Episode 95: A Curious Collection of Dates

<h4 style="text-align: center;"> "It is a curious collection." [MUSG]</h4> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifxdfVjimVf5N8Svp3rcxqiAM5CNfB5llLIFsam62s7oJ8Yr0a1GipI6lZF8yMmaGWGaRF7LjwEf6aL4hQa4TEvG9Jfsh3ZSfP32-vGNJOBipj5K24ylC5yD-hF8kYobLFPbilrg3ZkZOj/s1600/A+Curious+Collection+of+Dates+-+header.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifxdfVjimVf5N8Svp3rcxqiAM5CNfB5llLIFsam62s7oJ8Yr0a1GipI6lZF8yMmaGWGaRF7LjwEf6aL4hQa4TEvG9Jfsh3ZSfP32-vGNJOBipj5K24ylC5yD-hF8kYobLFPbilrg3ZkZOj/s640/A+Curious+Collection+of+Dates+-+header.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> <br /> <center> <iframe allowfullscreen="" height="90" mozallowfullscreen="" msallowfullscreen="" oallowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" src="//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/4332670/height/90/width/600/theme/custom/autoplay/yes/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/backward/no-cache/true/render-playlist/no/custom-color/0017b6/" style="border: none;" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="600"></iframe><br /> </center> <br /> You've probably heard us extolling the virtues of <i><a href="http://wessexpress.com/html/curiouscollection.html">A Curious Collection of Dates: Sherlock Holmes Through the Year</a></i> on previous shows. We're big fans of this book. But after this episode, you'll understand why we're also fans of the authors.<br /> <br /> Leah Guinn and Jaime N. Mahoney join us to give us the backstory on what it was like to develop the concept and bring this reference tome to life, including their decision to go with a premier publisher like Wessex Press, where their book wouldn't languish and become a remainder.<br /> <br /> In our interview with Leah and Jaime, we uncovered their major source for dates — none other than William Baring-Gould's chronology from <i><a amzn-ps-bm-asin="0517502917" class="amzn_ps_bm_tl" data-amzn-link-id="9930f0880f58e89d3879500be3718f89" data-amzn-ps-bm-keyword="The Annotated Sherlock Holmes" href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Annotated-Sherlock-Holmes-Fifty-Six/dp/0517502917/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=thebakerstree-20&linkId=9930f0880f58e89d3879500be3718f89&linkCode=ktl" id="amznPsBmLink_581327" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Annotated Sherlock Holmes</a><img alt="" border="0" height="0" id="amznPsBmPixel_581327" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&t=thebakerstree-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=9930f0880f58e89d3879500be3718f89&_cb=1461999361048" style="border: none !important; height: 0px !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; width: 0px !important;" width="0" /></i>, backed by <a amzn-ps-bm-asin="B000M0B8JU" class="amzn_ps_bm_tl" data-amzn-link-id="60e67ab26764cbcd0ef026544ffc736b" data-amzn-ps-bm-keyword="Ernest Zeisler's" href="http://www.amazon.com/Street-Chronology-Comments-Sacred-Writings/dp/B000M0B8JU/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=thebakerstree-20&linkId=60e67ab26764cbcd0ef026544ffc736b&linkCode=ktl" id="amznPsBmLink_9038181" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Ernest Zeisler's</a><img alt="" border="0" height="0" id="amznPsBmPixel_9038181" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&t=thebakerstree-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=60e67ab26764cbcd0ef026544ffc736b&_cb=1461999370738" style="border: none !important; height: 0px !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; width: 0px !important;" width="0" />impressive chronology, <a amzn-ps-bm-asin="B00VMT2J3E" class="amzn_ps_bm_tl" data-amzn-link-id="3d1e9aa2f37f6f086de3643de91c9cfd" data-amzn-ps-bm-keyword="martin dakin" href="http://www.amazon.com/SHERLOCK-HOLMES-COMMENTARY-Martin-Dakin-ebook/dp/B00VMT2J3E/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=thebakerstree-20&linkId=3d1e9aa2f37f6f086de3643de91c9cfd&linkCode=ktl" id="amznPsBmLink_531412" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Martin Dakin's</a><img alt="" border="0" height="0" id="amznPsBmPixel_531412" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&t=thebakerstree-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=3d1e9aa2f37f6f086de3643de91c9cfd&_cb=1461999410314" style="border: none !important; height: 0px !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; width: 0px !important;" width="0" /> and others as needed, not to mention online sources such as the <a href="http://www.oxforddnb.com/">Oxford Dictionary of National Biography</a>, Wikipedia and Ancestry.com.<br /> <br /> We also enticed Leah and Jaime to share their favorite entries with us. And rather than giving us the typical "I love all my children the same" response of creators, they actually spilled the beans. But you'll have to listen to find out exactly what they responded with.<br /> <br /> You can find Leah at <a href="http://commonplacecrime.com/">Commonplace Crime</a>, <a href="https://wellreadsherlockian.com/">The Well-Read Sherlockian</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/The-Well-Read-Sherlockian-294187613961282/?fref=ts">The Well-Read Sherlockian Facebook page</a>; find Jaime at <a href="http://betterholmesandgardens.blogspot.com/">Better Holmes and Gardens</a> and the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/BetterHolmesandGardens/?fref=ts">Better Holmes and Gardens Facebook page</a>.<br /> <div> <br /></div> <br /> Regarding sponsors, you'll be glad to know that the Sherlock Holmes Brand sponsorship is back. And we give you another opportunity to help us determine what our 100th episode should consist of: if you have ideas, please let us know by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/902415653189385/permalink/907464292684521/">popping by this Facebook Event posting</a>.<br /> <div> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a div="" gt="" href="https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=2318606&redirect_uri=http%3A%2F%2Fihearofsherlock.com%2Fpodcast"><br /> <img height="40" src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/widget-images/become-patron-widget-medium%402x.png" width="204" /></a></div> <br /> Our special thanks goes out to Mary Miller for her extraordinary Patreon support! Won't you join her and others by clicking on the button?<br /> <br /> You'll also be treated to clips from Thomas Edison, the Dead Ringers and an Easter egg that includes an essential debate about <i>Sherlock</i>'s Louise Brealey.<br /> <br /> <h3> Notes</h3> 1:50 Welcome<br /> 3:35 Sponsor #1 - the Baker Street Journal<br /> 5:18 Burt's first Sherlockian newsletter<br /> 7:43 Welcome Leah and Jaime<br /> 13:47 Competing Sherlockian blogs<br /> 16:07 How the book came to be<br /> 18:18 Pulling the entries together<br /> 20:21 Sponsor #2 - Amanda Lester, Detective<br /> 23:33 How they balanced length and frequency of entries<br /> 26:14 Source material<br /> 30:32 Leah and Jaime disclose their favorite entries in the book<br /> 37:07 The April 30 entry from <i>A Curious Collection of Dates</i><br /> 38:57 Is this the first book for either author?<br /> 44:16 Sponsor #3 - Wessex Press<br /> 47:26 Sherlock Holmes Brand spot<br /> 48:25 Jump on the Patreon bandwagon!<br /> 49:57 Make suggestions for our 100th episode<br /> 52:10 Downton Abbey spoof<br /> 55:26 Leave us a review/rating and closing comments<br /> 58:40 Easter egg<br /> <br /></div> <div> <div> <h3> Sponsors</h3> This episode includes our two longtime sponsors and a special sponsor who is supporting us for the first half of this year:<br /> <br /> <ul> <li>The <a href="http://www.wessexpress.com/" target="_blank">Wessex Press</a>, featuring <i><a href="http://wessexpress.com/html/heresies.html">Sherlockian Heresies</a></i> </li> <li><a href="http://www.bakerstreetjournal.com/" target="_blank"><i>The Baker Street Journal</i></a>, where you should get <a href="http://www.bakerstreetjournal.com/itemsforsale/subscriptions.html" target="_blank">your annual subscription</a> in now to secure all four issues plus the Christmas Annual. </li> <li>And Paula Berinstein's <a href="http://amandalester.net/" target="_blank">Amanda Lester, Detective</a> series for young adults.</li> </ul> <br /> <br /> Would you care to become a sponsor? You can find <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/p/contact.html#.Vc1Qx7JViko" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">more information here</a>.</div> <div style="font-family: 'times new roman';"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both;"> <br /></div> </div> </div> <div> </div> <h4 style="text-align: center;"> <a href="http://traffic.libsyn.com/ihearofsherlock/ihearofsherlock095.mp3" target="_blank">Download</a> [Save As] | File size 28.1 MB, 1:01:19</h4> <div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/261630101&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="100%"></iframe><br /></div> </div> <div> <h3> <br /> </h3> <h3> Links:</h3> <ul> <li>Purchase <a href="http://wessexpress.com/html/curiouscollection.html"><i>A Curious Collection of Dates</i> from Wessex Press</a></li> <li>Brad Keefauver on <a href="http://ihose.co/ihose56" target="_blank">Episode 56: Sherlock Peoria</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aX2YMrdSpVE">Back Home Again in Indiana - The Sterling Trio</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/The-Illustrious-Clients-of-Indianapolis-184841455301/">The Illustrious Clients of Indianapolis</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.watsonstinbox.org/">Watson's Tin Box of Ellicott City, Maryland</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/DiogenesClubOfWashingtonDc">The Diogenes Club of Washington, DC</a></li> <li><a href="http://redcircledc.org/">The Red Circle of Washington, DC</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.laphamsquarterly.org/">Lapham's Quarterly</a></li> <li>Leave us a rating or review on iTunes by <a href="http://bit.ly/ihearofsherlock">going here</a></li> <li>The <a href="http://patreon.com/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere Patreon</a> page</li> </ul> </div> <div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <br /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <div style="text-align: left;"> Many more links, articles and images are available in our Flipboard and Scoop.it sites at <a href="http://ihose.co/flipsherlock" target="_blank">ihose.co/flipsherlock</a> and <a href="http://www.scoop.it/t/sherlock-holmes" target="_blank">ihose.co/scoopsherlock</a>, as well as on the <a href="https://plus.google.com/communities/114565123495685504221" target="_blank">The Sherlock Holmes Community</a> on Google+ (now over 3,500 members), as well as through our accounts on <a href="http://facebook.com/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="http://instagram.com/ihearofsherlock">Instagram</a>, <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2016/04/ihose-on-snapchat-just-in-time-for.html">Snapchat</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">Twitter</a> and <a href="http://ihearofsherlock.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">Tumblr</a>.</div> </div> <br /> <br /> Please <a href="http://bit.ly/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">subscribe to us on iTunes</a>, <a href="https://play.google.com/music/listen?u=0#/ps/I2nib4h55h3cz3yxmzovj6icbmi">Google Play</a>, <a href="https://soundcloud.com/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">Soundcloud</a>, <a href="http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/i-hear-of-sherlock-everywhere?refid=stpr" target="_blank">Stitcher</a> or <a href="http://www.spreaker.com/user/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">Spreaker</a> and be kind enough to leave a rating or review for the show. And please tell a friend about us, in any fashion you feel comfortable.<br /> <br /> Your thoughts on the show? Leave a comment below, send us an email (comment AT ihearofsherlock DOT com), call us at (774) 221-READ (7323).<br /> <br /></div> --<br /> <div> <br /></div>

Episode 95: A Curious Collection of Dates

"It is a curious collection." [MUSG] You've probably heard us extolling the virtues of A Curious Collection of D...

