I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere

Episode 69: Sherlock Holmes on Radio, Part 2

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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Vq8YfDLzUMOXteKmplIO8NsY891powDvtsyOUZ7sx2wayTNRhzqRt6KhlCqonSUYuQ_hKNcpcf81TRPtI6S5cPJ3wUJFEJCtQwWXWECxswMMU6n3OuOgsCFrLepIy-yfmEtBe5AZCQtb/s1600/Clive+Merrison+and+Michael+Williams+color.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Michael Williams and Clive Merrison as Dr. Watson and Sherlock Holmes" border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Vq8YfDLzUMOXteKmplIO8NsY891powDvtsyOUZ7sx2wayTNRhzqRt6KhlCqonSUYuQ_hKNcpcf81TRPtI6S5cPJ3wUJFEJCtQwWXWECxswMMU6n3OuOgsCFrLepIy-yfmEtBe5AZCQtb/s1600/Clive+Merrison+and+Michael+Williams+color.jpg" title="Michael Williams and Clive Merrison" width="640" /></a></div>
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In <a href="http://ihose.co/ihose68" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Episode 68</a>, we explored some of the early days of Sherlock Holmes on radio with Bert Coules. We're pleased to present the second part of that episode as we make a deeper dive into Sherlock Holmes as portrayed in radio productions.<br />
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The bulk of our conversation with Bert centers - appropriately so - around the BBC Radio 4 series starring Clive Merrison and Michael Williams (<a href="https://amzn.to/2ZfyLYP" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Amazon</a>). After selling a dramatized version of <i>The Hound of the Baskervilles</i> to the BBC (which starred Roger Rees), Bert was given the green light to dramatize all 60 Sherlock Holmes stories, serving as the head writer.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0fUTvxoS9JhtehGvjnCPIg5jewCzu0eYs2ho6LeDPzs9iN0Cc_8SxuDh4SChM5TWlDyEytknCpKR4wCLhaIIqz0uWbYLk6oa6IoXbwG0C1DCS6HxqG0INFhy64I-C_iXr9zvH1wz4-GKa/s1600/Clive+Merrison+and+Sidney+Paget's%2BSherlock%2BHolmes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Sherlock Holmes - A Merrison or a Paget?" border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0fUTvxoS9JhtehGvjnCPIg5jewCzu0eYs2ho6LeDPzs9iN0Cc_8SxuDh4SChM5TWlDyEytknCpKR4wCLhaIIqz0uWbYLk6oa6IoXbwG0C1DCS6HxqG0INFhy64I-C_iXr9zvH1wz4-GKa/s1600/Clive+Merrison+and+Sidney+Paget's%2BSherlock%2BHolmes.jpg" title="Clive Merrison resembles Sidney Paget's Sherlock Holmes" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The striking resemblance between Sidney Paget's Sherlock Holmes (r) and Clive Merrison in the role (l).</td></tr>
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Bert discusses the casting of the new series, including what was required in a Watson that was an equal partner - and a zinger aimed at Nigel Bruce - as well as the increased comfort felt by the characters and actors over the course of the series recording.You may be surprised to learn how the stories were assigned to the writing team (a scientific method from the BBC, no doubt) and how the writers were "imaginatively faithful" to the stories. Not to mention the backstory behind an alternative ending to "The Solitary Cyclist."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMJFzSsTJEa8yHBeJx3vhIYgrlaiXJLnkkLzvHjLi_APIjesCHO58lTGDVv6Mss3oAB-UYAk91i5QKyBexDJiaCQnx9n8yTPSWJKkaA-1O7_-dDY-MFacn2r6sIBbNKFwug8-BkAH-JOXF/s1600/BBC+Studio+Recording.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMJFzSsTJEa8yHBeJx3vhIYgrlaiXJLnkkLzvHjLi_APIjesCHO58lTGDVv6Mss3oAB-UYAk91i5QKyBexDJiaCQnx9n8yTPSWJKkaA-1O7_-dDY-MFacn2r6sIBbNKFwug8-BkAH-JOXF/s1600/BBC+Studio+Recording.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Of particular interest for us in this show is a multitude of sound clips from the BBC series - including the music that played such a prominent role in some episodes. We did a bit of our own sound design in this episode in keeping with the spirit of the theme.<br />
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We also discuss some of the more intriguing guest stars on the series, such as Peter Sallis, Desmond Llewelyn, Brian Blessed and Tom Baker, as well as the "new" Watson during <i>The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes</i>, Andrew Sachs. Bert has a great story about how he ended the series in a manner than ensured it will not be continued.<br />
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<b>CONTEST ALERT: </b>This episode contains a contest. </h4>
We mentioned Denis Quilley and Patrick Allen as two actors who have been in the BBC Sherlock Holmes radio shows (as Bob Carruthers [SOLI] and Leon Sterndale [DEVI], respectively) and who have also been guest stars in the Granada series (as Leon Sterndale [DEVI] and Col. Sebastian Moran [EMPT], respectively.<br />
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There are at least two other actors who have also had guest starring roles in each series. The first individual who <a href="mailto:ihearofsherlock@gmail.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">emails us</a> the names and their respective roles and stories in each series will win a copy of Bert Coules' book, <a href="http://wessexpress.com/html/221bbc.html" style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank">221 BBC: Writing for the World's Only Complete Dramatized Canon and Beyond</a>.<br />
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<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/AVvXsEg_eknz6kDRDa-uDl61nnBYiDb3md9lVKkODVAm2h18T_TGL-uUTtfokaJjYCr8niMRIKsT0sftMl5LTSDjQI0d0x3Lf7rV_loJ_3MbPdq4WBGn1kck11rzrM356t391rZafY-np1weR5xp/s1600/The+Baker+Street+Regulars+-+BBC+Radio.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Merrison, Thorne, Matheson, Williams, Hartly - the Baker Street Regulars" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_eknz6kDRDa-uDl61nnBYiDb3md9lVKkODVAm2h18T_TGL-uUTtfokaJjYCr8niMRIKsT0sftMl5LTSDjQI0d0x3Lf7rV_loJ_3MbPdq4WBGn1kck11rzrM356t391rZafY-np1weR5xp/s1600/The+Baker+Street+Regulars+-+BBC+Radio.jpg" title="Supporting members of the BBC Sherlock cast" width="306" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Baker Street Regulars - recurring members of the cast (L to R): <br />
Clive Merrison (Holmes), Stephen Thorne (Inspector Lestrade), <br />
Joan Matheson (Mrs. Hudson), Michael Williams (Watson), <br />
John Hartley (Mycroft Holmes).</td></tr>
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Our Gas-Lamp this episode, we return to <i>The Baker Street Journal</i> of January 1952 (Vol. 2 No. 1 (New Series)) for Edgar Rosenberger's poem "Four Ages," representing the evolution of Sherlock Holmes as portrayed by various actors.<br />
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<a href="http://ihearofsherlock.libsyn.com/episode-69-sherlock-holmes-on-radio-part-2" target="_blank">Download [Save as]</a> | File size 92.2 MB, 1:40:39</h3>
<iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/172682315&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="100%"></iframe><br />
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<b>Links</b>:</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://bertcoules.co.uk/">BertCoules.co.uk</a></li>
<li><a href="http://merrisonholmes.com/" target="_blank">The unofficial BBC Radio series website</a>, maintained by Bert Coules.</li>
<li><a href="http://wessexpress.com/html/221bbc.html" style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank">221 BBC: Writing for the World's Only Complete Dramatized Canon and Beyond</a> - a new editions, revised and expanded - by Bert Coules</li>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://wessexpress.com/html/221bbc.html" target="_blank">Now available from Wessex Press</a></td></tr>
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Your thoughts on the show? Leave a comment below, send us an email (ihearofsherlock AT gmail DOT com), call us at (774) 221-READ (7323).<br />
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And above all, please let our sponsors know that you heard us rant and rave about their excellence during the programme: <a href="http://www.wessexpress.com/">Wessex Press</a> and <a href="http://www.bakerstreetjournal.com/" style="font-style: italic;">The Baker Street Journal</a> - and as always, a very special sponsor.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://wessexpress.com/html/221bbc.html" target="_blank">Available from theWessex Press</a></td></tr>
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Episode 69: Sherlock Holmes on Radio, Part 2

