I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere

The Murder of Sherlock Holmes — A Review

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"a glimpse of a great heart as well as of a great brain" - [3GAR]</h4>
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With <i>Mr. Holmes</i> providing a great example of Sherlock Holmes in his later years, many recent pastiches (including Michael Chabon's <i><a amzn-ps-bm-asin="B00OX8BER8" class="amzn_ps_bm_tl" data-amzn-link-id="4c8956291d7651ae7cb10711752d4ca0" data-amzn-ps-bm-keyword="the final solution chabon" href="http://www.amazon.com/Final-Solution-Chabon-Michael-Hardcover/dp/B00OX8BER8/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=thebakerstree-20&linkId=4c8956291d7651ae7cb10711752d4ca0&linkCode=ktl" id="amznPsBmLink_5875929" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Final Solution</a><img alt="" border="0" height="0" id="amznPsBmPixel_5875929" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&t=thebakerstree-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=4c8956291d7651ae7cb10711752d4ca0&_cb=1444496204154" style="border: none !important; height: 0px !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; width: 0px !important;" width="0" /></i>) have used an elder Holmes as a way to explore deeper issues.<br />
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David Fable's <i><a amzn-ps-bm-asin="0990852903" class="amzn_ps_bm_tl" data-amzn-link-id="6bad360e2c470bf4f9c771771fc96544" data-amzn-ps-bm-keyword="The Murder of Sherlock Holmes" href="http://www.amazon.com/Murder-Sherlock-Holmes-David-Fable/dp/0990852903/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=thebakerstree-20&linkId=6bad360e2c470bf4f9c771771fc96544&linkCode=ktl" id="amznPsBmLink_4293675" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Murder of Sherlock Holmes</a><img alt="" border="0" height="0" id="amznPsBmPixel_4293675" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&t=thebakerstree-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=6bad360e2c470bf4f9c771771fc96544&_cb=1444496221243" style="border: none !important; height: 0px !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; width: 0px !important;" width="0" /></i> is a great mystery that does what many writers might not make an effort to do - use Holmes' death to launch into an exploration about how an individual leads his life in his later years.<br />
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Fable does an admirable job in providing the kind of mystery that would intrigue Holmes himself: what happens when the Great Detective is found dead? Dr. John Watson decides to lead the case, accompanied by Christopher Hudson (Mrs. Hudson's son), and together, their efforts explore the world of Holmes (including some characters) post-"His Last Bow."<br />
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In many ways, this is a book that reflects and builds upon the Canon, yet takes some great narrative chances. One of those chances is splitting the narration between Watson and Christopher Hudson. For this particular story, that split perspective allows for a much broader interpretation and confirmation of events. (It also helps that Fable's constructed a <i>very</i> solid mystery - one worthy of Holmes himself).<br />
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There is, however, one revelation about Holmes (and we will avoid spoilers) that comes close to the end of the novel. Although this revelation makes sense within the confines of the book, it may be a bit surprising (or perhaps even rather left-field). However, it does not derail the book's overall narrative structure, and at the end, David Fable provides an excellent quote that rivals Watson's best quotes about Holmes.<br />
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<i>The Murder of Sherlock Holmes</i> is a surprising novel in more ways that one. It manages to take a step beyond pastiche, and serves as a crackling good read in its own right. Worth checking out.<br />
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(A complimentary copy was provided for review)<br />
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The Murder of Sherlock Holmes — A Review

"a glimpse of a great heart as well as of a great brain" - [3GAR] With Mr. Holmes providing a great example of Sherlock Ho...

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by Gordon D

The New Sherlock Trailer Is Here and It's Amazing

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"which called for special attention" [BLAC]</h4>
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Fasten your Victorian seatbelts! The latest official trailer for BBC One's <i>Sherlock</i> special is 90 seconds long and is filled with settings and period costumes to make your traditional Sherlockian fingers tremble with excitement.<br />
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We've previously covered the announcement of <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2015/04/sherlock-christmas-special-will-be-set.html#.VharnHpViko" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">the time period of the special</a> and its <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2015/07/new-sherlock-trailer-strikes.html#.VharlHpViko" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">early trailer</a>. But this version is a more detailed glimpse of what the special will feel like, from locations to co-stars to the overall richness of the cinematography. While we don't have any more information about the plot, the trailer certainly makes it seem as if we're awaiting the release of a major motion picture — for that's what these 90-minute long <i><a amzn-ps-bm-asin="B004132HZS" class="amzn_ps_bm_tl" data-amzn-link-id="fce8f4d4e8d7b9442293d56572d747b1" data-amzn-ps-bm-keyword="Sherlock" href="http://www.amazon.com/Sherlock-Season-1-Benedict-Cumberbatch/dp/B004132HZS/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=thebakerstree-20&linkId=fce8f4d4e8d7b9442293d56572d747b1&linkCode=ktl" id="amznPsBmLink_9535327" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sherlock</a><img alt="" border="0" height="0" id="amznPsBmPixel_9535327" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&t=thebakerstree-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=fce8f4d4e8d7b9442293d56572d747b1&_cb=1444326586702" style="border: none !important; height: 0px !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; width: 0px !important;" width="0" /></i> episodes really are, aren't they? Stories that, while related to the other episodes, firmly stand on their own as televised movies.<br />
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With the release of the latest trailer, neither the BBC nor PBS Masterpiece has made it clear when we should expect the special to air. Rumors have long indicated that it might be around Christmastime, but we have yet to receive any word from the showrunners what we should expect.<br />
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Meanwhile, pray pull up your armchair to the fire, settle in and enjoy the latest <i>Sherlock </i>trailer...<br />
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Are there any points you'd make about this video? Share them below with a comment.<br />
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The New Sherlock Trailer Is Here and It's Amazing

"which called for special attention" [BLAC] Fasten your Victorian seatbelts! The latest official trailer for BBC One's Sh...

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by Scott Monty

Qualify for the Quiz on Our Next Show

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"a French artist who flourished" [VALL] </h4>
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Thank you for your continued interest in "Mental Exaltation," the quiz segment of the I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere internet radio show. You can listen to <a href="http://ihose.co/ihose80" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Episode 80</a>, in which our guest Zach Dundas played on behalf of a contestant (annotated below at 1:20:00).<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.4px;">If you've listened to NPR shows like </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.4px;"><a href="http://www.npr.org/programs/wait-wait-dont-tell-me/" style="color: #006f85; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!</a></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.4px;"> and </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.4px;"><a href="http://www.npr.org/programs/weekend-edition-sunday/" style="color: #006f85; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Weekend Edition Sunday</a></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.4px;">, 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; on the latter, the listener plays live on the air.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.4px;">Here's how "</span><b style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.4px;">Mental Exaltation</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.4px;">" works:</span></div>
<ul style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.4px;">
<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" style="color: #006f85; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" 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 win a random item from our I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere Grab-Bag of Goodies (that's the IHOSE GBG).</li>
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The next interview episode of I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere will feature author and screenwriter Bonnie Macbird who has written <i><a href="http://amzn.to/1Ro0g5h" target="_blank">Art in the Blood</a></i><img border="0" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&t=thebakerstree-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=14994121cab4f07ffad031d2608939d7&_cb=1443928534489" /><img border="0" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&t=socialmediama-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=cd2980ee10ef76e1a4780d5f01a7e206&_cb=1441721306537" />. Our quiz and the qualifying question are directly related to the book, so stay tuned and you may have a chance to win a copy of the book!<br />
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<b style="color: #0e0e0e; font-family: Merriweather; font-size: 18.2px;">Qualify now</b><br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="880" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1I8-xK6eZZKpSl_9zPgZn9FvErlHKA0PnW9UcNu2L0g8/viewform?embedded=true" width="760">Loading...</iframe><br />
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Good luck!</div>
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Qualify for the Quiz on Our Next Show

"a French artist who flourished" [VALL] Thank you for your continued interest in "Mental Exaltation," the quiz...