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by Scott Monty

Arthur Conan Doyle 100 Years Ago

<h4 style="text-align: center;"> "You would never guess in a hundred years what we did find." [SECO] </h4> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTSX6ssoeCGnM74ocTkQ8FJ_koP8_-tF_r1-x3uwRJ_jC1Z_y2jD_bboqA-Evgg0s4bThyOjSecRNKC_KO17-KpZ02Vzj2yFRH5ciFFM0lRlSrXLwShpv9tfRQncpgVHpp-yJBZ2YoRney/s1600/Conan+Doyle+1914-1918.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="502" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTSX6ssoeCGnM74ocTkQ8FJ_koP8_-tF_r1-x3uwRJ_jC1Z_y2jD_bboqA-Evgg0s4bThyOjSecRNKC_KO17-KpZ02Vzj2yFRH5ciFFM0lRlSrXLwShpv9tfRQncpgVHpp-yJBZ2YoRney/s640/Conan+Doyle+1914-1918.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <br /></div> We have no Sherlockian centenaries in 2016 — well, that's not true, since we've just been celebrating the film starring William Gillette as Holmes, which was <a href="http://ihose.co/1916film" target="_blank">produced by Essanay in 1916</a>, but no centenaries of actual Sherlock Holmes stories, anyway. After <i>The Valley of Fear</i>, serialized in 1914-15, there would be no more Canonical tales until 1917. <br /><br />Arthur Conan Doyle was busy with other matters, chiefly in writing about the First World War. The only fiction he published during 1916 was "The Prisoner's Defence," a brief love story with a war background. His writings in magazines and newspapers that year were about air raids, the killing of civilians in battle zones, and body armor — and, towards the end of the year, the doctrine of Spiritualism, as he at last declared himself a believer.<br /><br />April 2016 does mark the centenary of a very important work by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: "The Battle of Mons," appearing in the <i>Strand</i> magazine, the first installment of what would eventually be a six-volume history, <i><a amzn-ps-bm-asin="1783946253" class="amzn_ps_bm_tl" data-amzn-link-id="bc516fb39cd4b5b673ca5d6fbf09002d" data-amzn-ps-bm-keyword="The British Campaign in France and Flanders" href="http://www.amazon.com/The-British-Campaign-France-Flanders/dp/1783946253/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=thebakerstree-20&linkId=bc516fb39cd4b5b673ca5d6fbf09002d&linkCode=ktl" id="amznPsBmLink_7745384" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The British Campaign in France and Flanders</a><img alt="" border="0" height="0" id="amznPsBmPixel_7745384" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&t=thebakerstree-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=bc516fb39cd4b5b673ca5d6fbf09002d&_cb=1461526761553" style="border: none !important; height: 0px !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; width: 0px !important;" width="0" /></i>. The Battle of Mons had been fought in August 1914, barely two weeks after the first British troops landed in Europe at the war's beginning. It ended in a massive British retreat, a traumatic experience that helped create the enduring legend of "the angels of Mons," who guided lost soldiers to safety. Ironically, the angels were themselves fiction, created in a short story by Arthur Machen, and thus are not mentioned in Conan Doyle's historical work.<br /><br />In May 1916, Conan Doyle headed for Europe himself, invited to see the action at close range in order to write war propaganda and history more convincingly. His tour of the action in France and Italy lasted about a month and led to the short book <i><a amzn-ps-bm-asin="B00847U3CG" class="amzn_ps_bm_tl" data-amzn-link-id="2596cd8b6d663328354b6afa2b5ff673" data-amzn-ps-bm-keyword="A Visit to Three Fronts" href="http://www.amazon.com/Visit-Three-Fronts-June-1916-ebook/dp/B00847U3CG/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=thebakerstree-20&linkId=2596cd8b6d663328354b6afa2b5ff673&linkCode=ktl" id="amznPsBmLink_1866739" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">A Visit to Three Fronts</a><img alt="" border="0" height="0" id="amznPsBmPixel_1866739" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&t=thebakerstree-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=2596cd8b6d663328354b6afa2b5ff673&_cb=1461526746362" style="border: none !important; height: 0px !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; width: 0px !important;" width="0" /></i>, published in August.<br /><br />In that reminiscence, he speaks of visiting the French army's headquarters at Montreuil and meeting General Georges Louis Humbert. "He fires his remarks like pistol shots at this man or that," Doyle wrote. <div> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> "Once to my horror he fixed me with his hard little eyes and demanded 'Sherlock Holmes, <i>est ce qu'il est un soldat dans l'armée Anglaise</i>?' ['Is he a soldier in the English army?'] The whole table waited in an awful hush. '<i>Mais, mon general</i>,' I stammered, '<i>Il est trop vieux pour service</i>.' ['General, he is too old for service.'] There was general laughter, and I felt that I had scrambled out of an awkward place."</blockquote> <br />But when he returned to England, he decided he had better write "The War Service of Sherlock Holmes" after all. That story eventually appeared under the title we now recognize, "His Last Bow" — but in 1917, not 1916. We can celebrate its centenary next year.</div> <div> <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeVOzO5iKY8qBP1hVCo6I4rIkJDvs9pKtUxi_6J9ogIZaDZiskShB0nwrCNispjjXe2aj9xwhSV3_p9N3sJBX6B4rpSgvtARHuj49akAz0z_J2da3xqMVZ_pqHwGn_1oeui0wraY3duIyT/s1600/Hodder-stoughton-1916-a-visit-to-three-fronts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeVOzO5iKY8qBP1hVCo6I4rIkJDvs9pKtUxi_6J9ogIZaDZiskShB0nwrCNispjjXe2aj9xwhSV3_p9N3sJBX6B4rpSgvtARHuj49akAz0z_J2da3xqMVZ_pqHwGn_1oeui0wraY3duIyT/s640/Hodder-stoughton-1916-a-visit-to-three-fronts.jpg" width="456" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Visit to Three Fronts (<i>image source: <a href="https://www.arthur-conan-doyle.com/index.php?title=A_Visit_to_Three_Fronts" target="_blank">The Arthur Conan Doyle Encyclopedia</a></i>)</td></tr> </tbody></table> <div> <br /></div> <div> <br /></div> <div> --</div> <div> <br /></div> </div>

Arthur Conan Doyle 100 Years Ago

"You would never guess in a hundred years what we did find." [SECO]  We have no Sherlockian centenaries in 2016 — well, that...

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by Chris Redmond

The Hound of the Baskervilles in Latin — Cave Canem et Caveat Emptor

<h4 style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <span style="text-align: start;">"a wonderful mixture of the Saxon and the Latin" [SUSS] </span></h4> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXh8VMUHmK7326QllZsYdAO5CY0aGAKzasbpKS-ikQWQcu1cWW3a7uGwM-spMLV394Wf1ALl1Wv9NyuZ_15GN43DIAuHvplvX54LiYu_x_MAgCKTdJty282jmBum0rZItKvP9Dwm0yffqX/s1600/HOUN+-+Much+to+answer+for.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Holmes to Dr Mortimer: "You have much to answer for."" border="0" height="370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXh8VMUHmK7326QllZsYdAO5CY0aGAKzasbpKS-ikQWQcu1cWW3a7uGwM-spMLV394Wf1ALl1Wv9NyuZ_15GN43DIAuHvplvX54LiYu_x_MAgCKTdJty282jmBum0rZItKvP9Dwm0yffqX/s640/HOUN+-+Much+to+answer+for.jpg" title=""You have much to answer for." [HOUN]" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> I was delighted to learn recently that somebody has translated <i>The Hound of the Baskervilles</i> into Latin. Such a volume may not be of much practical use to anybody except <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2014/05/episode-64-sherlock-holmes-in.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Don Hobbs</a>, who can add another language to his massive polyglot collection, but it's bound to be fun for those of us who can struggle through Latin text with effort and the occasional reference to a dictionary.<br /> <br /> Well, that's what I thought, anyway.<br /> <br /> Translating a popular or classic book into Latin is not a completely new idea. My own shelves include <i><a amzn-ps-bm-asin="014015339X" class="amzn_ps_bm_tl" data-amzn-link-id="b297873c27c723d1a59f819b2b34a672" data-amzn-ps-bm-keyword="Winnie Ille Pu" href="http://www.amazon.com/Winnie-Ille-Pu-Latin-Edition/dp/014015339X/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=thebakerstree-20&linkId=b297873c27c723d1a59f819b2b34a672&linkCode=ktl" id="amznPsBmLink_2272247" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Winnie Ille Pu</a><img alt="" border="0" height="0" id="amznPsBmPixel_2272247" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&t=thebakerstree-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=b297873c27c723d1a59f819b2b34a672&_cb=1461522676897" style="border: none !important; height: 0px !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; width: 0px !important;" width="0" /></i> (for the romantic story of how that version of Pooh came to exist, see <i><a amzn-ps-bm-asin="B0000CMNW0" class="amzn_ps_bm_tl" data-amzn-link-id="3db18dd55472b4875085dd7744af87a4" data-amzn-ps-bm-keyword="The Valley of the Latin Bear" href="http://www.amazon.com/Valley-Latin-Bear-Alexander-LENARD/dp/B0000CMNW0/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=thebakerstree-20&linkId=3db18dd55472b4875085dd7744af87a4&linkCode=ktl" id="amznPsBmLink_829439" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Valley of the Latin Bear</a><img alt="" border="0" height="0" id="amznPsBmPixel_829439" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&t=thebakerstree-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=3db18dd55472b4875085dd7744af87a4&_cb=1461522601496" style="border: none !important; height: 0px !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; width: 0px !important;" width="0" /></i>, by Alexander Lenard) and there's Lewis Carroll's <i><a amzn-ps-bm-asin="1904808697" class="amzn_ps_bm_tl" data-amzn-link-id="f27e2c72ea68897a14b79a79f2c69a87" data-amzn-ps-bm-keyword="Alicia in Terra Mirabilis" href="http://www.amazon.com/Alicia-Terra-Mirabili-Latin-Edition/dp/1904808697/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=thebakerstree-20&linkId=f27e2c72ea68897a14b79a79f2c69a87&linkCode=ktl" id="amznPsBmLink_537651" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Alicia in Terra Mirabili</a><img alt="" border="0" height="0" id="amznPsBmPixel_537651" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&t=thebakerstree-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=f27e2c72ea68897a14b79a79f2c69a87&_cb=1461522615731" style="border: none !important; height: 0px !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; width: 0px !important;" width="0" /></i>. I understand that Jane Austen's Superbia et Odium is also available.<br /> <br /> So I cheerfully ordered <i><a amzn-ps-bm-asin="1523911875" class="amzn_ps_bm_tl" data-amzn-link-id="ee344f0d77dbabfd8afdc7169771f074" data-amzn-ps-bm-keyword="Canis Baskervilles" href="http://www.amazon.com/Canis-Baskervilles-The-Hound-Latin/dp/1523911875/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=thebakerstree-20&linkId=ee344f0d77dbabfd8afdc7169771f074&linkCode=ktl" id="amznPsBmLink_6819923" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Canis Baskervilles</a><img alt="" border="0" height="0" id="amznPsBmPixel_6819923" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&t=thebakerstree-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=ee344f0d77dbabfd8afdc7169771f074&_cb=1461522628311" style="border: none !important; height: 0px !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; width: 0px !important;" width="0" /></i>, with only a moment's hesitation to wonder why "Baskervilles" was pluralized in English rather than in Latin as "Baskervillium" or something of the sort. The book has arrived, a paperback with, oddly, no page numbers and no translator's name. It appears to be published by <a href="http://onyxtranslations.com/" target="_blank">Onyx Translations</a>, which, as far as I can tell from a brief web search, is not the same enterprise as <a href="http://onyxtranslation.com/" target="_blank">Onyx Translation</a>. At this point my Spidey sense (<i>sensus a tinea</i>) was tingling just a little.<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDzV6EuA_Hw5z0b0CEhzBRuZ-wQVM2Frkk9YRgwfJsE0uyNdwoCnQSMKS96xrd_Nr0KdhAd89GCKAKCZ09fqp_WiRLa5Y3VN912wtysdgOWdxxpLRYICbW8J3xUdY4O-zDcECqhgvnZONo/s1600/Canis+Baskervilles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDzV6EuA_Hw5z0b0CEhzBRuZ-wQVM2Frkk9YRgwfJsE0uyNdwoCnQSMKS96xrd_Nr0KdhAd89GCKAKCZ09fqp_WiRLa5Y3VN912wtysdgOWdxxpLRYICbW8J3xUdY4O-zDcECqhgvnZONo/s1600/Canis+Baskervilles.jpg" /></a></div> <br /> The technical quality of the production is not high. Even the punctuation is a dog's breakfast, with single, double and guillemet quotation marks used interchangeably. There are random capitalized words, words broken with underscores, digits in place of letters. Names and titles of characters are inconsistent: Sir Charles and Sir Henry are "Carolus" and "Henricus" and their surname is often Baskerville (but sometimes just Basker), but they are alternately addressed as "Domine" and "Sir". When Holmes, Watson and the baronet get to their destination in chapter 6, Barrymore greets them: "Salve, Henricus Welcome to Hall Baskerville?" (Yes, that's a question mark. Oh, and did I mention that Dr. Mortimer is "Dr. Mortuo"?)<br /> <br /> All these issues are noticeable even before one gets serious about trying to understand the Latin text, which, not to put too fine a point on it, is gibberish, with interpolated English words and garbled Latin syntax. Chapter 10 of <i>The Hound</i>, for example, offers the translator this sentence:<br /> <div> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> "There are lonely houses scattered over the moor, and he is a fellow who would stick at nothing." </blockquote> <div> Even someone with limited Latin might be suspicious at the translation Onyx offers: </div> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> "Sunt lonely domos Spargentur Maurus et est Midae ausurum nothing." </blockquote> <div> No, "lonely" and "nothing" are not Latin words, and one would hardly expect them to be too challenging for a translator, but there you are. "Spargentur" is a verb, meaning "they are scattered", though why it's capitalized in the middle of a sentence is not clear; "Maurus" is a Moor like Othello; and as for "Midae", well, your guess is as good as mine. <br /> <br /> I'll spare you another full sentence, but chapter 11 of the translation makes reference to "gray magnam avem, gull sive Curlew", which is as much English as Latin, and chapter 12 offers "Quod Mrs vident, Laura leonum", which is incomprehensible (and turns "Lyons" into lions). This sort of thing is on every page. Flip through the book and notice "shelterless", "manorial", "fantastic", "suggestiveness", and scores of other English words in the middle of Latin sentences.<br /> <br /> The only explanation for all these oddities is that the translation was done by a computer program, and not <a href="https://youtu.be/KAfKFKBlZbM" target="_blank">checked by anyone</a> with any knowledge of Latin at all. Interestingly, if you put a couple of sentences of <i>The Hound of the Baskervilles</i> into <a href="http://translate.google.com/" target="_blank">Google Translate</a>, the text you get is imperfect, but a lot more sleek and comprehensible than what appears between these brown covers (with a reproduction of the classic hound silhouette drawing by Alfred Garth Jones). There are other Latin translators online, but I have not found one that could be responsible for this mess.<br /> <br /> The Onyx translation of <i>The Hound</i> is not in any real sense Latin text, it is of no value for anybody wanting to practice reading Latin, and it is not fit to stand on a shelf beside Pooh and Alice. It would be lovely if somebody would actually produce a Latin version of the book, but sorry, this isn't it.<br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KAfKFKBlZbM?rel=0" width="640"></iframe><br /></div> <br /> --<br /> <div> <br /></div> </div> </div>