In Episode 68 , we explored some of the early days of Sherlock Holmes on radio with Bert Coules. We're pleased to present the sec...

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by Scott Monty

Review: Dynamite's Sherlock Holmes vs. Harry Houdini

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<h4 style="text-align: center;">
<b>"Why, you are like a magician" [BERY]</b></h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip9NF9_2AKYsWNv3Zi1Op47O9FfoNRuFlOEj1ZEwJ0fykznQOf9HZYvzJ1A_J_qhxEbNXg2Le7E19p5z9XxCzXh5DFdS2oOgo8ejazawGNWUMU3BahjSgE69AWscPWhH9_IfCwE_2IgaiX/s1600/HolmesHoudini01CovVirgNYCC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Art-only cover of Sherlock Holmes vs. Harry Houdini for New York Comicon" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip9NF9_2AKYsWNv3Zi1Op47O9FfoNRuFlOEj1ZEwJ0fykznQOf9HZYvzJ1A_J_qhxEbNXg2Le7E19p5z9XxCzXh5DFdS2oOgo8ejazawGNWUMU3BahjSgE69AWscPWhH9_IfCwE_2IgaiX/s1600/HolmesHoudini01CovVirgNYCC.jpg" title="Art-only cover for NYCC" width="640" /></a></div>
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One of the more fascinating aspects of Conan Doyle's life was his later <a href="http://www.brainpickings.org/2011/12/01/masters-of-mystery-conan-doyle-houdini/" target="_blank">friendship/rivalrywith Harry Houdini</a>, as both men approached the then-prevalent notion of spiritualism
from differing viewpoints. Taking on the notion of otherworldly powers from both a 
logical and magical perspective seems like a perfect opportunity to have Houdini match
wits with the Great Detective.<br />
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Dynamite Entertainment's <b><a href="http://www.dynamite.com/htmlfiles/viewProduct.html?PRO=C72513022188901011" target="_blank"><i>Sherlock Holmes vs. Harry Houdini</i></a></b>, takes the notion
one step further, and crafts the beginning of a cracking good tale. (Note: a complimentary
electronic copy was provided for purposes of review)<br />
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Written by Anthony DelCol and Conor McCreery (<i><a href="http://www.killshakespeare.com/">Kill Shakespeare</a></i>), <i>Sherlock Holmes vs. Harry Houdini</i> takes place in 1900, with a scene straight out of the canon: an escape artist performs at Scotland Yard, and the opening captions set the scene, both foreshadowing a twist and describing the escape artist's situation. After the escape, a prisoner openly mocks the escape artist, describing in detail <i>how</i> the escape artist managed his feat.<br />
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As you may have guessed, the escape artist is Harry Houdini, and the prisoner....is Sherlock Holmes.<br />
To go into further detail would spoil the story, but DelCol and McCreery's setup is clever - both men
get involved in a series of events of an unearthly nature. Never devolving into horror or fantastic realms,
there's a strong sense of familiarity with Holmes, and there's a great emphasis on the theme of rationality
vs. spiritualism. (Although, knowing Conan Doyle's position, this tale might not have occurred within the
canon). This is a great first chapter that leads into a promising, entertaining tale that any Sherlockian
could enjoy.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDi1RmxickND_am7PTwUVASarmYtRdXe3PKemmCJCiFOI-PBXeh-UrgCiCYiooE30WoLRl-xo4RRkPUGPfpZRfYng7SDVD6ZjGX_P2-81tF5iynAGb6YMh6xiYUKVcOGpFVNuAJbJuXR11/s1600/HolmesHoudini01CovCampbell.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Sherlock Holmes vs. Harry Houdin cover 1 - Campbell - Dynamite Comics" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDi1RmxickND_am7PTwUVASarmYtRdXe3PKemmCJCiFOI-PBXeh-UrgCiCYiooE30WoLRl-xo4RRkPUGPfpZRfYng7SDVD6ZjGX_P2-81tF5iynAGb6YMh6xiYUKVcOGpFVNuAJbJuXR11/s1600/HolmesHoudini01CovCampbell.jpg" title="Holmes Houdini Cover 1 - Campbell" width="213" /></a>     <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj93UqNk24eeggXnTeOUlCd4CPHUEKWAVu4iT412If6moRQCz2L9csxK0iCU6h_-byAz0Ss7JLthrSHo0pCGSwTREr3wSRq17g33ihprBWIvr_Y5hjN1EPmjAcsrw88aF5qCNyZ1cFwK9O9/s1600/HolmesHoudini01CovCassaday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Sherlock Holmes vs. Harry Houdin cover 1 - Cassaday - Dynamite Comics" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj93UqNk24eeggXnTeOUlCd4CPHUEKWAVu4iT412If6moRQCz2L9csxK0iCU6h_-byAz0Ss7JLthrSHo0pCGSwTREr3wSRq17g33ihprBWIvr_Y5hjN1EPmjAcsrw88aF5qCNyZ1cFwK9O9/s1600/HolmesHoudini01CovCassaday.jpg" title="Holmes Houdini cover 1 - Cassady" width="213" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTzmWpSLFINdHnGVfd_L4FR5opyTVXLvOGrptFy1blGdWQ4K9PCbAhq1TOSDXc6Bj3YTXYebtQLJowOx6rquqeDiIZZps4DMLMto7jFV9arPUixZlCVpCK_G8JrLN-PB03REEg_-s75psj/s1600/HolmesHoudini01CovIncenCassBW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Sherlock Holmes vs. Harry Houdin cover 1 B&W - Cassaday - Dynamite Comics" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTzmWpSLFINdHnGVfd_L4FR5opyTVXLvOGrptFy1blGdWQ4K9PCbAhq1TOSDXc6Bj3YTXYebtQLJowOx6rquqeDiIZZps4DMLMto7jFV9arPUixZlCVpCK_G8JrLN-PB03REEg_-s75psj/s1600/HolmesHoudini01CovIncenCassBW.jpg" title="B&W version of Holmes Houdini cover 1 - Cassaday" width="213" /></a>     <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVIhCUE5oqZ833y-UW_PX74aKtgPOGK1H4B_K18m4HzIfPZZXEkezBN7Vf3auli4cccyqwisLv3BtgOiMnxBnbDi0D_5XKxomzQ8cIAtOwdhd_lZH4LJ-w7MgyLoZZjGYHm2g9YkGknQh3/s1600/HolmesHoudini01CovWorley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Sherlock Holmes vs. Harry Houdin cover 1 - Worley- Dynamite Comics" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVIhCUE5oqZ833y-UW_PX74aKtgPOGK1H4B_K18m4HzIfPZZXEkezBN7Vf3auli4cccyqwisLv3BtgOiMnxBnbDi0D_5XKxomzQ8cIAtOwdhd_lZH4LJ-w7MgyLoZZjGYHm2g9YkGknQh3/s1600/HolmesHoudini01CovWorley.jpg" title="Holmes Houdini cover 1 - Worley" width="213" /></a></div>
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One of the highlights of <b><i>Sherlock Holmes vs. Harry Houdini</i></b> is also the interior art by Carlos Furuzono. 
Not only is it pleasant to look at, it also captures the essence of the characters without being slavish. (If you're looking for a photorealistic approach, this is not it - but it works within the story). There's a great sense of composition, and provides plenty of appealing visuals (with some exceptional coloring by Aikau Oliva) to complement the story. Even the lettering by Rob Steen helps establish the time, place, and mood of the tale - never obtrusive, yet working to foster the early Edwardian era in which the comic takes place.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN15JZHWBBUGVIYbkji7pEVXrpV-3sSOUAYkD0gL2J4wvG2L6_gtLr6xeJL2nGpJcpoVBILrh6XXQeCiiWx3Rql4G_ZS3QFuIZuHOiIzKXsDzsHHJ9rlzi0BeqDZNrqOyy3yRfnjHU58L3/s1600/HolmesHoudini013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Sherlock Holmes vs. Harry Houdini - interior art by Carlos Furuzono" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN15JZHWBBUGVIYbkji7pEVXrpV-3sSOUAYkD0gL2J4wvG2L6_gtLr6xeJL2nGpJcpoVBILrh6XXQeCiiWx3Rql4G_ZS3QFuIZuHOiIzKXsDzsHHJ9rlzi0BeqDZNrqOyy3yRfnjHU58L3/s1600/HolmesHoudini013.jpg" title="Holmes vs. Houdini - interior art " width="416" /></a></div>
<br />
Many pastiches may team up Holmes with a variety of characters from the same era, but often with mixed results. Dynamite Entertainment's <b><i>Sherlock Holmes vs. Harry Houdini</i></b> takes a more creative approach, focusing on a more "contemporary" era and finding a common theme between its two protagonists. This is a great comic for any Sherlockian, and is a definite must-read.<br />
<br />
<i>Sherlock Holmes vs. Harry Houdini #1</i> is the first in a five-issue series under this title. Available from <a href="http://amzn.to/1vpdQ0m" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Amazon US</a> and <a href="http://www.dynamite.com/htmlfiles/viewProduct.html?PRO=C72513022188901011" target="_blank">Dynamite Entertainment</a>.<br />
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Review: Dynamite's Sherlock Holmes vs. Harry Houdini

"Why, you are like a magician" [BERY] One of the more fascinating aspects of Conan Doyle's life was his later friendsh...

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by Gordon D

New Granada Sherlock Holmes Blu-ray Box Set

<h4 style="text-align: center;">
"a complete set" [VALL] </h4>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqzZWqMA0edlper5Li6o4RVBzVK8yLqmLMJt_drihXF169AKLC30VhuqebA7hbuIiWI5RKKDG8Im-5k0krmW8FLIMMTCtPfnDUGtM12TspogCfLKsdD1atDVNgjnd9Oy2kL8vpHxE32uet/s1600/Jeremy+Brett+Pipe+Switzerland.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqzZWqMA0edlper5Li6o4RVBzVK8yLqmLMJt_drihXF169AKLC30VhuqebA7hbuIiWI5RKKDG8Im-5k0krmW8FLIMMTCtPfnDUGtM12TspogCfLKsdD1atDVNgjnd9Oy2kL8vpHxE32uet/s1600/Jeremy+Brett+Pipe+Switzerland.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
If you're a Sherlockian who had any kind of budding interest in Sherlock Holmes in the 1980s or 1990s, it's likely that you are a fan of Jeremy Brett as the master. And it's also highly likely that you have the <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2007/09/complete-set-vall_22.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Granada DVD box set</a> (first made available through MPI in 2007).<br />
<br />
The series had been released in a number of collections (The Adventures, The Return, etc.), but was not offered as a complete set, and there were complaints that the image and sound quality was poor. The 2007 set was issued with remastered video and audio from the original master files, in a high-quality box. Reviews were quite positive, with particular notice paid to the improved sound and video.<br />
<br />
Now a new set of <a href="https://amzn.to/33heqlH" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Granada Television Series</a>  has been issued on Blu-ray in an effort to improve on the DVD set.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDTU3vZ-c5Gd3vDR2dwPnu6e-AXQ_8r91PhDUHAWjqvLBmmqfs1vnSUoAoHfWrVW1gIIxU0m9QS6hrAoNeg5rPZSXUWrHFrKPLW2dM5o6TWa-LsJCHKG99tU0kHoQvwXZeMxObN4iuL2Wg/s1600/Complete+Granada+Blu-ray.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDTU3vZ-c5Gd3vDR2dwPnu6e-AXQ_8r91PhDUHAWjqvLBmmqfs1vnSUoAoHfWrVW1gIIxU0m9QS6hrAoNeg5rPZSXUWrHFrKPLW2dM5o6TWa-LsJCHKG99tU0kHoQvwXZeMxObN4iuL2Wg/s1600/Complete+Granada+Blu-ray.jpg" width="537" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
The new set is an ITV restoration of the originals, presented in the high definition in which they were originally mastered. According to reviewers, the sound is improved and the images are high quality. The content of this set is identical to that of the DVD set, only it is rendered in Blu-ray and is region-free.<br />
<br />
The one minor complaint we've seen on the reviews indicate that the box itself is simply flimsy cardboard, rather than the thick cardboard of the DVD set. But the quality of the viewing experience is enough to make up for that.<br />
<br />
For you or the Sherlock Holmes fan you know, this Blu-ray version of Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes is a must-have. <a href="https://amzn.to/33heqlH" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Order it on Amazon</a> today.<br />
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New Granada Sherlock Holmes Blu-ray Box Set