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by Scott Monty

The Egyptian Curse: A Review

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"deeply impressed with the curse" [HOUN] </h4>
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<i><a amzn-ps-bm-asin="1780927762" class="amzn_ps_bm_tl" data-amzn-link-id="423a05fc3164db431c2a72d84c8bf8e4" data-amzn-ps-bm-keyword="The Egyptian Curse" href="http://www.amazon.com/Egyptian-Curse-Sherlock-Holmes-Enoch/dp/1780927762/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=thebakerstree-20&linkId=423a05fc3164db431c2a72d84c8bf8e4&linkCode=ktl" id="amznPsBmLink_1927843" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Egyptian Curse</a><img alt="" border="0" height="0" id="amznPsBmPixel_1927843" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&t=thebakerstree-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=423a05fc3164db431c2a72d84c8bf8e4&_cb=1443725600760" style="border: none !important; height: 0px !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; width: 0px !important;" width="0" /></i> is the third novel in the Enoch Hale-Sherlock Holmes trilogy co-authored by <a href="http://bakerstreetbeat.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Dan Andriacco</a> and Kieran McMullen. Though it is the third in a trilogy, enough background is provided for it to function as a stand-alone story. It’s a historical novel full of references to famous figures, both real and literary, and a curse of the sort anyone who’s ever heard of King Tut is familiar with.</div>
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Hale is an American journalist working in London for the Central Press Syndicate. When his ex-sweetheart’s husband is murdered, and his alibi disappears, he launches his own investigation through Egyptology, literary circles, and golf courses, meeting some of the most famous figures of 1920s London, including archaeologists, authors and a priest with particular significance to the Sherlockian reader.<br />
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The novel’s not "action-packed," but the case itself is intriguing and the plot is well-paced. Much of the enjoyment of the book comes from the way it references the mystery genre, making a bit of light fun at itself while at the same time providing an engaging mystery. Agatha Christie herself even discusses at length what exactly makes a good mystery, the very same question Ronald Knox would answer with his “<a href="http://www.thrillingdetective.com/trivia/triv186.html" target="_blank">Decalogue of Detective Fiction</a>” in 1929 (and thoughtfully supplied in the back of the book.)<br />
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For the record, <i>The Egyptian Curse</i> follows Knox’s guidelines, except perhaps for “no accident must ever help the detective.” Hale is the detective throughout. This is his investigation, and his friend Sherlock Holmes is only mentioned in passing for almost the entire case. It isn’t until we near the end that Holmes’ involvement is made clear, and the ultimate impression borders just a touch on <i>deus ex machina</i>. If Holmes had not earlier refused to get involved, or if there had been just a small scene of him making the decision to investigate on his own, it wouldn’t have bothered me so much.<br />
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That being said, Hale is excellent at assembling facts and piecing together a logical story from them, a task in which any good journalist would have to be skilled. Where he ultimately fails, and where a great detective excels, is the ability to select the essential facts from the onslaught of information. Holmes has all the same information Hale does, but he is able to distinguish the important facts from the rest, leading him to an entirely different (and entirely correct) conclusion.<br />
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The book ends with plenty of potential for further adventures to follow, and I hope to read more of Hale’s adventures, whether they be with or without Mr. Holmes.<br />
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The Enoch Hale-Sherlock Holmes trilogy, <a amzn-ps-bm-asin="SEARCH" class="amzn_ps_bm_tl" data-amzn-link-id="2d120960cda8df5f56f4f202e37aeee4" data-amzn-ps-bm-keyword="enoch hale " href="http://amazon.com/s/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=enoch%20hale%20&tag=thebakerstree-20&linkId=2d120960cda8df5f56f4f202e37aeee4&linkCode=ktl" id="amznPsBmLink_2218343" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">available on Amazon</a><img alt="" border="0" height="0" id="amznPsBmPixel_2218343" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&t=thebakerstree-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=2d120960cda8df5f56f4f202e37aeee4&_cb=1443725849277" style="border: none !important; height: 0px !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; width: 0px !important;" width="0" />:</div>
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<br />

The Egyptian Curse: A Review

"deeply impressed with the curse" [HOUN] The Egyptian Curse is the third novel in the Enoch Hale-Sherlock Holmes trilo...

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by Katie Magnusson

What to Do with Too Many Sherlock Holmes Books?

