I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere

A Stylistic Analysis of the Lost Sherlock Holmes Story

<h4 style="text-align: center;">
"His effort to conceal his own writing" [HOUN]</h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdM9UY4pYdp8aqbfESPOLtvnsbClQCIzvqRS0zCpUJ2jMqN-bjYOrTOcKAmep1WI_9nCjOt-CDpSUC3fu-SR7jMIbj9KxGo0sW0fNl-SaFVw7cai1nL2yQ_EyUsbuDRECyFiqkn_lNpimK/s1600/Sherlock+Holmes+Museum+book.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="402" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdM9UY4pYdp8aqbfESPOLtvnsbClQCIzvqRS0zCpUJ2jMqN-bjYOrTOcKAmep1WI_9nCjOt-CDpSUC3fu-SR7jMIbj9KxGo0sW0fNl-SaFVw7cai1nL2yQ_EyUsbuDRECyFiqkn_lNpimK/s1600/Sherlock+Holmes+Museum+book.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Recently a discovery was made of <a href="http://ihose.co/LostStory" target="_blank">a ‘lost’ or ‘new’ Sherlock Holmes story</a>. Recovered from the attic of an 80 year-old Scotsman, it tells the tale of Holmes trying to deduce why Watson won’t take a trip with him, and where the doctor is going instead.<br />
<br />
The 1336-word piece reads like it might be an opening scene at Baker Street. But it isn't especially well-written, and many people have opinions about whether or not it was actually written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle himself. The most common criticism is the fact that it doesn't seem like his style. For those of us who are familiar with his writing on a deep level, recognizing his style is something of a hobby within a hobby.<br />
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By this point it will be unnecessary to recap the main points of the story of the story, but it <i>is</i> necessary to say that there are those who believe in the tale (titled <i>Sherlock Holmes: Discovering the Border Burghs, and, by Deduction, the Brig Bazaar</i> – a very atypical title as far as Sherlock Holmes stories go) and those who don't.<br />
<br />
If you're just jumping in for the first time, you might be interested in reading <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2015/02/conan-doyle-didnt-write-lost-sherlock.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">a previous analysis undertaken by Mattias Boström</a> on these pages.<br />
<br />
<h4>
"When you have eliminated the impossible..." [SIGN]</h4>
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occam%27s_razor" target="_blank">Occam’s Razor</a> tells us that the explanation with the fewest steps is the one most likely to be correct. Circumstantially, this could very well have been written by Conan Doyle. We know he visited the Border Burghs when this was written, and that he had direct dealings with the subject matter discussed in the story. But, there is one big strike against his authorship here: <b>nowhere in the publication (<i>The Book o' the Brig</i>) is he listed as the author</b>.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Is there any other point to which you would wish to draw my attention?"<br />
"To the curious incident of the dog in the night-time."<br />
"The dog did nothing in the night-time."<br />
"That was the curious incident," remarked Sherlock Holmes.</blockquote>
While that omission might be a significant clue, it isn't itself necessarily conclusive. It occurred to me that there may be a way to make a determination by using something that would make Holmes himself proud – <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forensic_linguistics" target="_blank">forensic linguistics</a>. By comparing this to other known writings by Conan Doyle, we have an opportunity to see if they match. If we look at phraseology, idiolect, and word usage can we get a final answer?<br />
<br />
I should mention here that I am not an expert on the English language. However, it does not take one to be able to compare. That is what I will do here. I will leave the really deeper investigation of gerunds, colligation, syntax, etc. to the professionals.<br />
<br />
I started this article with a fairly certain notion of what I would find, but I may have been too hasty. Regardless, let’s take a look at what was found.<br />
<br />
<h4>
"He told us of similar cases" [HOUN]</h4>
To begin with, does any part of this story correspond with other Doyle pieces?<br />
<br />
Compare the following:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Perhaps not with your tongue, my dear Watson, but certainly with your eyebrows." ["The Adventure of the Resident Patient"]</blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"By word, no; but by your action you have revealed the bent of your mind." ["The Brig Bazaar"]</blockquote>
[<b><i>Editor's note:</i></b> we'll be using <a href="http://ihose.co/ABREV" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">the Jay Finley Christ abbreviations</a> for the 60 Sherlock Holmes stories; the new piece will be referred to as BRIG.]<br />
<br />
In the above exchanges Holmes has stunned Watson with his deductions about the good doctor's private thoughts. This is something we see in several Holmes cases. The similarity of the above two passages seemingly reflects Doyle’s hand, but it would not be impossible for anyone else to do this. In fact, thousands have.<br />
<br />
When it comes to certain words or phrases, we find a fairly even mixture of meshing with known Doyle. The shortness of this piece makes it difficult to find many, but there are examples.<br />
<br />
The following is a list from BRIG that matches known Doyle writings:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>"up-to-date" – used in the novel <i>A Duet</i></li>
<li>"by hook or by crook" – "by hook or crook" [VALL]</li>
<li>"thought I" – "thought I to myself" [STUD]</li>
<li>"so far so good" – "So far so good." [CHAS]</li>
<li>"so-called" – used no fewer than six times but never in quotation marks</li>
<li>"stuck to me" – "you might have stuck to Mordecai Smith" [SIGN] and "he stuck to her as true as man could be" [COPP] and "artillerymen who had stuck to me." <i>The Mystery of Cloomber</i></li>
<li>"blue-pencilled” – used in Conan Doyle's autobiography <i>Memories and Adventures</i></li>
<li>"retailing” – used in the novelette <i>The Parasite</i> in the same context</li>
<li>"lilting” – used in the poem "Ragtime!"</li>
</ul>
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<br />
Words or phrases for which we do not find a match:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>"romancists"</li>
<li>"attitude antagonistic"</li>
<li>"buttonhole" (never used by Doyle as a verb, only a noun)</li>
<li>"something in the air"</li>
<li>"stiff argument"</li>
<li>"loq.-" (this is used as a stage direction, or to inform a reader that someone is about to speak, in a play)</li>
</ul>
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The line "I ordered a tin of tobacco, wrapped my cloak about me, and spent the night in thought," [BRIG] is a very non-Doyle/Holmes sentence. There are sites that have transcribed this line as "a <i>ton</i> of tobacco" in error. While Holmes may have used the occasional idiom, he never used this one.<br />
<br />
To compare his usage of a measurement, we have the following from HOUN:<br />
"My body has remained in this armchair, and has, I regret to observe, consumed in my absence two large pots of coffee and <i>an incredible amount</i> of tobacco." [Emphasis ours]<br />
<br />
"Wrapped my cloak about me" is a little odd, as well. The term cloak appears about a dozen times in the Canon, and Holmes used most of those, but never when referring to his dressing gown. We have to assume that’s what he meant since it’s very likely he didn’t wrap his "long gray travelling-cloak" around himself to keep warm.<br />
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<h4>
"It is a hobby of mine to have an exact knowledge of London." [REDH]</h4>
The reference to Sloan Street as the home of Holmes ("The familiar house in Sloan Street met my bewildered gaze." [BRIG]) is one of the most telling discrepancies. There is no Sloan Street in London, but there is a Sloane Street about two miles from Baker Street. There is, however, a Sloan Street in <i>Edinburgh </i>– the birthplace of Doyle and a city that appears in the story.<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/AVvXsEjN8UfmAHKumAV1TVZSh1wuuxdiAydQAdAIZjK4SYFVppwg1nA4TWe32jQCOQHAfjGP2hinDhgmN1-hvvB6qMuoxxwChU39AImWwakMMvjIv0mTF_GSLHqcnXUjy2EUMMxnlgAbrpeZ4rkU/s1600/Sloan_Street,_Edinburgh_001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN8UfmAHKumAV1TVZSh1wuuxdiAydQAdAIZjK4SYFVppwg1nA4TWe32jQCOQHAfjGP2hinDhgmN1-hvvB6qMuoxxwChU39AImWwakMMvjIv0mTF_GSLHqcnXUjy2EUMMxnlgAbrpeZ4rkU/s1600/Sloan_Street,_Edinburgh_001.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sloan Street in Edinburgh</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
The line "'Sherlock Holmes!' [You may] As well talk of interviewing the Man in the Moon" may have a deeper meaning than just a comparison of trying to locate and interview Holmes.<br />
<br />
In 1899 a play was produced in New York City by George Lederer. The play was titled "The Man in the Moon" and strangely featured both Doyle and Holmes as characters. It ran for 182 performances, and received decent reviews. While this is not a definitive connection, it <i>is</i> only a few years before BRIG appears.<br />
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<h4>
"there was somethin' wrong; compasses, or map, or somethin'" [STUD]</h4>
The line "Do you mind a run down to Scotland?" seems out of place with Doyle's knowledge of the country. Why does Holmes ask Watson to go "down" to Scotland? The town in this story, Selkirk, is 370 miles <u>north</u> of London. Is this a slip-up on the part of the true author?<br />
<br />
Furthermore, as Holmes excuses himself from traveling, he notes that he is busy with an "inquiry into the 'Mysteries of the Secret Cabinet.'" Nowhere in the Canon does Sherlock Holmes give a literary title (and certainly not a capitalized one at that) of the cases he's working on.<br />
<br />
<h4>
"4. Knowledge of Politics. - Feeble." [STUD]</h4>
Finally, we hear that Watson is considering "another Parliamentary contest." Another? Is there evidence of him running before? Even with all of the inconsistencies we find in the Canon, I doubt that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle would have made this mistake. <br />
<br />
If Doyle wrote this as a fundraiser and used the name of his master detective (albeit with quotation marks around Holmes's name) then he was pretty sloppy with it. Could he have expected people to take this seriously? Did he think that his famous creation could appear in a story fraught with problems and inconsistencies and no one would care or notice? What were his reasons for such a poor job? And why doesn't his name appear on it if he is trying to help raise money for a good cause and good friends? The answer could be that he isn't the author. <br />
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<div style="text-align: center;">
Read the opening frame of "Sherlock Holmes" story again. Clearly a spoof. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeShallNotBeFooled?src=hash">#WeShallNotBeFooled</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
— Baker Street Journal (@BakerStJournal) <a href="https://twitter.com/BakerStJournal/status/568870200034119680">February 20, 2015</a></div>
</blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>

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<br />
The brevity of the story counters the necessity and ability to look for more details, and prevents any level of investigative depth that would assist in a definitive answer. There is evidence for and against Doyle's authorship, but my gut still tells me that this isn't his. However, the clues keep us swaying to and fro. Perhaps one day something will come to light that will settle the authorship question and the writer will be unmasked. Who that person is remains to be seen.<br />
<br />
<br />
[<b><i>Editor's note:</i></b> Vincent W. Wright has been a member of The Illustrious Clients of Indianapolis since 1997. He discovered his love for Holmes in the late 1980s when he was given tattered copies of <i>The Annotated Sherlock Holmes</i>. It was in those pages he found his true calling as a Sherlockian - studying the chronology of the Canon. Vincent runs a blog and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Historical-Sherlock/314567048570655">Facebook Page</a> called <a href="http://historicalsherlock.blogspot.com/">Historical Sherlock</a>, and is a member of four scion societies. Vincent had two pieces published in Sherlock Holmes in the Heartland, and was runner-up in the 2010 Baker Street Journal Essay Contest.This is his first contribution to <b>I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere</b>.]<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo credit: <a href="https://flic.kr/p/aPR13K" target="_blank">Elliott Brown (Flickr)</a></span><br />
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--<br />
<br />

A Stylistic Analysis of the Lost Sherlock Holmes Story

"His effort to conceal his own writing" [HOUN] Recently a discovery was made of a ‘lost’ or ‘new’ Sherlock Holmes story . Rec...

