I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere

Mr. Holmes Trailer is Here, and It's Marvelous

<h4 style="text-align: center;">
"You see, Mr. Holmes" [NOBL]</h4>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5_uNTssPubeBB102te1xZZmClg42IMvdRlMmXE71psU5DR7NYN-LSTpXwmyA6pbIeX71LR1tJQ10Lxfivl7cJngCkffzXWPm74azC22QeljC6KN58OKlzO7nxxOsr4re0GWpN28fGwCra/s1600/Ian+McKellen+-+Mr.+Holmes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Ian McKellen, Mr. Holmes" border="0" height="472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5_uNTssPubeBB102te1xZZmClg42IMvdRlMmXE71psU5DR7NYN-LSTpXwmyA6pbIeX71LR1tJQ10Lxfivl7cJngCkffzXWPm74azC22QeljC6KN58OKlzO7nxxOsr4re0GWpN28fGwCra/s1600/Ian+McKellen+-+Mr.+Holmes.jpg" title="Ian McKellen as Sherlock Holmes" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Today on his Facebook page, actor <a href="https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10152710470908601" target="_blank">Ian McKellen shared the trailer</a> for the upcoming film <i><a href="http://www.mrholmesfilm.com/" target="_blank">Mr. Holmes</a></i>.<br />
<br />
The film is based on the book <i>A Slight Trick of the Mind</i> by Mitch Cullen, and concerns a nonagenarian Sherlock Holmes. In<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"> </span>1947, an aging Sherlock Holmes returns from a journey to Japan, where, in search of a rare plant with powerful restorative qualities, he has witnessed the devastation of nuclear warfare. Now, in his retirement cottage on the South Downs, Holmes faces the end of his days tending to his bees, with only the company of his housekeeper and her young son, Roger.  Grappling with the diminishing powers of his mind, Holmes comes to rely upon the boy as he revisits the circumstances of the unsolved case that forced him into retirement, and searches for answers to the mysteries of life and love – before it's too late.<br />
<br />
Take a look at the new trailer and see what you think.<br />
<br />

U.S. version:<br />
<br />
<center>
<div id="fb-root">
</div>
<script>(function(d, s, id) {  var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];  if (d.getElementById(id)) return;  js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;  js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1";  fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));</script><div class="fb-post" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10152710470908601" data-width="600">
<div class="fb-xfbml-parse-ignore">
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10152710470908601">Post</a> by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ianmckellen">Ian McKellen</a>.</div>
</div>
</center>
<br />
<br />
It is also available on YouTube:<br />
<br />
<center>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="337" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PefdItDGJnI" width="600"></iframe></center>
<br />
<br />
Mr. Holmes will be in theaters during the summer of 2015. More information is available at <a href="http://mrholmesfilm.com/">mrholmesfilm.com</a> and from our <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/search/label/Ian%20McKellen" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">previous coverage of <i>Mr. Holmes</i> here</a> on I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere.<br />
<br />
#MrHolmes<br />
<br />
--<br />
<br />

Mr. Holmes Trailer is Here, and It's Marvelous

"You see, Mr. Holmes" [NOBL] Today on his Facebook page, actor Ian McKellen shared the trailer for the upcoming film Mr. Hol...

+ Read more »