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"littered with books" [BRUC] </h4>
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Three new Sherlockian books arrived in the mail last week. A fourth, Elinor Gray's eagerly-awaited <i><a amzn-ps-bm-asin="B00ZAX43SM" class="amzn_ps_bm_tl" data-amzn-link-id="a72c0325518c85c89191375277923b3d" data-amzn-ps-bm-keyword="Compound a Felony" href="http://www.amazon.com/Compound-Felony-Affair-Sherlock-Holmes-ebook/dp/B00ZAX43SM/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=thebakerstree-20&linkId=a72c0325518c85c89191375277923b3d&linkCode=ktl" id="amznPsBmLink_8168492" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Compound a Felony</a><img alt="" border="0" height="0" id="amznPsBmPixel_8168492" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&t=thebakerstree-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=a72c0325518c85c89191375277923b3d&_cb=1442763600060" style="border: none !important; height: 0px !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; width: 0px !important;" width="0" /></i>, popped up in my Kindle last night. I've just finished reading a pre-publication copy of a pastiche from a major publisher. This afternoon my e-mail includes a friendly note from the author of a volume just published by MX, the British-based Sherlockian specialists: "I hope you will be able to review my book soon."<br />
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I hope the same thing, my friend.<br />
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In general I try to review every Sherlockian book I read. I've been doing it for several years now, and there are <a href="http://sherlockian.net/books/reviews/" target="_blank">sixty-some reviews available on my website</a>, Sherlockian.Net. <br />
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I don't generally go into the kind of perceptive detail more discriminating reviewers do (check out Leah Guinn's <a href="http://wellreadsherlockian.com/" target="_blank">The Well-Read Sherlockian</a> for extraordinary book reviews), but I give a general description and evaluation of each book. It's hard to know whether potential readers find such reviews useful — or find them at all — but I like to think so.<br />
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Well, I'm starting to dread this whole process. I've known for a while that I wasn't keeping up with the volume of material, and I've noticed that the top shelf of my 10-foot-wide bookcase, which houses stuff I acquired with every intention of reading it, is getting more tightly packed. Some books have been there quite a while now, including some that I really don't look forward to and others, such as Denis O. Smith's <i><a href="http://amzn.to/1JiSxyU" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Mammoth Book of the Lost Chronicles of Sherlock Holmes</a></i>, that I am really quite excited about. And I know from comments I've seen online that some of these books, notably Zach Dundas's <i><a href="http://ihose.co/ihose80" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Great Detective</a></i>, are seriously important in our field. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjci-h5xIFexKW6B22LCOFzqSPA7ihes3hWT9-anqOBdo-O__ScalXOzscC9YFMKqdRXsv2qG2C_3hjsSYFtnFYfwNvG4bNQe-0cB5U9NSarr9I1RXa90yoOq3QSCMmzBSCPginXOytnvAm/s1600/sherlock_holmes+-+ads+of+the+world.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjci-h5xIFexKW6B22LCOFzqSPA7ihes3hWT9-anqOBdo-O__ScalXOzscC9YFMKqdRXsv2qG2C_3hjsSYFtnFYfwNvG4bNQe-0cB5U9NSarr9I1RXa90yoOq3QSCMmzBSCPginXOytnvAm/s640/sherlock_holmes+-+ads+of+the+world.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Even Sherlock Holmes took a break from reading every now and then.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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But I have to reserve some of my waking hours for family, and baseball, and my health; and for Sherlockian activities that don't involve book reviewing, such as, oh, talking to other Sherlockians online or, when possible, in person; and for books — yes, there are some in the world — that aren't even Sherlockian. Did I mention how far behind I am in watching Sherlockian movies? Nope, haven't seen Ian McKellen yet. Haven't seen Gillette's 1916 wonder. Haven't seen the Petrenko series. Haven't even seen <i>Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows</i>.<br />
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Something went click in my head when I ambled into the dealers' area at <a href="http://scintillation.org/" target="_blank">Scintillation of Scions</a> in Baltimore earlier this summer. There were tables and tables displaying things people wanted me to buy, and they weren't all keychains and candles. Many of them were (and I know this will astonish you) books. The most heavily laden table was that of Maryland's mystery bookstore, <a href="http://www.mysterylovescompany.com/" target="_blank">Mystery Loves Company</a>, and I'm sure they are fine people performing a valuable community service, but when I saw the dozens of lovely unread books spread across their sales space, with appealing cover illustrations and titles designed to whet the Sherlockian appetite for blood, all I could think was: I am never in my lifetime going to be able to read all this stuff, or even find shelf room for it, and I don't know where I would even start.<br />
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I didn't buy any books at Scintillation. I came home to find more books that had chased me down on their own. And I've just checked the web and learned that <a href="http://mxpublishing.com/" target="_blank">MX Publishing</a> alone is promising 32 new Sherlockian titles (at least) in 2015. That's not even counting the three-volume anthology, due this fall, that may be the most important, as well as the biggest, pastiche project anybody has ever attempted.<br />
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Do you know how many new Sherlockian books were published in 1977? Twelve, total, including a Nate the Great title for beginning readers.<br />
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We are in the middle of a boom, a renaissance, a flowering, a flood, an avalanche of books. Some of them are wonderful, some are dumb and tedious, some will be classics, some are cynical attempts to part collectors from their money, some are quietly witty gems, some will change my life if I ever get around to reading them. I just wish I knew which were which.<br />
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<i>Photo credit: <a href="https://flic.kr/p/epjq3" target="_blank">Bryan Costin (Flickr)</a></i><br />
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--<br />
<br />

What to Do with Too Many Sherlock Holmes Books?

"littered with books" [BRUC] Three new Sherlockian books arrived in the mail last week. A fourth, Elinor Gray's eagerly-...

+ Read more »

by Chris Redmond

Interview with the Secretary General of the Sherlock Holmes Society of India

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"Some of the inhabitants of theIndian Peninsula"[SIGN]</h4>
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It is astounding that like the Norwegian named Sigerson, Sherlock Holmes societies have crossed the four corners of the Earth.  There are societies in Japan, the Czech Republic, Australia, Switzerland, and Uruguay, to name just a few.  For this blog post, we interviewed Jayantika (Jay) Ganguly, the Secretary General of the <a href="http://www.sherlockholmessociety.in/" target="_blank">Sherlock Holmes Society of India</a>.  We discussed how she became interested in the world's first consulting detective, her book, and of course, her favorite story from the canon.<br />
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<b>I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere:  You have been a Sherlock Holmes fan since you were twelve.  How did you discover the World's First Consulting Detective?</b></h4>
<b>Jay Ganguly:</b> Ah, well – pretty much the usual way. My father gave me a battered old copy, and one story down, I was hopelessly in love. Sherlock Holmes does tend to have that effect, doesn’t he?<br />
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<b>IHOSE:  You are the Secretary General and Editor of the Sherlock Holmes Society of India, a scion of the <a href="http://www.bakerstreetirregulars.com/" target="_blank">Baker Street Irregulars</a>.  Tell us a little bit about the Society. How was it created? How do you hold your meetings?  Any fun events?</b></h4>
<b>JG:</b> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/SherlockHolmesSocietyOfIndia" target="_blank">The Sherlock Holmes Society of India</a> was founded on May 28, 2001 by Mr. Sumal Surendranath, who is also the President of SHSI. We are primarily an online platform, brought together by our mutual love for Sherlock. Our members are spread across the country and in several cases, the world, so in-person meetings are not really the norm. Most of our discussions/debates and the like are held online. We do have an annual meet, though, and we have it in a different city each year, usually decided by a vote. It’s always the fourth weekend of August.<br />
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This year, we are hosting our annual meet in Kolkata (Calcutta) on August 24 – so if anyone’s planning an India trip around that period, we are always happy to welcome any Sherlockian to our meeting! The only other schedule we follow is our bi-annual release of our e-magazine, “<a href="http://www.sherlockholmessociety.in/2015/05/proceedings-of-pondicherry-lodge-volume.html" target="_blank">Proceedings of the Pondicherry Lodge</a>” – the summer issue is out on June 1 and the winter issue on December 1. Other than that, we don’t really have any specified or pre-scheduled events…but we are a nice, friendly bunch, and we do try to meet up when we are visiting a city where a fellow Sherlockian resides. And we are friends with many (many, many!) absolutely wonderful Sherlockians all over the world.<br />
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<b>IHOSE:  You published a book in honor of Sherlock Holmes' 160th birthday called <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Holmes-Sutra-Sherlock-Birthday/dp/1780925352" target="_blank">The Holmes Sutra</a></i>.  The book contains two parts, the Mantras and the Mania Quotient Test.  Let's start with the mantras.  How did you devise 160 different sayings and in some cases, rules, about Sherlock Holmes?  Have any of the mantras proven controversial, such as #31 Sherlock Holmes can perform magic. Literally?</b></h4>
<b>JG:</b> Oh, I just picked up Sherlockian things I really liked – the Canon, other books, online fanfiction, films, TV, pretty much everything Sherlockian I’ve laid my eyes on – and, of course, some of my pet theories on him. Controversial? I don’t really think so, but I’m always happy to listen to counter-arguments. Also, I’m a lawyer, so I have back-ups and ready arguments for everything I write.<br />
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Mantra #31 is a reference to that excellent piece of work by Jamyang Norbu – <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Mandala-Sherlock-Holmes-Jamyang-Norbu/dp/1582343284" target="_blank">The Mandala of Sherlock Holmes</a></i>. It was one of the earliest pastiches I read – the second one, in fact – and definitely one of my favourites. I’d hate to give out spoilers, but let’s just say that the climax is dramatic, set in mystical Tibet, and witnesses Sherlock Holmes cradling (and using) magic in his long-fingered hands.<br />
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<b>IHOSE: The second part of your book, The Mania Quotient Test is a lot of fun.  I ended up with StockHolmes Syndrome. How did you devise the test?  </b></h4>
<b>JG:</b> I’m not surprised to hear of your StockHolmes Syndrome. I devised the test based on the Sherlockians I knew of by then. (It’s another matter I’d not met any of them by that time; we’d just exchanged emails, and in some cases, it was just hearsay.) So, StockHolmes Syndrome was based on people like <a href="http://www.redcircledc.org/" target="_blank">Peter Blau</a>, <a href="http://rogerjohnsonsreviews.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">Roger Johnson</a> and, of course, our own Sumal ji. The next category, Holmesick (which is where I fall) is mostly calibrated to me and Sherlockians at a similar level. Similarly, Holmesaddicted, Sherlocked and Holmesfree came into being. It’s rather arbitrary and based solely on my judgement, if you come to think of it…but I like to imagine that Sherlock helped it along, hence it isn’t too bad a gauge.<br />
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<b>IHOSE: Here is the question we ask all Sherlockians.  If you were stranded on a desert island with one Sherlock holmes story, which would it be and why?</b></h4>
<b>JG:</b> That depends on whether “story” refers to (a) just the Canonical tale, or (b) all known adaptations of the tale.<br />
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If it’s (a), then I’d take <i>The Sign of Four</i>, I think. It is one of my favourites. It is long, so it will keep me entertained for a while. Besides, Sholto’s account might be of some use in giving me ideas on how to escape from the island if I get too bored! Of course, being stuck on an island with only Sherlock Holmes for company…*sigh* (Though I do wish Petr (Kopl) had adapted The Sign of Four into his astounding <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Petr-Kopl/e/B00OBE11BS/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1" target="_blank">graphic novel series</a>…)<br />
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If it’s (b), I’d go for <i>The Hound of Baskervilles</i> – many more adaptations to go through! There’s even a Hindi movie based on it.<br />
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<b>IHOSE: What are your future projects?</b></h4>
<b>JG:</b> There is a giant book of pastiches in three volumes being compiled by the lovely <a href="http://www.amazon.com/David-Marcum/e/B00K1IKA92/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1434800807&sr=1-1" target="_blank">David Marcum</a> and <a href="http://www.mxpublishing.com/index.html" target="_blank">MX</a>; I’ve got a small Holmesian tale in that. The e-magazine is always at hand, I’d proudly call it my baby. I’ve been thinking about <i>The Holmes Shastra</i> (“Shastra” being “scripture”) – I’d thought to make it a set of syllogisms and stories, but nothing has been penned yet. And now David (Marcum) has put the idea of a set of short stories in my head and it has taken root. Let’s see. I go where Holmes takes me.<br />
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<b>IHOSE:  Any last thoughts?</b></h4>
<b>JG:</b> Nothing significant, really – just some random, simpering, fan-girlish thoughts on our beloved detective.<br />
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Many thanks for the brilliant questions, though; I really enjoyed answering them!<br />
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<b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/jayantika.ganguly?fref=ts" target="_blank">Jayantika Ganguly</a></b> is the Secretary General and Editor of the Sherlock Holmes Society of India.  Her book, <i>The Holmes Sutra</i>, was released from MX publishing in 2014.  Ms. Ganguly is also a corporate lawyer working with one of the top law firms of India, and is based out of Kolkata. She likes to refer to herself as Holmesick, wanderlust-ridden and a bibliophile.<br />
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<i>For more of Derrick Belanger's I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere articles, click <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/search/label/Derrick%20Belanger#.VWHEBU9VhBc">here</a>.  To learn more about Derrick Belanger's Sherlock Holmes and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle books, click <a href="http://amzn.to/1ct0qc6">here</a>.</i><div>
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Interview with the Secretary General of the Sherlock Holmes Society of India