The Hound of the Baskervilles in Latin — Cave Canem et Caveat Emptor

"a wonderful mixture of the Saxon and the Latin" [SUSS]  I was delighted to learn recently that somebody has translated The H...

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by Chris Redmond

A Study in Charlotte — A Fresh and Exciting Take on Sherlock Holmes

<div class="MsoNormal"> <h4 style="text-align: center;"> "I felt more than ever how true a descendant he was" [HOUN] </h4> <o:p></o:p></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3izMrp8yhqVzpaR33FPPceAybLBsWCNN8eV8PaYXOdEOfY9tJc6J8G3BDCWbSkYQM9_VIVkQqC8lsv0pbvT-IanFGQjthuRBGaPi6LnibC_6TNFheKA9EW7Als-jeOd0YIezYmigFAxrO/s1600/A+Study+in+Charlotte.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3izMrp8yhqVzpaR33FPPceAybLBsWCNN8eV8PaYXOdEOfY9tJc6J8G3BDCWbSkYQM9_VIVkQqC8lsv0pbvT-IanFGQjthuRBGaPi6LnibC_6TNFheKA9EW7Als-jeOd0YIezYmigFAxrO/s640/A+Study+in+Charlotte.PNG" width="640" /></a></div> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Study-Charlotte-Holmes-Novel/dp/0062398903">A Study in Charlotte</a></i> is a Sherlock Holmes story in which Sherlock Holmes does not appear.<o:p></o:p></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> That is because the story focuses on teen descendants of Holmes and Watson at a boarding school in modern-day Connecticut. Jamie Watson has been sent to Sherringford School on a rugby scholarship, the very same school that Charlotte Holmes attends. He’s always known of her; after all, he is a Watson.  But he has never met this member of the Holmes family that is his own age. The Holmes family has always been different, and has taken to training their children at an early age in the whole art of deduction. By the time she is a sophomore in high school, Charlotte Holmes is obviously not like any other girl at his school. Even though she is a descendant of the famous Holmes, helping Scotland Yard solve crimes at the age of ten, and Jamie is a descendant of the famous Watson, Charlotte is not interested in his friendship.<o:p></o:p></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> That is, until a fellow student is murdered. Both Charlotte and Jamie have bad histories with the dead student, making them suspects to the police and outcasts among their classmates. From here, a partnership is forged that carries through the rest of the story in an original young adult novel that is a welcome addition to the world of Sherlock Holmes pastiches.<br /> <br /> <br /> <div class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;"> </div> <br /> <div class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <div style="margin: 0px;"> <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SjIJFW8Uetw?rel=0" width="640"></iframe><br /></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> Written by <a href="http://www.brittanycavallaro.com/">Brittany Cavallaro</a>, <i>A Study in Charlotte</i> is the first in a planned trilogy featuring Charlotte Holmes and Jamie Watson. The first installment is written with a definitive voice that doesn’t try to imitate the Watsonian voice that so many pastiches are forced to use. Ms. Cavallaro gives the reader succinct but clear introductions to her two main characters, gets the story started, and lets her characters develop as the pages turn. Although the story lags a bit in the middle, the murder and canon-related crimes, family dramas in both the Watson and Holmes clans, as well as interpersonal relationships with other teenagers keeps you hooked.<o:p></o:p><br /> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://www.britannycavallero.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia5jv7o-xCjgfvtydxnbtwq9z7eVLqaNNnjFT-WMh3rzGpr1cjTNYaJGnGq1ruh5Z4etzo02L9BulN9sTGZPRyznYvzNxnhd61xfEnc3mzz-PItiSlaPLN50fTcBOMo6CxZggfGDfslzQR/s320/A+Study+in+Charlotte+-+cover.jpg" width="211" /></a></div> <br /> While the writing is an easy read and is accessible to Sherlockians and non-Sherlockians alike, this book cannot exist without Sherlock Holmes, and Ms. Cavallaro knows her stuff, citing <a amzn-ps-bm-asin="0517502917" class="amzn_ps_bm_tl" data-amzn-link-id="03891d750d850c92b4c3d8b7add14add" data-amzn-ps-bm-keyword="Baring-Gould" href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Annotated-Sherlock-Holmes-Fifty-Six/dp/0517502917/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=thebakerstree-20&linkId=03891d750d850c92b4c3d8b7add14add&linkCode=ktl" id="amznPsBmLink_8951194" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Baring-Gould</a><img alt="" border="0" height="0" id="amznPsBmPixel_8951194" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&t=thebakerstree-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=03891d750d850c92b4c3d8b7add14add&_cb=1461524477389" style="border: none !important; height: 0px !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; width: 0px !important;" width="0" /> as an invaluable resource. Some canonical stories are key plot points along the way, and they are used with quick synopses as to not turn off the average reader, while still showing knowledge of the source material. Many sly nods are laid out in the pages for Sherlockians, such as Jamie Watson’s real name (James), a discussion about Watson's watch, and of course, the name of their school. But if the reader is unfamiliar with the original Canon, these Easter eggs don’t detract from the real story, and it is strong enough on its own.</div> <br /> <div class="MsoNormal"> Many times with pastiches, references to the Canon can be forced or heavy handed, enough so that they detract from the story being told. Gladly, Ms. Cavallaro doesn’t fall into this trap. It would be easy enough to name the police detective Lestrade or Gregson, or Watson’s dorm mother could be named Mrs. Hudson, but <i><a amzn-ps-bm-asin="0062398903" class="amzn_ps_bm_tl" data-amzn-link-id="1063640595f5f8eb47dc3d06f48ac46c" data-amzn-ps-bm-keyword="A Study in Charlotte" href="http://www.amazon.com/Study-Charlotte-Holmes-Novel/dp/0062398903/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=thebakerstree-20&linkId=1063640595f5f8eb47dc3d06f48ac46c&linkCode=ktl" id="amznPsBmLink_9122049" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">A Study in Charlotte</a><img alt="" border="0" height="0" id="amznPsBmPixel_9122049" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&t=thebakerstree-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=1063640595f5f8eb47dc3d06f48ac46c&_cb=1461524857730" style="border: none !important; height: 0px !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; width: 0px !important;" width="0" /></i> is a new story borne out of stories from over a hundred years ago, and the characters and plot are strong enough to stand on their own. Even though the story is labeled as a young adult title, it is a story that is worth a read, no matter your age.<o:p></o:p></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> --<br /> <br /></div>

A Study in Charlotte — A Fresh and Exciting Take on Sherlock Holmes

"I felt more than ever how true a descendant he was" [HOUN]  A Study in Charlotte is a Sherlock Holmes story in which Sh...

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by Rob Nunn

Can You Decode This Puzzle Like Sherlock Holmes?

<h4 style="text-align: center;"> "the code which I have explained" [DANC]</h4> <div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOohsoiD85p_BfMcxTCkV33pzupZWVGV7Hj9SGA89QpTNzkN4qfKWEfo9dVcNWCSnrX2JLiJu5n1y6L6IUtLcD7Chdcze4hKUZnZV-OM4sNj7X3rHa0BVj5yJ4T8zGbmI5U-7TMJIAPDjU/s1600/DANC+-+Am+here.+Abe+Slaney..png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOohsoiD85p_BfMcxTCkV33pzupZWVGV7Hj9SGA89QpTNzkN4qfKWEfo9dVcNWCSnrX2JLiJu5n1y6L6IUtLcD7Chdcze4hKUZnZV-OM4sNj7X3rHa0BVj5yJ4T8zGbmI5U-7TMJIAPDjU/s640/DANC+-+Am+here.+Abe+Slaney..png" width="640" /></a></div> <br /></div> <div> It's not easy to think like Sherlock Holmes.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> You may recall that we interviewed Maria Konnikova, author of the book <i><a amzn-ps-bm-asin="014312434X" class="amzn_ps_bm_tl" data-amzn-link-id="0f29a9d03ddd9a4e96bddc80c696acd2" data-amzn-ps-bm-keyword="Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes" href="http://www.amazon.com/Mastermind-Think-Like-Sherlock-Holmes/dp/014312434X/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=thebakerstree-20&linkId=0f29a9d03ddd9a4e96bddc80c696acd2&linkCode=ktl" id="amznPsBmLink_3608222" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes</a><img alt="" border="0" height="0" id="amznPsBmPixel_3608222" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&t=thebakerstree-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=0f29a9d03ddd9a4e96bddc80c696acd2&_cb=1461178223176" style="border: none !important; height: 0px !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; width: 0px !important;" width="0" /></i> on <a href="http://ihose.co/ihose54" target="_blank">Episode 54</a> (and again for <i><a amzn-ps-bm-asin="0525427414" class="amzn_ps_bm_tl" data-amzn-link-id="325589260284e5203bb7ffcca11d4e11" data-amzn-ps-bm-keyword="The Confidence Game" href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Confidence-Game-Fall-Every/dp/0525427414/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=thebakerstree-20&linkId=325589260284e5203bb7ffcca11d4e11&linkCode=ktl" id="amznPsBmLink_8849662" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Confidence Game</a><img alt="" border="0" height="0" id="amznPsBmPixel_8849662" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&t=thebakerstree-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=325589260284e5203bb7ffcca11d4e11&_cb=1461178232266" style="border: none !important; height: 0px !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; width: 0px !important;" width="0" /></i> on <a href="http://ihose.co/ihose91" target="_blank">Episode 91</a>). It's difficult to train one's mind to undo all of the damage that's been caused by our habits.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> Case in point: some Tumblr users (or is that usrs?) had a devil of a time deducing the code on an electronic door system.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> Take a look but before you do, see if you can discern the solution to this "pretty little problem." [SCAN]</div> <div> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <blockquote class="imgur-embed-pub" data-id="rLtDZai" lang="en"> <a href="https://imgur.com/rLtDZai">View post on imgur.com</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//s.imgur.com/min/embed.js"></script><br /></div> <div> <br /> How did you do?<br /> <br /> A tip of the deerstalker to <a href="http://twitter.com/webby2001" target="_blank">Tom Webster</a> for the discovery.<br /> <br /> <i>Image credit: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Danc-1_(The_Return_of_Sherlock_Holmes,_1905_edition)_SVG.svg" target="_blank">Wikimedia Commons</a></i><br /> <br /></div> <div> --</div> <div> <br /></div>