by Scott Monty

The Downside to Having a Sherlock Holmes Fixation

<h4 style="text-align: center;">
"I hear of Sherlock everywhere since you became his chronicler." [GREE]</h4>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQER4HEHH5Q5cGNc_J5F5hmNGdDCdpEisrSqTU1BpyFquJfPIgs2uRpkVWPqxLMJeYARop3PRtlJs-eEoiTdMleVvbKjic0EFufyP5LueKCFsn_n9HpleMF7oZQDX83ghjnCvt5cViLC8P/s1600/GreekInterpreterBook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The Diogenes Club, where we first meet Mycroft Holmes" border="0" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQER4HEHH5Q5cGNc_J5F5hmNGdDCdpEisrSqTU1BpyFquJfPIgs2uRpkVWPqxLMJeYARop3PRtlJs-eEoiTdMleVvbKjic0EFufyP5LueKCFsn_n9HpleMF7oZQDX83ghjnCvt5cViLC8P/s1600/GreekInterpreterBook.jpg" title="Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes in "The Greek Interpreter"" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
One of the curses of being a Sherlockian is that one is afflicted with thoughts of the Sherlock Holmes stories in many aspects of daily life.<br />
<br />
Of course you're used to relatives sending you an email or Facebook message when they see a deerstalker, a curved pipe, or the umpteenth mention of the lost Sherlock Holmes story. But what about the minutiae of life and news that buzz by mere mortals every day, without the realization that there's a connection to the world's first unofficial consulting detective?<br />
<br />
<hr />
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
"I cannot think how I came to overlook it," said the Inspector, with an expression of annoyance.<br />"It was invisible, buried in the mud. I only saw it because I was looking for it."</h4>
<div style="text-align: right;">
- "Silver Blaze"</div>
<hr />
<br />
Yes, as a Sherlockian you're attuned to picking up on oblique references to the Sherlock Holmes stories that might be invisible to others.<br />
<br />
It must have been a slow news week last week, as Thursday and Friday brought forth some of the ridiculous memes that only the Internet can. First, there was the so-called #llamawatch, in which <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2015/02/26/breaking-two-llamas-are-on-the-run/" target="_blank">two llamas were on the loose</a> (or is that "on the lloose?) in Sun City, Arizona. The Internet and cable news viewers watched with glee as handlers attempted to lasso the animals and bring them back to captivity.<br />
<br />Of course, you'll recall that in "The Empty House," when Sherlock Holmes was sharing his whereabouts during the Great Hiatus, he told Watson, "I travelled for two years in Tibet, therefore, and amused myself by visiting Lhassa and spending some days with the head Llama."<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
While we know this was a spelling error on Doyle's part, the thought of Holmes meeting with a llama has always amused us. Ogden Nash was kind enough to clear things up in verse in his poem "The Lama":<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">
The one-l lama,<br />He's a priest.<br />The two-l llama,<br />He's a beast.<br />And I will bet<br />A silk pajama<br />There isn't any<br />Three-l lllama.</blockquote>
</div>
<div>
<br />
Our meme-weary world hardly had time to recover from the llama drama before the next pop culture moment was upon us. Say it with us: The Dress.<br />
<br />
On Friday, infotainment site BuzzFeed lurched the connected world into one of the most divisive issues of the day. Not Democrat or Republican, pro-life or pro-choice, regular or decaf; <a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/catesish/help-am-i-going-insane-its-definitely-blue#.vcpQNVPbj" target="_blank">white and gold or blue and black</a>?<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghAKOJZIcj1JES3kzcjb2IBaElYUPuHbdJcI1-knT2fWB83Y5dfbfAAuj5MgW_ghUfZkQ0MXyoU0F6xwN92d0g7jKclNYP9nNoDEpwXAIcbxlCiJUVs5j_qcRC9zJW1qcZqB0zmPDUBD-3/s1600/blueblackwhitegold.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Clearly, the dress is blue and black." border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghAKOJZIcj1JES3kzcjb2IBaElYUPuHbdJcI1-knT2fWB83Y5dfbfAAuj5MgW_ghUfZkQ0MXyoU0F6xwN92d0g7jKclNYP9nNoDEpwXAIcbxlCiJUVs5j_qcRC9zJW1qcZqB0zmPDUBD-3/s1600/blueblackwhitegold.jpg" title="White and gold or blue and black?" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Individuals' perception of the image is affected by a number of factors, and cable news outlets wasted no time in bringing on ophthalmologists and other eye experts to testify to the fact. It turns out that the manufacturer of the dress indicated that it was blue with black trim.<br />
<br />
All we could conjure up was the image of Jephro Rucastle telling Violet Hunter "My wife is fond of a particular shade of <b><i>electric blue</i></b>," in "The Adventure of the Copper Beeches."<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcywYarhn9TTt9LPyIZq-QH-W86Sp6uUKarTA-rXOOhxSXlx0lQwisuCApKI_zIZf-7abMUzwU8iyKYz0-qZJRuQyTxDQ0zwy6XMsVlw-vxHt2B6oB-GItrkqU0iUKAPwQf7TGdxIUwXkR/s1600/Copp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes with Natasha Richardson as Violet Hunter in "The Copper Beeches"" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcywYarhn9TTt9LPyIZq-QH-W86Sp6uUKarTA-rXOOhxSXlx0lQwisuCApKI_zIZf-7abMUzwU8iyKYz0-qZJRuQyTxDQ0zwy6XMsVlw-vxHt2B6oB-GItrkqU0iUKAPwQf7TGdxIUwXkR/s1600/Copp.jpg" title="Jeremy Brett, Natasha Richardson and David Burke in "The Copper Beeches"" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"ladies fancies must be consulted" [COPP]</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Ah, the dangers of living with Sherlock Holmes on the brain.<br />
<br />
--<br />
<br />
<br /></div>

The Downside to Having a Sherlock Holmes Fixation

"I hear of Sherlock everywhere since you became his chronicler." [GREE] One of the curses of being a Sherlockian is that one ...