"a complete set" [VALL] If you're a Sherlockian who had any kind of budding interest in Sherlock Holmes in the 1980s or ...

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by Scott Monty

Canonical Connections in the The Captain of the Polestar

<h4 style="text-align: center;">
"Though most of the facts were familiar to me, I had not
sufficiently appreciated their relative importance, nor their connection with
each other." [SILV]</h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd6z7BR2ARZed2gNBeRdzJBWnRcf28AudLBZtpURI_lZn8I7GwyxpTxY7U5n1XqD0tYdUbx-l-LjiSBPZGA4qp26RAvQNDauyEx62_E2L893PsCT_9nZbaWh93EuAhDvMeXgu5sXunuWan/s1600/Amundsen+-+Pole+Star.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Amundsen's Pole vault" border="0" height="420" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd6z7BR2ARZed2gNBeRdzJBWnRcf28AudLBZtpURI_lZn8I7GwyxpTxY7U5n1XqD0tYdUbx-l-LjiSBPZGA4qp26RAvQNDauyEx62_E2L893PsCT_9nZbaWh93EuAhDvMeXgu5sXunuWan/s1600/Amundsen+-+Pole+Star.jpg" title="Amundsen's trip to the North Pole" width="640" /></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As readers of the Sherlock Holmes adventures know, Sir
Arthur Conan Doyle was a master of the short story. He wrote in many genres:
mystery, horror, science fiction, adventure, romance and humor.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Captain of the
Polestar</i> was published by Longman, Green and Co. in 1890. The version I
read was a public domain trade paperback printing by the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=The+Captain+of+the+Polestar+Cambridge+Scholars+Publishing+Classic+Texts&rh=n%3A283155%2Ck%3AThe+Captain+of+the+Polestar+Cambridge+Scholars+Publishing+Classic+Texts">Cambridge Scholars Publishing Classic Texts</a>. I was struck by two broad themes that run through <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Polestar</i>: love in its many forms, for
good or ill, and the sea.<br />
<br />
I realized how often <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2009/08/in-vaults-thor_21.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">those themes occur the Canon</a>. Cases such as "The <i>Gloria Scott</i>", "The Cardboard Box," "The Adventure of Black Peter," "The Adventure of the Five Orange Pips," "The Adventure of Abbey Grange" and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Sign of the Four</i> all have nautical elements as well as such untold tales as the
cutter <i>Alicia</i>, the British barque <i>Sophy Anderson</i>, the ship <i><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2007/04/case-of-matilda-briggs-suss_20.html#.VDHe_vldWSo" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Matilda Briggs</a></i> - which
was associated with <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2007/12/giant-rat-of-sumatra-suss_17.html#.VDHkmfldWSo" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">the giant rat of Sumatra</a>, and the story concerning the
politician, the lighthouse, and the trained cormorant.<br />
<br />
Many lovers abound as
well: Irene Adler and Godfrey Norton, Jefferson Hope and Lucy Ferrier, Birdy
Edwards and Ettie Shafter; of course John Watson and Mary Morstan. There are
also the ill-suited suitors like Violet Smith and Bob Carruthers and Jack Woodley,
Elsie Patrick and Abe Slaney and Professor Presbury and Alice Morphy. Unlike
the Canon, Spiritualism is touched in a number of stories, even those that have
no supernatural elements. The modern reader may also be surprised by the elements
of unintended incest, sadism, and necrophilia in some of the tales.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The stories in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Polestar</i>
run the gamut of genres listed above. A few have direct Canonical connections,
others situations or phrases that obliquely recall the Holmes stories; some
have no connection at all.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<h3>
<b>"The Captain of the Pole-Star" </b></h3>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">(</span><i><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Temple Bar</span></i><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> magazine, January 1883) </span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Michael Dirda on <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2012/01/episode-38-on-conan-doyle.html#.U9gLlbHQrLM" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere Episode 38: On Conan Doyle</a> called this "probably the first of the great short stories he wrote and it is a
hauntingly beautiful story filled with pathos.…" Like Doyle himself, the
protagonist John M’Alister Ray is a medical student severing as ship’s doctor
aboard an arctic whaler. <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2012/12/episode-48-dangerous-work.html#.U9gMB7HQrLM" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Doyle captures perfectly whaling life and the otherworldly beauty of the arctic</a>. Captain Craigie keeps the Pole-Star among the
ice floes long past the time she should have returned to Scotland, searching
for something…. He is a man haunted in more than one sense of the word. The
story explores one of Doyle’s constant themes, also touched on in “John Huxford’s
Hiatus” and “The Ring of Thoth”, how love (or sometimes obsession) transcends
time, space and occasionally death.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<h3>
<b>"J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement" </b></h3>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">(</span><i><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The Cornhill Magazine,</span></i><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> January 1884) </span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Jon Lellenberg, Daniel Stashower and Charles Foley in <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2007/11/episode-13-arthur-conan-doyle-life-in.html#.U9gMVrHQrLM" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Arthur Conan Doyle: A Life in Letters</i></a> calls the acceptance of
“Statement” by one of Doyle’s literary heroes James Payn, editor of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Cornhill</i>, England foremost literary
magazine “his first big break in literature”. The practice at the time was to
publish magazine fiction without a by-line. Some speculated that the author of
the popular story could be Robert Louis Stevenson. Doyle received a letter from
<i>Cassells</i> magazine (addressed to “The author of Habakuk Jephson”) to write for
them.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">After graduating from medical school, Doyle again severed as a ship’s
doctor, this time on the </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Mayumba,
which sailed along the West African coast and that experience served as part of
the inspiration for this story; another part being the famous derelict ship the
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Celeste"><i>Mary Celeste</i></a>.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The story opens with
the reporting of the publicly known facts of brigantine Marie Celeste,
discovered deserted at sea ten years earlier. Then the narrator states that he
was aboard the Marie Celeste and now is the time to lay the true facts before
the public.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">J. Habakuk Jephson
graduated from Harvard medical school, shared a practice with Dr. Willis of
Brooklyn and when the Civil War broke out enlisted in the 113th New York
Regiment. </span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">"I was severely wounded at Antietam, and would probably have perished
on the field had it not been for the kindness of a gentleman named Murray, who
had me carried to his house and provided me with every comfort. Thanks to his
charity, and to the nursing which I received from his black domestics, I was
soon able to get about the plantation with the help of a stick.” </span></blockquote>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The <b>Canonical
connection</b> should be obvious: Watson was wounded at Maiwand, rescued by his
orderly Murray who brought him safely to British lines. At the base hospital in
Peshawur “I rallied, and had already improved so far as to be able to
walk about the wards, and even to bask a little upon the verandah, when I was
struck down by enteric fever”. [STUD] </span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">One of Murray’s domestics was named
Martha (<b>Canonical connection</b>: Von Bork’s domestic was also named Martha