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by Vincent W. Wright

Your Chance to Win Big on IHOSE

<h4 style="text-align: center;">
"an examination by experts" [FINA] </h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTn_jVCdKa9BVGyqV-E1YCR6Q5ykRoZZghW45PgpCGWBhdS7EcBcVcJCS_ZF5Joqs9hXyA8t_FTFTESdsnSJXlIAQ3xkOjS0TMSYQIkuiAhQQDTq0jq994qH1MIE5MavDJGhIa1SFq8mfL/s1600/IHOSE_caption+19+-+RESI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt=""Calm down, the questions won't be THAT difficult."" border="0" height="460" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTn_jVCdKa9BVGyqV-E1YCR6Q5ykRoZZghW45PgpCGWBhdS7EcBcVcJCS_ZF5Joqs9hXyA8t_FTFTESdsnSJXlIAQ3xkOjS0TMSYQIkuiAhQQDTq0jq994qH1MIE5MavDJGhIa1SFq8mfL/s1600/IHOSE_caption+19+-+RESI.jpg" title="Worried over a little questioning" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
We're very excited to announce a new feature of our monthly podcast - one that involves <u><b>you</b></u>.<br />
<br />
For the last few months, we've been in discussion with Nick Martorelli, a New York-area Sherlockian. Nick is a dastardly quiz maker whom we've had the pleasure of meeting a number of times during the <a href="http://bsiweekend.com/" target="_blank">BSI Weekend</a>. He is also involved with <a href="http://p.feedblitz.com/t3.asp?/45933/38026287/4901873/https://prioryscholarsnyc.wordpress.com/?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzEmail&utm_content=45933&utm_campaign=0">The Priory Scholars of NYC</a> and has offered many devilish quizzes at their meetings. We thought that Nick's talents would be put to great use on I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere.<br />
<br />
If you've listened to NPR shows like <i><a href="http://www.npr.org/programs/wait-wait-dont-tell-me/" target="_blank">Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!</a></i> and <i><a href="http://www.npr.org/programs/weekend-edition-sunday/" target="_blank">Weekend Edition Sunday</a></i>, you'll know that there are opportunities for listeners to participate in quizzes. In the former, a guest typically plays on behalf of a listener - the prize is Carl Kassell's voice on their answering machine. On the latter, the listener plays live on the air and the prize is a book or some NPR tchochke.<br />
<br />
As <i>I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere</i> (the podcast) has a connection with NPR - we've been called "a cross between NPR's <i>Car Talk</i> and <i>Fresh Air</i>" - we thought it would be entirely appropriate to model our own quiz program after the two above.<br />
<br />
Our new feature during the show will be called "<b>Mental Exaltation</b>" and here's how it will work:<br />
<ul>
<li>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.</li>
<li>If you'd like to enter, you must <a href="http://www.feedblitz.com/f/?Sub&publisher=445106&sitescope=45933" target="_blank">subscribe to I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere by email</a>.</li>
<li>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.</li>
<li>If your player or you succeeds in passing the test, you'll have your choice of prizes: a random item from our I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere Grab-Bag of Goodies (that's the IHOSE GBG), or your choice of a voice* from <i>The Simpsons</i> or of a member of the Baker Street Irregulars on your answering machine.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<i>*Voice must be chosen from one of the following:</i><br />
<iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/82406792&color=ff6600&show_artwork=false" width="100%"></iframe>

<br />
<br />
<h4>
<b>Qualify now</b></h4>
Our first quiz recording will take place on Sunday, March 1. You have until <b>Saturday, February 28 at 11:59 pm ET</b> to qualify. And here's how to enter:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe frameborder="0" height="750" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1PVpJ5AGcabHS5sKtNohBXfKN8FXvHuYQRo1MjmegoYc/viewform?embedded=true" width="650">Loading...</iframe>  </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
Good luck!<br />
<br />
--</div>
<br />

Your Chance to Win Big on IHOSE

"an examination by experts" [FINA] We're very excited to announce a new feature of our monthly podcast - one that involv...

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by Scott Monty

Remembering Alan Howard

<h4 style="text-align: center;">
"such was the stately presence" [PRIO] </h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY7hQ994GxBYMqmrzh7jphrwkZMPTLb3NPg-gtKdjJelIWIt42Hf4eD48mVbNgYlMUyRRNn2oSfy4r7bsMowb5b4uXIPPXDZToovr4dGb4LIR_lpunPZPGXTw_l3hGPdQmRhAVEW6oeC7G/s1600/Alan+Howard+as+the+Duke+of+Holdernesse.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Alan Howard as the Duke of Holdernesse in "The Priory School"" border="0" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY7hQ994GxBYMqmrzh7jphrwkZMPTLb3NPg-gtKdjJelIWIt42Hf4eD48mVbNgYlMUyRRNn2oSfy4r7bsMowb5b4uXIPPXDZToovr4dGb4LIR_lpunPZPGXTw_l3hGPdQmRhAVEW6oeC7G/s1600/Alan+Howard+as+the+Duke+of+Holdernesse.png" title="Actor Alan Howard" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Shakespearean actor <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0397102/?ref_=nv_sr_1" target="_blank">Alan Howard</a> passed away on February 14 at the age of 77. It was first announced in <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/11423236/Alan-Howard-actor-obituary.html" target="_blank">The Telegraph</a>.<br />
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He was a widely acclaimed actor of the stage, having been associated with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre for decades. His uncle was actor Leslie Howard, known largely from his role as Ashley Wilkes in <i>Gone With the Wind</i>, and his cousin was Ronald Howard, who portrayed <a href="http://amzn.to/1FqoWUd" target="_blank">Sherlock Holmes on U.S. television in the 1950s</a>.<br />
<br />
Sherlockians probably remember him as the Duke of Holdernesse in the Granada series <i>The Return of Sherlock Holmes</i> starring Jeremy Brett. The specific episode was of course "<a href="http://amzn.to/1BQ332K" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Priory School</a>."<br />
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<a href="http://youtu.be/7Z4g5TZYwP0?t=4m46s" target="_blank">Here Howard demonstrates perfectly</a> the description of the His Grace in the original story, who was "a stately presence who looked stonily at us":<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="338" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7Z4g5TZYwP0?start=286" width="600"></iframe>
</div>
<br />
<br />
Without giving away any spoilers - you really should read the original "<a href="http://amzn.to/1BoV6SM" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Adventure of the Priory School</a>" (or, if you must, watch the Granada version) - Dr. Thorneycroft Huxtable sought Sherlock Holmes's help in finding Lord Saltire, son and heir to the Duke of Holdernesse. A missing German tutor, bicycle tracks, a country inn and the landscape of the northern country play a part in the mystery.<br />
<br />
But when Holmes solves it and earns a hefty reward of £12,000 (that's approximately <b>$1.75 million today</b>!), it is a considerably more frank and emotional peer than previously encountered. In the story we're told that the Duke sat down and sank his face in his hands "with an extraordinary effort of aristocratic self-command." [PRIO]<br />
<br />
The icy coldness of Howard's interpretation of the Duke of Holdernesse seemingly melts away <a href="http://youtu.be/raB7pKhcx8A" target="_blank">in the final scene</a>:<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="338" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/raB7pKhcx8A" width="600"></iframe>
</div>
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<br />
R.I.P. Alan Howard (1937 - 2015)<br />
<br />
--<br />
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Remembering Alan Howard

"such was the stately presence" [PRIO] Shakespearean actor Alan Howard passed away on February 14 at the age of 77. It was ...

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by Scott Monty

Interview with Author Kim Krisco on Sherlock Holmes -The Golden Years

<h4 style="text-align: center;">
"peaceful in the golden evening" [HOUN]</h4>
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<br />
What happened to Sherlock Holmes in those years between his beekeeping retirement in 1903 and his return as Mr. Altamont in "His Last Bow?"  Kim Krisco reveals the answers in his touching anthology, <i><a href="http://amzn.to/1Fh6RIb" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sherlock Holmes: The Golden Years</a></i>, an intriguing book that is both short story collection and novel at the same time.  I had the opportunity to interview this fellow Coloradan via email while he was on vacation, basking away in the warm Mexican sun. <br />
<div>
<br />
<h4>
<b>1.  Your book, <i>Sherlock Holmes - The Golden Years</i>, is unique in that it is a collection of five short stories that interconnect to create a novel.  What made you decide to write a Sherlock Holmes book in this format?</b></h4>
The idea of creating a hybrid story/novel format is something that evolved. I had initially intended to let some of my characters move from story to story. However, as I wrote, my own desire to do a serious exploration of the Adler/Holmes relationship grew stronger. This resulted in Irene playing a key role in the first four stories, nearly transforming these stories into a novel – but not quite. The fifth story stands alone, and may begin an entirely new series of stories for my next book.<br />
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<h4>
<b>2.  Your book has multiple settings from the magical hills of Scotland to the jungles of Africa.  How much research did you need to complete in order to make your settings believable and come alive on the page?</b></h4>
While I was committed to writing an authentic canonical set of adventures, I wanted to add more depth to the characters, and create richer historical backgrounds. I did tons of research to ensure that every detail in my book was 100% accurate. For example, when Holmes and Watson eat at Rules restaurant in London, what they eat is from the exact 1912 menu from that restaurant. Regarding settings, I went as far as to take a trip to Aviemore Scotland, and Ben Macdui Mountain, to get the details I needed for the first of my stories.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYuyG7dJFaISCY2su74TGLhNYkHxGIrXrSD82bJQ37y5q1C8FRIOhmU51A3W15qRSKLFyM3CO-SDJlI1buYrlGflcHD_jaVURQ1g9Z4EtoNUJfatfxLfcUO0UrLYmy6DPAddJWNj1be0wL/s1600/kimkrisco.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Kim Krisco, courtesy of https://sherlockholmesthegoldenyears.wordpress.com/2014/08/" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYuyG7dJFaISCY2su74TGLhNYkHxGIrXrSD82bJQ37y5q1C8FRIOhmU51A3W15qRSKLFyM3CO-SDJlI1buYrlGflcHD_jaVURQ1g9Z4EtoNUJfatfxLfcUO0UrLYmy6DPAddJWNj1be0wL/s1600/kimkrisco.jpg" title="Kim Krisco" width="298" /></a></div>
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<b>3.  You introduce a new villain to the canon, Ciarán Malastier, an adversary similar to Professor Moriarty in his global reach.  How did this sinister character come about?</b></h4>
Hopefully, readers will see a theme that runs through all five of my stories having to do with eugenics in its many forms. Ciarán Malastier personifies, or embodies, the insidious nature of eugenics. Of course, as a writer, I also wanted a fitting rival to the infamous Moriarty. Readers seem to agree that Malastier is every bit as diabolical and clever as the Professor.<br />
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<h4>
<b>4.  MX Publishing has announced that your novel will be translated and released in India.  What does this say about the global appeal of Sherlock Holmes and also your writing?</b></h4>
As you may know, Sherlock Holmes is THE most portrayed human fictional character in TV and films, according to Guinness World Records. He appears no less than 254 times in film and TV programs. The popular BBC series Sherlock is now seen in 180 countries around the world. The number of stories in which Holmes appears are nearly too numerous to count. Sherlock Holmes has become a fixed and unchanging point in a world that seems to be spinning on the edge of chaos. I am, simultaneously, pleased and humbled to know that S<i>herlock Holmes – The Golden Years</i> is becoming part of this enduring outreach to people around the world.<br />
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<h4>
<b>5.  The question all Sherlockians dread!  If you were stranded on a desert island and could only have one Sherlock Holmes story, which would it be and why?</b></h4>
I would pick "A Scandal in Bohemia" as my favorite story (not surprising, if you have read my book). Why?  Because this story brings three of Sherlock Holmes's most important attributes to life:<br />
<br />
First, Holmes is outwitted, which makes him human. He’s not a superhero, so I can personally relate to him. In this way, Holmes becomes more real for me.<br />
<br />
Second, as he does in many stories, Holmes exhibits a deep innate, and at times profound, understanding of right and wrong that transcends the law, and many social conventions.<br />
<br />
Lastly, Holmes exhibits a seemingly paradoxical form of “unemotional compassion.” He accesses his heart through his head — which is something to which I can personally relate.<br />
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All of these special qualities are contained in this one story. I love it!<br />
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<b>6.  What are your current projects?</b></h4>
</div>
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As you know Derrick, because you’re a contributor to this project . . . I am currently working on a single Sherlock Holmes story that will be included in a special anthology, being assembled by David Marcum. This project will raise money for the <a href="http://www.saveundershaw.com/" target="_blank">Undershaw Preservation Trust</a>. I’m happy to be part of this effort to save the home where Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote many of his Sherlock Holmes stories. I hope all your readers will buy this anthology when it comes out near the end of this year. Also, I’m also pulling together ideas for my next book in which the irregulars will play a key role.</div>
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<b>7.  Any last thoughts? </b></h4>
You have been kind and generous enough to invite me to participate in some Sherlockian events coming up later this year in the Denver area. Like you, I am committed to keeping Sherlock Holmes alive through my stories. Thanks for helping me get my book into the hands of readers who can echo with our cry “Sherlock Holmes is alive an well in the Denver area — and around the world!"</div>
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[<b><i>Editor's note</i></b>: This is Derrick Belanger's first post for us.  Derrick is an author and educator most noted for his books and lectures on Sherlock Holmes and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.  Both volumes of his two volume anthology <i><a href="http://amzn.to/1AkREGo" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">A Study in Terror: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Revolutionary Stories of Fear and the Supernatural</a></i> were #1 best sellers on the Amazon.com UK Sherlock Holmes book list, and his MacDougall Twins with Sherlock Holmes chapter book, <i><a href="http://amzn.to/1AzS5vd" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Attack of the Violet Vampire!</a></i> was also a #1 best selling new release in the UK.]<br />
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Interview with Author Kim Krisco on Sherlock Holmes -The Golden Years