Can You Decode This Puzzle Like Sherlock Holmes?

"the code which I have explained" [DANC] It's not easy to think like Sherlock Holmes. You may recall that we interv...

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by Scott Monty

Two East Coast Talks for Sherlock Holmes Fans

<h4 style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> "his usual brilliant lecture" [CREE] </h4> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxFp08YjDL1jVQuFBsaCLybzvkdbzpCa2XlzgEgJEgIWYeg-04mtrM7nHWaAgcR1A7W1kXXvLUBvR9ZUglYZSmmIr652VzPSHHsiivrX_6aOy07TvYkK9-DfGxj-_iE8lOY0PFMYCAvPcs/s1600/Douglas+West.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxFp08YjDL1jVQuFBsaCLybzvkdbzpCa2XlzgEgJEgIWYeg-04mtrM7nHWaAgcR1A7W1kXXvLUBvR9ZUglYZSmmIr652VzPSHHsiivrX_6aOy07TvYkK9-DfGxj-_iE8lOY0PFMYCAvPcs/s1600/Douglas+West.jpg" /></a></div> <br /> <br /> If you're in the Greater New York area this Spring, you're in for a treat. In addition to the regular happenings in and around town, there are two talks that you may want to attend.<br /> <div> <br /> The first takes place on at Yale University, where Glen Miranker, BSI ("The Origin of Tree Worship") will be <a href="http://web.library.yale.edu/news/2016/03/when-book-more-book-annual-adrian-van-sinderen-talk">giving the annual Adrian Van Sinderen Talk</a>. You may remember Glen <a href="http://ihose.co/ihose79" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">from Episode 79</a> of our show, where he told us all about his collecting mania. On Wednesday, April 20 at 4:30 pm in the Sterling Memorial Library Lecture Hall, he'll be giving a talk titled "When Is a Book More Than a Book?"<br /> <br /> Glen describes book collecting as:<br /> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> "a peculiar pastime. Why engage in such an abstruse and potentially costly activity when you can own reading copies at very modest expense? Pursuing and acquiring are only a part of bibliomania. Many books have a tale to tell beyond what's printed between their covers. Tracking down the backstory for my books is another thrill of the chase…and a principal reason to be interested in books as artifacts. We will explore this idea through a number of examples, demonstrating that book collecting is more than 'A Gentle Madness'—as Nicholas Basbanes so graphically describes it."</blockquote> More information can be found <a href="http://web.library.yale.edu/news/2016/03/when-book-more-book-annual-adrian-van-sinderen-talk" target="_blank">here</a>.<br /> <br /> <br /> The Mystery Writers of America have a major Sherlock Holmes event coming up in June. The theme for the evening is <b>Sherlock Holmes: Celebrating 125 Years of Perfection in Detection</b>, marking the anniversary of Arthur Conan Doyle’s publication of “A Scandal in Bohemia” in <i>The Strand Magazine</i>, which became the first short story in the anthology <i>The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes</i>.<br /> <br /> It should be a lively discussion of the lasting power of this iconic detective led by an all-star MWA-NY panel, including Lyndsay Faye, BSI ("Kitty Winter"), Otto Penzler, BSI ("The King of Bohemia"), and SJ Rozan, BSI ("The Imperial Palace of Peking").<br /> <br /> The event will take place on June 14, 2016 from 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm at the New York Public Library's Mid-Manhattan Branch at Fifth Avenue and 40th Street.<br /> <br /> <br /> We hope you enjoy some interesting and informative Sherlock Holmes-related events wherever your travels take you this spring.<br /> <br /> --<br /> <br /></div>

Two East Coast Talks for Sherlock Holmes Fans

"his usual brilliant lecture" [CREE]  If you're in the Greater New York area this Spring, you're in for a treat. In ...

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by Scott Monty

Elementary Will Return for a Fifth Season

<h4 style="text-align: center;"> <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">"The signals were renewed" [REDC]</span></h4> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyNWfY9Obp8Obc6ZHVglFi7GnSnJ-ZcSQHsa9rzjweRI0h9subk2lM19qYDioMlBh-UPsNvd4YQEdV-UJrvbCEV6J5XRZjL0zVSsXYK5bUXxPxp1dAmmdcym5RkLd9eDoITQeyAcwyKDPA/s1600/elementary.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyNWfY9Obp8Obc6ZHVglFi7GnSnJ-ZcSQHsa9rzjweRI0h9subk2lM19qYDioMlBh-UPsNvd4YQEdV-UJrvbCEV6J5XRZjL0zVSsXYK5bUXxPxp1dAmmdcym5RkLd9eDoITQeyAcwyKDPA/s640/elementary.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> As Elementary winds up its fourth season, let's touch on the news from CBS last month when they <a href="http://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/elementary-season-five-renewal-cbs-drama/" target="_blank">announced the renewal of Elementary for a fifth season</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>There were questions on whether CBS would bring back the show.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>The live ratings have taken a dip this season and the network has moved the show from Thursdays at 10:00 PM to Sundays at 10:00 PM, a slot that been the final resting place of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Mentalist</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">CSI: Miami</i>. After four seasons, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Elementary</i> has 96 episodes, enough for a successful syndication.</div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> However, the <a href="http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2014/06/09/live7-dvr-ratings-complete-2013-14-season-the-big-bang-theory-leads-adults-18-49-ratings-increase-raising-hope-earns-biggest-percentage-increase-the-blacklist-tope-viewership-gains/271900/">live ratings only tell part of the story</a>. The live + 7 day ratings <a href="http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2016/03/07/broadcast-live-7-ratings-feb-15-21-2016-week-22/">adds millions of viewers</a>, especially in the all-important 18-49 demographic. The fans of the show actively seek it out, DVRing it or watching it on demand at their convenience. The show is made by CBS Studios, which gives the network a financial incentive to keep the show going.<br /> <br /> One of the long-time knocks against <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Elementary</i> has been that it was crass ploy to cash in on Sherlock Holmes and the <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">BBC's</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> Sherlock</i>. Such an argument seems to assume that the British Broadcasting Corporation is a non-profit and ignores the fact that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sherlock</i> makes <a href="http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/3cc9afc4-2d0e-11e4-911b-00144feabdc0.html#axzz44nl7prjc">untold millions</a> for the Beeb; Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman tchotchkes are ubiquitous. You’d be hard-pressed to find similar Jonny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu merch.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/tv/columnist/2015/11/04/cbs-elementary-jonny-lee-miller-review/75105242/">Television critics</a> who are not Sherlockians consistently praise the show for its acting and intelligent scripts. Sherlockian critics (a majority of which tend to be BBC fans) sniff that CBS’ show is a<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> procedural</i>, as if the definition of the word contained a whiff of excrement, forgetting that long ago <a href="http://wessexpress.com/html/knox.html">Father Ronald Knox</a> enumerated the Canon’s own procedural elements. Sunday night is presently the home of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">60 Minutes</i>, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Madame Secretary</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Good Wife</i> making <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Elementary</i> a good fit with CBS’ prestige line-up.</div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> I look forward to Robert Doherty and the writing staff’s interesting, intelligent and challenging take on what it means to be Holmes and Watson, and Holmes and Watson in the 21^st century. <a href="http://www.cbs.com/shows/elementary/news/1005135/more-morland-more-problems-on-elementary/">Doherty</a> was at WonderCon when news of the renewal was announced, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kBt0Rwz3z8">Here</a> is a YouTube video of Doherty at one of the round tables and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Px16uAMW9bE">one</a> of him at a media interview.</div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <b><br /></b> <b><br /></b> <b>CORRECTION: </b>An earlier version of this article misstated the end date of Season 4. The current season ends on May 1, 2016.<br /> <br /> <i>Image credit: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRf5UkqHdQk" target="_blank">YouTube</a></i><br /> <br /> --<br /> <br /></div>

Elementary Will Return for a Fifth Season

"The signals were renewed" [REDC] As Elementary winds up its fourth season, let's touch on the news from CBS last mon...