"Some of the inhabitants of theIndian Peninsula"[SIGN] It is astounding that like the Norwegian named Sigerson, Sherlock...

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by Belanger Books

Episode 81: Mycroft Holmes

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"Some of my most interesting cases have come to me in this way through Mycroft." [GREE]</h4>
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If asked, who would you say is the biggest Sherlock Holmes fan? Prior to January 2015, we would not have said Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. But when he made a surprise appearance at the 2015 BSI Dinner and we had a chance to speak with him we discovered it was in fact he.<br />
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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Anna Waterhouse have written a new book called <i><a href="http://amzn.to/1gp8psR" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mycroft Holmes</a></i>, due out next week. We won't give too much away, but it chronicles the early career of Sherlock Holmes's older brother, at the age of 23. You'll find the classic Oxford-Cambridge boat race, the grimy streets of London, cigars, a sea voyage and much more. It's a very interesting, insightful and surprising look into what went into the beginnings of this mystical figure from the original Sherlock Holmes stories.<br />
<br />
If you think this book is worthy of a sequel, <a href="http://ctt.ec/Wedz1" target="_blank">please click to tweet</a> "I support @kaj33 and a sequel to Mycroft Holmes."<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet tw-align-center" data-lang="en">
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My fans know I love books & that I live to write so I need your support so my publisher will let me do the sequel. <a href="https://t.co/y4ERJa6Qrc">pic.twitter.com/y4ERJa6Qrc</a></div>
— Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (@kaj33) <a href="https://twitter.com/kaj33/status/723154585834147840">April 21, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><br />
<br />
We've got a couple of listener comments to share before getting to "Mental Exaltation," in which we welcome a listener to the show to play.<br />
<br />
And please be sure to check out our <a href="http://patreon.com/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">Patreon</a>, which means you can become a regular supporter of our show.<br />
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We close out with an original Editor's Gas-Lamp, "The Softer Holmes" from Vol. 7, No. 1 of the <i>Baker Street Journal</i>, which reflects on the softer Mycroft we find in Abdul-Jabbar's book.<br />
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<br />
We've already been getting some photos in, but if you do purchase one of our <a href="http://ihose.co/221Bstickers" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">221B or 1895 oval stickers</a>, please <a href="mailto:comment@ihearofsherlock.com" target="_blank">send us a picture</a> of where you've put it.</div>
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<h3>
Notes:</h3>
1:30 Introductory remarks and witty banter<br />
3:30 News (check out our new high-tech news theme music!)<br />
21:45 Ray Jessel performs at the 2010 BSI Dinner<br />
35:40 Interview with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Anna Waterhouse<br />
1:21:02 Sponsors - including one you shouldn't miss<br />
1:26:45 Announcing our <a href="http://patreon.com/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">Patreon</a> effort<br />
1:29:05 Listener comments<br />
1:32:21 Our quiz show "Mental Exaltation"<br />
1:41:47 The Editor's Gas-Lamp<br />
1:46:27 Final comments</div>
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<br />
And as usual, you might want to be sure you pay attention for a special <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_egg_(interaction_design)" target="_blank">Easter egg</a> somewhere in the show...<br />
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<a href="http://traffic.libsyn.com/ihearofsherlock/ihearofsherlock081.mp3" target="_blank">Download</a> [Save As] | File size 51.6 MB, 1:52:12</h4>
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<h3>
Links:</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/events/egnrzc" target="_blank">Sherlock Holmes - a Musical Mind</a> - BBC Prom 41</li>
<li><a _blank="" href="http://sherlockholmes.io/%20target=" target="_blank">Sherlock Holmes and the Internet of Things</a></li>
<li><a href="http://variety.com/2015/biz/news/mr-holmes-lawsuit-settlement-arthur-conan-doyle-1201585667/" target="_blank">The Conan Doyle Estate, Ltd. has triumphed over Miramax</a></li>
<li>And the inevitable happened: <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2015/08/conan-doyle-sues-own-estate-from-beyond.html#.VfhtQ_lViko" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Conan Doyle Sues Own Estate From Beyond the Grave</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2015/09/remembering-ray-jessel.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Remembering Ray Jessel</a>, composer of <i>Baker Street</i> songs</li>
<li>The <a href="http://patreon.com/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere Patreon</a> page</li>
</ul>
</div>
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<br />
Many more links, articles and images are available in our Flipboard and Scoop.it sites at <a href="http://ihose.co/flipsherlock" target="_blank">ihose.co/flipsherlock</a> and <a href="http://www.scoop.it/t/sherlock-holmes" target="_blank">ihose.co/scoopsherlock</a>, as well as on the <a href="https://plus.google.com/communities/114565123495685504221" target="_blank">The Sherlock Holmes Community</a> on Google+ (now over 2,800 members), as well as through our accounts on <a href="http://facebook.com/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">Twitter</a> and <a href="http://ihearofsherlock.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">Tumblr</a>.<br />
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<h3>
Sponsors</h3>
This episode includes two sponsors that deserve your attention:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.wessexpress.com/" target="_blank">Wessex Press</a> (check out the new <a href="http://wessexpress.com/html/newspaper.html" target="_blank"><i>Sherlock Holmes and Conan Doyle in the Newspapers Volume 1</i></a>)<br />
<a href="http://www.bakerstreetjournal.com/" target="_blank"><i>The Baker Street Journal</i></a>, where you should get <a href="http://www.bakerstreetjournal.com/itemsforsale/subscriptions.html" target="_blank">your annual subscription</a> in now to secure all four issues and a very special Christmas Annual about <i>The Seven Per-Cent Solution</i>.<br />
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Interested in becoming a sponsor? You can find <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/p/contact.html#.Vc1Qx7JViko" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">more information here</a>.</div>
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Episode 81: Mycroft Holmes

