"His Eyes Kindled" [CROO]

by Scott Monty June 07, 2011

Now from the forums of Holmesian.net, a new group of writers are staking their claim on the world's first unofficial consulting detective with a new publication - a first, according to our knowledge -  Sherlock Holmes: A Celebration The Holmesian.Net Collection - an Amazon Kindle edition of a forum-based anthology.

Inspired by a series of writing challenges and edited by Holmesian.net's own David Ruffle, author of Sherlock Holmes And The Lyme Regis Horror, this compilation has been assembled from online submissions within the very active discussion forum on Holmesian.net. While not Canonical, these stories take inspiration from it, as well as from the countless incarnations of Mr. Sherlock Holmes and his dear friend, Dr. John H. Watson, have experienced since their first meeting in 1881. The online forums provided a place in which to illustrate the remarkable qualities of Holmes and Watson, while at the same time offering "a fair field for [our] talents" [CARD].

In a collection featuring the work of over a dozen different writers, we now offer to the public fresh, fun and innovative tales in the chronicles of Holmes and his Boswell. Perhaps the Master would say that we have erred in our latest accounts by endowing them with the tinge of romanticism rather than the cold, unemotional and exact "science of deduction" [SIGN].

But, as Watson would no doubt tell him, that does not make for good storytelling. As Ruffle says in the introduction: "We might be indeed guilty of degrading a course of lectures into a series of tales and ruined what might have been an instructive and even a classical series of demonstrations by looking at everything from the point of view of a story, but we make no apologies, we enjoyed every moment of it!" And we hope you do, too!

For a summary of the contributors and a table of contents, please click on this link to the post within Holmesian.net. You may purchase a copy for your Amazon Kindle - one of the most popular e-readers around - by clicking on the title of the work above or on the link below. If you do pick up a copy, be sure to let us know what you think.

UPDATE (10 June 2011): It seems that this project is now on hold. Evidently the site administrator did not give permission for the site to be mentioned, even though every author granted permission. The editor/publisher is now reconsidering his involvement in the project.

Editor's note: Jennifer has had a life-long interest in English and American literature (particularly of the 19th century), and grew up watching both the Rathbone/Bruce & the Granada incarnations of Holmes and his Boswell. Some of her favorite authors are Charles Dickens, George Gordon Lord Byron, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Washington Irving and Edgar Allan Poe. One of her two current efforts include research into the Holmes Canon for a collection of short stories centered around Dr. Watson. The other is a historic fiction novel-in-progress dealing with reform methods for London prostitutes in the Victorian Era. She has a decade of experience in the field of 19th century living history, and enjoys sharing little tidbits and musings on her blog.