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by James C. O'Leary

Legitimate Sherlockians — A Never-Ending Controversy

<h4 style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> "he hated my young legitimate heir" [PRIO] </h4> <h4 style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZCGwRD_b7BYs3egC4l1bbD5hw7vtowcqUEnBPF3QW-UyPpqdLKWt1W6j4zUZ-ELqCH86TUdrjJ33GGcGeQ5x80rORS52C4ZErGTZHr8-Y241Hdv3qQByh_PejovdT348Nw9KLrmUe09dC/s1600/BERY-03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZCGwRD_b7BYs3egC4l1bbD5hw7vtowcqUEnBPF3QW-UyPpqdLKWt1W6j4zUZ-ELqCH86TUdrjJ33GGcGeQ5x80rORS52C4ZErGTZHr8-Y241Hdv3qQByh_PejovdT348Nw9KLrmUe09dC/s640/BERY-03.jpg" width="640" /></a></h4> <div> <br />Name-calling about who's a legitimate Sherlockian, and disagreement about the things the young people enjoy doing — it sounds like the culture conflicts of today's Sherlockian world, but what do you know, the same things were going on half a century ago. A lot of the controversy now is about ships, whereas in 1968 it was about crossovers, but otherwise, well, we've been here before.<br /><br /><h3> "she went straight to her uncle" [BERY]</h3> The story starts with the September 1966 issue of <i>Baker Street Pages</i>, a newsletter I edited during my teenage years. That issue contained a six-line letter from Barbara Goldfield, a teen in the suburbs of Philadelphia. She made a suggestion that would hardly raise an eyebrow today: she identified Professor Moriarty's criminal network with T.H.R.U.S.H., the evil organization battling U.N.C.L.E., the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_from_U.N.C.L.E."><i>The Man from U.N.C.L.E.</i></a>, starring Robert Vaughn as Napoleon Solo and David McCallum as Illya Kuryakin, was a hugely popular series on NBC television that year, and Barbara suggested using it as a source for a study of Moriarty. <br /><br />"If she is so interested in U.N.C.L.E., T.H.R.U.S.H. and all the books thereof," someone shot back in the next issue, "I suggest that she resign from the Pageboys and start an U.N.C.L.E. society on the happenings of that far-fetched mythical group of morons." Such invective might not be out of place on Tumblr, Facebook or other social networks today, although most Sherlockians are familiar with crossovers, linking Holmes with everybody from Doctor Who to Fu Manchu.<br /><br />In December 1967, Barbara was back in <i>Baker Street Pages</i> with what would turn out to be one of the classic pieces of Sherlockian writing, a page and a half of text under the title "Did Sherlock Holmes Have Pointed Ears?" This was crossover more enduring than anything that had been said about U.N.C.L.E., for it pointed out the parallel between <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2010/07/search-of-glor_3.html#.VxHaiTArLb0" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sherlock Holmes and Mr. Spock of <i>Star Trek</i></a> (then just one year into the original series). The link between Holmes and <i>Star Trek</i> is more or less taken for granted now, especially as <a href="http://ihose.co/ihose85" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Nicholas Meyer</a>, the author of <i>The Seven-Per-Cent Solution</i>, is known to have introduced Sherlockian themes into <i>Star Trek</i> episodes. But 25 years before Spock claimed Holmes as one of his ancestors, Barbara nailed the similarities. She had also written brief pieces connecting Holmes with Batman, Gandalf, the Phantom of the Opera, and probably others.<br /><br />This was odd stuff, in a Sherlockian world largely committed to the theories of William S. Baring-Gould about <a amzn-ps-bm-asin="B0014YL4WY" class="amzn_ps_bm_tl" data-amzn-link-id="84b3bb9608cb4b9c63f5032ba762a95b" data-amzn-ps-bm-keyword="sherlock holmes of baker street" href="http://www.amazon.com/Illustrated-Caldecott-Greenaway-Historical-Baring-Gould/dp/B0014YL4WY/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=thebakerstree-20&linkId=84b3bb9608cb4b9c63f5032ba762a95b&linkCode=ktl" id="amznPsBmLink_9719898" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Holmes's love affair with Irene Adler</a><img alt="" border="0" height="0" id="amznPsBmPixel_9719898" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&t=thebakerstree-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=84b3bb9608cb4b9c63f5032ba762a95b&_cb=1460788653704" style="border: none !important; height: 0px !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; width: 0px !important;" width="0" /> and his involvement in solving the Jack the Ripper murders, to say nothing of Watson's San Francisco marriage. (Nothing unusual here, nothing to see, but be sure to read Rex Stout's "<a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2014/02/watson-actually-was-woman.html#.VxHbATArLb0" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Watson Was a Woman</a>.") Another teenage Sherlockian said in an angry letter to <i>Baker Street Pages</i> that he was "sick of being patronized" by the older generation who took it upon themselves to tell junior Sherlockians what to do and what to write. However, he agreed that quite a bit of what the younger generation was writing was piffle, including invocations of Mr. Spock, Gandalf, and the rest. <br /><br />Generations are always in conflict (have you read "<a href="http://www.pagebypagebooks.com/Arthur_Conan_Doyle/The_Adventures_of_Sherlock_Holmes/ADVENTURE_XI_THE_ADVENTURE_OF_THE_BERYL_CORONET_p1.html">The Beryl Coronet</a>" lately?) but 1968 was the beginning of a particularly dramatic time, with student demonstrations, riots, confrontation over the Vietnam war. My generation were the baby boomers, and there were millions of us, and as we reached the age to assert ourselves in political and social change, we were also ready to stand on our dignity in the Sherlockian world as well. The letters column in <i>Baker Street Pages</i> makes it clear that we did not agree on much (there were as many people denouncing the Spock and Gandalf crossovers as there were discovering them), and we were not always setting ourselves up in opposition to the established Sherlockians, but we were definitely on the scene. <div> <br /><h3> "It's all been done before and will be again." [VALL]</h3> Now, of course, we're the older generation. Unease in the Sherlockian world these days centers largely on two issues: whether there is a subtext of homosexuality in the relationship between Holmes and Watson, and whether fans of the BBC <i>Sherlock</i> series, without an accompanying interest in the original Holmes canon, are <a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/11/upon-the-clear-distinction-between-fandom-and-the-baker-street-irregulars-lyndsay-faye-sherlock-holmes-arthur-conan-doyle-elementary">legitimately Sherlockians</a>. <br /></div> <div> However, there is also sometimes a generational divide, complicated by the reality that the majority of younger Sherlockians, and especially BBC fans, are female, but the majority of older Sherlockians are still male. Unremarkably, there was also a strain of gender politics in the tensions of the 1960s, which surfaced when <a href="http://ash-nyc.com/">the Adventuresses of Sherlock Holmes</a> actually <a href="http://ihose.co/ihose89" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">picketed the Baker Street Irregulars' 1968 dinner</a>. Even apart from that issue, there was certainly a surge of young people impatient to find their place and flex their muscles.<br /><br />No wonder, then, that in January 1969, Barbara announced in print that she was pulling back a little from Sherlockian activity. "It seems," the originator of the Holmes-and-Spock theory wrote in annoyance, "that if the most slightly out-of-the-way theory is brought up by one of the members, other members fall upon him like wolves on a lamb." </div> <div> <br /></div> <div> Sound familiar at all?<br /><br />--</div> </div> <div> <br /></div>

Legitimate Sherlockians — A Never-Ending Controversy

"he hated my young legitimate heir" [PRIO]  Name-calling about who's a legitimate Sherlockian, and disagreement about the...

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by Chris Redmond

Episode 94: News & Nonsense

<h4 style="text-align: center;"> "absolute nonsense" [VALL]</h4> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHyFUDjYdzyIEK0qWwwzcQY8vNYgM1fJsX9USWc4EZjsTHjZv_e2htg62fnqQynTeukUd8JkU7htqRN28UaCrmLwf4zZvg-f-s4946jOhnj8M4vrbYGS-oTHdhrBHwC46riXiSryzC9Pq1/s1600/The+Naval+Treaty+-+letter+discovered+at+breakfast+at+Baker+Street.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="404" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHyFUDjYdzyIEK0qWwwzcQY8vNYgM1fJsX9USWc4EZjsTHjZv_e2htg62fnqQynTeukUd8JkU7htqRN28UaCrmLwf4zZvg-f-s4946jOhnj8M4vrbYGS-oTHdhrBHwC46riXiSryzC9Pq1/s1600/The+Naval+Treaty+-+letter+discovered+at+breakfast+at+Baker+Street.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> <br /> <center> <iframe allowfullscreen="" height="90" mozallowfullscreen="" msallowfullscreen="" oallowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" src="//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/4296870/height/90/width/600/theme/custom/autoplay/yes/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/backward/no-cache/true/render-playlist/no/custom-color/fa9c04/" style="border: none;" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="600"></iframe><br /> </center> <br /> This episode is a little different. As you know, we alternate between interview shows and Burt and Scott discussing whatever comes to mind. In this case, we had a number of news-related items to stitch together, but we had help in doing so. This was something of a chowder, a goulash, a salmagundi, a boullabaise, a melange of content.<br /> <br /> First, Bob Katz, BSI ("Dr. Anstruther") joined us again, but this time he told us all about <a href="http://bakerstreetjournal.com/sherlock2016.html">"The Mind and Art of Sherlock Holmes"</a> — the latest in the BSI's series of quadrennial conferences. This gathering at the Chatauqua Institution is not exclusive to Baker Street Irregulars; it's open to any Sherlockian who wishes to participate in a conference centered around art of all sorts. In this case, that includes theater, film, music and even podcasting (!). Plenty of food, drink, Sherlockian shopping, sightseeing and more.<br /> <br /> <a href="https://researchportal.port.ac.uk/portal/en/persons/rachel-smillie(7747eead-553b-4e1d-80e7-08865a9d2a2b).html">Rachel Smillie, Ph.D.</a> is a research assistant at the <a href="https://researchportal.port.ac.uk/portal/en/">University of Porsmouth</a>, where she's conducting a study of Sherlockians and their organizations, called "Celebrities, Fans and Muses." She is interested in getting in touch with Sherlockians from all over the world. If you're involved with a Sherlockian society — particularly if you lead one — please <a href="mailto:rachel.smillie@port.ac.uk">get in touch with Dr. Smillie</a> to participate in the survey.<br /> <br /> We subject Ron Lies to a <i>Wait Wait Don't Tell Me</i>-inspired quiz in which Scott does a mediocre <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Kurtis">Bill Kurtis</a> impression, and then we get on with the news.<br /> <br /> The Editor's Gas-Lamp is "The Days We Envy" from Vol. 4, No. 3 of the <i>Baker Street Journal</i> from 1954. And our Easter egg contains some tales from Down Under and a surprise update on one of the earlier news items. Not to mention a spoken error about geography, because Scott had the wrong country on the brain.<br /> <br /> Finally, we discuss Episode 95 in which we'll interview Jamie Mahoney and Leah Guinn, authors of <i>A Curious Collection of Dates</i>. And we brainstorm what we'll do in Episode 100. If you have ideas for what we should do for our centennial show, <a href="mailto:comment@ihearofsherlock.com" rel="nofollow">please let us know</a>.<br /> <div> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a div="" gt="" href="https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=2318606&redirect_uri=http%3A%2F%2Fihearofsherlock.com%2Fpodcast"><br /> <img height="40" src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/widget-images/become-patron-widget-medium%402x.png" width="204" /></a></div> <br /> Our special thanks go out to Mary Miller and Christian Mongaard for their Patreon support! Won't you join them by clicking on the button?<br /> <br /> <h3> Notes</h3> 1:52 Welcome<br /> 3:35 First sponsor — which will it be?<br /> 6:01 Bob Katz joins us to talk about the BSI conference in Chatauqua<br /> 27:25 Second sponsor — including some trivia about Arthur Conan Doyle and the first speeding ticket in a small Connecticut town<br /> 31:15 Rachel Smillie from the University of Portsmouth<br /> 40:57 Mental Exaltation<br /> 51:20 Third sponsor<br /> 53:46 The news!<br /> 1:09:33 The Editor's Gas-Lamp<br /> 1:15:16 Closing comments<br /> 1:16:00 Our 100th episode<br /> <br /></div> <div> <div> <h3> Sponsors</h3> This episode includes our two longtime sponsors and a special sponsor who is supporting us for the first half of this year:<br /> <br /> <ul> <li>The <a href="http://www.wessexpress.com/" target="_blank">Wessex Press</a>, featuring <i>A Curious Collection of Dates</i>, </li> <li><a href="http://www.bakerstreetjournal.com/" target="_blank"><i>The Baker Street Journal</i></a>, where you should get <a href="http://www.bakerstreetjournal.com/itemsforsale/subscriptions.html" target="_blank">your annual subscription</a> in now to secure all four issues plus the Christmas Annual. </li> <li>And Paula Berinstein's <a href="http://amandalester.net/" target="_blank">Amanda Lester, Detective</a> series for young adults.</li> </ul> <br /> <br /> Would you care to become a sponsor? You can find <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/p/contact.html#.Vc1Qx7JViko" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">more information here</a>.</div> <div style="font-family: 'times new roman';"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both;"> <br /></div> </div> </div> <div> </div> <h4 style="text-align: center;"> <a href="http://traffic.libsyn.com/ihearofsherlock/ihearofsherlock094.mp3" target="_blank">Download</a> [Save As] | File size 38.6 MB, 1:24:20</h4> <div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/259172351&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="100%"></iframe><br /></div> </div> <div> <h3> <br /> </h3> <h3> Links:</h3> <ul> <li><a href="http://bakerstreetjournal.com/sherlock2016.html">The Mind and Art of Sherlock Holmes - the BSI 2016 Conference in Chatauqua</a></li> <li><a href="http://ciweb.org/">The Chautaqua Institution</a></li> <li>The <a href="https://researchportal.port.ac.uk/portal/en/">University of Porsmouth Research Portal</a></li> <li>Contact page for <a href="https://researchportal.port.ac.uk/portal/en/persons/rachel-smillie(7747eead-553b-4e1d-80e7-08865a9d2a2b).html">Dr. Rachel Smillie</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2015/06/celebrating-40-years-of-dr-watsons.html">The 40th Anniversary of Dr. Watson's Neglected Patients</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2016/04/sherlock-series-four-is-filming-what-to.html#.VxBraDArLb0">Sherlock Series 4 is filming</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2016/03/remembering-douglas-wilmer-bsi.html#.VxBrUTArLb0">Remembering Douglas Wilmer, BSI</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2016/04/conan-doyle-manuscripts-at-auction-today.html#.VxBrDTArLb1">Conan Doyle Manuscripts at auction</a></li> <li>The <a href="http://patreon.com/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere Patreon</a> page</li> <li><a href="http://www.harryscafedewheels.com.au/">Harry's Cafe De Wheels</a></li> </ul> </div> <div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <br /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <div style="text-align: left;"> Many more links, articles and images are available in our Flipboard and Scoop.it sites at <a href="http://ihose.co/flipsherlock" target="_blank">ihose.co/flipsherlock</a> and <a href="http://www.scoop.it/t/sherlock-holmes" target="_blank">ihose.co/scoopsherlock</a>, as well as on the <a href="https://plus.google.com/communities/114565123495685504221" target="_blank">The Sherlock Holmes Community</a> on Google+ (now over 3,500 members), as well as through our accounts on <a href="http://facebook.com/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="http://instagram.com/ihearofsherlock">Instagram</a>, <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2016/04/ihose-on-snapchat-just-in-time-for.html">Snapchat</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">Twitter</a> and <a href="http://ihearofsherlock.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">Tumblr</a>.</div> </div> <br /> <br /> Please <a href="http://bit.ly/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">subscribe to us on iTunes</a>, <a href="https://soundcloud.com/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">Soundcloud</a>, <a href="http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/i-hear-of-sherlock-everywhere?refid=stpr" target="_blank">Stitcher</a> or <a href="http://www.spreaker.com/user/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">Spreaker</a> and be kind enough to leave a rating or review for the show. And please tell a friend about us, in any fashion you feel comfortable.<br /> <br /> Your thoughts on the show? Leave a comment below, send us an email (comment AT ihearofsherlock DOT com), call us at (774) 221-READ (7323).<br /> <br /></div> --<br /> <br />