"peaceful in the golden evening" [HOUN] What happened to Sherlock Holmes in those years between his beekeeping retirement in ...

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by Belanger Books

Sherlockians Are Weird

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"in the city of the weird" [STUD] </h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge54QMEvz7WwvbuPXa2X-u_eNHxQSMHfNidTuJLKc3-X5RWFSSujEK2Ow18MJw3HoKGndo-yQdnnf6DL1QG3N_WFjlcZbg7OmB_LJBdr_bHcShXsdD-H7rN7CLRXy-KJHZt5QETSJ4wK29/s1600/Graham+Moore+-+weird+and+different.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Graham Moore says #stayweird" border="0" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge54QMEvz7WwvbuPXa2X-u_eNHxQSMHfNidTuJLKc3-X5RWFSSujEK2Ow18MJw3HoKGndo-yQdnnf6DL1QG3N_WFjlcZbg7OmB_LJBdr_bHcShXsdD-H7rN7CLRXy-KJHZt5QETSJ4wK29/s1600/Graham+Moore+-+weird+and+different.PNG" title="Graham Moore" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Sherlockians are a weird bunch by definition. We obsess over a fictional character and claim that "<a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2013/10/celebrate-national-poetry-day.html#.VOs9d_nF9gQ" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">he never lived and so can never die</a>." We <a href="http://bsiweekend.com/" target="_blank">host dinners</a> in his honor, we make toasts to the characters of the Canon of 60 stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, we research and write <a href="http://www.bakerstreetjournal.com/" target="_blank">scholarly papers</a> - all in the name of a hobby.<br />
<br />
So it was a welcome and refreshing moment during last night's Academy Awards when Graham Moore took to the stage after winning an Oscar® for Best Adapted Screenplay, giving a speech that touched a nerve with audiences worldwide:<br />
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When I was 16 years old,I tried to kill myself because I felt weird and I felt different and I felt like I did not belong. And now I'm standing here and so I would like for this moment to be for that kid out there who feels like she's weird or she's different or she doesn't fit in anywhere. Yes, you do. I promise you do. You do. Stay weird, stay different. And then when it's your turn and you're standing on this stage, please pass the same message to the next person who comes along.</div>
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It was so heartfelt, so genuine, and - dare we say? - so different that <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/stayweird?src=tren" target="_blank">#stayweird</a> is still a trending topic on Twitter this morning.</div>
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We were fortunate to have interviewed Graham Moore in 2011 about his book <i>The Sherlockian</i> on <a href="http://ihose.co/ihose30" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Episode 30 of I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere</a>. You can listen here:</div>
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Yes, Sherlockians are weird. Stay that way.</div>
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Sherlockians Are Weird

"in the city of the weird" [STUD] Sherlockians are a weird bunch by definition. We obsess over a fictional character and cla...

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by Scott Monty

This Week in Sherlock Holmes News

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"in the course of the week" [STUD] </h4>
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<br />
Pardon us if we pause to catch our breath. We'd like to bring you up to speed on what's been happening and let you know what we have planned for this week - and how you can stay on top of the news.<br />
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<h4>
What happened</h4>
The weekend proved a busy one online, as the news of <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/11424549/Lost-Sherlock-Holmes-story-discovered-in-mans-attic.html" target="_blank">a recently-discovered Sherlock Holmes story</a> began circulating on Friday morning. By Friday evening, we posted a detailed analysis of <a href="http://ihose.co/ACD_not" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">why Sir Arthur Conan Doyle could not have written the story</a> by Mattias Boström, BSI ("The Swedish Pathological Society"). There was some little controversy in the comments section - even Les Klinger, BSI ("The Abbey Grange") expressed an opinion. Is it over yet? We'll see what other Doyle scholars can bring to light.<br />
<br />
And to demonstrate that this subject is far from over, we'll have at least one other analysis available this week from another contributor. Sherlockians love controversy!<br />
<br />
On Saturday, we continued a new feature - the Saturday Matinee movie review - with a look at <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2015/02/saturday-matinee-silver-blaze-murder-at.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">another Arthur Wontner film</a>. The reviews are cross-posted from <a href="http://www.comicbookandmoviereviews.com/" target="_blank">Comic Book and Movie Reviews</a>, courtesy of David Lee Andrews.<br />
<br />
Continuing on a lighthearted trend on Sunday, we welcomed Chris Redmond, BSI ("Billy") for his inaugural contribution to IHOSE in which he wrote about <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2015/02/canonical-abbreviations-no-short.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">the origin of the abbreviations of the titles of the Sherlock Holmes stories</a>. Some have questioned the user-friendliness of the shortened titles, but we believe that using the key provided by Jay Finley Christ, BSI ("The Final Problem") is logical enough:<br />
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If the titles are all GREE to you,</h4>
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(A SIGN is your brain's BLAC and BLUE)</h4>
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BERY doubts that have flowed;</h4>
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SCAN a SPEC of <a href="http://ihose.co/ABREV" rel="nofollow" style="color: #006f85; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">the code</a>.</h4>
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You can't MISS if you STUD like 3STU.</h4>
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<h4>
What's next</h4>
Tomorrow, we'll be posting an interview with author Kim Krisco, who wrote <i>Sherlock Holmes: The Golden Years</i>, with an unusual twist. New contributor Derrick Belanger makes his debut on I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere with that one.<br />
<br />
We'll also have an announcement on Wednesday about a special new feature of our podcast. We won't give anything away right now, aside from letting you know that you can participate in what we're calling "Mental Exaltation."<br />
<br />
Finally, we hope we haven't been keeping you in suspense with regard to our <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2015/02/sherlock-holmes-valentine-day-quiz.html#.VOrEFfldWSp" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Valentine's Day quiz</a>. We had scores of entries and we selected one winner randomly from those that submitted all correct answers. Here are the answers, in case you'd like to see how you did:<br />
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    <td>1.Jefferson Hope</td>
    <td>6. Leonardo</td>  
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    <td>2. Mary Cushing</td>
    <td>7. Henry Wood</td>  
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    <td>3. Jack Croker</td>
    <td>8. Cyril Morton</td>
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    <td>4. Grace Dunbar</td>
    <td>9. Hilton Cubitt</td>
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    <td>5. Brenda Tregennis</td>
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If you have any questions about or would like to debate the answers, please let us know.<br />
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<h4>
What you can do</h4>
If you haven't yet <a href="http://www.feedblitz.com/f/?Sub&publisher=445106&sitescope=45933" target="_blank">subscribed via email</a>, we highly recommend that you do, and please keep in mind our <a href="http://bit.ly/FlipSherlock" target="_blank">Flipboard magazine</a> and <a href="http://www.scoop.it/t/sherlock-holmes" target="_blank">Scoop.it topic</a>, where we post links and news of interest as we find them. Plus, <a href="http://facebook.com/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">our Facebook page</a> continues to grow; we'd be honored if you joined us there.<br />
<br />
But most of all, if you could tell someone you know about our site and encourage them to subscribe, that would be the ultimate compliment.<br />
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We're looking forward to having you with us all week!<br />
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This Week in Sherlock Holmes News

"in the course of the week" [STUD] Pardon us if we pause to catch our breath. We'd like to bring you up to speed on what...

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by Scott Monty

Canonical Abbreviations: No Short Sherlock?

