I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere

Conan Doyle Estate Reaches Settlement with Miramax Over 'Mr. Holmes'

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"I grudge them their blood money" [LAST]</h4>
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<br /><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2015/05/conan-doyle-estate-sues-mr-holmes.html#.Vep6FvZViko" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><br /></a>
<a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2015/05/conan-doyle-estate-sues-mr-holmes.html#.Vep6FvZViko" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Earlier this year, </a>we reported on the lawsuit that the Conan Doyle Estate, Ltd. filed against Miramax, Roadside Attractions and Bill Condon in conjunction with the release of the film <i>Mr. Holmes</i> starring Ian McKellen.<br />
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Now, the Estate Limited <a href="http://variety.com/2015/biz/news/mr-holmes-lawsuit-settlement-arthur-conan-doyle-1201585667/" target="_blank">is claiming victory in its latest effort</a>. An agreement was in place in principle prior to the release of the film, and the parties are in the process of finalizing it. Benjamin Allison, attorney for the Estate, said earlier this week, "The estate is very pleased." Miramax had no comment on the ongoing litigation. According to press reports, the defendants had not filed a response to the lawsuit.<br />
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This is precisely how most nuisance lawsuits are handled by large entities. Big company lawyers are more expensive than a settlement would be. In our view, this is exactly what the CDEL hoped for, and <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2014/08/7th-circuit-orders-conan-doyle-estate.html#.VeqC9PZViko" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">the 7th Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals noted last year</a> noted in its landmark decision against the Estate last year:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">
The Doyle estate’s business strategy is plain: charge a modest license fee for which there is no legal basis, in the hope that the "rational" writer or publisher asked for the fee will pay it rather than incur a greater cost, in legal expenses, in challenging the legality of the demand. The strategy had worked with Random House; Pegasus was ready to knuckle under; only Klinger (so far as we know) resisted. In effect he was a private attorney general, combating a disreputable business practice—<u><b>a form of extortion</b></u>—and he is seeking by the present motion not to obtain a reward but merely to avoid a loss.</blockquote>
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The court even made a helpful recommendation:</div>
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It’s time the estate, in its own self-interest, changed its business model.</blockquote>
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However, with a Hollywood movie in its sights and precious little time left on its remaining 10 copyrighted stories, the Limited entity insists on panning for as much gold as it can.<br /><br />
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Meanwhile the case of <a href="https://burtwolder.wordpress.com/2015/07/27/a-strange-case/" target="_blank">Conan Doyle suing his own estate</a> from beyond the grave continues...<br />
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Conan Doyle Estate Reaches Settlement with Miramax Over 'Mr. Holmes'

"I grudge them their blood money" [LAST] Earlier this year, we reported on the lawsuit that the Conan Doyle Estate, Ltd. fil...

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by Scott Monty

Review: Barry Baskerville Traps a Thief

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<span style="line-height: 1.38;">"The youth pondered for a moment." [SIGN]</span></h4>
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“Barry got dressed for school quickly and opened the bedroom door. He admired the large sign attached to the door. The sign, in very large letters, read Office of Barry Baskerville - Boy Detective.”</blockquote>
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<i><a href="http://amzn.to/1NSSHVh" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Barry Baskerville Traps a Thief</a></i> is the third book in the Barry Baskerville children’s series by Richard Kellogg and illustrated by Gary Kato. Barry idolizes Sherlock Holmes, and in a town called Watsonville, who can blame him? He is precocious, to an almost annoying degree as he delights in showing off his talents for verbal trickery and logic puzzles to his friends John, Mary and Irene. Once he gets a crime to solve, however, the aspiring detective gets a chance to shine. Someone has been stealing all the wooden items in Watsonville, and the police are stumped. With a little help from local policeman Officer Lestrade, Barry’s on the case. <br />
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Our primary criticism of this book is that the mystery doesn’t start until two-thirds of the way through. It would have been nice to see a little more of the boy detective detecting, but at least Barry’s enthusiastic, and cute Sherlockian references abound. The brightly illustrated series could be a neat introduction for young kids to logical problem solving, as well as Sherlock Holmes. <br />
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The series, which also includes <i><a href="http://amzn.to/1EG6g7H" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Barry Baskerville Solves a Case</a></i> and <i><a href="http://amzn.to/1Fo9W90" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Barry Baskerville Returns</a></i>, is aimed at children ages 7 to 10, and is available on <a href="http://amzn.to/1NSSHVh">Amazon.</a><br />
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Review: Barry Baskerville Traps a Thief

"The youth pondered for a moment." [SIGN] “Barry got dressed for school quickly and opened the bedroom door. He admired...