Episode 94: News & Nonsense

"absolute nonsense" [VALL] This episode is a little different. As you know, we alternate between interview shows and B...

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by Scott Monty

Long Lost Prop from The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes Found

<h4 style="text-align: center;"> "who made this remarkable discovery?" [NORW]</h4> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVYidzb948w1jfLliL7zfGwGPxpBGSIuWYPk5fxPNdEXv5fFXKPmAz9YwGNrOU3hwTuJagAHwyuCvTT_hSFR0dG7bldgsrAgPyb0DWb-mg1sDFP0enYqDwtpZ530G48PPKp3p7QLS95cTq/s1600/Nessie.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVYidzb948w1jfLliL7zfGwGPxpBGSIuWYPk5fxPNdEXv5fFXKPmAz9YwGNrOU3hwTuJagAHwyuCvTT_hSFR0dG7bldgsrAgPyb0DWb-mg1sDFP0enYqDwtpZ530G48PPKp3p7QLS95cTq/s640/Nessie.PNG" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> A forgotten piece of movie history has been found in Loch Ness. Almost 50 years after it sunk, a 30 foot model of the Loch Ness monster used in the filming of <i>The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes</i> has been located by a crew operating an underwater robot.<br /> <br /> The model, a giant head on a long slender neck, did not contain the classic two humps traditionally associated with "Nessie." However, director Billy Wilder did not want the humps, and according to Loch Ness expert Adam Shine, "asked that they be removed, despite warnings I suspect from the rest of the production that this would affect its buoyancy." The crew then created a version without humps for use in the film.<br /> <br /> And sure enough, the production crew's predictions proved prescient and the model sank.<br /> <br /> The sunken model was discovered as part of a larger initiative to determine the depths of Loch Ness using submersibles supplied by Kongsberg Maritime. The full story can be <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-36024638">found on the BBC website</a>.<br /> <br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1OtY8eQs-RUbYHOD2AznrrHKcdZYh5zykI7kUj_zZL4ZoU2dcoABpy2z1GCqWt5qcy6JLpKW1wo0-DFHx806OcD663Nl3I_OCAfo0_OKOvWOeh5FH5NpCMJyFun96l-GRq1DhYjDKhTOZ/s1600/Nessie+radar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1OtY8eQs-RUbYHOD2AznrrHKcdZYh5zykI7kUj_zZL4ZoU2dcoABpy2z1GCqWt5qcy6JLpKW1wo0-DFHx806OcD663Nl3I_OCAfo0_OKOvWOeh5FH5NpCMJyFun96l-GRq1DhYjDKhTOZ/s640/Nessie+radar.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Computer-enhanced image of the scan of the Nessie model (via <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-36024638">BBC</a>)</td></tr> </tbody></table> <br /> <i>The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes</i> debuted in 1970 and starred Robert Stephens as Sherlock Holmes, Colin Blakely as Dr. Watson and Christopher Lee as Mycroft Holmes. Miklos Rosza composed the score (more on his work for the film <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2007/04/composer-of-no-ordinary-merit-redh_18.html" rel="nofollow">can be found here</a>) and Billy Wilder directed. Wilder wanted a significantly longer film, but studio executives made him cut it and the footage has been lost to the ages.<br /> <br /> Too bad that wasn't found along with Nessie.<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia6rdCOSKCLwkhOrp1RltD8fy7HJHQ_jofmwXLI0tJHNugcU1BzBW-DwOo9G_fK2-winUmFE0dvQGEOO-P2OePVR34SsSTwPRGWfsOY1ljw8_H3D9h-yOYX5eBjMDl8TnMjISnqBgXZ9rn/s1600/Nessie.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia6rdCOSKCLwkhOrp1RltD8fy7HJHQ_jofmwXLI0tJHNugcU1BzBW-DwOo9G_fK2-winUmFE0dvQGEOO-P2OePVR34SsSTwPRGWfsOY1ljw8_H3D9h-yOYX5eBjMDl8TnMjISnqBgXZ9rn/s1600/Nessie.gif" /></a></div> <br /> <br /> Oh, and spoiler alert:<br /> <br /> It wasn't really the Loch Ness monster. It was a mini-submarine cleverly disguised as the legendary creature, and navigated by dwarves.<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_7YobKPKXDE3sqdyffFpwi7VVAg57WqD_3LNA0Mh-gEIHqGPqpAVnlYL8uXpIpSOKerLtjwL5_HL1DsL7ZR8TAd6rsO5D8MVmbRmPRExFDqqXyheqaO2e3g4wk0w2tqI50n_ZIWdNtqBt/s1600/Nessie+sub.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_7YobKPKXDE3sqdyffFpwi7VVAg57WqD_3LNA0Mh-gEIHqGPqpAVnlYL8uXpIpSOKerLtjwL5_HL1DsL7ZR8TAd6rsO5D8MVmbRmPRExFDqqXyheqaO2e3g4wk0w2tqI50n_ZIWdNtqBt/s640/Nessie+sub.PNG" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> <br /> --<br /> <br />

Long Lost Prop from The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes Found

"who made this remarkable discovery?" [NORW] A forgotten piece of movie history has been found in Loch Ness. Almost 50 years ...

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by Scott Monty

The Curious Case of the Clockwork Doll – A Review

<div class="MsoNormal"> <h4 style="text-align: center;"> “You really are an automaton - a calculating machine” [SIGN]</h4> <o:p></o:p></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG3T7IRasS47yRMrtfLX3a3gRDHu2ZmIUMdWaVBiMQGTGp1GAnwOdiREWwI_UJlUSzaEigMpnl65E345XjzNvQgFw2m1yDwu8gG7veOoOgRBtNbx3W-QLYYlzPzBt30cWH3NvbkToJPcTs/s1600/science+of+deduction+curious-case+-+header.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG3T7IRasS47yRMrtfLX3a3gRDHu2ZmIUMdWaVBiMQGTGp1GAnwOdiREWwI_UJlUSzaEigMpnl65E345XjzNvQgFw2m1yDwu8gG7veOoOgRBtNbx3W-QLYYlzPzBt30cWH3NvbkToJPcTs/s640/science+of+deduction+curious-case+-+header.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <i>The Science of Deduction</i> is a year-long Sherlock Holmes collection that will include twelve original novellas by author Heidi Hewett, with a new story released to Kindle each month.  “<a href="http://18thwall.com/product/the-science-of-deduction-the-curious-case-of-the-clockwork-doll/">TheCurious Case of the Clockwork Doll</a>” is the first story in this collection.  <o:p></o:p></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> A lady comes to call in Baker Street, but something feels  off when she is requesting Holmes’ help.  That is because this is no ordinary lady, but an automaton sent by her maker, Judith Haviland, to uncover the source of curious disturbances in their house .  Many readers would expect “The Curious Case of the Clockwork Doll” to devolve into a steampunk story from this moment, but the use of this automaton and her inventor’s other works are handled in a much more believable manner than many other pastiches have done.  Holmes is intrigued by this invention and agrees to travel by train to the country.  And after a run in with a jewel thief on the train, they arrive at the family manor.<o:p></o:p></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> The author’s love for the canon is evident from the beginning.  The first half of the opening chapter has an almost déjà vu feel to it because so many snippets of Doyle’s stories are used again here.  Holmes seems to read Watson’s mind by using the reflection in a teapot just as he does with the coffee pot in the beginning of <i>The Hound of the Baskervilles,</i> and his line about the most winning woman he has ever known from <i>The Sign of Four</i> is used almost verbatim in this story.  Hewett does a fine job imitating the Watsonian voice of the original, but the first chapter can be disconcerting with so many very familiar moments popping up.<o:p></o:p></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> Once Holmes and Watson arrive at Haviland manor though, Hewett shows her strength as an author.  The first few chapters of this book consist of exposition and mood setting, which seem to have her at a disadvantage as a storyteller.  So many of Holmes’ cases begin in Baker Street and include a train car conversation.  This pastiche uses those old standbys as well, but it feels forced at some points.  Once Holmes and Watson reach Haviland manor, the author is free to take the story in any direction she chooses, and does so at a very nice pace.  The story twists and turns with many nods to the canon that are able to be spread out enough so that they don’t overshadow the mystery at the heart of the story.  <o:p></o:p></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> The inhabitants of the Haviland household create a classic manor mystery feel: Judith, the driven matron of the house, her lazy brother, Lionel, their young charge, Mary, her tutor, Miss Berends, and a house full of automatons.  Other characters appear later, and some are familiar names to those of us who know the canon well.  There is, of course, more to this case than a few disturbances in the house, and the imaginative plot leads up to a very exciting climactic scene in the end.<o:p></o:p></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMlaiqzbCuHqr7EUmyX8qI1EEhbA7mTLkYZHaV9oiPMLvC-BFk2BP5sL8SAvxEPm5PdC6M5h2bWqPK8DQB1EfcH2ZIFXe5uULWKfX0Iy8LyH4kh2AqxYbJs8DJHpU5d2vo3NG3Q8FXaV7K/s1600/science+of+deduction+curious-case.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMlaiqzbCuHqr7EUmyX8qI1EEhbA7mTLkYZHaV9oiPMLvC-BFk2BP5sL8SAvxEPm5PdC6M5h2bWqPK8DQB1EfcH2ZIFXe5uULWKfX0Iy8LyH4kh2AqxYbJs8DJHpU5d2vo3NG3Q8FXaV7K/s640/science+of+deduction+curious-case.jpg" width="484" /></a></div> <br /> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> Many pastiches that introduce robots into a Sherlock Holmes story end up being a Victorian version of Iron Man, but The Curious Case of the Clockwork Doll is able to keep the correct feel of the era while Holmes and Watson stay true to the characters we are all so familiar with.  After a rocky beginning, this story settles into an inventive tale that is worth checking out.<o:p></o:p><br /> <br /> The second story in this series, "<a href="http://18thwall.com/product/the-science-of-deduction-volume-2-the-door-of-eternal-night/">The Door of Eternal Night</a>" by Josh Reynolds, is also available from <a href="http://18thwall.com/">18th Wall Productions</a>.</div> <br /> <div class="MsoNormal"> <i>18^th Wall Productions provided a complimentary copy of this eBook for review</i>.<o:p></o:p><br /> <br /> --<br /> <br /></div>

The Curious Case of the Clockwork Doll – A Review

“You really are an automaton - a calculating machine” [SIGN] The Science of Deduction is a year-long Sherlock Holmes collection th...