+ Read more »

by Scott Monty

Arthur and George Come to TV

<h4 style="text-align: center;">
“I think that this case is very much in your line.” [CARD]</h4>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCZy6wZ6vYhx7v9XDS3xkwI4qlo1CSQJU9jBESIDOuIBRvtVYVQ0i2WBXrRJhIwP5E9LHlZOxn_AU0Ox2a9OwDrhnAXjLcAm7kzStuN9PTFu8QZG9-tT03bO4hGzy5LPKLbd73a2cP9Lll/s1600/Arthur+&+George.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="ITV's Arthur & George" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCZy6wZ6vYhx7v9XDS3xkwI4qlo1CSQJU9jBESIDOuIBRvtVYVQ0i2WBXrRJhIwP5E9LHlZOxn_AU0Ox2a9OwDrhnAXjLcAm7kzStuN9PTFu8QZG9-tT03bO4hGzy5LPKLbd73a2cP9Lll/s1600/Arthur+&+George.png" title="Arthur & George" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Martin Clunes (<i>Doc Martin</i>) will be starring as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in a new three-part ITV drama called <i>Arthur & George</i>. The series is based on the inspired-by-true-events <a href="http://amzn.to/1CbM1MT" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">novel of the same name</a>, which chronicled Arthur Conan Doyle’s foray into solving a real mystery himself: <a href="http://britishheritage.com/sir-arthur-conan-doyle-the-case-of-george-edalji/" target="_blank">the case of George Edalji</a>, wrongfully convicted for animal maiming.<br />
<br />
From the synopsis on ITV.com: <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Following the death of his wife, Louisa, Conan Doyle has become a “bore and a sulk” by his own admission.  All around him do their best to bolster Arthur from his grief and mourning including his beloved ‘Mam’ who implores him to “sink his teeth into something.  If not a book then some new pursuit.”</blockquote>
<br />
The "new pursuit" comes in the form of a letter from George Edalji, a Parsee solicitor who was sent to prison for three years for a crime he didn't commit. Historically, Conan Doyle was convinced of Edalji's innocence and became an active investigator, going to the crime scenes, interviewing participants and critiquing the reliability of the witnesses. Eventually, Edalji was pardoned, and the case and its associated campaign were factors in the creation of the Court of Criminal Appeal in 1907.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwvy19fudifVlCyD_p2ikwCZy7DsAVN5dmZolFjKLF0gsJklpJPxnNrjXFbdTZxPsj-STP4e8kch-W5oQs6DZQi2kFHBU_N_EMMd7_4H5VEKtqHEnONERTF8zhLUjN4X-T0Cr-KorW51YW/s1600/Arthur+&+George+-+Arthur.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Martin Clunes starring as Arthur Conan Doyle in Arthur & George" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwvy19fudifVlCyD_p2ikwCZy7DsAVN5dmZolFjKLF0gsJklpJPxnNrjXFbdTZxPsj-STP4e8kch-W5oQs6DZQi2kFHBU_N_EMMd7_4H5VEKtqHEnONERTF8zhLUjN4X-T0Cr-KorW51YW/s1600/Arthur+&+George+-+Arthur.jpg" title="Martin Clunes as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
According to <a href="http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2015-02-16/conan-doyle-investigates-martin-clunes-wants-a-full-series-as-the-sleuthing-sherlock-holmes-creator">Radio Times</a>, Clunes would love to turn the three-part show into a full series in which Doyle investigates other crimes. A long-running series could combine more real life events with fictional elements. <i>Arthur & George</i> writer Ed Whitmore (<i>Silent Witnes</i>s, <i>Waking the Dead</i>) revealed that ITV is waiting to see how the three-parter performs before committing to more.<br />
<br />
Clunes is joined by cast members Arsher Ali (<i>The Missing</i>) as George Edalji, Charles Edwards (<i>Downton Abbey</i>) as Doyle’s secretary, Alfred "Woodie" Wood, Art Malik (<i>Holby City</i>) as the Reverend Shapurji Edalji, Emma Fielding (<i>Silk</i>) as his mother Charlotte Edalji, Hattie Morahan (<i>The Bletchley Circle</i>) as Jean Leckie and Sandra Voe (<i>Vera Drake</i>) as Mam.<br />
<br />
<i>Arthur & George</i> airs Monday, March 2 at 9:00 pm GMT on ITV. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/programs/features/news/masterpiece-adds-more-new-titles-2015/">PBS has also announced</a> that <i>Arthur & George</i> will be joining its <i>Masterpiece</i> line-up later in the year, with no specific air date set.<br />
<br />
You can <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfAWe6PvCk8">view the trailer here</a>:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="338" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NfAWe6PvCk8?rel=0" width="600"></iframe><br /></div>
<br />
<br />
Interesting timing too: <a href="http://tinyurl.com/m5y2h25" target="_blank">a series of thirty Conan Doyle letters pertaining to the Edalji Case will be coming to auction</a> at Bonhams in London on March 18.<br />
<br />
--<br />
<br />

Arthur and George Come to TV

“I think that this case is very much in your line.” [CARD] Martin Clunes ( Doc Martin ) will be starring as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in a...