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'What a queer, scrambling way of expressing his meaning!' [VALL]</h4>
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So what's your favourite Sherlock Holmes story? If it's "Silver Blaze", you might not get tired of saying or writing the name over and over again. But if it's "The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax", that could get cumbersome. And if you were trying to draw up a table of the stories (charting how many murders take place in each one, say), the sixty titles could take up a lot of space, even if you omitted the subtitles that several stories carry.<br />
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That was the problem that faced <a href="http://www.sshf.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Jay_Finley_Christ" target="_blank">Jay Finley Christ, BSI</a> ("The Final Problem") when he was compiling an index to the names, crimes, laughs, lenses, masks, notebooks, weapons and windows mentioned in all the stories. To save space in his beautifully typeset index, which was published in 1947 as <i>An Irregular Guide to Sherlock Holmes of Baker Street</i>, he prepared what he called a "<a href="http://ihose.co/ABREV" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Key to Story Names</a>." The Sherlockian world has known them ever since as the canonical abbreviations. [Editor's note: you can find <a href="http://ihose.co/ABREV" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">the abbreviation key here on our site</a> and embedded below.]<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmL5J78KLxA2pkmbyIZyxrbRT8mc2SeaLTY-wsSuHz9LVtbY1-mZQ1BB7RrMIZor8J9FAFnzssWTOCKucmhp-7zc6pOAYeoibqGkhYzopKPiuGXwFWNEjsDSPf5mLvlJ42hE6ULTdk5kQx/s1600/Jay+Finley+Christ.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Jay Finley Christ, BSI, originator of the abbreviations for the Sherlock Holmes story titles" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmL5J78KLxA2pkmbyIZyxrbRT8mc2SeaLTY-wsSuHz9LVtbY1-mZQ1BB7RrMIZor8J9FAFnzssWTOCKucmhp-7zc6pOAYeoibqGkhYzopKPiuGXwFWNEjsDSPf5mLvlJ42hE6ULTdk5kQx/s1600/Jay+Finley+Christ.jpg" title="Jay Finley Christ, BSI" width="212" /></a></div>
Christ's basic principle was simple: the abbreviation is the first four letters of the story's title, leaving aside phrases like "The Adventure of". He listed them alphabetically, from Abbe for "The Abbey Grange" to Yell for "The Yellow Face". Christ, perhaps influenced by the British custom of capitalizing only the first letter of an abbreviation or acronym, typed them that way — besides, it takes less space. (When the story name starts with a three-letter word, he capitalized the beginning of the next word too: RedH, RedC, SixN.) Most subsequent users of his system have capitalized all four letters: ABBE, YELL.<br />
<br />
A few problems arise with the four-letter rule, most obviously the fact that three stories begin with the word "Three". Christ solved that one easily: 3Gab for the Gables, 3Gar for the Garridebs, 3Stu for the Students. (He didn't do the same thing for "The Five Orange Pips" or "The Six Napoleons" because there's only one five and one six. And "The Sign of the Four" is Sign, with no numeral needed.)<br />
<br />
And lest you think that these choices were capricious or confusing, recall that Christ was a professor at the University of Chicago, home of the famed <i>Chicago Manual of Style</i>. The manual indicates that "whole cardinal numbers from one through one hundred, as well as ordinals, are spelled out in nontechnical contexts." Indeed, Christ was <a href="https://mcmurdoscamp.wordpress.com/trifling-monographs/tao-abbr-christs-abbreviations-explained/" target="_blank">working from academic and legal precedents</a> for his abbreviations. <br />
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Wouldn't you know, Christ made a few exceptions, for stories with difficult names. He went with Chas for "Charles Augustus Milverton", probably because that was a recognized abbreviation for Charles, and Engr for "The Engineer's Thumb". And in three instances he apparently decided that introductory words were as insignificant as "The Adventure of", and could be ignored, so he decreed Iden for "A Case of Identity", Last for "His Last Bow", and Twis for "The Man with the Twisted Lip". <br />
<br />
It gets a bit complicated — though only a little, since most Sherlockians surely know the names of all sixty cases and can figure out what FINA and GREE and SHOS mean. Scores of writers have used the abbreviations over the decades since Christ created them. Even when elegance demands that the full titles be used in a printed article, the abbreviations sneak into footnotes and tables, and of course tweets, where space is at a premium.<br />
<br />
<h4>
<b>No Short Sherlock</b></h4>
The abbreviations have their detractors, of course. Among them is the editor of the <i><a href="http://www.bakerstreetjournal.com/" target="_blank">Baker Street Journal</a></i>, who actually devoted an editorial in 2002 to explaining why the BSJ will not ordinarily use them: they are not "welcoming" to "the newly engaged Sherlockian".<br />
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<a href="https://twitter.com/IHearofSherlock">@IHearofSherlock</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/darkgreendesk">@darkgreendesk</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/CanadianHolmes">@CanadianHolmes</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/curtisisbooger">@curtisisbooger</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/NEofMN">@NEofMN</a> I HATE the Four-letter abbreviations; use them only for Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Ugh?src=hash">#Ugh</a><br />
— Baker Street Journal (@BakerStJournal) <a href="https://twitter.com/BakerStJournal/status/568853158442733569">February 20, 2015</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<a href="https://twitter.com/darkgreendesk">@darkgreendesk</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/IHearofSherlock">@IHearofSherlock</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/CanadianHolmes">@CanadianHolmes</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/curtisisbooger">@curtisisbooger</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/NEofMN">@NEofMN</a> Not difficult but not intuitive. Should be understood by all.<br />
— Baker Street Journal (@BakerStJournal) <a href="https://twitter.com/BakerStJournal/status/568855994169741313">February 20, 2015</a></blockquote>
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</center>
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<br />
Indeed, even the Sherlockian whose engagement has dragged on longer than that of Mary Sutherland may occasionally be thrown: was that BLAN or BLAC? RETI or RESI? CROO or CREE? REDC or REDH? And a sentence like that one demonstrates the merits of another argument, that four-letter abbreviations sound too much like excerpts from a computer manual. Definitely, they should not be used in continuous prose.<br />
<br />
<center>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<a href="https://twitter.com/BakerStJournal">@BakerStJournal</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/timgreer7">@timgreer7</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/darkgreendesk">@darkgreendesk</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/CanadianHolmes">@CanadianHolmes</a> It's *A* touchstone of Sherlockian knowledge; not *THE* touchstone.<br />
— I Hear of Sherlock (@IHearofSherlock) <a href="https://twitter.com/IHearofSherlock/status/568874452253073409">February 20, 2015</a></blockquote>
<br />

Canonical Abbreviations: No Short Sherlock?

'What a queer, scrambling way of expressing his meaning!' [VALL] So what's your favourite Sherlock Holmes story? If it...

+ Read more »

by Scott Monty

Saturday Matinee: Silver Blaze / Murder at the Baskervilles

<h4 style="text-align: center;">
"You can go to blazes!" [3STU]</h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9vEGvyV4u1tv8OrNGP6XwhDbfSEZcjgBFARImuPNDWF5CGPcjYbNh-R0h7SqBYJ_dJBsGJbhyphenhyphenkR7Noi-Mtsg_cyD-t0fx_YPPXNN4UpYCa8LSZpYOPoEwtRSWH5HcGKMvQEs7UcNBG4hc/s1600/Wontner-color.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Still from a poster for Arthur Wontner in Silver Blaze / Murder at the Baskervilles" border="0" height="458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9vEGvyV4u1tv8OrNGP6XwhDbfSEZcjgBFARImuPNDWF5CGPcjYbNh-R0h7SqBYJ_dJBsGJbhyphenhyphenkR7Noi-Mtsg_cyD-t0fx_YPPXNN4UpYCa8LSZpYOPoEwtRSWH5HcGKMvQEs7UcNBG4hc/s1600/Wontner-color.jpg" title="Arthur Wontner as Sherlock Holmes - in color" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: "verdana" , "geneva" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px;">[</span><i style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px;">Editor's note: this is the third in <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/search/label/Arthur%20Wontner#.VNZp7_nF_14" rel="nofollow" style="color: #006f85; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">a series of four posts</a> on the Arthur Wontner Sherlock Holmes series, as reviewed by David Lee Andrews of <a href="http://www.comicbookandmoviereviews.com/2014/07/sherlock-holmes-and-silver-blaze-1937.html#.VOi_hfldWSo" style="color: #006f85; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Comic Book and Movie Reviews</a>.</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: "verdana" , "geneva" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px;">]</span><br />
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</span> I say, old chap. Have you ever noticed that in days of old British people used to speak with a rather pious accent? Yes. I can assure you this fact is true, my friend. As I heard this in the following 71-minute movie made in 1937. It was Directed by: Thomas Bentley; and Starred: Arthur Wontner, Ian Fleming, Lyn Harding, with Lawrence Grossmith.<br />
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<h4>
<b>The Story</b></h4>
<div>
Why thank you very much for inviting us to your grand abode, Sir Henry Baskerville (Lawrence Grossmith). I'm sure Dr. Watson (Ian Fleming) and myself will have a most enjoyably stay here. Especially since Inspector Lestrade (John Turnbull) gave us a tip on an up and coming horse race within the vicinity. <br />
<br />
Well, just between the two of us, of course, only the other day the good Inspector recommended that we should place a bet on a horse to win this completion. Your horse, my friend. Your horse called the 'Silver Blaze'. Nigh on guaranteeing us that your grand stallion should be the first....<br />
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BOOOM! AGGGGHHHHhhhh!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmqDDsItP9_JsAy310ycVLQqXiu1xlr-3qMqr_saauQjFwwXwpTgsxqD1-8aZ9M5Akcq-DDzh3jIEAKepcsUUGbOwiYt8eum8TRilcJRAgILJu2s9fmvAuybAWRJ91DljMIvmPi9Pkek-E/s1600/Wontner-SILV.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Arthur Explains it All" border="0" height="416" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmqDDsItP9_JsAy310ycVLQqXiu1xlr-3qMqr_saauQjFwwXwpTgsxqD1-8aZ9M5Akcq-DDzh3jIEAKepcsUUGbOwiYt8eum8TRilcJRAgILJu2s9fmvAuybAWRJ91DljMIvmPi9Pkek-E/s1600/Wontner-SILV.jpg" title="Arthur Wontner as Sherlock Holmes in Silver Blaze" width="640" /></a></div>
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Eh? What in damnations was that infernal racket? Oh no! Don't tell me someone has killed your stable hand and stolen the horse in question? Oh, dear, Sir Henry! That's a damn nuisance, isn't it?<br />
<br />
But please don't concern yourself with this matter, old bean. As the game is a foot. My game that is! My game of sussing out who committed this heinous crime by prowling through the moors, whilst asking a lot of question's in the process.<br />
<br />
Then again, that's most probably why what transpires all takes a run and jump when I say to myself, 'Sherlock (Arthur Wontner) old chap. You don't think Professor Moriarty (Lyn Harding) is behind this, do you?'. As a horse is hidden from prying eyes - a stable hand is found out for telling lies - a race comes down with a tremendous cough - and at the end of the day, a vile villain it finally told to pi** off. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgqxrD_GV50iwFhtK6S-miPQwVu9XDdZHCFjQFs1WGTzthWbAP20Yq67ryPC1dw1W78UcVTIDFSiQy53GN2zpXl4GBPoyZYdHEQ3ufxicC2-wu76i711ntaTl4PNN2ZVzx0xFxERIZbjzW/s1600/Wontner-BASK2.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The jig is up" border="0" height="382" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgqxrD_GV50iwFhtK6S-miPQwVu9XDdZHCFjQFs1WGTzthWbAP20Yq67ryPC1dw1W78UcVTIDFSiQy53GN2zpXl4GBPoyZYdHEQ3ufxicC2-wu76i711ntaTl4PNN2ZVzx0xFxERIZbjzW/s1600/Wontner-BASK2.PNG" title="Holmes beats Moriarty - again" width="640" /></a></div>
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<h4>
<b>The Review</b></h4>
I must confess, dear reader, <i>Silver Blaze</i> was one of those black and white movies I liked for its story-line, yet didn't like for its execution.<br />
<br />
<br />
Well, I think it best if I mention that the quality of the print I saw was rather mumbled in places. Both visually and acoustically they appeared slightly garbled and opaque on screen. And sometimes -- and only sometimes mind you -- it was quite difficult to ascertain what was happening from one moment to the next.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HjruXx22Fnc?rel=0" width="640"></iframe> </div>
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Having said that, though, this is a very old slice of antiquated cinema, and it does date back to 1937. Plus more or less, I got used to this cosmetic pit-fall the longer it played out. Particularly since some of the actors were able to tell the actual tale in a very straight-laced fashion.  <br />
<br />
Honestly, folks. For yours truly I thought Arthur's portrayal of Sherlock was right on the money. Not only because he looked and sounded the part, yet he also had that meticulous manner of deducing and sleuthing like some sort of Victorian doctor. And as for the Doctor -- yeah -- he did a pretty good job too. In his own humble manner Ian appeared very comfortable and self-assured in his role of Doctor Watson, whilst Lyn scared the living sh*t out of me playing Moriarty, mainly because of his very imposing stature and gruff demeanor.<br />
<br />
As for the rest of the cast on the other hand, well, nah! They were too stiff or prim-and-proper, so to speak. And most of them came across as a mixture of one-dimensional stereotypes and secondary players that couldn't really cut the mustard.<br />
<br />
Oh! Wait a minute! While I'm on the topic of mustard, funnily enough, I'd say this said-same garnish is how I would perceive this tale. It's not to everybody's tastes, unless you enjoy something that is peppery and spicy and is able to confuse your taste buds.<br />
<br />
Confused -- in a good way of course -- as this flick managed to do two things where the central narrative was concerned. Firstly, unlike some more modern day thrillers, it told a murder mystery that unfolded the longer it progressed, and didn't just set-up a pretext for the characters to play off of. And secondly, the three principal characters took charge of this film by staking their ground. Sherlock was the hero. Watson and Lestrade were his side-kicks. Plus Moriarty was the bad-guy. Simply put. And simply defined.<br />
<br />
Anyway, by now I'm sure you know how I feel about this up and down movie. Parts of it were good. Parts of it were bad. And parts of it were fairly mediocre. So for the time being let us all sit back, relax, and check out the following film facts.</div>
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<ol>
<li>'Twickenham Film Distributors' first screened this production in England on the very same month as the first alleged sighting of the elusive, 'White River Monster' -- July, 1937.</li>
<li>Loosely translated, this project was entitled 'The Missing Horse' in Brazil, and when it was re-issued in America four years later, 1941, it was given the alternate title, <i>Murder at the Baskervilles</i>.</li>
<li>The majority of this movie was shot at London's 'Twickenham Film Studios', located in the English county of Middlesex.</li>
<li>This adventure was limply based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's 1892 short story of the same name.</li>
<li>Unfortunately this was the last time Arthur Wontner would play Sherlock Holmes on screen. In 1961 he died at the tender age of 86.</li>
<li>Even though the actor who played Watson in this film shares the same name as the popular James Bond novelist, Ian Fleming, he is not a writer. Instead, he is an actor whose claim to fame is being one of two Watson's who played opposite Arthur's Holmes. The other one being Ian Hunter, who also starred opposite Errol Flynn in his swashbuckling series, 'The Adventures of Robin Hood'.</li>
<li>Its a little known fact that Arthur's eldest son, Hugh Wontner, became the Lord Mayor ofLondon in 1973.</li>
<li>This story wasn't the inadvertent sequel to the now classic <i>The Hound of the Baskervilles</i>, because it was written ten years earlier.</li>
<li>After this flick turned out the lights, Arthur Wontner starred in the comedy, <i>The Live Wire</i>; Ian Fleming starred in the drama, <i>The Reverse Be My Lot</i>; and Lyn Harding starred in the adventure, <i>Mutiny on the Elsinore</i>. </li>
</ol>
<br />
Overall I'd say <i>Silver Blaze</i> was a pretty nifty movie to sit down and watch. Even though cosmetically it looked rather mundane, the story told a rather good story, and it is well worth seeing if you haven't seen Arthur's version of Holmes yet.<br />
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<h4>
<b>The Rating: B-</b></h4>
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Saturday Matinee: Silver Blaze / Murder at the Baskervilles