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by Rob Nunn

Conan Doyle Manuscripts at Auction Today

<h4 style="text-align: center;"> "now as excited as myself, took out his manuscript" [MUSG] </h4> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5sea2SOa6YHozsvDOMdNN_Y1_WXwFmKg7psdg7Ej4oNqd7yXjAArW3uhoNxpZhvYHviLcZcb7YnG-gv7Hke9E91QZ3vS8q3ocWehrPez0cL4aImIO3cgE4pm1yFwD5gPMbuSSnyk4VomJ/s1600/ACD+Auction+-+Bonhams.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5sea2SOa6YHozsvDOMdNN_Y1_WXwFmKg7psdg7Ej4oNqd7yXjAArW3uhoNxpZhvYHviLcZcb7YnG-gv7Hke9E91QZ3vS8q3ocWehrPez0cL4aImIO3cgE4pm1yFwD5gPMbuSSnyk4VomJ/s640/ACD+Auction+-+Bonhams.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <div> <br /></div> <div> It's always a rare treat when an original manuscript by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle goes on the auction block. But when more than one hits the street on one day, it's really a cause for celebration.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> Today at 10:00 a.m. EDT, <a href="http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/23644/">Bonhams will be holding a fine literature auction</a> in New York City that includes not one, not two, but three, autographed Conan Doyle manuscripts of Sherlock Holmes stories. Also included are one historical novel (<i>Rodney Stone</i>) and a short story about World War I ("The Prisoner's Defense").</div> <div> <br /></div> <h3> The Holmes Manuscripts</h3> <div> Two of the manuscripts are complete, while one is just a single sheet. </div> <div> <br /></div> <div> "<b>The Greek Interpreter</b>" is unique in that it is t<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: 16px;">he only known complete manuscript from </span><i style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px;">The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: 16px;">. This is, of course, the story in which we learn of Holmes's ancestry and how that may have influenced him:</span><br /> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> "My ancestors were country squires, who appear to have led much the same life as is natural to their class. But, none the less, my turn that way is in my veins, and may have come with my grandmother, who was the sister of Vernet, the French artist. Art in the blood is liable to take the strangest forms."</blockquote> </div> <div> According to the auction site, the MS is 34 pp, 4to, South Norwood, London, c.1893, in sepia ink on ruled paper removed from a composition book, with revisions in ink and pencil, publisher's page count in blue crayon, pp 22 & 33 versos with pencil scribbling by a child, tears and creases along edges with some slight loss not affecting text, some light spotting throughout. Housed in a custom-made red cloth portfolio with gilt labelled spine, some light fingermarks.Provenance: Christies London, December 18, 1964 (bought by Lew Feldman on behalf of the author's son Adrian Conan Doyle); Sold Christie's, May 5, 1982, lot 102.</div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFnNTmBsFa1qn8meKE8jFu5Fq4zbxNsun8tuyQERRFNoewBX-8vQTw0N9zQLWDmq_WvL-Ybh99akJKKqN32rFixHhgtq20HdZxhpG-iXx7vUP1lXz9JIptsUY8k1TGOQOgS0XzQ_bMSMOu/s1600/ACD+Auction+-+GREE+large.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFnNTmBsFa1qn8meKE8jFu5Fq4zbxNsun8tuyQERRFNoewBX-8vQTw0N9zQLWDmq_WvL-Ybh99akJKKqN32rFixHhgtq20HdZxhpG-iXx7vUP1lXz9JIptsUY8k1TGOQOgS0XzQ_bMSMOu/s640/ACD+Auction+-+GREE+large.png" width="640" /></a></div> <div> <br /></div> <div> The manuscript for "The Greek Interpreter" is expected to fetch $380,000 - $420,000. The market for such an item is quite limited (and we know most of the major likely bidders). We'll see whether the winning bidder is an individual or an institution.<br /> <br /></div> <div> If you would like more details about this item, including a large image of the first page and the full history of it, please see <a href="http://www.bestofsherlock.com/mss/greek-interpreter.htm">the Greek Interpreter page on the Best of Sherlock Holmes site</a>.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> <br /></div> <div> The second complete manuscript is that of "<b>The Problem of Thor Bridge</b>." As you can see from the image below, Conan Doyle had other ideas in mind for the title of the story. Originally "The Adventure of the Second Chip" and then "The Problem of Rushmere Bridge," it finally achieved its familiar title (albeit with an apostrophe 'S').</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidqvq_YeDbTqCxple5VNFgA25TgK5FAEK71mb49DFygBDc7mlaOrGZW0zBV98gjeDcgoWXLOmdBStuBEp4q1GB-jOiNnYJJv3YVvzFpbxV02nn-wT2BsNuTrVNxHud-hHom1x2jYK-OlRl/s1600/ACD+Auction+-+THOR+large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidqvq_YeDbTqCxple5VNFgA25TgK5FAEK71mb49DFygBDc7mlaOrGZW0zBV98gjeDcgoWXLOmdBStuBEp4q1GB-jOiNnYJJv3YVvzFpbxV02nn-wT2BsNuTrVNxHud-hHom1x2jYK-OlRl/s640/ACD+Auction+-+THOR+large.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /></div> <div> As you'll note from reading the introductory paragraph, this story from The Case-book of Sherlock Holmes provides us with some valuable nuggets that are part of the Sherlockian lore: Dr. Watson's tin dispatch-box being located in the vaults of Cox & Co.; some of the more legendary untold tales, such as Isadora Persano and the remarkable worm unknown to science, and the strange disappearance of James Phillimore, who went inside to retrieve his umbrella and was never seen again.</div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div> <br /></div> <div> According to Bonhams, this is an Autograph Manuscript Signed ("A Conan Doyle"), entitled "The Problem of Thor's Bridge" and "Continuation of 'The Problem of Thor's Bridge'," 48 pp in two parts, 8vo and 4to, Crowborough, East Sussex, c.1922, in various colored inks with revisions in ink or pencil on yellow-ruled paper, some pages clipped, some soiling, folds and marginal tears, hole in upper left corner of second part from removal of metal clasp. First part bound in near contemporary white cloth lettered in gilt, bound for Doyle or his son; second part loose in custom red cloth portfolio and box. Provenance: offered by Lew Feldman as part of the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Archives in 1971; Christie's London, Valuable Autograph Letters, April 29, 1981, Lot 174.</div> <div> <br /></div> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgnRvXC9Neptob-wNN3GU1uQq6v3eWd_8FKx1Ib-0uD9AlaPMnTCysl0nCswUVG39ZNSkGBqzePtwO_b6Q2L5gLf6NI5nuBK0Ptz2E-IwjhoZSr_JQela_qZ3q0L_sOAI0abYOeiSsjruj/s1600/ACD+Auction+-+THOR+multiple.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgnRvXC9Neptob-wNN3GU1uQq6v3eWd_8FKx1Ib-0uD9AlaPMnTCysl0nCswUVG39ZNSkGBqzePtwO_b6Q2L5gLf6NI5nuBK0Ptz2E-IwjhoZSr_JQela_qZ3q0L_sOAI0abYOeiSsjruj/s640/ACD+Auction+-+THOR+multiple.png" width="640" /></a></div> <div> <br /></div> <div> This specimen is expected to fetch between $250,000 - $350,000. Additional information and large scale images can be found on the Best of Sherlock Holmes <a href="http://www.bestofsherlock.com/mss/thor-bridge.htm">"The Problem of Thor Bridge" page</a>.</div> <div> <br /> <br /> The last Holmesian item for sale today is a single page from <i><b>The Hound of the Baskervilles</b></i>. A bit of history about this one from the auction site:<br /> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> "Unfortunately no complete manuscript of <i>The Hound of the Baskervilles</i> survives: to promote the novel in America, McClure asked Conan Doyle for the manuscript of between 185 and 190 pp., to be used as a marketing ploy, distributing single pages to bookstore owners to display in their windows, along with the American edition. Most of these leaves were either lost or destroyed. The only known complete manuscript chapter of the novel (Chapter XI, "The Man on the Tor") is now in the Berg Collection, The New York Public Library."</blockquote> According to Randall Stock on his Best of Sherlock site, this is "a<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: 16px;"> rarity among rarities—only 36 leaves still exist from the most famous Holmes story, and institutions hold 24 of those."</span><br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPjr9cO8aDLuw5A0g3ISPDL3t-BJKnNDmNwhl1iAud_iR6xTJkrSWJuSnsHUzpmYn3O3BtBt06gLODm_auZlanLy6qNxzpuG9o6WYLVzqZYiZ5WVtQBfk1yyQI8Knj_RrTi3iDhNI16UAw/s1600/ACD+Auction+-+HOUN+large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPjr9cO8aDLuw5A0g3ISPDL3t-BJKnNDmNwhl1iAud_iR6xTJkrSWJuSnsHUzpmYn3O3BtBt06gLODm_auZlanLy6qNxzpuG9o6WYLVzqZYiZ5WVtQBfk1yyQI8Knj_RrTi3iDhNI16UAw/s640/ACD+Auction+-+HOUN+large.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> <br /></div> Autograph Manuscript, a single leaf from <i>The Hound of the Baskervilles</i>, 1 p, 4to, n.p., c.1902, being the first page of "Chapter XIII. Fixing the Nets," one line crossed through, old tears along folds expertly reinforced. Housed in a custom gray cloth portfolio, gilt-lettered black morocco-backed marbled cloth box.<br /> <div> <br /></div> <div> This ultra-rare item is expected to fetch between $100,000 - $150,000 at auction. For full detail about this item, as well as a large scan of the page, please see the <a href="http://www.bestofsherlock.com/mss/hound-baskervilles-h31.htm">Best of Sherlock page for <i>The Hound of the Baskervilles</i> Manuscript Leaf H31</a>.<br /> <div> <br /> <br /> We wish we could say that we're in the running for one of these, but we'd prefer to keep a roof over our head. If you're bidding, good luck!<br /> <br /> <h4> Update (1:00 pm EDT)</h4> The auction has closed, and only the manuscript for "<a href="http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/23644/lot/17/">The Problem of Thor Bridge</a>" was sold. It sold for $269,000, including the buyer's premium.<br /> <br /> <br /></div> <div> <i>All images courtesy of Bonhams</i>.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> --</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> <br /></div> </div>

Conan Doyle Manuscripts at Auction Today

"now as excited as myself, took out his manuscript" [MUSG]  It's always a rare treat when an original manuscript by Sir...