+ Read more »

by Katie Magnusson

Remembering Leonard Nimoy

<h4 style="text-align: center;">
"dignified and logical" [LADY] </h4>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivCwhYNtJP2PPS4EjHyRJ5U1vZJ5TQi0LHnjiAEcgiJylBsLtOmihiKOEXUPxf9yYyOjuCIUEVN6A4M2CjJjdmlE3mZfWt2Xrk3OoyxrL4EqgAmpp5PGLr2FjnBjgCvxdqTS2Bk6YZEj6m/s1600/Nimoy+Spock+Holmes+-+crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivCwhYNtJP2PPS4EjHyRJ5U1vZJ5TQi0LHnjiAEcgiJylBsLtOmihiKOEXUPxf9yYyOjuCIUEVN6A4M2CjJjdmlE3mZfWt2Xrk3OoyxrL4EqgAmpp5PGLr2FjnBjgCvxdqTS2Bk6YZEj6m/s1600/Nimoy+Spock+Holmes+-+crop.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div>
Leonard Nimoy, best known for his role as Mr. Spock in <i>Star Trek</i> on television and film, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/27/arts/television/leonard-nimoy-spock-of-star-trek-dies-at-83.html?_r=1" target="_blank">has passed away</a> at the age of 83. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
While Nimoy was a poet, photographer and musician, he is most widely known for his acting - a profession he had pursued continuously since beginning in community theater at the age of eight.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
As Sherlockians know, he also had a connection to Sherlock Holmes. The image above is Nimoy portraying Sherlock Holmes in a 1975-6 revival of William Gillette's famous play "Sherlock Holmes" by the Royal Shakespeare Company.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Playing the great detective was not a stretch - not only because of Nimoy's lifelong practice of the craft, but because of the connection between the highly logical Mr. Spock. Those who paid attention during <i>Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country</i> heard the half Vulcan utter:</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"An ancestor of mine maintained that if you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."</blockquote>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgivdUK0yomEdnF7r6kb76RUPit_I5R-oGMhn1YYuZdVI8QwhSbAz-YOO9k8faklfyVZjDTSbWhPiHW3vrKtIc5KAQeADXAptba7XsFpGWg3Jn-GVopIfKKnej1RQ7gFpadLAVxJvbMi6ZU/s1600/spock-holmes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgivdUK0yomEdnF7r6kb76RUPit_I5R-oGMhn1YYuZdVI8QwhSbAz-YOO9k8faklfyVZjDTSbWhPiHW3vrKtIc5KAQeADXAptba7XsFpGWg3Jn-GVopIfKKnej1RQ7gFpadLAVxJvbMi6ZU/s1600/spock-holmes.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br />
Nicholas Meyer, BSI ("A Fine Morocco Case"), who wrote the book and screenplay for <i>The Seven Per Cent Solution</i> also wrote and directed <i>Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan</i> - and the above mentioned <i>Star Trek VI</i>, so there should be no doubt about the hand that steered Holmes and Spock together.<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
And for those of you who are truly into arcana and wish to honor the memory of Leonard Nimoy, we'll leave you with this portrayal of the detective in the documentary short <i>Sherlock Holmes: Interior Motive</i> (1975).</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="450" mozallowfullscreen="" src="//player.vimeo.com/video/112218871" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="600"></iframe>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
For many fans, it will be hard to accept that Nimoy is no longer with us. Or as Spock would say, "Highly illogical."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
R.I.P. Leonard Nimoy (1931 - 2015).</div>
<div>
<br />
<br />
Also see:<br />
<a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2010/07/search-of-glor_3.html#.VPCo7fnF8oo" target="_blank">"In Search Of..." [GLOR]</a><br />
<a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2010/08/have-figured-out-your-connections-3gar_27.html#.VPCo6_nF8oo" target="_blank">"I Have Figured Out Your Connections" [3GAR]</a><br />
<br /></div>
<div>
--</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>

Remembering Leonard Nimoy

"dignified and logical" [LADY] Leonard Nimoy, best known for his role as Mr. Spock in Star Trek on television and film, h...

+ Read more »

by Scott Monty

Interview: Author Lyndsay Faye on the Art of Pastichery and the Lost Sherlock Holmes Story