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by Katie Magnusson

Remembering Austin McLean, BSI

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"a library where Sherlock Holmes was pursuing some laborious researches" [3STU]</h4>
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Austin McLean, BSI ("The London Library) died on January 16, 2015.  Thus passed one of the most important guardians of the Sherlock Holmes legend whose merits, like those of the Great Detective himself, should be publicly recognized. <br />
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Born in 1930, Austin served in the United States Marine Corps and later held positions in a variety of libraries, culminating as Curator of the Special Collections and Rare Books section of the University of Minnesota Libraries for nearly three decades in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.<br />
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Together with E.W. McDiarmid, BSI ("The Bruce-Partington Plans") and many others associated with the libraries, he was instrumental in establishing Minnesota as a world class center for the study of Sherlock Holmes.<br />
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This began with the purchase of the small but select James C. Iraldi collection in 1974 but really gained momentum in 1978 through the donation of the Mary Kahler and Philip Hench collection of Sherlock Holmes and Arthur Conan Doyle materials, including manuscript pages from <i>The Hound of the Baskervilles</i>, unique William Gillette memorabilia, and original artwork by Frederic Dorr Steele.  Under Austin’s watch there were many other significant acquisitions, including a Frederic Dorr Steele archive donated by his children; the Edith Meiser collection of radio scripts and recordings along with related material; a large portion of the Vincent Starrett papers; the Howard Haycraft archive; and of course the enormous John Bennett Shaw Sherlock Holmes collection.  <br />
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During his tenure  Austin supervised numerous  exhibits and conferences to help publicized these holdings:  details of many of them can be found on the <a href="https://www.lib.umn.edu/scrbm/holmes" target="_blank">Sherlock Holmes portion of the Special Collections and Rare Books web site</a>.   These undertakings often resulted in attractive publications, a selection of which are available as PDFs on the web site.  All this first created and then sustained the critical mass necessary to attract still more important materials and additional support for the collections. <br />
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"sparking plug" [LAST]</h3>
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Austin preferred to keep himself in the background during much of this but it is fair to say that<br />
most of what happened to make Minnesota such an important Sherlock Holmes center would have been impossible without his drive and devotion. Virtually every Holmes-related project undertook by the Libraries benefited from his involvement.  All this happened while he oversaw the acquisition and development of many other important collections in different areas, again insuring the University of Minnesota would be an essential stopping ground for many scholarly endeavors.  This fine work is now ably carried on by Tim Johnson and many other talented library employees and local enthusiasts.  <br />
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Austin was invested in the Baker Street Irregulars in 1990 as "The London Library," a suitable acknowledgement of his many contribution towards keeping the memory green, even if most still were not aware of their number and importance.  Again like Holmes, Austin would no doubt proclaim, "I do not think I am in need of booming."</div>
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But even Sherlock Holmes was wrong on occasion.<br />
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<b>Editor's note:</b> <i>Special thanks to Andrew Malec, BSI ("The Strange Old Book Collector") for writing this up, and to Cheryll Fong and Tim Johnson from the Special Collections and Rare Books section of the University of Minnesota Libraries. Tim was our guest on <a href="http://ihose.co/ihose67" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">IHOSE Episode 67</a>.</i></div>
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Remembering Austin McLean, BSI

"a library where Sherlock Holmes was pursuing some laborious researches" [3STU] Austin McLean, BSI ("The London Library...

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by Francine Kitts

Conan Doyle Sues Own Estate from Beyond the Grave

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"opening a grave without the consent of the next-of-kin" [HOUN]</h4>
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Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes, has sued the Conan Doyle Estate, according to a lawsuit filed late yesterday in Tweenhauken, Pennsylvania.<br />
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Karl Planchette, owner of Planchette's Paranormal Parlor, says a Ouija board manufactured in 1890 had been vibrating mysteriously.<br />
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"I usually have the TV on, and this one board often hops around a little during the news. Last week there was a report about <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/search/label/Mr%20Holmes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">some movie</a>, and it started to bounce around like crazy.  So I wrote down the letters and I was real surprised when I read it back and saw it was a lawsuit.  So I took it over to the courthouse," said Planchette.<br />
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According to Planchette, the complaint points to "statements harming the reputation of Arthur Conan Doyle as an individual deceased person and subjecting the character of Sherlock Holmes to groundless criticism."<br />
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Ouja board, long associated with paranormal beliefs, dictates complaints one letter at a time</h3>
"He was pretty steamed up for sure. It took almost two hours to write it all down. He wants them to sneeze and desist, but I’m pretty sure the sneeze part is a typo," said Planchette.<br />
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Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes, Professor Challenger, and author of  <i>The Lost World</i>, died in 1930 after a long career as a doctor, soldier, statesman and writer.  "He also wanted to know why no one is interested in <i>Sir Nigel</i>, whatever that is,” said Planchette.<br />
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More details of this astonishing story as it develops <a href="https://burtwolder.wordpress.com/2015/07/27/if-true-astonishing-news/" target="_blank">can be found here</a>.<br />
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