[LAST]) who gave Jephson a smooth black stone that resembles a human ear. Years
pass. Jephson marries, has a thriving medical practice, but due to illness he
must take a long sea voyage for his health. Jephson boards the <i>Marie Celeste</i> in
Boston where one of his fellow passengers is an educated mixed-race man with a
melodious voice but an unhealthy yellow and pocked complexion and a right hand of
which his four fingers had been loped off -- Septimus Goring of New Orleans.
After a few days at sea, mysterious and tragic events start to befall the passengers and
crew until the true horror is revealed.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDKxTimezXEYaxuxfHg72S7jUfHd1x3pK7ZbzjuzwE7kYXVCLWIgmssZYqRL36HF6mH5GAZuwJDA6WnkwOgTGsayhzAeGU6FQOr5eUNGPSyUTkLrs0ZmS1NmI8UBP6XByNYO60EIRZF6a1/s1600/acd01.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDKxTimezXEYaxuxfHg72S7jUfHd1x3pK7ZbzjuzwE7kYXVCLWIgmssZYqRL36HF6mH5GAZuwJDA6WnkwOgTGsayhzAeGU6FQOr5eUNGPSyUTkLrs0ZmS1NmI8UBP6XByNYO60EIRZF6a1/s1600/acd01.PNG" /></a><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">For 21st century readers "Statement," with
its commonplace 19<sup>th</sup> century views and terminology on race, maybe difficult to read. However, it had an important place in Doyle’s literary
life, and also had influence on real-life events. In <a href="http://amzn.to/1nWhXyS" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><i>The Bermuda Triangle Mystery Solved </i></a>(1976, revised 1986) </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Larry Kusche</span>, in his chapter on the <i>Mary Celeste</i>, wrote, </span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">"Doyle’s story,
which appeared eleven years after the event, was readily believed because much
of it was very close to the truth or was deduced from true statements. He named
his fictional ship the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Marie Celeste</i>,
and many later writers have referred to the real ship by that name. Much of
what is now told about the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mary Celeste</i>
is really from Doyle’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Marie Celeste</i>.”</span></blockquote>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Doyle’s "confession" format was not unusual. Such stories appeared frequently
in 19<sup>th</sup> century media. Says Kusche: “Fifty years after the [<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mary Celeste</i>] incident ‘confessions’
were still being made by sailors claiming to have been members of the crew.
None of the stories could be substantiated and today the fate of the occupants
of the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mary Celeste</i> is as much a mystery
as the day the ship was found deserted at sea.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
There are two more <b>Canonical
connections</b> in the story: Jephson’s partner in his post-war practice is
named Jackson. Jackson takes Watson’s practice when he helps Holmes in "The Crooked Man." Jephson’s fellow passenger John Harton thinks Goring is a detective based on
his scrap-book of newspaper clipping of various crimes. Of course, Holmes kept
scrap-books and commonplace books filled with news clipping of crime and other
interesting facts [EMPT, REDC, 3STU].<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<h3>
<b>"The Great Keinplatz Experiment" </b></h3>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">(</span><i><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Belgravia Magazine,</span></i><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> July 1885) </span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">An early <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Freaky Friday</i> story. </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Alexis von Baumgarten, Regius Professor of
Physiology at the University of Keinplatz, believes the human spirit can exist
outside the body. Fritz von Hartmann, "wild, reckless Fritz, as dashing a young
fellow as ever hailed from the Rhinelands," the Professor’s best student and in
love with the Professor’s daughter Elise, is asked by von Baumgarten to help
him perform this dangerous experiment. The Professor’s wife objects to Fritz
seeing Elise, so Fritz extracts a promise from his tutor of Elise’s hand in marriage for his
help. Von Baumgarten agrees and at the appropriate time, in a lecture hall full
of some of the greatest minds in Europe, the Professor hypnotizes Fritz and
himself. Their spirits leave their bodies, but unbeknownst to the assembled
guest and the experimenters, the spirits return to the wrong bodies. Hijinks ensue.
One of Doyle’s comedies, a satiric look at academia and science.</span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<h3>
<b>"The Man from Archangel" </b></h3>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">(</span><i><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">London Society,</span></i><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> January 1885) </span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">John M'Vittie, a misanthrope dedicated to science moves to a lonely
cottage on Mansie Bay, Caithness, Scotland with his housekeeper to conduct experiments and research. One night during a terrible storm a ship smashes
apart upon the reef in the bay. The housekeeper implores M'Vittie to help the
crew, but he doesn’t care about their fate. He goes to the beach and by a
signal light on the ship M'Vittie sees one man on the ship, less afraid of
death than the others, lash a woman to a spar in such a way to keep her head
above water and throw her clear of the reef. Under a massive wave the signal
light goes out and the ship disappears. “As I watched those things my manhood
overcame my philosophy” and M'Vittie takes his boat to the ocean and rescues
the woman. She turns out to be Russian and ignorant of English. At once,
M’Vittie regrets his act: “I began to wish when I saw her that I had never saved
her, for here was an end of my privacy”, but over the weeks he manages to tolerate
her.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">M’Vittie soon finds
out she’s not the lone survivor of the wreck; the man who threw the woman (she had managed to write </span>"Sophie Ramusine" on a piece of paper) into the ocean, Ourganeff
by name, comes upon M’Vittie, confesses his love of Sophie, calls her his wife
although they are not married ("We are man and wife in the sight of
Heaven. We are bound by higher laws than those of earth."). Sophie is
clearly afraid of him and through obstinacy more than anything else M’Vittie
refuses to turn her over to the Russian. On another stormy night, events come
to a head.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">This is the least
successful story in the collection for me, from the fact that Sophie apparently
writes her name in Roman, not Cyrillic, lettering to M’Vittie’s conclusion of
final events, one that Doyle clearly wants us to believe, but goes against
everything that has happened before. </span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><b>Canonical connection:</b> For the
Sherlockian, the interest is in John M’Vittie, a scientific type that comes across
as a less pleasant Sherlock Holmes—without the deductive abilities. </span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“I dislike
my fellow-mortals. Justice compels me to add that they appear for the most part
to dislike me. I hate their little crawling ways, their conventionalities,
their deceits, their narrow rights and wrongs. They take offence at my brusque
outspokenness, my disregard for their social laws, my impatience of all
constraint. Among my books and my drugs in my lonely den at Mansie I could let
the great drove of the human race pass onwards with their politics and
inventions and tittle-tattle, and I remained behind stagnant and happy. Not
stagnant either, for I was working in my own little groove, and making
progress.” </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“</span>Often I forgot my meals, and when old Madge summoned me to
my tea I found my dinner lying untouched upon the table.”<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“I soothed my spirit with strong black
tobacco….” </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“For many years I had cared little for the face of a woman.” </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“I shut