<h4 style="text-align: center;">
"I knew by experience" [ENGR] </h4>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlGHiW6zpMVAzQe3hnSQ66hi9K7d7fPsOHTB13b5RErnhukmEg489ZeBjtR38zQ4tNSUi94zO_PD0xGbDzh52kl8Nxo-5ZywusrWu3O9bNeFaeugDnxzi4iZcfViQHwb6U0aFUqA6KBjip/s1600/5682645590_13c1ae2b18_b.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img alt="Author and Baker Street Irregular Lyndsay Faye" border="0" height="438" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlGHiW6zpMVAzQe3hnSQ66hi9K7d7fPsOHTB13b5RErnhukmEg489ZeBjtR38zQ4tNSUi94zO_PD0xGbDzh52kl8Nxo-5ZywusrWu3O9bNeFaeugDnxzi4iZcfViQHwb6U0aFUqA6KBjip/s1600/5682645590_13c1ae2b18_b.jpg" title="Author Lyndsay Faye" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
One of the benefits of being associated with a literary group like the Baker Street Irregulars is that one has access to a wide variety of professionals. Or as Sherlock Holmes said, "A singular set of people, Watson." [LAST]<br />
<br />
Following the <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2015/02/conan-doyle-didnt-write-lost-sherlock.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">debate on the true authorship of the lost Sherlock Holmes story</a> found in Scotland (full coverage is being <a href="http://ihose.co/LostStory" target="_blank">tracked here</a>), we sat down with Lyndsay Faye, BSI ("Kitty Winter"). Lyndsay is an Edgar® Award-nominated author of the critically acclaimed <i><a href="http://amzn.to/1G0pJyS" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Dust and Shadow: an Account of the Ripper Killings by Dr. John H Watson</a></i>, as well as highly successful and lauded the Timothy Wilde series of books (<i>Seven For a Secret</i>, <i>Gods of Gotham</i>). <i>The Los Angeles Times</i> said that "she gets a critical component - Watson's voice - right" and Michael Connelly called her command of historical detail "remarkable."<br />
<br />
In addition to the Baker Street Irregulars, Ms. Faye is a member of the <a href="http://www.ash-nyc.com/" target="_blank">Adventuresses of Sherlock Holmes</a>, <a href="http://bakerstreetbabes.com/" target="_blank">the Baker Street Babes</a>, the Mystery Writers Association of America and Girls Write Now.<br />
<br />
Lyndsay's next book, <i><a href="http://amzn.to/1wpmLLR" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Fatal Flame</a></i>, will be released on May 12. More at <a href="http://lyndsayfaye.com/">LyndsayFaye.com</a>.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<h4>
<b>I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere: Why would anyone want to try to emulate the style of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle?</b></h4>
<b>Lyndsay Faye: </b>Two superb literary tricks partially account for his myriad imitators.  First, he employs "The Story You Are About To Hear Is True" throughout the canon; Sherlock Holmes, as published in <i>The Strand Magazine</i>, is well aware of the fact.  The world built in the sixty cases is self-reflective; Watson selects or discards cases for submission, Holmes snarks about Watson's style, and as Doyle's works become increasingly popular, the Holmes within the stories likewise becomes celebrated thanks to his biographer.  The world of our daily lives is perfectly paralleled in the canon; we can see them, and <i>they can see us seeing them</i>.  It's brilliant and lends itself to kind of the agenda-driven material found in the Selkirk piece.<br />
<br />
The second trick Doyle used that drives fans to acts of frantic literary impersonation is that Watson left romantic, tantalizing gaps in his stories.  Why didn't he tell us about the Giant Rat of Sumatra, we wonder?  Did Sherlock Holmes spring fully formed from the head of Zeus, we (and Watson) wonder?  (Until we learn he has a brother named Mycroft and our minds are blown.)  The canon contains mysteries within mysteries, and these drive even hardened cynics to sit down and write things like, <i>Holmes and I were seated before the fire at our rooms in Baker Street when</i>...etc.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h4>
<b>IHOSE: Isn't it as simple as developing a worthy plot?</b></h4>
<b>LF: </b>No, not at all, though the Selkirk find doesn't have that either.  Doyle's style is so readable that people fail to notice how technically contradictory it can be.  It's straightforward in meaning, but full of Victorian flourishes; its details are subtly painted, but the subject is trained killer snakes.  Holmes is as likely to drawl, "No clue?" and then grunt from the sofa [REIG] as he is to wax on for paragraphs about complex deductions.  <br />
<br />
Aside from this, writing observations that seem meaningless and later lead to dramatic deductions is extremely difficult.  Doyle himself was <i>trained</i> in this skill by Dr. Joseph Bell--the rest of we pale copies have to sweat and strain over logical puzzles.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div>
<h4>
<b>IHOSE: What are some of the nuances an inexperienced author might miss?</b></h4>
<b>LF: </b>There are about a kajillion, but they fall into general categories.<br />
<br />
Historical research can be a bear trap-- you might know what a dog cart and a tantalus and a seven per cent solution are, but did you know bagged tea was invented in 1895?  (What a year!)  Conan Doyle didn't have to do research into what to call an underhousemaid or how to address an earl--he was living it.  These are contemporary accounts, not period set pieces.  Hell, he didn't even bother over finding out if snakes drank milk.  And if you got your historical information from films, pack up and go home--no gentleman would ever have worn a deerstalker to the opera, and I have <i><a href="http://amzn.to/1atGPIv" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Murder by Decree</a></i> to thank for those nightmares.<br />
<br />
Category two would be humor.  The Sherlock Holmes canon is hilarious, and if you set out to write a very very serious and very very perfect pastiche as a very very serious devotee, you will fail, because they (spoiler alert) contain jokes.  Thus I put it to you, and thus I leave it: no humorless person will ever fully succeed at imitating Doyle.<br />
<br />
Mostly importantly, and I cannot emphasize this enough, Holmes is often written as a caricature rather than a character, and this always breaks my heart.  In the canon, he may be larger than life, but he is a person, one with private hopes and lazy daydreams and a sharp temper and a kind spirit.  People seem to want to write him as only caustic, or only brooding, or even only drug-addled, when really he possessed elements of all these <i>in addition</i> to being something of a scrapper, a Nature poet, and a practical joker.  He cannot be a one-dimensional fellow in a deerstalker coldly hurling himself to the floor in search of a clue while crying, "My dear Watson!"  It hurts my eyeballs.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h4>
<b>IHOSE: What are some common "red flags?"</b></h4>
<b>LF:</b> Esteemed Sherlockian Otto Penzler once said, "...<i>noir</i> is not unlike <i>pornography</i>, in the sense that it is virtually impossible to define, but everyone claims to know it when they see it."  A really great pastiche is similarly elusive, but there are some common rookie errors.<br />
<br />
If the relationship between Holmes and Watson is effortless - effortless bickering, silences, discussions, offenses, debates, sulks, smiles, quips, and quibbles - then it's a good pastiche.  If their dialogue is strained in any way, you're in immediate peril.  If you put them at odds in any sense other than trivial banter, you're toast.  Their characters mean absolutely everything to the series.<br />
<br />
Language is of course extremely important.  It has to be Victorian, but never antiquated, and that's difficult.  Some of the sentences in the canon last two or three words, and others smoothly sail along for thirty or so.  Many people simply cannot hear the voice, and instead they borrow phrases from the canon and twist a word or two to suit them--this semi-poaching rarely goes unnoticed by the connoisseur.<br />
<br />
Finally, leaning too heavily on any one aspect of the canon is fatal.  Some people write pastiches that are all foggy-London-haloed-streetlamps, others endless streams of wearying deductions; if you forget that plenty of cases took place outside of London proper or even (gasp!) in the summer, and that Holmes also reminded Watson to pack his tooth-brush [SPEC], you're done for.  Pastiches shouldn't read like a stream of rehashed cliches.  The story we are about to hear should be true--or at least sound it.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<div style="text-align: center;">
I am amused that media are now describing the Selkirk story as "fan fiction" — not "pastiche". <a href="http://t.co/HmkL1mMQKo">http://t.co/HmkL1mMQKo</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
— Chris Redmond (@darkgreendesk) <a href="https://twitter.com/darkgreendesk/status/570925098598838273">February 26, 2015</a></div>
</blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>