"Some of my most interesting cases have come to me in this way through Mycroft." [GREE] If asked, who would you say is th...

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by Scott Monty

Remembering Jeremy Brett 20 Years Later

<h4 style="text-align: center;">
"the stage lost a fine actor" [SCAN] </h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5iWmSgUZreZuL31HY5pCKhOluWkdM0F_vDpzMTL6fWZ1Ok3giNygYlfedO5o7pBeKnVf5GwlDi-TWOjw9bSzsfi1tUFAW38J3A9wks0D7Ynu4-gpOR2jchN-rGsb-1sE38O0PXAttV3T6/s1600/Jeremy+Brett.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5iWmSgUZreZuL31HY5pCKhOluWkdM0F_vDpzMTL6fWZ1Ok3giNygYlfedO5o7pBeKnVf5GwlDi-TWOjw9bSzsfi1tUFAW38J3A9wks0D7Ynu4-gpOR2jchN-rGsb-1sE38O0PXAttV3T6/s640/Jeremy+Brett.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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On September 12, 1995, Jeremy Brett passed away at the age of 61 (although <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1995/09/14/obituaries/jeremy-brett-an-unnerving-holmes-is-dead-at-59.html" target="_blank">contemporary accounts gave his age as 59</a>). It's hard to believe that one of the most influential impersonators of Sherlock Holmes has been gone 20 years.<br />
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Many have hailed Brett as the definitive Sherlock Holmes, although it can be argued that each generation has its own definitive Holmes. In our estimation, the value of Brett's performance in the Granada series are due in part to two things: 1) the careful crafting of the Victorian setting and (in the earlier episodes mostly) the faithful adaptation of the Canon; and 2) Brett's own interest and expertise in the Canon and Sherlock Holmes.<br />
<br />
In <a href="http://wessexpress.com/html/studyincelluloid.html" target="_blank"><i>A Study in Celluloid</i></a> (Wessex Press), Michael Cox, the producer of the Granada series, noted that often times in script readings, Jeremy would make suggestions to steer the writing toward the Canon, with entire paragraphs of dialog being lifted directly from the original writings. Indeed, the team even had their own reference guide that kept the production crew and cast well informed as to Holmes's appearance and habits called <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Baker-Street-File-Appearance/dp/1553100387/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=thebakerstree-20&linkId=5f8d2c46816d9f8dee1da87b0d047b79&linkCode=ktl" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Baker Street File</a><img border="0" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&t=thebakerstree-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=5f8d2c46816d9f8dee1da87b0d047b79&_cb=1442027544062" /></i>.<br />
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We personally remember the outpouring of grief and memories that Sherlock Holmes fans shared online in 1995 — the early days of the Internet — through discussion forums and listservs, and wonder just how the web would have exploded had his death occurred in the present day. Tumblr, Twitter and the like would have exploded with emotion.<br />
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Today, at Clapham Common in London, a number of people are gathering at the bandstand for <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1462453807302910" target="_blank">An International Celebration of Jeremy Brett's life, love and laugh</a>. That link will take you to the Facebook event page, where a number of comments and content related to the event and Brett are flowing in. Evidently, word is that David Burke, Brett's first Watson, will be in attendance.<br />
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Here are some happier memories of Brett, in his incarnation of Sherlock Holmes.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FcPb4FKUWWM?rel=0" width="640"></iframe></div>
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<br />
Anna Massey, Brett's ex-wife, wrote of his passing in her autobiography, <a amzn-ps-bm-asin="0099486946" class="amzn_ps_bm_tl" data-amzn-link-id="f322cbdcb87dbac416e871b740e54a43" data-amzn-ps-bm-keyword="Telling Some Tales" href="http://www.amazon.com/Telling-Some-Tales-Anna-Massey/dp/0099486946/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=thebakerstree-20&linkId=f322cbdcb87dbac416e871b740e54a43&linkCode=ktl" id="amznPsBmLink_3025115" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><i>Telling Some Tales</i></a><img alt="" border="0" height="0" id="amznPsBmPixel_3025115" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&t=thebakerstree-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=f322cbdcb87dbac416e871b740e54a43&_cb=1442028899302" style="border: none !important; height: 0px !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; width: 0px !important;" width="0" />, "A light went out in many people's lives when he died, for he was one of life's true originals."<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwyxGB3tDRdYqlKHOoLmQC0G1LfHiSdJNO-PAHUUIIuujr2nKBRsqWJg8MCLv2W-P3gNN_lPy4v8uj3zJwt9W-p1KT-c7PHNfRHZWVbYlYeIyF7U3-BIoJ5jMXJv9s41LXF7MVz83ciiFW/s1600/Jeremy+Brett+SIGN.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwyxGB3tDRdYqlKHOoLmQC0G1LfHiSdJNO-PAHUUIIuujr2nKBRsqWJg8MCLv2W-P3gNN_lPy4v8uj3zJwt9W-p1KT-c7PHNfRHZWVbYlYeIyF7U3-BIoJ5jMXJv9s41LXF7MVz83ciiFW/s640/Jeremy+Brett+SIGN.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Courtesy of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/FalkArchive?fref=ts" target="_blank">The Falk Archive - "KFA"</a></td></tr>
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Farewell again, Jeremy Brett. We appreciate you making the world of Sherlock Holmes the sweeter for your presence.<br />
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<i>Image credit: <a href="http://double-zero-agent-alison.tumblr.com/post/110362909075/original-still-of-jeremy-from-sign" target="_blank">Tumblr</a></i><br />
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<a href="http://wessexpress.com/html/studyincelluloid.html" style="background-color: white; color: #006f85; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22.4px; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="A Study in Celluloid - Michael Cox, producer of the Granada Sherlock Holmes series, takes readers behind the scenes with Jeremy Brett." border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQculGPSH9NlP6E-OGueAgqPyhYx63uOn1lN1zV4VnJ6OG-UtIms8O0b07DPWXmhoEPymZfMiIVoglU94utYUnYcPXvhLrJ3G7qbK56Faq4kXpuPb3J6u0RqNjR5XcXbXtWSsd2HHwSESp/s1600/celluloid350.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" title="A Study in Celluloid" width="128" /></a>    <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00L2YXV2W/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00L2YXV2W&linkCode=as2&tag=thebakerstree-20&linkId=EZ6WDYITZARHRE2G"><img border="0" src="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B00L2YXV2W&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=thebakerstree-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=thebakerstree-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00L2YXV2W" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />

Remembering Jeremy Brett 20 Years Later

"the stage lost a fine actor" [SCAN] On September 12, 1995, Jeremy Brett passed away at the age of 61 (although contemporar...