myself up in the laboratory all the morning, continuing a research which I was
making upon the nature of the allotropic forms of carbon and of sulphur.” </span></blockquote>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">In a
year, Doyle would be writing the more brilliant, and likeable, Holmes.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<h3>
<b>"That Little Square Box"</b></h3>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">(</span><i><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">London Society,</span></i><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> December 1881) </span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">A story that looks
at domestic terror anxiety, which, sadly still has relevance today. Nervous and
milquetoast narrator Hammond boards a ship in Boston bound for England. “</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">With my usual love for solitude” Hammond sits
behind a pile of luggage and overhears the conversation of two late arriving
passengers. He’s convinced that the little square wooden box that they keep
from view of others is a bomb. However, he’s too afraid of being wrong and
humiliated to take immediate action: “I have remarked that I am a physical
coward. I am a moral one also. It is seldom that the two defects are united to
such a degree in the one character.” </span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">A friend, Dick Merton, happens to be on
ship and Hammond confides in him. Merton dismissed his fears, but agrees to
keep an eye on the two with Hammond. The more he hears from Flannigan and
Müller, in the smoking room and, in the evening, in the dining room, the more
convinced he is that they plan to blow up the ship at 10 pm. Hammond dithers
until he’s forced to leap in to action.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Canonical connections:</b><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> "The very name of 'Flannigan' smacked of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fenianism">Fenianism</a>, while 'Müller' suggested nothing but socialism and murder." While the Fenian bombings that
occurred in England in the second half of the 19<sup>th</sup> century never
made it into the Canon, and the armed fight for Irish independence is mentioned
in "His Last Bow," German anarchism was the red herring Jefferson Hope used in the
Drebber murder when he wrote Rache in blood on the wall in <i>A Study in Scarlet</i>. </span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“An hour passed, and
the Captain was still on the bridge. He was talking to one of the passengers, a
retired naval officer, and the two were deep in debate concerning some abstruse
point in navigation. I could see the red tips of their cigars from where I lay.” </span></blockquote>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Doyle would rework this scene to greater effect with Von Bork and Von Herling; </span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“They stood with their heads close together, talking in low, confidential
tones. From below, the two glowing ends of their cigars might have been the
smouldering eyes of some malignant fiend looking down in the darkness.” [LAST]</span></blockquote>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<h3>
<b>"John Huxford's Hiatus" </b></h3>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">(</span><i><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The Cornhill Magazine,</span></i><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> June 1888)</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> </span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Our lives are dependent on the contingencies of history, Doyle tells us.
If Don Diego Salvador had not opened a cork factory in England with cheap
Spanish labor, then cork prices would not have fallen; the firm of Fairbairn Brothers of Brisport would not have closed laying off all the workers; Mr.
Charles Fairbairn would not have told his experienced foreman John Huxford of
an opening in a factory in Montreal; Huxford would not have put off wedding
Mary until he could earn enough money to send for her and her Granny; and upon
landing in Quebec Huxford would not have been directed by a pimp to stay at a
cheap inn run by crooks who when robbing him smashed the back of Huxford’s
skull in, causing him to lose his memory. Unable to remember who he is, Huxford
struggles to rebuild his life.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Canonical
connections:</b> While Sherlockians will naturally think of Watson and Morstan
when reading of two lovers named John and Mary, Huxford’s story more resembles <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">that of Francis</span> Hay Moulton [NOBL] and Henry
Wood [CROO]. Both men were thought long dead by their <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">inamoratas.</span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<h3>
<b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">"Cyprian Overbeck
Wells -- A Literary Mosaic" </span></b></h3>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">(</span><i><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The Boy's Own Paper,</span></i><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">
December 1886) </span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">A struggling writer falls asleep in his chair after a fulfilling
meal and dreams he is sitting at a table with eminent men and women of English
letters, past and current, all there to help him write the story of Cyprian
Overbeck Wells. Doyle’s gentle burlesque of <a href="http://www.biography.com/people/daniel-defoe-9269678">Daniel Defoe</a>, <a href="http://www.biography.com/people/jonathan-swift-9500342">Jonathan Swift,</a></span><span lang="EN"> </span><a href="http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/550085/Tobias-Smollett"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Tobias George</span></a><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/550085/Tobias-Smollett"> Smollett</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Scott">Sir Walter Scott</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Bulwer-Lytton">Edward </a></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Bulwer-Lytton">Bulwer Lytton</a>, while no doubt enjoyed by the young teenage readers of </span><i><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The Boy's Own
Paper</span></i><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">, today it would best be appreciated by English
majors who have read - or even heard of - those authors. Just imagine, though, if Doyle was living today what fun he would have
lampooning the styles and concoctions of the pasticheurs who have unearthed Watson’s old battered
tin dispatch box. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<h3>
<b>"John Barrington Cowles "</b></h3>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">(</span><i><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Cassell's Saturday Journal,</span></i><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> 12-19 April 1884) </span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Armitage narrates the story of his friend John Barrington Cowles’ death. At
the opening of the Royal Scottish Academy in the spring of 1879, they both espy
Kate Northcott: </span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“In my whole life I have never seen such a classically perfect
countenance. It was the real Greek type—the forehead broad, very low, and as
white as marble, with a cloudlet of delicate locks wreathing round it, the nose
straight and clean cut, the lips inclined to thinness, the chin and lower jaw
beautifully rounded off, and yet sufficiently developed to promise unusual
strength of character.” </span></blockquote>
Cowles falls in love at first sight, but she is engaged
to Archibald Reeves. This is not her first engagement.  William Prescott had died some time earlier
under mysterious circumstances. Months later, Armitage runs in to Reeves, who
has broken off his engagement to Kate and has taken to drink.  "Don't go!" Reeves tells Armitage.
"I feel better when you are here. I am safe from her then…. Ah! you don't
know her. She is the devil! Beautiful—beautiful; but the devil!"</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">More time passes and
when Armitage next sees Cowles, his friend is engaged to Kate. Spending time
with the couple only increases Armitage’s unease over Miss Northcott and worry
for his friend.</span></div>

