American mystery writer and Baker Street Irregular.
33. The Return of Moriarty, by John Gardner (Putnam, 1974): What happened when Holmes’s nemesis, Professor Moriarty, also returned from the dead, written by a British novelist and crime writer.
34. The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, edited by Martin Greenberg et al. (Carroll & Graf, 1999): Second expanded edition of a 1987 collection of new Sherlock Holmes stories by famous mystery writers, including Stephen King.
35. Holmes for the Holidays, edited by Martin Greenberg et al. (Berkley, 1996): First of two collections of new Sherlock Holmes stories set at Christmas time, by famous mystery writers.
36. A Taste for Honey, by H. F. Heard (Vanguard Press, 1941): A classic tale in which the great detective in retirement, without his name ever being mentioned, foils an ingenious murderer.
37. The Seven-Per-Cent Solution, by Nicholas Meyer (Dutton, 1974): The modern best-seller about Sherlock Holmes, in which Holmes and Sigmund Freud join forces to foil an international conspiracy.
38. The Misadventures of Sherlock Holmes, edited by Ellery Queen (Little, Brown, 1944): An historical collection of early Sherlock Holmes parodies and pastiches, edited and introduced by the dean of American mystery writers.
ABOUT ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE
Although Baker Street Irregulars like to call Conan Doyle Dr. Watson’s literary agent, he was a fascinating and versatile figure—author, sportsman, adventurer, war correspondent and historian, champion of the underdog, social reformer, psychic investigator, and spiritualist missionary.
39. Memories and Adventures, by A. Conan Doyle (Little, Brown, 1924; rev. ed., London: John Murray, 1930): The autobiography; most recently reprinted by Greenhill Books (London) in 1988, with a new foreword by Richard Lancelyn Green.
40. The Life of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, by John Dickson Carr (Harper & Row, 1949): The exciting authorized biography by the famous American mystery writer, and the major influence on the public perception of Conan Doyle.
41. Conan Doyle, by Pierre Nordon (Rinehart & Winston, 1967): A valuable literary biography of the creator of Sherlock Holmes, by a French professor of British literature.
42. The Quest for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, edited by Jon Lellenberg (Southern Illinois University Press, 1987): American, British, and Canadian scholars examine how Conan Doyle’s life has been treated autobiographically by himself and biographically by others.
43. Teller of Tales, by Daniel Stashower (Holt, 1999): The most recent biography of Conan Doyle, with unprecedented attention to his interest in psychic investigation and spiritualism.
44. The Works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (E-Codex Publications, 1997): A CD-ROM containing nearly all Conan Doyle’s published works, plus an expanded second edition of no. 42 above.
BY ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE
Conan Doyle was the author of much besides the Sherlock Holmes stories. Here are the most comprehensive collections of his best fiction:
45. Professor Challenger Adventures (Chronicle Books, 1989, 1990): Two volumes containing his pioneer science fiction stories about Professor Challenger, including the often-filmed 1912 classic The Lost World, in
spiration for Jurassic Park. (For the scholar: The Annotated Lost World, edited by Roy Pilot & Alvin Roden [Indianapolis: Wes-sex Press, 1996].)
46. The Historical Novels (United Kingdom: New Orchard Books, 1986): Two volumes containing Conan Doyle’s superb Brigadier Gerard stories, his novels of knighthood The White Company and Sir Nigel, and several other historical novels.
47. The Conan Doyle Stories (United Kingdom: Galley Press, 1988): Seventy-six other examples of master short-story telling from other collections by Conan Doyle—tales of adventure and of the sea, of sport, of mystery and terror, of medical life, and of ancient times.
PERIODICALS
Many are the serious and amateur journals, past and present, about Sherlock Holmes. These three are the mainstays, and available from the sponsoring societies whose web sites appear at the end of Christopher Redmond’s essay in this book.
48. The Baker Street Journal: Scholarship, commentary, and society news, quarterly since 1946, by the Baker Street Irregulars. The first fifty years of the BSJ are now available on CD-ROM.
49. The Sherlock Holmes Journal: Published twice a year since 1951 by the equally redoubtable Sherlock Holmes Society of London.
50. A.C.D.: The annual journal of the Arthur Conan Doyle Society, since 1989; a must for anyone interested in the creator of Sherlock Holmes.
CONTRIBUTORS
Colin Bruce is the author of The Einstein Paradox and Other Science Mysteries Solved by Sherlock Holmes, and Conned Again, Watson! Cautionary Tales Of Logic, Math, and Probability, both published by Perseus Books.
Bill Crider is the author of the Sheriff Dan Rhodes series, the first book of which won the Anthony Award in 1987. Crider’s short stories have appeared in numerous anthologies, including Holmes for the Holidays and all the books in the celebrated Cat Crimes series.
Sharyn McCrumb, an award-winning Appalachian writer, is best known for her “Ballad” novels, set in the North Carolina/Tennessee mountains. Her novels include New York Times best-sellers She Walks These Hills and The Rosewood Casket, which deal with the issue of the vanishing wilderness.
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