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by Scott Monty

Groombridge Place, a Sherlock Holmes Inspiration, Celebrates Conan Doyle Month

<h4 style="text-align: center;">
"The only approach to the house was over a drawbridge" [VALL]</h4>
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<br />
If you happen to be in or near Royal Tunbridge Wells in Kent, by all means make your way to Groombridge Place. Any time will do, but particularly in September, 2015 when it's <a href="http://www.groombridgeplace.com/news-index/celebrate-conan-doyle-month-at-groombridge-place" target="_blank">Conan Doyle Month</a> there.<br />
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Conan Doyle was a Crowborough resident and was friends with the owners of Groombridge Place during the early 1900s.  He visited the house frequently as a guest and used it as inspiration for <i>The Valley of Fear</i> in 1914.</div>
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<div>
According to the <a href="http://groombridgeplace.com/events-at-groombridge-place/" target="_blank">Groombridge Place website</a>, here are the details for the month's celebrations:</div>
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<br />
Every Tuesday, Thursday and Friday throughout September tickets will be available for "Sherlock Holmes and <i>The Valley of Fear</i>" guided tour (1pm and 2pm). Tickets £2.50 per person, available in advance or on the day.<br />
<ul>
<li>Saturday 19 September ‘The Homecoming’ Sherlock Holmes Murder Mystery and Dinner (7pm – 10:30pm) £40 per person *Booking essential*</li>
<li>Saturday 19 September  ‘Sherlock Holmes: The myth and the facts’ Illustrated talk with Dr Antony Richards 4pm – 5pm £2 per person, pay on the door or in advance  *Booking essential*</li>
<li>Friday 25, Saturday 26, Sunday 27 September ‘Remembering Sir Arthur…’</li>
<li>Theatre Evening – includes tapas and wine in our café and a performance in the adjacent Conan Doyle Theatre.  Choice of performances at 7:45pm and 8:45pm, with tapas available from 7pm until 10pm.  Tickets £20 per person, includes choice of 3 tapas, and a glass of wine. *Booking essential* </li>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6rKrx6G07suHRWV73c1jTkRhjt4ST1jQOV3LHfZocMeQ86jMy6CDNz9aZ0l10xmJZjC1bcNyIIo_mvcWkrU7eSTx9l1RIf6RjOrkUpg0za3zWYfVMht4dYiJGKQbeemEb3G2GS0OtOiPr/s1600/GroombridgePlace1920s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6rKrx6G07suHRWV73c1jTkRhjt4ST1jQOV3LHfZocMeQ86jMy6CDNz9aZ0l10xmJZjC1bcNyIIo_mvcWkrU7eSTx9l1RIf6RjOrkUpg0za3zWYfVMht4dYiJGKQbeemEb3G2GS0OtOiPr/s640/GroombridgePlace1920s.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b><h3>
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"A Case of Identity"</h4>
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Aside from the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groombridge_Place" target="_blank">fascinating history of Groombridge Place</a>, the property should be of interest to Sherlockians because of its associations with the Manor House of Birlstone in <i>The Valley of Fear</i>. But first a little history in the identification.<br />
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H.W. Bell, BSI ("<i>The Valley of Fear</i>") was one of the early and great Sherlockian scholars and Baker Street Irregulars. Bell was a Bostonian (being an inveterate member of The Speckled Band of Boston) who carried on correspondence with a number of other Sherlockians, including Dorothy Sayers and Edgar Smith. Smith was impressed with Bell's <i>Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson: The Chronology of Their Adventures</i> (1932) and he included Bell's "Three Identifications" in <i>Profile by Gaslight</i> in 1944. It was in this monograph that Bell determined that Birlstone Manor was based on The Moated House at Brambletye. In 1945, the year after the BSI began issuing investitures, Bell received his — "The Valley of Fear" — specifically because of this (and it should be noted that the four novels — STUD, SIGN, HOUN and VALL — were considered uber-investitures and were given to some of the earliest and most significant Sherlockians of the day: Vincent Starrett, Christopher Morley, Edgar Smith and Bell, respectively).<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim1g8rrtvsAO5gkQ0Eu5JCede-xjmKjvEJ1Yjabs2IlT30IUUu1TvR92Ef6v_e7waf8l6gK3uJL6eTRQMFUS3NYnD8J2JAkeTJ3UWMNJ6eBBn_kdZYjFJD0oJHM78_9pWGbSInLQhU5Td8/s1600/Brambletye.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="H.W. Bell's identification of Birlstone Manor" border="0" height="441" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim1g8rrtvsAO5gkQ0Eu5JCede-xjmKjvEJ1Yjabs2IlT30IUUu1TvR92Ef6v_e7waf8l6gK3uJL6eTRQMFUS3NYnD8J2JAkeTJ3UWMNJ6eBBn_kdZYjFJD0oJHM78_9pWGbSInLQhU5Td8/s640/Brambletye.jpg" title="The Moated House at Brambletye" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Moated House at Brambletye</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
However, in <i><a amzn-ps-bm-asin="B000MPFJWW" class="amzn_ps_bm_tl" data-amzn-link-id="430d0d373faf6cb79323b6e4075dd45d" data-amzn-ps-bm-keyword="Montgomery's Christmas Annual 1955" href="http://www.amazon.com/MONTGOMERYS-CHRISTMAS-ANNUAL-1955-IDENTITY/dp/B000MPFJWW/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=thebakerstree-20&linkId=430d0d373faf6cb79323b6e4075dd45d&linkCode=ktl" id="amznPsBmLink_5185228" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Montgomery's Christmas Annual 1955</a><img alt="" border="0" height="0" id="amznPsBmPixel_5185228" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&t=thebakerstree-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=430d0d373faf6cb79323b6e4075dd45d&_cb=1441856427386" style="border: none !important; height: 0px !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; width: 0px !important;" width="0" /></i>, James Montgomery, BSI ("The Red Circle") took up another investigation — "A Case of Identity," as he called his entry — and respectfully corrected Bell's misinformation after having lunch with James Keddie, Jr., BSI ("The Crooked Man"), Cheetah of The Speckled Band, in 1954. Keddie had with him three leaves from a second printing of <i>The Valley of Fear</i>, published in 1915 — one of which included this inscription from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle himself:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2_otDhZh-6aVTqecA0hljY8OVzGcRP6s2MO0YohUmDQHoCTB0jCSluuw8P3YppjhpCJ7YngkioYpQNjj89euR8uxdO6EUxcdAX9Y361i1uZU7mJH_MeJ2D71e9GB6TSUJ9rRI1d59iIBk/s1600/Brambletye-VALL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="412" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2_otDhZh-6aVTqecA0hljY8OVzGcRP6s2MO0YohUmDQHoCTB0jCSluuw8P3YppjhpCJ7YngkioYpQNjj89euR8uxdO6EUxcdAX9Y361i1uZU7mJH_MeJ2D71e9GB6TSUJ9rRI1d59iIBk/s640/Brambletye-VALL.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"With all kind remembrance from Arthur Conan Doyle who hopes you have pleasant memories of Groombridge House which is the old house herein described. June 22/21."</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
That settled the matter nicely.<br />
<br />
But what of the "old house" itself? Here we have the description of Birlstone Manor from VALL:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