"You can go to blazes!" [3STU] [ Editor's note: this is the third in a series of four posts on the Arthur Wontner Sh...

+ Read more »

by Scott Monty

Conan Doyle Didn’t Write the Lost Sherlock Holmes Story

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<b>"It was the first announcement in the 'Found' column." [STUD] </b></h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhupcARZHFWU-7MNUM9tkOXHy8PmsnBP1qSsHUXGCgyICnjkHc9JaSekpc_Fs5PJ4JFJy49CBdsppKPCK2dPGA1KmwK0yNygsR4nQlYBi66avfZY6fuhfrygOCswe74CTEuH2LaOLL_Trwm/s1600/conandoyle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Not the author of the Lost Sherlock Holmes story" border="0" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhupcARZHFWU-7MNUM9tkOXHy8PmsnBP1qSsHUXGCgyICnjkHc9JaSekpc_Fs5PJ4JFJy49CBdsppKPCK2dPGA1KmwK0yNygsR4nQlYBi66avfZY6fuhfrygOCswe74CTEuH2LaOLL_Trwm/s1600/conandoyle.jpg" title="Conan Doyle writing" width="640" /></a></div>
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Walter Elliot, a local historian in Selkirk, Scotland, claims that <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/11424549/Lost-Sherlock-Holmes-story-discovered-in-mans-attic.html" target="_blank">he has found a long lost Sherlock Holmes story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle</a>. <i>The Telegraph</i> reported on the discovery and also published <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/11425042/Read-the-lost-Sherlock-Holmes-story-found-in-an-attic.html" target="_blank">the entire story</a>. <br />
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It is a 1,300-word tale and was originally included in a 48-page booklet called <i>The Book o' the Brig</i>, published in December 1903 to raise funds during a bazaar in the Scottish town of Selkirk. A local wooden bridge over the river Ettrick had been destroyed during a flood in 1902, and the town needed money to build a new traffic bridge. <br />
<br />
The story is barely three pages long, starting on page 40, and its headline is: <b>"Sherlock Holmes." — DISCOVERING THE BORDER BURGHS, and, BY DEDUCTION, the BRIG BAZAAR.</b> However, there is no mention in the booklet of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle having written the story. <br />
<br />
By using quotation marks around Sherlock Holmes the author of the story showed that this person was fictional; the detective's name was often written that way in the newspapers back then. <br />
<br />
The bazaar went on from 10 to 12 December 1903, and each day a prominent person opened it: Lord Polwarth (Lord Lieutenant of Selkirkshire) on the Thursday, George Rodger (Provost of Selkirk) on the Friday, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle on the Saturday — “the famous litterateur,” as he was called in the booklet, which also contained some information about the Saturday program for the bazaar. <br />
<br />
Four days earlier Conan Doyle had given a recital of two extracts from <i>Rodney Stone</i> and three from <i>Brigadier Gerard</i> at the Victoria Hall in Selkirk. Conan Doyle showed his interest in the local bridge by declaring that the proceeds of the recital, at his own request, went to the fund for the new bridge.<br />
<br />
The actual reason he was in Scotland at the time was that he was the prospective Unionist candidate for the Border Burghs, and between the two Selkirk events he made political speeches in the nearby towns of Hawick and Galashiels. So he had plenty of reasons to show himself generous.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhihll3Hvjf29VdtHKSe3zZLQ9TIDFRijKb7Es_oKW_ciC5VHMP0PSUfcxaKBzUzVhaOWp7XKqxUD3ys4l_UFvh_TrFUCThbpvGn7ehsbbeYKs5q-sQUcMH7GpNlMS9GLO9gkiJ900g8KVX/s1600/Lost+Sherlock+Holmes+Story.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The Lost Sherlock Holmes Story?" border="0" height="398" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhihll3Hvjf29VdtHKSe3zZLQ9TIDFRijKb7Es_oKW_ciC5VHMP0PSUfcxaKBzUzVhaOWp7XKqxUD3ys4l_UFvh_TrFUCThbpvGn7ehsbbeYKs5q-sQUcMH7GpNlMS9GLO9gkiJ900g8KVX/s1600/Lost+Sherlock+Holmes+Story.jpg" title="The Book o' the Brig containing the lost Sherlock Holmes story?" width="640" /></a></div>
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Conan Doyle's host, the Selkirkshire historian Mr. Thomas Craig-Brown, made a long introduction to the recital—everything he said was reported in the weekly local newspaper <i>The Southern Reporter</i>—but he made no mention of a new Sherlock Holmes story by Conan Doyle soon being published in the local booklet. It would really have been worth mentioning since Conan Doyle had started publishing new Holmes stories in <i>The Strand Magazine</i> earlier that same autumn. <br />
<br />
<i>The Southern Reporter</i> wrote on 10 December:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"We understand that No. 1 of the Bazaar Book will be issued to-day, and will be on sale at the price of one penny. Its contents, both poetry and prose, will be found to be of a most original and attractive nature, the various articles, all more or less of a local interest, being written by our leading literary men." </blockquote>
No mention of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle as the author of that story. Again. <br />
<br />
They describe the booklet as "No. 1 of the Bazaar Book," which indicates that there was more than one. This is supported by the fact that the booklet that Walter Elliot has found includes a page with the text "To-Day's Programme" and showing the program for 12 December. And most importantly, in the story itself "the great Saturday edition of the <i>Bazaar Book</i>" is mentioned.<br />
<br />
On 17 December there was an advertisement for <i>The Book o’ the Brig</i> in <i>The Southern Reporter</i>:<br />
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<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"The Committee of the New Bridge Bazaar have pleasure in announcing a Second Edition of this most popular Book.<br />
<br />
To Souters at home and abroad it will form a most interesting Memento of the Town and the Movement, as its Contributors are either Natives, or Borderers who have a close interest in the Town."</blockquote>
<br />
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was neither a Native, nor a Borderer. And the publisher George Lewis & Co. would surely have mentioned his name here, if he had been one of the Contributors. It was after all an advertisement, and advertisers were never shy of telling and selling things. <br />
<br />
The advertisement also reveals the contents of the booklet—or rather, the combined contents of the booklets of all three bazaar days—and that gives us the best proof that the story is not by Conan Doyle. Number 6 on the list of contents is something called "Notable Interviews," and the persons interviewed are: I. Walter Scott, II. Mungo Park, and III. Sherlock Holmes. <br />
<br />
This explains why the Sherlock Holmes story starts like this: <br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"'We've had enough of old romancists and men of travel,' said the Editor, as he blue-pencilled his copy, and made arrangements for the great Saturday edition of the <i>Bazaar Book</i>. 'We want something up-to-date. Why not have a word from "Sherlock Holmes"?'" </blockquote>
<br />
The "romancist" was of course Sir Walter Scott, who administered justice as sheriff of Selkirkshire. Mungo Park was an 18th century explorer of the African continent, born near Selkirk. The reason why Sherlock Holmes was chosen for the third interview was probably the fact that Conan Doyle was announced to open the bazaar. Since these three “interviews” are combined as one item in the list of contents, and there is a reference to the previous two in the Holmes text, it is most likely that they were written by the same author. And at the same time it is unlikely that Conan Doyle wrote all three of them. <br />
<br />
The conclusion is that someone local, with at least a minor literary talent, wrote these three interviews. The lost Sherlock Holmes story is definitely a pastiche. Not an especially good one, but an early one, and a good example of how Conan Doyle's creation was used freely by other authors. For that it should be remembered, and nothing else. <br />
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<br />
[<b>Editor's note:</b> Mattias Boström, BSI ("The Swedish Pathological Society") is the author of <i><a href="http://www.piratforlaget.se/bocker/fran-holmes-till-sherlock/" target="_blank">Från Holmes Till Sherlock</a> (From Holmes to Sherlock)</i>, an award-winning Swedish non-fiction book about the history of the Sherlock Holmes success, which is now being translated into English and German, and co-editor of the book series<i><a href="http://wessexpress.com/html/newspaper.html" target="_blank"> Sherlock Holmes and Conan Doyle in the Newspapers</a></i>. This is his first post on I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere.]<br />
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo credit: SWNS</span></i><br />
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Conan Doyle Didn’t Write the Lost Sherlock Holmes Story

"It was the first announcement in the 'Found' column." [STUD] Walter Elliot, a local historian in Selkirk, Sco...