<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<h4>
<b>IHOSE: Speaking of pastiche, what's your take on the difference between pastiche and fanfiction?</b></h4>
</div>
<div>
<b>LF:</b> I think that the storytelling urge that produces "pastiche" and "fanfiction" are identical.  We want to read further.  We want to know them better.  Some have found it eccentric that a newly discovered pastiche is being called a fanfiction online.  Well, why not?  They're the same animal, save for matters of self-identification and commercial intent.<br />
<br />
 A pastiche is a work "that imitates the work of another style, artist, or period."  Fanfiction is "fiction about characters or settings from an original work of fiction."  In what way do those descriptions differ precisely?  They simply don't, to my mind.  I always differentiate due to the commercial use of "pastiche" versus the more intimate community use of "fanfiction," but the real line of demarcation in my mind is people who insist on the fact they write "pastiches" and people who don't.  Not to mention "homage," thank you Anthony Horowitz...<br />
<br />
<br />
<h4>
<b>Previous coverage of this topic:</b></h4>
Conan Doyle Was Not the Author of the Lost Sherlock Holmes Story - <a href="http://ihose.co/ACD_not">ihose.co/ACD_not</a><br />
A Stylistic Analysis of the Lost Sherlock Holmes Story - <a href="http://ihose.co/ACDstyle">ihose.co/ACDstyle</a><br />
Lost Sherlock Holmes Story - Clearing up Authorship (Storify) - <a href="http://ihose.co/LostStory">ihose.co/LostStory</a><br />
<br />
<br />
Image credit: copyright <a href="https://twitter.com/melindacaric">Melinda Caric</a><br />
<br />
--<br />
<br /></div>
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=qf_sp_asin_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=thebakerstree-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=0399169482&asins=0399169482&linkId=KB7OF72X7D4WZ7Z6&show_border=false&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;">
</iframe>    <iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=qf_sp_asin_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=thebakerstree-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=1416583319&asins=1416583319&linkId=Z6KRTTMLUQMPBC7K&show_border=false&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;">
</iframe>

Interview: Author Lyndsay Faye on the Art of Pastichery and the Lost Sherlock Holmes Story

"I knew by experience" [ENGR] One of the benefits of being associated with a literary group like the Baker Street Irregulars...