About half a mile from the town, standing in an old park famous for its huge beech trees, is the ancient Manor House of Birlstone. Part of this venerable building dates back to the time of the first Crusade, when Hugo de Capus built a fortalice in the centre of the estate, which had been granted to him by the Red King. This was destroyed by fire in 1543, and some of its smoke-blackened corner-stones were used when, in Jacobean times, a brick country house rose upon the ruins of the feudal castle. The Manor House, with its many gables and its small, diamond-paned windows, was still much as the builder had left it in the early seventeenth century. Of the double moats which had guarded its more warlike predecessor the outer had been allowed to dry up, and served the humble function of a kitchen garden. The inner one was still there, and lay, forty feet in breadth, though now only a few feet in depth, round the whole house. A small stream fed it and continued beyond it, so that the sheet of water, though turbid, was never ditch-like or unhealthy. The ground floor windows were within a foot of the surface of the water. The only approach to the house was over a drawbridge, the chains and windlass of which had long been rusted and broken. The latest tenants of the Manor House had, however, with characteristic energy, set this right, and the drawbridge was not only capable of being raised, but actually was raised every evening and lowered every morning. By thus renewing the custom of the old feudal days the Manor House was converted into an island during the night - a fact which had a very direct bearing upon the mystery which was soon to engage the attention of all England."</blockquote>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGcl9eSsuT4dW78areUT1M9S3sySZxjILidzlPWhm_fsi28eFEB9xibixkCCm451HdQHPbdXLTG4Eytim4xwxVx8AuS1BpzZxaK3WZY7fwcSV18JE4YwUlyc0XHqJri9UV4WOHBm8tHHBa/s1600/img008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGcl9eSsuT4dW78areUT1M9S3sySZxjILidzlPWhm_fsi28eFEB9xibixkCCm451HdQHPbdXLTG4Eytim4xwxVx8AuS1BpzZxaK3WZY7fwcSV18JE4YwUlyc0XHqJri9UV4WOHBm8tHHBa/s640/img008.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Map of Groombridge Place, Plate IX from <i>Montgomery's Christmas Annual 1955: A Case of Identity</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
So let's take a look at some of the grounds and the house that inspired Conan Doyle to create Birlstone Manor. All images are plates from <i>Montgomery's Christmas Annual 1955: A Case of Identity</i>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz30PQfp7XYehzIlI7PNrJ7JWLLdSQ90rmmegCFzaMgQCDld0rFPzX0CNr1_3Q4cbqtik-9TPmcfouq8furCHlRozyJloU_tkjLR51NVy2-vGQ_VD4160cWPas2Gvvj-QHnQgZhaIP96d9/s1600/Groombridge004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="414" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz30PQfp7XYehzIlI7PNrJ7JWLLdSQ90rmmegCFzaMgQCDld0rFPzX0CNr1_3Q4cbqtik-9TPmcfouq8furCHlRozyJloU_tkjLR51NVy2-vGQ_VD4160cWPas2Gvvj-QHnQgZhaIP96d9/s640/Groombridge004.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Plate XII: "The long, low, Jacobean house of dingy, liver-coloured brick lay before us."</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyYASfxtpfcuk6zjpREqNt-FwAWsPnxR5Ou5oYK9dP6WrVuWj9x6MDk1F7bMUAvQbtNtZNRHoOMPPjXNDierJKDTe8HEL8VYIReXtJIZLtHR3hmUFx8r7vcMplV8xCGSwmZH6a8zEPloav/s1600/Groombridge003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="408" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyYASfxtpfcuk6zjpREqNt-FwAWsPnxR5Ou5oYK9dP6WrVuWj9x6MDk1F7bMUAvQbtNtZNRHoOMPPjXNDierJKDTe8HEL8VYIReXtJIZLtHR3hmUFx8r7vcMplV8xCGSwmZH6a8zEPloav/s640/Groombridge003.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Plate XIII: "The long sweep of the dull-coloured, water-lapped front."</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOSVF6hyphenhyphenX6zypLhsa8yVXass66WTOFIHalSZm76JOXT2cInnYfRPpX9SHISYNp5w7RooDx57HVuYcALjlJOVDWAF4hjJa6HpYE4A80o09odFDcryVYfOSorfE_yHp1CsMEjrlvDw9FWnNK/s1600/Groombridge002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="416" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOSVF6hyphenhyphenX6zypLhsa8yVXass66WTOFIHalSZm76JOXT2cInnYfRPpX9SHISYNp5w7RooDx57HVuYcALjlJOVDWAF4hjJa6HpYE4A80o09odFDcryVYfOSorfE_yHp1CsMEjrlvDw9FWnNK/s640/Groombridge002.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Plate XIV: "The Manor House, with its many gables and its small, diamond-paned windows."</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho9NbdH82ljpdRrcWjKReGrVc5bJHDZd4JWuXwidbp-beD8yP_W8XDECWuT_kDA4rS33xBRFuJkDx69g4fdlPzVvwN199Pydf-dy0JrEMZlSmHK74yX-nQTlaM92jHiToSdcs-BEMWoS27/s1600/Groombridge001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="408" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho9NbdH82ljpdRrcWjKReGrVc5bJHDZd4JWuXwidbp-beD8yP_W8XDECWuT_kDA4rS33xBRFuJkDx69g4fdlPzVvwN199Pydf-dy0JrEMZlSmHK74yX-nQTlaM92jHiToSdcs-BEMWoS27/s640/Groombridge001.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Plate XV: "The only approach to the house was over a drawbridge."</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4hH9ZBmxL3NTVNVCwMjsGZmC7DRgqqlzdmwa53i_WDmPDpzos3kEb6vYkH98P3b2gk_F3-tsLAf1-Jju_ad6el7UOszawyKfzmrNeqb0NFKXrEdN_ksIvtOVZ_8vmVMbDOPeTCiKy-iNy/s1600/Groombridge007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="414" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4hH9ZBmxL3NTVNVCwMjsGZmC7DRgqqlzdmwa53i_WDmPDpzos3kEb6vYkH98P3b2gk_F3-tsLAf1-Jju_ad6el7UOszawyKfzmrNeqb0NFKXrEdN_ksIvtOVZ_8vmVMbDOPeTCiKy-iNy/s640/Groombridge007.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Plate XVI: "Those strange peaked roofs and quaint overhung gables were a fitting covering to grim and terrible intrigue."</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC0s65PD65GTUAYfDsjd_n9KSed9i9MHGb1HJXRi_O3jwjvh93pzZLz6bQCMzqATtw388ZdJsssPpF1cP2cLABWIPOnwPblDJDIbE8QEg2zRJa2lVkFjIHEgzdj48UqpcBro_HktY4ayYH/s1600/Groombridge008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="452" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC0s65PD65GTUAYfDsjd_n9KSed9i9MHGb1HJXRi_O3jwjvh93pzZLz6bQCMzqATtw388ZdJsssPpF1cP2cLABWIPOnwPblDJDIbE8QEg2zRJa2lVkFjIHEgzdj48UqpcBro_HktY4ayYH/s640/Groombridge008.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Plate XVII: "Forty feet in breadth, though now only a few feet in depth."</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh5NZoCsaoJj3mmFkZadKrsfKwW5vruGpVkHJDyMmFakcgOFAyHMe6pO_AXD03x-s_cGMqLsLT37hrbMugYJjzD7TF7QxSYW90l_S-uoJwf6_xxWWu3ypgXEdM0OcQg7IoCQWF-yHhzq4V/s1600/Groombridge005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh5NZoCsaoJj3mmFkZadKrsfKwW5vruGpVkHJDyMmFakcgOFAyHMe6pO_AXD03x-s_cGMqLsLT37hrbMugYJjzD7TF7QxSYW90l_S-uoJwf6_xxWWu3ypgXEdM0OcQg7IoCQWF-yHhzq4V/s640/Groombridge005.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Plate XVIII: "The beautiful broad moat, as still and luminous as quicksilver."</td></tr>
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As Montgomery wrote, "Pitifully few are the shrines made forever sacred to us by Sherlock Holmes and his faithful companion." Groombridge Place is a poignant and clear one that should be enjoyed by all. Particularly this month.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoHVSbUKLfDH8Pq5kd3-0YZ6FuMM1FDxGlzZMQciyGJbpMGr-uHsjE8gT9bRwFER5hAI7jbxBzbkEKn31CY4ynfNU_dYnno579xQYe5CzGpmyNGmYZXXRyN79sg34csIv3wG4zYTl1_LSo/s1600/img027.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoHVSbUKLfDH8Pq5kd3-0YZ6FuMM1FDxGlzZMQciyGJbpMGr-uHsjE8gT9bRwFER5hAI7jbxBzbkEKn31CY4ynfNU_dYnno579xQYe5CzGpmyNGmYZXXRyN79sg34csIv3wG4zYTl1_LSo/s200/img027.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
[<b><i>Editor's note:</i></b> we have an extra copy of <b><i>Montgomery's Christmas Annual 1955</i></b>. There were only 300 copies printed, and they were distributed by James Montgomery's widow Constance following his sudden death on November 9, 1955. If you are interested in purchasing it from us, please <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/p/contact.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">get in touch</a>.]<br />
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<i>Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons (<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Groombridge02.jpg#/media/File:Groombridge02.jpg" target="_blank">"Groombridge02" by Hans Bernhard (Schnobby)</a>).</i><br />
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Groombridge Place, a Sherlock Holmes Inspiration, Celebrates Conan Doyle Month