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by Mattias Boström

Celebrating 50 Years of Douglas Wilmer as Sherlock Holmes

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"fifty years back" [STUD]</h4>
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<br />
On 20 February 1965, Sherlock Holmes came to life on millions of flickering black and white screens across England.<br />
<br />
Following a successful pilot episode ("The Speckled Band") the year before, Douglas Wilmer and Nigel Stock returned to their roles of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson in the BBC <i><a href="http://amzn.to/1DFNAS6" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sherlock Holmes</a></i> series of 12 episodes, beginning with "The Illustrious Client."<br />
<br />
From then on, he was burned in the minds of Britons as the definitive Sherlock Holmes. Or, as David Morrill, BSI ("Count Von Kramm") called him, "The only actor who ever got it right." [Listen to David's take on Sherlock Holmes of the screen on Episodes <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2010/01/episode-21-sherlock-holmes-at-movies.html#.VObLtfldWSo" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">21</a> and <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2010/01/episode-22-sherlock-holmes-at-movies.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">22</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://bakerstreetirregulars.com/2014/12/27/bsj-2014-christmas-annual/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Douglas Wilmer, subject of the 2014 Baker Street Journal Christmas Annual" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjw1cIsnjp_2aI5NOuwTRLUuc1mmbf70n1Sn2qy9YiOlYmpZBXkB1jTvZrjqxA_lploXIu7w5kaJE2f9QHFPAIsFnn4N5q5z5NMAjuWdRoynKNhoeMv92w_UKKKX1f8JSybf9ZM8SoGxfS/s1600/BSJ+Christmas+Annual+2014.jpg" title="2014 BSJ Christmas Annual" width="267" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://bakerstreetirregulars.com/2014/12/27/bsj-2014-christmas-annual/"><i>The Baker Street Journal 2014 Christmas Annual</i></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Wilmer was the subject of the <a href="https://bakerstreetirregulars.com/2014/12/27/bsj-2014-christmas-annual/">2014 <i>Baker Street Journal Christmas Annual</i></a>, faithfully edited by Elaine and Jonathan McCafferty, who were raised on Wilmer as their Holmes - and who were "not unbiased" in their editing. The annual covered everything from Wilmer's self-effacing and frank speech to The Sherlock Holmes Society of London at their annual dinner on 15 January 1994, to film historian Russell Merritt, BSI ("The Trepoff Murder") noting the chasm between the U.S. and Great Britain that existed in the 1960s regarding Sherlock Holmes portrayals.<br />
<br />
The work also contains a greeting from <i>Sherlock </i>co-creator and writer Mark Gatiss, who was a long-time Wilmer fan. He managed to work Wilmer into the production of "The Reichenbach Fall" as a Diogenes Club member who nearly had a conniption with John making noise in the club.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYG0Gyrbz2p3GeCxzKGTTL34cz4BPbVQ6zl4vA89rkH0aqE11oYneYw1Zwl60HJori4chiUCZcaMfEYd_SflGZg9kv8iu41df7NzjUxbHfKKjaSURCtg4qdO6XYRQaDgb7lJdOtmMNoUDO/s1600/Wilmer+-+Sherlock+Diogenes+Club.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Douglas Wilmer in The Reichenbach Fall at the Diogenes Club" border="0" height="462" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYG0Gyrbz2p3GeCxzKGTTL34cz4BPbVQ6zl4vA89rkH0aqE11oYneYw1Zwl60HJori4chiUCZcaMfEYd_SflGZg9kv8iu41df7NzjUxbHfKKjaSURCtg4qdO6XYRQaDgb7lJdOtmMNoUDO/s1600/Wilmer+-+Sherlock+Diogenes+Club.jpg" title="Douglas Wilmer at the Diogenes Club" width="640" /></a></div>
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It didn't escape our notice that Wilmer managed to sneak in his own Sherlockian prop: his Baker Street Irregulars bow tie. Mr. Wilmer, who turned 95 on January 8 (two days after Sherlock Holmes's birthday!) was invested into the BSI in 2000 as "The Lyceum Theatre."<br />
<br />
For his own part, Wilmer has long bemoaned the less than buttoned down production of the 1965 series. He was enticed to return after the well-received pilot, having been told that Robin Midgley, the director of "The Speckled Band" would direct most of the 12 episodes in the series. As it turns out, "He didn't do one of them. Not one." (<i><a href="http://amzn.to/1AqvQrH" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Starring Sherlock Holmes</a></i> by David Stuart Davies, BSI ("Reginald Musgrave")).<br />
<br />
Wilmer did not return for the second series because the production schedule - already tight at two weeks per episode, with actors working seven days straight - was being cut to 10 days. Wilmer was "an exacting perfectionist" (Davies) and brought the collaboration to an end because he said that, even though he was a quick study, it couldn't be done in that timeframe.<br />
<br />
To give a sense as to how the BBC undervalued the franchise, when Wilmer requested one of the BBC's better directors, he was rebuffed and told exactly where Sherlock Holmes fit within the BBC empire:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
I begged the head of the serials department to lend him to us for at least one episode of our series. The man looked at me, open-mouthed at my cheek. "What?" he barked in a tones of outraged bumbledom, "You can't have him! He's serials - you're series!" For all the world as if Harvey Nichols had asked the head of Harrods for the loan of his best salesman in Christmas week.</blockquote>
We're fortunate that, despite the challenges, Douglas Wilmer rose to meet them and prevailed in some of the greatest performances of the great detective ever seen on the screen. More fortunate still are we that the series was <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2010/09/lyceum-theatre-sign_14.html#.VObHmPldWSr" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">released on DVD to the U.S. five years ago</a>.<br />
<br />
And now, 50 years after the first airing of the classic series, <a href="http://shop.bfi.org.uk/sherlock-holmes.html#.VObVs_ldWSr" target="_blank">the British Film Institute have announced that the 13-episode series will be released on DVD</a> . The 4-DVD set is <a href="https://amzn.to/301rGco">available from Amazon</a> (affiliate link).<br />
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<br />
And then there are anecdotes that we have about our personal interaction with Mr. Wilmer during his 1998 tour of the United States. But that is a story for which the world is not yet prepared...<br />
<br />
But until then, here are some recent images of Douglas Wilmer at the London Museum Sherlock Holmes exhibition, courtesy of Roger Johnson, BSI ("<i>Pall Mall Gazette</i>") and Jean Upton, BSI ("Elsie Cubitt").<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOOAnXu8IJCrqG1XBudVrYX2QttgHVCHsSYugJN0-3tvj6Q6fcyQFXfu76neJseXJuzRBLZ9L2X9XkOAvZGBQhLNmdV4GpfHmJynu8wu7uOz781-b9g3rNqsKBMOZGhGoVgxc5JwjHzdNb/s1600/095+p1000349.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="372" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOOAnXu8IJCrqG1XBudVrYX2QttgHVCHsSYugJN0-3tvj6Q6fcyQFXfu76neJseXJuzRBLZ9L2X9XkOAvZGBQhLNmdV4GpfHmJynu8wu7uOz781-b9g3rNqsKBMOZGhGoVgxc5JwjHzdNb/s1600/095+p1000349.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSniVyrwKXZEnIa67x1UnReKNVWPdd74fSy-EDvM467ofJV-voarOYkB1zWzKovp6P5XKMKZShbVCtxALfHR2ezOasd7A26ZkzguOwKSmWLe8CiD5CSDFGJH3iNIKqxqH5flGxIzm7MP6c/s1600/159+p1010586.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSniVyrwKXZEnIa67x1UnReKNVWPdd74fSy-EDvM467ofJV-voarOYkB1zWzKovp6P5XKMKZShbVCtxALfHR2ezOasd7A26ZkzguOwKSmWLe8CiD5CSDFGJH3iNIKqxqH5flGxIzm7MP6c/s1600/159+p1010586.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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If you have memories of seeing Mr. Wilmer's performances, please share them in a comment below.<br />
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<h4>
<b>Further reading:</b></h4>
<a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2016/03/remembering-douglas-wilmer-bsi.html" target="_blank">Remembering Douglas Wilmer</a><br />
<a href="http://www.movietone-news.com/2009/05/interview-with-douglas-wilmer.html" target="_blank">Interview with Douglas Wilmer</a>, May 2009 (Movietone)<br />
Sherlock Holmes Society of London's <a href="http://www.sherlock-holmes.org.uk/conan-doyle/television/douglas-wilmer/" target="_blank">summary of Wilmer's career</a><br />
<i><a href="https://amzn.to/2N5XRlS" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Stage Whispers: Douglas Wilmer, the Memoirs</a></i> by Douglas Wilmer<br />
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Celebrating 50 Years of Douglas Wilmer as Sherlock Holmes

"fifty years back" [STUD] On 20 February 1965, Sherlock Holmes came to life on millions of flickering black and white screens...

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by Scott Monty

Baker Street Web Series Has Real Life Sensibility

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<h4 style="text-align: center;">
"Genuine admiration - the characteristic of the real artist" [VALL]</h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisTLqcSns2AB1YatIauDZ3p38zSaegeSo6kO5ANgQGMtLmDwQ4bRxEVoOMfLGsfa_HaswLx8IiDgNkJZNRIMypC_G4RD7rjf2-lXtq9cjYgfaFUw-q82yg1bJed9-nlWCbFxR9sg-ITYm5/s1600/IHOSE+-+Baker+Street+Web+Series.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Screenshot from Baker Street the web series" border="0" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisTLqcSns2AB1YatIauDZ3p38zSaegeSo6kO5ANgQGMtLmDwQ4bRxEVoOMfLGsfa_HaswLx8IiDgNkJZNRIMypC_G4RD7rjf2-lXtq9cjYgfaFUw-q82yg1bJed9-nlWCbFxR9sg-ITYm5/s1600/IHOSE+-+Baker+Street+Web+Series.jpg" title="Baker Street - the web series" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Conversation in Sherlockian as well as other communities (including Doctor Who fandom and the <a href="http://www.newpulpfiction.com/" target="_blank">New Pulp movement</a>) often leads to at least one individual declaring a particular approach to a character inappropriate.<br />
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In other words, someone declared the battle cry of "<i>My </i>Holmes wouldn't do that".<br />
<br />
Even with Sherlock Holmes and John H. Watson as public domain characters, any variation from the Canon becomes somehow sacrosanct. Differing approaches are seen as passable...but somehow off-label when it comes to how a character <i>should</i> be portrayed.<br />
<br />
So when the opportunity came to view the new online <i>Baker Street</i> series (<a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2015/02/new-web-series-baker-street-finds-its.html#.VOVXR_nF9gQ" http:="" new-web-series-baker-street-finds-its.htm="" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" www.ihearofsherlock.com="">reviewed by another contributor here recently</a>), I eagerly took it...and I'm glad, because <i>Baker Street</i> is a very entertaining, unique take on the Holmes mythos.<br />
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Created, co-written, and featuring Hannah Drew and Karen Slater as Holmes and Watson, <i>Baker Street</i> should not be dismissed as a fan-made gender-flipped <i>Sherlock</i>. Even though (as Jacquelyn mentioned in her review) the series starts off awkwardly, there is a great, playful inversion of many Sherlockian tropes. (In fact, <i>Baker Street</i> most accurately resembles the Gary Reed/Guy Davis graphic novel <i><a href="http://amzn.to/1An60EM" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Honour Among Punks</a></i>). There's a wonderful sense of immediacy to <i>Baker Street</i>, and unlike <i>Sherlock</i>, the web series takes its time in building narrative momentum despite some early, awkward moments.<br />
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But <i>Baker Street</i>'s greatest asset is how it demonstrates the strength of the canon. <i>Baker Street</i> takes some great creative risks, but at no point does any of it feel inauthentic or somehow betraying the original canon. For those who prefer Conan Doyle's original work - it will still stand. But <i>Baker Street</i> takes some intriguing, clever chances, and demonstrate the ideal that now, Sherlock Holmes is <i>everyone's</i> Holmes, and that creative variations on a theme can bring about new aspects and insights. (Including, as my colleague intimated, the fact that Holmes might be involved in some less-than-legal-yet-still-moral activities before meeting Watson)<br />
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The series may not have the flourishes of language that Conan Doyle's work, but <i>Baker Street</i> makes the effort to bring a real-life sensibility that even <i>Sherlock </i>and <i>Elementary </i>lack. It's a solid series (with some NSFW language), and more importantly - deserves your attention, because it performs the most elementary of tasks.<br />
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For those who believe that "their Holmes wouldn't do that", <b><i>Baker Street </i></b>politely reminds the viewer that Sherlock Holmes now belongs to <i>everyone</i>.<br />
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See <a href="http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6m8pknf2xi8pEsrUqPSgIY2b7QWeGXwa" target="_blank">the entire 3-part series</a>, along with a Q&A with Hannah and Karen:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="338" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/videoseries?list=PL6m8pknf2xi8pEsrUqPSgIY2b7QWeGXwa" width="600"></iframe></center>
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<br />