<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
I went round with my friend a few
days afterwards to call upon Miss Northcott. I remember that, as we went down
Abercrombie Place, our attention was attracted by the shrill yelping of a
dog—which noise proved eventually to come from the house to which we were
bound. We were shown upstairs, where I was introduced to old Mrs. Merton, Miss
Northcott's aunt, and to the young lady herself. She looked as beautiful as
ever, and I could not wonder at my friend's infatuation. Her face was a little
more flushed than usual, and she held in her hand a heavy dog-whip, with which
she had been chastising a small Scotch terrier, whose cries we had heard in the
street. The poor brute was cringing up against the wall, whining piteously, and
evidently completely cowed. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
"So Kate," said my
friend, after we had taken our seats, "you have been falling out with
Carlo again." </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
"Only a very little quarrel
this time," she said, smiling charmingly. "He is a dear, good old
fellow, but he needs correction now and then." Then, turning to me,
"We all do that, Mr. Armitage, don't we? What a capital thing if, instead
of receiving a collective punishment at the end of our lives, we were to have
one at once, as the dogs do, when we did anything wicked. It would make us more
careful, wouldn't it?" </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
I acknowledged that it would. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
"Supposing that every time a
man misbehaved himself a gigantic hand were to seize him, and he were lashed
with a whip until he fainted"—she clenched her white fingers as she spoke,
and cut out viciously with the dog-whip—"it would do more to keep him good
than any number of high-minded theories of morality." </div>
</blockquote>