+ Read more »

by Scott Monty

A Stylistic Analysis of the Lost Sherlock Holmes Story

<h4 style="text-align: center;">
"His effort to conceal his own writing" [HOUN]</h4>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<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 />
<br />
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>
<br />
<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>
<br />
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 />
<br />
<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 />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/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>
<br />
<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 />
<br />
<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 />
<br />
<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>

<br />
<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 />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo credit: <a href="https://flic.kr/p/aPR13K" target="_blank">Elliott Brown (Flickr)</a></span><br />
<br />
--<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...

+ Read more »

by Vincent W. Wright

Your Chance to Win Big on IHOSE

<h4 style="text-align: center;">
"an examination by experts" [FINA] </h4>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<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...

+ Read more »

by Scott Monty

Remembering Alan Howard

<h4 style="text-align: center;">
"such was the stately presence" [PRIO] </h4>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<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 />
<br />
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 />
<br />
<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 />
<br />
<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 />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="338" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/raB7pKhcx8A" width="600"></iframe>
</div>
<br />
<br />
R.I.P. Alan Howard (1937 - 2015)<br />
<br />
--<br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=qf_sp_asin_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=thebakerstree-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B0037KDB24&asins=B0037KDB24&linkId=NN2RWMEBQCSQFLCQ&show_border=false&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;">
</iframe>

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 ...

+ Read more »

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>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgul_Ln4KmXsd2yi4bFalBRhOkhhrn-fkzKlnp-CfSFpw4rt5ZjJBHUJ8OaLA7ZYzPDj6HDeUhitEi0bQbRwyMC3IjWXpb2C7trf5GynSD9HvFi9lj_ndsdFoFpm_JORdNfIGLEFlWRil4k/s1600/Sherlock+Holmes+Golden+Years.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="448" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgul_Ln4KmXsd2yi4bFalBRhOkhhrn-fkzKlnp-CfSFpw4rt5ZjJBHUJ8OaLA7ZYzPDj6HDeUhitEi0bQbRwyMC3IjWXpb2C7trf5GynSD9HvFi9lj_ndsdFoFpm_JORdNfIGLEFlWRil4k/s1600/Sherlock+Holmes+Golden+Years.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<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 />
<br />
<br />
<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 />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<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>
<br />
<h4>
<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 />
<br />
<br />
<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 />
<br />
<br />
<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 />
<br />
All of these special qualities are contained in this one story. I love it!<br />
<br />
<br />
<h4>
<b>6.  What are your current projects?</b></h4>
</div>
<div>
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>
<div>
<br />
<br />
<h4>
<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>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br />
[<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 />
<br />
--<br />
<br /></div>
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=qf_sp_asin_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=thebakerstree-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=1780926715&asins=1780926715&linkId=IZOSYZLPAGOD7CT5&show_border=false&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;">
</iframe>

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 ...

+ Read more »

by Belanger Books

Sherlockians Are Weird

<h4 style="text-align: center;">
"in the city of the weird" [STUD] </h4>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<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 />
<br />
<center>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vGF8bzeRwcw?rel=0" width="640"></iframe><br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="text-align: left;">
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>
</blockquote>
<div style="text-align: left;">
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>
<br /><div style="text-align: left;">
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>
<br />
<center>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" height="100" mozallowfullscreen="" msallowfullscreen="" oallowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" src="//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/1465236/height/100/width/600/theme/custom/autoplay/no/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/backward/no-cache/true/render-playlist/no/custom-color/f88807/" style="border: none;" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="600"></iframe></center>
<br />
<center>
<iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/134348462&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="100%"></iframe></center>
<br />
<br /><div style="text-align: left;">
Yes, Sherlockians are weird. Stay that way.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
--</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</center>

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...