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by Scott Monty

Qualify for the Quiz on IHOSE #94

<h4 style="text-align: center;"> "what puzzled the New Yorkers" [STUD] </h4> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Q5F961_q6yo9gv77cb3_BvMVOG_-MRDYd5OV-dsrmZ2xkItu3FzwTuM8kuqpuMuKfHC0vdkNG6UWbucpzPSmKLb2Th4gSoafuGuL4X6VSDahrwAYaFE42ghmnzvQ5Hah3cAaOHRHLRhZ/s1600/Sherlock+Holmes+in+NY+-+title+card.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Q5F961_q6yo9gv77cb3_BvMVOG_-MRDYd5OV-dsrmZ2xkItu3FzwTuM8kuqpuMuKfHC0vdkNG6UWbucpzPSmKLb2Th4gSoafuGuL4X6VSDahrwAYaFE42ghmnzvQ5Hah3cAaOHRHLRhZ/s640/Sherlock+Holmes+in+NY+-+title+card.PNG" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> We're preparing to record Episode 94 of I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere, which will air on April 15. On that show, we'll be giving you an update of the news, which includes a discussion of the BSI excursion to the Chatauqua Institute in upstate New York.<br /> <br /> So, for our Mental Exaltation quiz on Episode 94, you'll need to be in a New York state of mind, as you will for the qualifying question below.<br /> <br /> <h4> <br /> Here's how Mental Exaltation works:</h4> Each month, we'll post a qualifying question to determine a listener who'll play / be played for on the program. Winner will be chosen at random from all correct entries.<br /> <br /> If you'd like to enter, you <b>must</b> subscribe to I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere by email.<br /> <br /> We'll either have a guest play on your behalf or we'll patch you into the show to have you play over the phone or Skype.<br /> <br /> If you or your player succeed in passing the test, you'll win a random item from our I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere Grab-Bag of Goodies (that's the IHOSE GBG).<br /> <br /> <br /> <h3> Qualify Now</h3> <iframe frameborder="0" height="1000" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1ariO74aZzwiOcIC1lm4d1ljcTTZFZAExc_N85YcjmWY/viewform?embedded=true" width="660">Loading...</iframe><br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Good luck!<br /> <br /> <br /> <i>Image credit: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VQyQP7y4so">YouTube</a></i><br /> <br /> --

Qualify for the Quiz on IHOSE #94

"what puzzled the New Yorkers" [STUD]  We're preparing to record Episode 94 of I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere, which will ...

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by Scott Monty

Sherlock Series Four Is Filming — What to Expect

<h4 style="text-align: center;"> "I scrawled down the sign of the four" [SIGN]</h4> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL4nkb4hf1tMR1ur-EwsJtC9lkEtc0vYfM6GbGLEAEoX2diZgNA1BVD9Z6wsZgAn7REO1eV6YXUFvPcKglQQDzNVUj1dYOEVKRBCf8rux468lt31EpFyhERdNu-u259ZMomw8R1q0M-qbH/s1600/Sherlock+-+Miss+Me.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL4nkb4hf1tMR1ur-EwsJtC9lkEtc0vYfM6GbGLEAEoX2diZgNA1BVD9Z6wsZgAn7REO1eV6YXUFvPcKglQQDzNVUj1dYOEVKRBCf8rux468lt31EpFyhERdNu-u259ZMomw8R1q0M-qbH/s640/Sherlock+-+Miss+Me.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> As the world exploded yesterday — not like Vincent Starrett intimated in '221B' — but with <i>Sherlock</i> as a trending topic on various websites, you probably saw the news that the <i>Sherlock</i> team is hard at work filming Series 4.<br /> <br /> In typical fan-baiting fashion, the official social media channels of the show carried this message:<br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: center;"> We're back! The game is on.</div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet tw-align-center" data-lang="en"> <div dir="ltr" lang="en"> It begins... Filming for series 4 is underway! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/221Back?src=hash">#221Back</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Markgatiss">@markgatiss</a><a href="https://t.co/QeAiD1nza0">https://t.co/QeAiD1nza0</a></div> — Sherlock (@Sherlock221B) <a href="https://twitter.com/Sherlock221B/status/717683640902164480">April 6, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><br /></div> Fans of the show have become accustomed to waiting two years between series, although this year's special <i><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2016/01/everything-you-need-to-know-roundup-of.html#.VwZS56QrLb1" rel="nofollow">The Abominable Bride</a></i> offered a bit of a respite from the typical lag between shows. So the news that filming has begun was welcome news indeed.<br /> <br /> But what can we expect from the show runners this time around? Previously, some have said they've been a bit too self-aware when it comes to making references and satisfying fans. You may recall that we interviewed Steven Moffat and Sue Vertue on <a href="http://ihose.co/ihose86" rel="nofollow">Episode 86</a>, where we tried to get a bit more out of them and they weren't having it.<br /> <br /> At this point, we don't know what the episode titles are, or which stories they might be based on. The creators have been quite secretive about that. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/notes/bbc-one/the-game-is-on-filming-underway-for-sherlock-series-four/1118283861525364">The statement</a> they issued was fairly generalized:<br /> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> “Sherlock series four - here we go again! Whatever else we do, wherever we all go, all roads lead back to Baker Street - and it always feels like coming home. Ghosts of the past are rising in the lives of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson bringing adventure, romance and terror in their wake. This is the story we’ve been telling from the beginning. A story about to reach its climax...”</blockquote> <br /> We know that Sherlock Holmes is back on British soil (as indicated in ABOM) and that the spectre of Moriarty is looming. It seems highly unlikely that Moriarty himself will make a return, but our estimation is that his forces will be at work to avow the legacy of the late, lamented Moriarty.<br /> <br /> Expect all of your favorite cast members to be there: Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson, respectively; Mark Gatiss as Mycroft Holmes; Amanda Abbington as Mary Morstan Watson; Una Stubbs as Mrs. Hudson; Louise Brealey as Molly Hooper; and Rupert Graves as Detective Inspector Greg Lestrade. Arwel Jones returns as the talented production designer.<br /> <br /> One interesting twist this time around is that the series will have its first female director. Rachel Talalay has worked as a director, producer, and professor in film and television for more than 25 years will take the helm for the first of the three episodes. Her previous directing experience includes <i>Doctor Who</i>, <i>The Flash</i> and <i>The Wind In The Willows</i>.<br /> <br /> But the lack of hard evidence has been driving some fans mad. So mad that one of them took it upon himself to create <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YD6FUmNSle0">a truly extraordinary trailer for Series 4</a>:<br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YD6FUmNSle0?rel=0" width="640"></iframe><br /></div> <br /> No, this wasn't created from stock footage. This particular video was painstakingly created over 14 months using digital technology and nothing else. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94LIYbJqn5M&nohtml5=False">Go behind the scenes</a> to see how it was done. Now <i>that</i> is a dedicated fan.<br /> <br /> It's almost as nutty as starting <a href="http://www.bakerstreetjournal.com/">your own quarterly publication</a> about the topic.<br /> <br /> What do you think is in store for us in this series? Leave us a comment below.<br /> <i><br /> </i> <i><br /> </i> <i>Image credit: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YD6FUmNSle0">YouTube</a></i><br /> <br /> --

Sherlock Series Four Is Filming — What to Expect

"I scrawled down the sign of the four" [SIGN] As the world exploded yesterday — not like Vincent Starrett intimated in ...

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by Scott Monty

The Curious Incident of the Guinea Coin

<h4 style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <span style="text-align: start;">"No coins were to be found" [ENGR]</span></h4> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNZP2ZLdG2ahfyA9kjhSqjGPQfCHNVxhHWoZg5lToaHnEujXJ1NQrxaVq9F_WvfDRDSLMnvcuBmsaiFsxV3GjaNp6QG-_Xf2vq69ILFOgMTsAOIxHJACtuPImY5YjfxdbUyFCQcLTbkr64/s1600/Guinea_1610342.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNZP2ZLdG2ahfyA9kjhSqjGPQfCHNVxhHWoZg5lToaHnEujXJ1NQrxaVq9F_WvfDRDSLMnvcuBmsaiFsxV3GjaNp6QG-_Xf2vq69ILFOgMTsAOIxHJACtuPImY5YjfxdbUyFCQcLTbkr64/s640/Guinea_1610342.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> <br /> I read a pastiche recently in which Sherlock Holmes pays somebody for something with "a guinea coin." Or perhaps I should say, I read another pastiche recently in which such a thing happens. No doubt the author was trying to establish an atmosphere of Victorian authenticity — but the result was the very opposite, as Holmes would not, could not, have done such a thing. And here is why.<br /> <br /> The "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guinea_(coin)">guinea</a>" was a gold coin first minted in 1663, and in general use for the rest of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, at least in those strata of society where you might expect to find people using gold coins. <br /> <br /> With a diameter of an inch, it contained about 8.4 grams of gold, which at today's gold prices would be worth a bit more than $300. Money for the less affluent consisted of shillings (the shilling coin contained 5.6 grams of silver, today worth around $2.75) and pennies (each one-twelfth of a shilling).<br /> <br /> With the economic instability that followed the French revolution and then the Napoleonic wars, the government looked for an alternative, cheaper currency. Paper money ("notes") became legal tender in 1797, and the last guineas were minted in 1799. (An exception: there was an issue of guineas in 1813 to pay the army that was fighting in the Peninsular War in Spain, when it became clear that the locals would accept no currency except gold.) The "great recoinage" of 1816 defined the pound as the principal unit of money.<br /> <br /> A guinea had traditionally been worth 21 shillings, although when the price of gold went up, it could be significantly more. A pound was defined as 20 shillings, and accordingly the new coin was smaller than the old guinea, about seven-eighths of an inch in diameter and containing about 7.3 grams of gold. Its intrinsic value was, as quick mathematics will show, significantly more than that of 20 silver shillings — an example of the "bimetallic question" with which Mycroft Holmes was concerned in "The Bruce-Partington Plans."<br /> <br /> The gold one-pound coin was generally known as a "sovereign," and figures several times in the Canon; Holmes was given one by Irene Adler as a tip for serving as a witness at her wedding, and said he planned to wear it on his watch-chain. Guinea coins, however, make no appearance, and for good reason: they had been out of general use for some 80 years by the time Holmes's career was getting under way.<br /> <br /> So why are guineas mentioned at all? Because they were still sometimes used in the prices of luxury goods and the fees of professionals. Indeed, they still are, as prices at art galleries and, oddly, livestock auctions may still be quoted in guineas. With the decimalization of British currency, 21 shillings is now expressed as £1.05, and a pretentiously expressed 500-guinea price would be £525 in ordinary money.<br /> <br /> <div> An expensive dress in "Silver Blaze" priced at 22 guineas, a pair of horses in "A Scandal in Bohemia" worth 150 guineas apiece, a 13-guinea medical bill in "The Missing Three-Quarter," Holmes's violin with its value of 500 guineas — these are typical uses of the old currency in Victorian times. A particularly interesting usage comes in "The Resident Patient," as Dr. Percy Trevelyan talks about his financial arrangement with Mr. Blessington, who gave him "five [shillings] and three-pence for every guinea that I had earned," that is, 25 per cent of the gross revenue.<br /> <br /> One does wonder why Holmes promised "a guinea to the boy who finds the boat" in <i>The Sign of the Four</i>, and why guineas are mentioned in cab-fares in <i>A Study in Scarlet</i> and "A Scandal in Bohemia." (The basic cab-fare in central London was sixpence a mile.) Interestingly, these are the first three stories, and it seems not impossible that the young Arthur Conan Doyle, whose total income for his first year in medical practice was £154, was trying to sound impressive without much personal experience of guineas.<br /> <br /> If that's correct, those pastiche authors are in good company in making their guinea mistake.<br /> <i><br /><br />Image source: <a href="https://www.blogger.com/By%20Classical%20Numismatic%20Group,%20Inc.%20http://www.cngcoins.com,%20CC%20BY-SA%203.0,%20https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1956986">Wikimedia Commons</a></i></div> <div> --</div> <div> <br /> <br /> <br /></div>

The Curious Incident of the Guinea Coin

"No coins were to be found" [ENGR] I read a pastiche recently in which Sherlock Holmes pays somebody for something with ...

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by Chris Redmond