<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Run, John Barrington Cowles, run! But this is one of those stories
where Doyle explores the intersection of love, obsession and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_magnetism">animal magnetism</a>—the
preternatural dominance of one person’s will to control another’s, a theme he
also explores in the stories “The Parasite” and “The Winning Shot”. Doyle uses mood and
incident to have the reader share in Armitage’s growing horror. If the ending is
less than it could be, we can blame Victorian reticence at addressing taboo
subjects, rather than Doyle’s art.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Canonical
connections:</b> Kate Northcott’s little terrier shares the same name as Jephro
Rucastle’s vicious mastiff as well as the Ferguson's' spaniel in "The Copper Beeches" and "The Sussex Vampire," respectively.. And her treatment of the dog belies her true nature, as did Sir Eustace's treatment of Lady Brackenstall's dog in "The Abbey Grange."<br />
<br />
Armitage and Cowles visit the Isle of May,<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“an
island near the mouth of the Firth of Forth, which, except in the tourist
season, is singularly barren and desolate. Beyond the keeper of the lighthouse
there are only one or two families of poor fisher-folk, who sustain a
precarious existence by their nets, and by the capture of cormorants and solan
geese.” </blockquote>
No mention of a politician, though. (“…the whole story concerning the
politician, the lighthouse, and the trained <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">cormorant<b>”</b></span> [VEIL])<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<h3>
<b>"Elias B. Hopkins, The Parson of Jackman's Gulch" </b></h3>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">(</span><i><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">London Society</span></i><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">, December 1885) </span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">In
1853, “Parson” Elias B. Hopkins arrived in the gold mining camp of Jackman’s Gulch </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">hundred and twenty miles to the north of
Ballarat in the Australian bush. </span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“It is quite certain that during the first few
months his presence had a marked effect in diminishing the excessive use both
of strong drinks and of stronger adjectives which had been characteristic of
the little mining settlement. Under his tuition, men began to understand that
the resources of their native language were less limited than they had
supposed, and that it was possible to convey their impressions with accuracy
without the aid of a gaudy halo of profanity.” </span></blockquote>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The self-styled parson’s
influence over the miners will be felt for many years.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">My favorite story in
the collection. Doyle perfectly captures mining life in a lawless wilderness.
Unlike the sometimes slapstick humor of “The Great Keinplatz Experiment”, with
a deft turn of phrase Doyle achieves some wonderfully playful and droll
results. <b>Canonical connections:</b> Ballarat is mentioned in <i>The Sign of the Four</i> and
especially in "The Boscombe Valley Mystery," where John Turner was better known as the Australian highway
robber Black Jack of Ballarat.</span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<h3>
<b>"The Ring of Thoth "</b></h3>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">(</span><i><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The Cornhill Magazine</span></i><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">, January 1890)<b> </b></span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">English Egyptologist John
Vansittart Smith travels to Paris to consult the </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Egyptian collection at the Louvre. Falling asleep in a half-hidden corner
chair, he awakes to find that the museum has long been closed—and he is not
alone.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> <span lang="EN"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Canonical connection:</b>
Written after A Study in Scarlet and The Sign of the Four but before "A Scandal in Bohemia," Vansittart Smith is another of
those scientific types who can be seen as a variation or take-off of Holmes:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Mr.
John Vansittart Smith, F.R.S., of 147-A Gower Street, was a man whose energy of
purpose and clearness of thought might have placed him in the very first rank
of scientific observers. He was the victim, however, of a universal ambition
which prompted him to aim at distinction in many subjects rather than
preeminence in one.”<br />
“The warmest admirers of John Vansittart Smith could
hardly claim for him that he was a handsome man. His high-beaked nose and
prominent chin had something of the same acute and incisive character which
distinguished his intellect.”</blockquote>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>The Captain of the Polestar</i> (<a href="http://amzn.to/1pFbKSZ" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Amazon US</a> | <a href="http://amzn.to/1pZUrLo" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Amazon UK</a>) is a very solid and worthwhile book. Readers of the Canon already know that Doyle is a writer of the first water. That talent is also on display here, his first published short story collection.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
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Canonical Connections in the The Captain of the Polestar

"Though most of the facts were familiar to me, I had not sufficiently appreciated their relative importance, nor their connection with...