Baker Street Web Series Has Real Life Sensibility

"Genuine admiration - the characteristic of the real artist" [VALL] Conversation in Sherlockian as well as other communit...

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by Gordon D

Apply for a Grant to Help Teach Sherlock Holmes to Students

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<span style="text-align: start;">"hundreds of bright little seeds..." [NAVA]</span></h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhSk9iTJdcwWHRzQaEwmwkdqhpb8XV4zA9hXdP9iTU63Rn51DJmt4FAe0PE0hHDMd1R96Fo9pnJNBCCV-NPL_fCIsh6lMFSz03-TJTW3xuq_nGbP6KhXN5o-HCsHugcbj71EzaluqAp9z6/s1600/Getting+1st+Beacon+Award.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The first Beacon Award went to Jan Stauber" border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhSk9iTJdcwWHRzQaEwmwkdqhpb8XV4zA9hXdP9iTU63Rn51DJmt4FAe0PE0hHDMd1R96Fo9pnJNBCCV-NPL_fCIsh6lMFSz03-TJTW3xuq_nGbP6KhXN5o-HCsHugcbj71EzaluqAp9z6/s1600/Getting+1st+Beacon+Award.JPG" title="Jan Stauber - 1st Beacon Award Recpient" width="640" /></a></div>
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We've been associated with the <a href="http://beaconsociety.com/" target="_blank">Beacon Society</a> for over a decade. The group supports and recognizes exemplary efforts to introduce young people to Sherlock Holmes.<br />
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The recognition portion is primarily expressed through the <a href="http://beaconsociety.com/TwoAwardsPerYear.html" target="_blank">Beacon Award</a>, an annual accolade bestowed on some Sherlockian who is doing his or her part to bring Sherlock Holmes to young people. The award consists of a certificate and a check for $221. Pictured above is Jan Stauber, the recipient of the very first Beacon Award in 2004.<br />
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Speaking of Jan Stauber, that's where the "support" element of the Beacon Society's mission comes in. The group not only provides guidelines, curricula and case studies to help teachers and others in their efforts to educate Sherlock Holmes, but it also provides financial assistance through the <a href="http://beaconsociety.com/JanStauberGrant.html" target="_blank">Jan Stauber Grant</a> each year, which was established by Jan's husband Al Gregory.<br />
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We'll tell you more about Jan after the announcement below.<br />
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<h4 style="text-align: center;">
Jan Stauber Grant Application Process Is Open Until May 1, 2015</h4>
The Jan Stauber Grant will provide <b>up to $500</b> to fund the development of a project that will introduce young people to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories about his famous fictional detective, Sherlock Holmes. In 2014, 19 teachers and librarians received grant funds from the Beacon Society.<br />
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U.S. and Canadian teachers, librarians, Sherlockian literary societies, and others are invited to apply for the Beacon Society's major funding project. The grant period will be from July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016.<br />
<br />
If you're interested in introducing Sherlock Holmes to elementary, middle or upper school children in the United States or Canada, please <a href="http://beaconsociety.com/JanStauberGrant.html#Application Form" target="_blank">apply now for a 2015 Jan Stauber Grant</a>.<br />
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<h4>
About Jan</h4>
Because the grant is named after Jan, and because <a href="http://beaconsociety.com/BeaconWinner2004.html" target="_blank">Jan was the Beacon Society's first award recipient</a>, we thought you might like to learn a little more about her. She was born - like Irene Adler - in New Jersey and was a polymath: a computer programmer, an artisan, a member of <a href="http://www.mensa.org/" target="_blank">MENSA</a> and a gifted counselor, she touched many lives. Jan died peacefully at home on October 7, 2005.<br />
<br />
But the life she probably touched the most profoundly is that of her widower, Al Gregory. Al wrote <a href="http://www.ash-nyc.com/JanStauber.htm" target="_blank">an in-depth piece about Jan's life story</a> and the wonderful story of love, friendship and world travel that the two of them shared. You can check it out <a href="http://www.ash-nyc.com/JanStauber.htm" target="_blank">on the ASH website</a>.<br />
<br />
But we also sat down with Al to learn about Jan's commitment to introducing Sherlock Holmes to children and her association with the Beacon Society.<br />
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<b>I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere</b>: <i>The Beacon Society gave Jan its first Beacon Award in 2004. What were they recognizing?</i><br />
<b>Al Gregory</b>: Every year Jan would borrow my deerstalker, Inverness cape, pipe and some Sherlockian toys and visit the 7th and 8th grades where they read "The Adventure of the Dying Detective." She went around to the students, "studied" them with her magnifying glass and made "deductions" about them. Of course, as a school counselor she already knew a lot about them. Then she'd talk about Holmes and the Victorian world. As a school counselor for about 15 years she introduced some hundreds of students to Holmes on a one-to-one level. Just how many people can say they've done that?<br />
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<b>IHOSE</b>: <i>What made you decide to establish the grant program with the Beacon Society?</i><br />
<b>AG</b>:  I wanted Jan's work to continue. That's why I set up the matching fund grant. It is not only keeping her memory alive, but more importantly it's keeping her work alive. The Beacon Society:<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>Introduces Holmes to the kids</li>
<li>Helps fight illiteracy, functional illiteracy, and semi-literacy. </li>
<li>It advances English as <i>the</i> language of our country. </li>
<li>The Beacon Society is raising a new generation of Sherlockians who will replenish the ranks of the BSI and the scions after we have cast off this mortal coil.  Without these replacements our Sherlockian world will go extinct.</li>
</ol>
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<br />
<b>IHOSE</b>: <i>How does the matching fund work?</i><br />
<b>AG</b>: Each year, the Beacon Society raises money for the Grant. I pledged to match whatever they are able to raise each year, dollar for dollar, up to $1,000. I figured that by promising a matching fund of $1000 I would virtually guarantee a budget of $2000. Hell, we've gone way beyond that to my intense delight! If I had deeper pockets I'd make a matching fund of $5000 or more for all the reasons outlined above.<br />
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<b>IHOSE</b>: <i>Is there anything else about Jan's passion for Sherlock Holmes and the great work of the Grant that you think is relevant for people to know?</i><br />
<b>AG</b>: Jan never had kids, But she loved working with them. And she was damned good at it. This grant helps teachers who love kids to work with them more effectively, and better supplied. Jan operated on a principle I've long held dear -- to leave this world a little better place than you found it. That is a life well lived!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw-ih7gTV9gJixCSuPi2IqQFRq0Are7Np6yKRvGle4RgXh2SeRrnwA1JrYR1oxfbIYo6-HHLDnm4lgjkCrQKdee4IgLw7yHrjsSkdDg6QANQAnMDhPHKbUDLnKYsJCPyhXZeEhuS3kKAin/s1600/In+Paris.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Jan Stauber in Paris" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw-ih7gTV9gJixCSuPi2IqQFRq0Are7Np6yKRvGle4RgXh2SeRrnwA1JrYR1oxfbIYo6-HHLDnm4lgjkCrQKdee4IgLw7yHrjsSkdDg6QANQAnMDhPHKbUDLnKYsJCPyhXZeEhuS3kKAin/s1600/In+Paris.JPG" title="Jan Stauber in Paris, one of her favorite cities" width="300" /></a></div>
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<br />
<a href="http://beaconsociety.com/JanStauberGrant.html" target="_blank">About the Jan Stauber Grant</a><br />
<a href="http://beaconsociety.com/JanStauberGrant.html#Application Form" target="_blank">Apply for a Jan Stauber Grant</a> - deadline is May 1, 2015<br />
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<br />

Apply for a Grant to Help Teach Sherlock Holmes to Students

"hundreds of bright little seeds..." [NAVA] We've been associated with the Beacon Society for over a decade. The group s...