+ Read more »

by Scott Monty

This Week in Sherlock Holmes News

<h4 style="text-align: center;">
"in the course of the week" [STUD] </h4>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0ot0J1E8NQomhWBN8GhQfoBFG3hUkCra3GdVyQKpTa6NlKF-HuknFxUXaVhJ0V_CWQZBeoGGDajm6pjkdynWZgVdMoSsn9CF9COYuget7UsSRq4b50X4oRed5TvB1NCIyOnjLo-H9g0EW/s1600/Calendar+-+Sherlock+Holmes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="488" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0ot0J1E8NQomhWBN8GhQfoBFG3hUkCra3GdVyQKpTa6NlKF-HuknFxUXaVhJ0V_CWQZBeoGGDajm6pjkdynWZgVdMoSsn9CF9COYuget7UsSRq4b50X4oRed5TvB1NCIyOnjLo-H9g0EW/s1600/Calendar+-+Sherlock+Holmes.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<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 />
<br />
<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 />
<h4 style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: Merriweather; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-align: center;">
If the titles are all GREE to you,</h4>
<h4 style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: Merriweather; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-align: center;">
(A SIGN is your brain's BLAC and BLUE)</h4>
<h4 style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: Merriweather; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-align: center;">
BERY doubts that have flowed;</h4>
<h4 style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: Merriweather; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-align: center;">
SCAN a SPEC of <a href="http://ihose.co/ABREV" rel="nofollow" style="color: #006f85; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">the code</a>.</h4>
<h4 style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: Merriweather; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-align: center;">
You can't MISS if you STUD like 3STU.</h4>
<br />
<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 />
<html>
<body>

<table style="width: 100%;">
<tr>
    <td>1.Jefferson Hope</td>
    <td>6. Leonardo</td>  
  </tr>
<tr>
    <td>2. Mary Cushing</td>
    <td>7. Henry Wood</td>  
  </tr>
<tr>
    <td>3. Jack Croker</td>
    <td>8. Cyril Morton</td>
  </tr>
<tr>
    <td>4. Grace Dunbar</td>
    <td>9. Hilton Cubitt</td>
  </tr>
<tr>
    <td>5. Brenda Tregennis</td>
      </tr>
</table>
</body>
</html>
<br />
<br />
<br />
If you have any questions about or would like to debate the answers, please let us know.<br />
<br />
<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 />
<br />
<br />
We're looking forward to having you with us all week!<br />
<br />
--<br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=qf_sp_asin_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=thebakerstree-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B00K0U9RO0&asins=B00K0U9RO0&linkId=RJT6IB5LEYDRSGUB&show_border=false&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;">
</iframe><br />
<br />

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...

+ Read more »

by Scott Monty

Canonical Abbreviations: No Short Sherlock?

<h4 style="text-align: center;">
'What a queer, scrambling way of expressing his meaning!' [VALL]</h4>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVca0_VxMIg5oyPM8LZYj6PNP5pAe5CfUGmR2KIPYQc_msZDxVhsMAP4AQRcT45wgJyVwxpllf1ClGoZOHQsjC096f1bkHvrnbtyotxb5eixrxDiwB1viN7qLRP2lHWdV7gJ8nlXunlb8G/s1600/VALL_cropped.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="473" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVca0_VxMIg5oyPM8LZYj6PNP5pAe5CfUGmR2KIPYQc_msZDxVhsMAP4AQRcT45wgJyVwxpllf1ClGoZOHQsjC096f1bkHvrnbtyotxb5eixrxDiwB1viN7qLRP2lHWdV7gJ8nlXunlb8G/s1600/VALL_cropped.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
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 />
<br />
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 />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<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 />
<br />
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 />
<br />
<center>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<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>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><center>
</center>
<br />
<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>
<br />

</center>
<div>
<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>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/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>
<br />
<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 />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: "verdana" , "geneva" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px;"><br />
</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 />
<br />
<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 />
<br />
BOOOM! AGGGGHHHHhhhh!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<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>
<br />
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 />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<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>
<br />
<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 />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HjruXx22Fnc?rel=0" width="640"></iframe> </div>
<br />
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>
<div>
<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 />
<br />
<h4>
<b>The Rating: B-</b></h4>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
--</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>

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

<div style="text-align: center;">
<h4>
<b>"It was the first announcement in the 'Found' column." [STUD] </b></h4>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/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>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
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 />
<br />
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 />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<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>
<br />
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 />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR_I2rdcTvex74e7naqWxaZAm0fLiEt7yDYeBsxBJmLtx9IDpEYcNS5HRBroOQRl1k8m3wSQBE68tJhPtg1yZ1_kDyqQOSI21viX-RWHbEwDpM5QMB3LjUTfDZNUL2FhryHkVaLXGIjibY/s1600/bookothebrig.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Book o' the Brig - Lost Sherlock Holmes story?" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR_I2rdcTvex74e7naqWxaZAm0fLiEt7yDYeBsxBJmLtx9IDpEYcNS5HRBroOQRl1k8m3wSQBE68tJhPtg1yZ1_kDyqQOSI21viX-RWHbEwDpM5QMB3LjUTfDZNUL2FhryHkVaLXGIjibY/s1600/bookothebrig.png" title="Book o' the Brig in The Southern Reporter" width="280" /></a></div>
<br />
<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 />
<br />
<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 />
<br />
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo credit: SWNS</span></i><br />
<div>
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div>
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">--</span></i></div>
<div>
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div>
</div>
</div>