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by James C. O'Leary

Remembering Andrew Page, BSI

<h4 style="text-align: center;">
"Lord Saltire's disappearance was discovered" [PRIO]</h4>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbCCWngmi34-w-PpAOE95hUbQKmssC9shyphenhyphenxj1WeERZcQgybUlm_KWw42EHr4ttzTSIJ7tFR9pUKx55Xow-YygXCHK151Cs3WL1xmaduio5QALH6l4wmK7-aB_4wBY9xxiZHFyzTORtIumk/s1600/The_Adventure_of_the_Priory_School_02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="351" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbCCWngmi34-w-PpAOE95hUbQKmssC9shyphenhyphenxj1WeERZcQgybUlm_KWw42EHr4ttzTSIJ7tFR9pUKx55Xow-YygXCHK151Cs3WL1xmaduio5QALH6l4wmK7-aB_4wBY9xxiZHFyzTORtIumk/s1600/The_Adventure_of_the_Priory_School_02.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Andrew Page ("Lord Saltire") died in New Jersey on May 10, 2013 at the age of 60.

He attended the Bronx High school of Science and Columbia University and taught high school English. In the mid-80's he took a sabbatical from teaching high school English and spent six months living in a Zen Buddhist monastery. He then went on to earn BS and MA degrees in mathematics and became a professor of math at a community college in New Jersey.<br />
<br />
Andy enjoyed playing jazz bass guitar and eventually did some back-up playing for B.B. King, who was one of his idols.<br />
<br />
He first became interested in Sherlock Holmes during his high school years prompted by watching the Basil Rathbone films. During the summer between his junior and senior years he read the entire Canon. His enthusiasm for all things Sherlockian was an all-consuming passion.<br />
<br />
Dozens of junior scion societies were formed during the late '60's and early 70's and "seasoned" Sherlockians served in advisory roles. In 1971 Andy formed the Priory School of NY as an adjunct to the Baker Street Pageboys, and ran the group as "Lord Saltire." Advisor Steve Clarkson called him "Lord Saltine."<br />
<br />
He was the editor, and publisher of <i>The Holmesian Observer</i>, which was run off on a mimeograph machine. He had six articles published in <i><a href="http://bakerstreetjournal.com/" target="_blank">The Baker Street Journal</a></i> between 1971-1975 and wrote two stand-alone monographs -- A Canonical Handbook and The Priory Papers: A Study in Examination. He also corresponded with other Sherlockians on a grand scale. His enthusiasm was boundless.<br />
<br />
In 1973 three groups merged: Musgrave Ritualists Beta, the Three Students Plus, and The Priory School. This new group, co-founded by Bruce Kennedy, Bill Walsh, and Andy Page was named <a href="http://3garridebs.homestead.com/" target="_blank">The Three Garridebs</a>, which continues to thrive.<br />
<br />
The junior Sherlockian movement was the subject of <i><a href="http://bakerstreetjournal.com/christmasannuals.html" target="_blank">The Baker Street Journal Christmas Annual</a></i> in 2003, and Andy Page was featured in its pages.<br />
<br />
He attended only two or three <a href="http://bsiweekend.com/" target="_blank">BSI Dinners</a>. He got sick during the cocktail hour at the 1974 dinner and left, thereby missing his investiture award. By 1977 he had completely dropped from the Sherlockian scene focusing instead on teaching.<br />
<br />
Andy Page was invested into The Baker Street Irregulars in 1974 as "Lord Saltire."<br />
<br />
 --
<br />
<br />

Remembering Andrew Page, BSI

"Lord Saltire's disappearance was discovered" [PRIO] Andrew Page ("Lord Saltire") died in New Jersey on May 10,...

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by Francine Kitts

The Sherlock Limited Edition DVD / Blu-Ray Gift Set Is Amazing

<h4 style="text-align: center;">
"content with a limited plunder" [ABBE]</h4>
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At this point it's almost silly to assume that you haven't yet seen <i><a href="http://amzn.to/1tBkRdN" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sherlock</a></i> from BBC One and PBS Masterpiece Mystery. Three seasons in - three excruciatingly dispersed seasons - we've been taken on a number of emotional roller coaster rides as we've gotten to know the modern version of the consulting detective and his trusted friend and colleague.<br />
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And for those who have become super fans of the show, it's likely that you've picked up a few DVDs or Blu-rays of the Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss-created show as well. But it's unlikely that you've come across the latest merchandise for the show.<br />
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"still clutching at her treasure-trove" [MUSG]</h3>
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<a href="http://amzn.to/1uOePa9" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Sherlock Limited Edition Gift Set</a> is a treasure trove indeed. It includes every episode from all three seasons on both Blu-ray and DVD, along with the original bonus features released with each season. And as if that isn't enough content, it also features all new commentaries, never-before-seen outtakes and exclusive collectibles including limited edition art cards and busts of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson.<br />
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This is the ultimate gift set to keep fans guessing until <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2014/06/sherlock-series-four-predictions.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">the next game is afoot</a>. The finale of season three, "His Last Vow," recently earned <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2014/08/sherlock-takes-home-7-emmys.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">12 Primetime Emmy ® Award nominations</a> including Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie for Benedict Cumberbatch, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie for Martin Freeman, and Outstanding Television Movie.<br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/1uOePa9" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Sherlock Limited Edition Gift Set</a> will be available on November 4, 2014 but is currently available for <a href="http://amzn.to/1uOePa9" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">pre-order on Amazon</a>.<br />
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If not for yourself, get it for the Sherlock Holmes fan in your life this holiday season.<br />
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