"The only approach to the house was over a drawbridge" [VALL] If you happen to be in or near Royal Tunbridge Wells in Kent,...

+ Read more »

by Scott Monty

British Monarchs in the Sherlock Holmes Stories

<h4 style="text-align: center;">
"<i>Some Observations upon the Segregation of the Queen</i>" [LAST]</h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibKb6ig_YnUkg1IXFV7w9mk0m50a4lCi4Te2UpA7MKXYnvciQy6hZGxOK6X_tF-bqAojHwCAONNgv8NpocUBgjinmux_r26peRAYvLN9oht5ZjqIVEsmg4qR_TkWDIfP5VB93zaV6WiaeP/s1600/Queen_Victoria_by_Heinrich_von_Angeli.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="390" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibKb6ig_YnUkg1IXFV7w9mk0m50a4lCi4Te2UpA7MKXYnvciQy6hZGxOK6X_tF-bqAojHwCAONNgv8NpocUBgjinmux_r26peRAYvLN9oht5ZjqIVEsmg4qR_TkWDIfP5VB93zaV6WiaeP/s640/Queen_Victoria_by_Heinrich_von_Angeli.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Queen Victoria is still "a certain gracious lady", as Watson calls her in "The Bruce-Partington Plans", but she loses an important historical distinction today. She is no longer the longest-reigning British monarch; Elizabeth II, who has been Queen since February 6, 1952, <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2015/09/queen-elizabeth-ii-surpasses-queen.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">has now been on the throne for longer</a>.<br />
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Victoria reigned for 63 years 216 days (or 23,226 days, as Buckingham Palace prefers to calculate it), from June 1837 to January 1901. Sherlock Holmes "began his adventures in the very heart of the later Victorian era," as Arthur Conan Doyle wrote in the introduction to <i><a amzn-ps-bm-asin="B005LI3H4C" class="amzn_ps_bm_tl" data-amzn-link-id="45c77ccaff0a0e9a620369a74c78c9a4" data-amzn-ps-bm-keyword="The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes" href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Case-Book-Sherlock-Holmes-ebook/dp/B005LI3H4C/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=thebakerstree-20&linkId=45c77ccaff0a0e9a620369a74c78c9a4&linkCode=ktl" id="amznPsBmLink_5075984" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes</a><img alt="" border="0" height="0" id="amznPsBmPixel_5075984" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&t=thebakerstree-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=45c77ccaff0a0e9a620369a74c78c9a4&_cb=1441813983225" style="border: none !important; height: 0px !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; width: 0px !important;" width="0" /></i>, and Sherlockians are among those who know something of the respect and affection she inspired. Holmes himself felt patriotic sentiments towards the Queen-Empress, with the "VR" for Victoria Regina that he inscribed on Mrs. Hudson's wall in bullet-pocks. <br />
<br />
The present Queen is Victoria's great-great-granddaughter, which may seem like a very great gap, but consider this: Winston Churchill, who was Elizabeth's first prime minister, was already a Member of Parliament while Victoria was still on the throne. Christopher Morley, Basil Rathbone, Edith Meiser, Sir Sydney Roberts, Dorothy Sayers, Raymond Massey and Mary Louise Conan Doyle are among people with Sherlockian connections who were alive in both reigns.<br />
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Queen Victoria's Golden and Diamond Jubilees (1887 and 1897 respectively) seem to have an attraction for pastiche authors, but the canon itself has only one casual mention, in "The Dancing Men", when Hilton Cubitt "came up to London" for the celebrations. He is not clear which Jubilee that was, but most chronologists seem to favour the latter. Queen Elizabeth marked her Golden Jubilee in 2002 and her Diamond Jubilee in 2012. <br />
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In case anyone is wondering who holds third place in the standings, behind Elizabeth and Victoria in length of service on the British throne, that would be George III, who reigned from October 1760 to January 1820. And he certainly figures in the canon, with that memorable line in "The Noble Bachelor" about "the folly of a monarch in far-gone years".<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
<b>Giveaway</b></h3>
<div>
At least nine other British or English monarchs are also mentioned in the Canon: William I, William II, Edward I, James I, Charles I, Charles II, Anne, George II, and George IV. We have a prize from the I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere Grab-Bag of Gifts (IHOSE GBG) for anyone who<b style="font-style: italic;"> can name the stories in which these nine monarchs appear</b>. Leave your answer in the form of a comment below, on our <a href="http://facebook.com/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">Facebook page</a>, or tweet us (<a href="http://twitter.com/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">@ihearofsherlock</a>) with the hashtag #9monarchs and use the <a href="http://ihose.co/ABREV" target="_blank">Jay Finley Christ abbreviations</a> for the story names.<br />
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Good luck and God save the Queen!<br />
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