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by Scott Monty

Episode 74: BSI Weekend 2015

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisCHlqCxVJ_prIImbU9gbwMBmuEcs7fyClQRlrfpyHfoSsIbTONYlGTA_i2zyaOzLrZZUX6kmujh0PHGfQEX-OdxtSTJopw5a50A9rEy7WPK6-Rh-HS5ObPlOblvx-ngVOfA3VXjEaM48_/s1600/16063799110_388078aa2c_o.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Your affable hosts together at the Salmagundi Club during the BSI Weekend" border="0" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisCHlqCxVJ_prIImbU9gbwMBmuEcs7fyClQRlrfpyHfoSsIbTONYlGTA_i2zyaOzLrZZUX6kmujh0PHGfQEX-OdxtSTJopw5a50A9rEy7WPK6-Rh-HS5ObPlOblvx-ngVOfA3VXjEaM48_/s1600/16063799110_388078aa2c_o.jpg" title="Burt and Scott at the 2015 BSI Weekend" width="640" /></a> <br />
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The #BSIWeekend 2015 is in the history books. As usual, it was a reminder of the richness of friendship and fun that are the side effect - and in some cases, the driver - of our interest in Sherlock Holmes. And it is the subject of this episode of I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere.<br />
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As you know, the <a href="http://bsiweekend.com/" target="_blank">Baker Street Irregulars (and Friends) Weekend</a> is a gathering of some hundrends of interested Sherlockians that is always full of food, fun and friends, and this year was no exception. In fact, this year it coincided with the 125th anniversary of the birth of Christopher Morley, the founder of the BSI, and the 100th anniversary of the publication of <i>The Valley of Fear</i>.<br />
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One of the highlights for us was the Lunch of Steele at the Salmagundi Club, honoring the memory of Frederic Dorr Steele, one of the great illustrators of the Sherlock Holmes stories. Burt has hosted this luncheon for the last 12 years, and he tells us why he decided to bring back the tradition of Morley's Three Hours For Lunch Club under the topic of Steele.<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/AVvXsEgiSvDV54G23IrT1lz55Yp5IELyL2uMeq6WnKk6773uLWXs9fBhyphenhyphenqnKTIwba9jXZ__Dv5LQyKzo-f6njH7oOdcCM9FBeRxtqPgKOzBT3PMxagibUJdzAQT7TDGyYoMYMyc1pFAGRahtw92p/s1600/16250345252_1d847e02f2_z.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="At the Salmagundi Club" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiSvDV54G23IrT1lz55Yp5IELyL2uMeq6WnKk6773uLWXs9fBhyphenhyphenqnKTIwba9jXZ__Dv5LQyKzo-f6njH7oOdcCM9FBeRxtqPgKOzBT3PMxagibUJdzAQT7TDGyYoMYMyc1pFAGRahtw92p/s1600/16250345252_1d847e02f2_z.jpg" title="At the Salmagundi Club" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the Salmagundi Club</td></tr>
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There at the club, we enjoyed an intimate setting that allowed us to share a variety of interests and to capture a couple of those legendary stories that aren't documented in writing. We refer, of course, to Peter Blau, who regaled us with a John Bennett Shaw story and an Al Silverstein tale.<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/AVvXsEgToQnnXkSxmSS5OdLYfuMRwb-AwrG8v6QeoH-78Mq5jUAVsqe7HqyVD-qrOGJd6J75qOJRlLmigG-zXBWrK7QBF6xDa7uIgfR1W1WJ-iQEyogvore7PcO_YdeLv0ostoofWLTI84DpJPWR/s1600/15654414174_f5779a0d75_k.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Peter Blau, looking rather forlorn during the BSI Auction" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgToQnnXkSxmSS5OdLYfuMRwb-AwrG8v6QeoH-78Mq5jUAVsqe7HqyVD-qrOGJd6J75qOJRlLmigG-zXBWrK7QBF6xDa7uIgfR1W1WJ-iQEyogvore7PcO_YdeLv0ostoofWLTI84DpJPWR/s1600/15654414174_f5779a0d75_k.jpg" title="Peter Blau during the BSI Auction" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peter Blau, looking forlorn after offering the raffle <br />
prize up for auction at the BSI Cocktail Reception.</td></tr>
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We also reflected on the associated interests of Sherlockians that brought us to other societies such as the Victorian Military Society, the English Speaking Union and others.<br />
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One of the common interests of Sherlockians is comedy. David Stuart Davies has always been a star attraction at comedic efforts at our gatherings. And this year was no different, with Davies doing a one-man rendition of a Goon Show-like interlude called "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYzfxlC6gbE" target="_blank">A Quartet of M's</a>," which we have a short audio clip of within the show. If you'd like to watch the full version, please check out the full video below (recorded with the permission of the BSI's "Wiggins," as you heard in <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2014/12/episode-71-conversation-with-head-of-bsi.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Episode 71</a>).<br />
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The investitures this year were nothing short of thrilling, with two very special ones. Kristina Manente of the Baker Street Babes received the investiture "Grace Dunbar," and Emily Miranker is now "Lady Hatty St. Simon." We have audio clips of each of them, including some commentary from her father, Glen Miranker, BSI ("The Origin of Tree Worship").<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisjXRjKXdPQsbQSCFWQjv09AphaI4uBl2-r0FZq8JkAqTFZi91vgZq8_pTGHbXF6M5TSR0XGGqYE2trzdWJAD6Cgzn6v1aSqHTmznurlBYh_DyMQE2IRMNySvmBUCHX0-a3s8c6hay9YbV/s1600/15631302823_8a72dfdb7d_z.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Kristina Manente, BSI" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisjXRjKXdPQsbQSCFWQjv09AphaI4uBl2-r0FZq8JkAqTFZi91vgZq8_pTGHbXF6M5TSR0XGGqYE2trzdWJAD6Cgzn6v1aSqHTmznurlBYh_DyMQE2IRMNySvmBUCHX0-a3s8c6hay9YbV/s1600/15631302823_8a72dfdb7d_z.jpg" title="Kristina Manente" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kristina Manente, BSI gets her investiture face on</td></tr>
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If you'd like to see more photos from the 2015 BSI Weekend, here's a slideshow from <a href="https://flic.kr/s/aHsk43xXcU" target="_blank">our Flickr set</a>:<br />
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The Editor's Gas-Lamp for this episode is "Watson's Wound: Real of Phantom?" by Robert Katz, MD, BSI from <i>The Watsonian </i>(Vol. 2, No. 2).<br />
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<b>Links</b>:<br />
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<li>The Three Stooges' <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYP1OBZfFK0" target="_blank">Niagara Falls routine</a></li>
<li>The Amateur Mendicant Society's history <i><a href="http://www.amateurmendicantsociety.org/2014/12/coming-soon-from-lower-vault-treasures.html" target="_blank">From the Lower Vault</a></i> by Chris Music is now for sale.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.musowls.org/netcommunity/CampusNews?ID=1940&Scrolling=SWEN" target="_blank">Tim Greer won the Morley Montgomery Award</a> for 2014 for the best article in the <i>Baker Street Journal</i>.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20150210-sherlock-as-youve-never-seen-him" target="_blank">A first look and review at <i>Mr. Holmes</i></a> with Ian McKellen as a 93 year-old retired Sherlock Holmes.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/sherlocked-the-official-sherlock-convention-tickets-15647166095" target="_blank">Sherlocked is the official convention</a> of the BBC's Sherlock and it's taking place in London in April 2015.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.sherlockology.com/news/2015/2/10/sherlock-special-wrap-100215" target="_blank">Filming has wrapped</a> for the Christmas special of <i>Sherlock</i>, with the actors in full Victorian garb.</li>
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Many more links, articles and images are available in our Flipboard magazine at <a href="http://bit.ly/FlipSherlock">bit.ly/FlipSherlock </a>(NEW and improved on the web!) and <a href="http://www.scoop.it/t/sherlock-holmes">Scoop.it page</a>, as well as on the <a href="https://plus.google.com/communities/114565123495685504221">The Sherlock Holmes Community</a> on Google+ (still growing, now at over 2,300 members), as well as through our accounts on <a href="http://facebook.com/ihearofsherlock">Facebook</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/ihearofsherlock">Twitter</a> and <a href="http://ihearofsherlock.tumblr.com/">Tumblr</a>.<br />
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Please <a href="http://bit.ly/ihearofsherlock">subscribe to us on iTunes</a>, <a href="https://soundcloud.com/ihearofsherlock">Soundcloud</a>, <a href="http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/i-hear-of-sherlock-everywhere?refid=stpr">Stitcher</a> or <a href="http://www.spreaker.com/user/ihearofsherlock">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 />
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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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<b>Sponsors</b></h3>
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This episode includes three sponsors that deserve your attention: <br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.wessexpress.com/">Wessex Press</a> (check out the new <a href="http://wessexpress.com/html/newspaper.html">Sherlock Holmes and Conan Doyle in the Newspapers Volume 1</a>) </li>
<li><a href="http://www.bakerstreetjournal.com/">The Baker Street Journal</a>, where you should get <a href="http://bakerstreetjournal.com/itemsforsale/subscriptions.html">your annual subscription</a> in now to secure all four issues and a very special Christmas Annual about The Seven Per-Cent Solution. </li>
<li>The John H. Watson Monograph Series, from the <a href="http://www.johnhwatsonsociety.com/">John H. Watson Society</a>, sponsored by James O'Leary. </li>
</ul>
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Episode 74: BSI Weekend 2015

The #BSIWeekend 2015 is in the history books. As usual, it was a reminder of the richness of friendship and fun that are the side effec...

+ Read more »

by Scott Monty

Sherlock Holmes Valentine Day Quiz

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"Valentine?" [BRUC]</h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_TWclrpr1E8WOHNmJLVK1kXvszs2tkdBtJ72KsBhR_yqpBeMgBmQ4pp6gBRSqFA3rQkNmR4G7Mod-VG7H9Paibzun5eiqA-aeLtaAbXoFuN93qTipG7BTuRb4ujgNu4SVIM19lwEBiCqS/s1600/Sherlock+kiss.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Sherlock kisses Molly" border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_TWclrpr1E8WOHNmJLVK1kXvszs2tkdBtJ72KsBhR_yqpBeMgBmQ4pp6gBRSqFA3rQkNmR4G7Mod-VG7H9Paibzun5eiqA-aeLtaAbXoFuN93qTipG7BTuRb4ujgNu4SVIM19lwEBiCqS/s1600/Sherlock+kiss.jpg" title="Sherlock kiss" width="640" /></a></div>
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We're used to seeing Sherlock Holmes as a creature of logic vs. emotion. Watson called him "an automaton - a calculating machine" in <i>The Sign of Four</i>, and it was only many years later that he noted, "For the one and only time I caught a glimpse of a great heart as well as of a great brain." [3GAR]<br />
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When it came to women - even <i>the</i> woman - Holmes was not moved:<br />
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"It was not that he felt any emotion akin to love for Irene Adler." [SCAN]</blockquote>
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And Holmes reassured us that the softer emotion wasn't part of his character:<br />
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"I have never loved, Watson, but if I did, and if the woman I loved had met with such an end, I might act even as our lawless lion-hunter has done." [DEVI]</blockquote>
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Of course, he did manage to play the part once when he led on Milverton's house-maid:<br />
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"You will be interested to hear that I am engaged."<br />
"My dear fellow! I congrat - "<br />
"To Milverton's housemaid."</blockquote>
He goes on to explain his rather mercenary reason for doing so: "I needed information, Watson." [CHAS]<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZz_y1uWwzsYYs98mZov2_qQLi_iQtsS2xO4aT2wlDMGnOqlUhR5ghaOvDDd_XI2qnTUP8R-57SewkTQUAv9H8qxZfqgSA_TD3ni6Ara82Wo0fKGIH3KjYUPJqSDZpB4_9mk2JrSArKo7r/s1600/4181731063_98f942ef11_m.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt=""my wife threw her arms round me" [DANC]" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZz_y1uWwzsYYs98mZov2_qQLi_iQtsS2xO4aT2wlDMGnOqlUhR5ghaOvDDd_XI2qnTUP8R-57SewkTQUAv9H8qxZfqgSA_TD3ni6Ara82Wo0fKGIH3KjYUPJqSDZpB4_9mk2JrSArKo7r/s1600/4181731063_98f942ef11_m.jpg" title="The Cubitts" /></a>But that's not to say that true love didn't play a part of the plots of some of the 60 stories. Unfortunately, we must admit that there are very few "happy ending" love stories in the Sherlock Holmes. When we do encounter love in Canon, it usually has some sort of dark side to it - twisted, tested, tortured, or tragic in nature.<br />
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To mark the occasion of Valentine's Day, we're bringing you a quiz about love interests in the Canon. There are 9 questions; those who answer all questions correctly will be entered for a chance to win a Sherlockian collectible - some piece of effluvium from our grab-bag.<br />
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The contest is open from February 14 - 21, 2015. The winner will be chosen randomly from all of the correct entries and notified by email.<br />
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If you're having trouble seeing the form on this page or in this email, simply <a href="https://ihose.wufoo.com/forms/sherlock-holmes-valentines-day-quiz/" target="_blank">click here for the direct link</a>.<br />
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Bonus question, just for fun - no points awarded:<br />
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<b><i>Roses are red</i></b></h4>
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<b><i>Violets are blue... </i></b></h4>
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<b><i>We know four Violets in the Canon</i></b></h4>
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<b><i>How many do you?</i></b></h4>
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Leave us your Violet answer as a comment below.<br />
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In the meantime, is there a love story in the Canon that has stuck with you, either because of its poignancy or tragic nature? Please share it as a comment.<br />
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