Arthur Conan Doyle Books

Add the classic indespensibility of Sherlock Holmes to the brilliant audio performances of David Timson - rivaled only by Jim Dale - and you get an undeniable necessity to any audiobook collection (especially if there are children!).

William S. Baring-Gould (1913-1967) was one of the greatest Sherlock Holmes scholars ever. Publishing several works on Holmes publically and privately, this annotation of the Holmes canon is perhaps his greatest work, and was his last. Published in 1967, the copyright inscription shows that it is held by his widow, Lucile M. Baring-Gould. This particular listing is for the one-volume edition of the earlier two-volumes-and-a-slip-cover edition produced earlier. They both have the same text.

Baring-Gould himself was a life-long devotee of Holmes in particular, and mysteries in general. He is also noted for the fictional biography of Nero Wolfe, in which he puts forward the idea that Nero Wolfe is the son of Sherlock Holmes, via THE woman, Irene Adler, of 'A Scandal in Bohemia'.

Sherlock Holmes is one of the best known detectives in the world -- so famous in fact, that 221B Baker Street in London continues to get mail adddressed to this fictional character almost a century after he would have died had he been a real person. There are groups of people -- Sherlockians and Holmesians, the distinction between which is rather subtle -- who delight in retelling the tales. There are forever questions and debates about the ordering of the stories; Baring-Gould is one authority often referred to in these debates, thanks to his work on the Chronology of Holmes, used as a framework for this annotated book.

Baring-Gould breaks the time frame into the follow divisions:

- The Early Holmes (1874 - 1879)
- The Partnership with Watson to Watson's first marriage (1881 - 1886)
- Watson marriage to his wife's death (1886 - 1887)
- Partnership until Watson's second marriage (1887- 1889)
- Watson's second marriage to Holmes' disappearance (1889 - 1891)
- Holmes' return to Watson's third marriage (1894 - 1902)
- The end of the Partnership (1903)
- Sherlock Holmes in Retirement (1909)
- An epilogue (1914)

Baring-Gould introduces the series with a 12-part series of essays that look at various aspects of the Sherlock Holmes legend, including foreign translations, translation into stage and screen, and highlights of particular personalities (Watson, Moriarty). He includes a wonderful brief essay by Edgar W. Smith, an early Sherlockian, which asks (and answers) the question, 'What is it that we love in Sherlock Holmes?' In the end, beyond the setting and the culture and the chase, it is the values 'implicit and eternal in ourselves' that we recognise as manifest in Holmes that keeps him an enduring character.

This volume is the complete text of all short stories and novels, backed up with an almost equivalent amount of textual annotation, richly accentuated with photographs, engravings, maps, and other graphics (diagrams, coats-of-arms), often taken from Holmesian sources such as journals, playbills, early editions, and even 'The Strand' magazine.

Sherlock Holmes introduces us to a world foreign yet familiar, past yet somehow present -- the stories are very contextually bound yet timeless in almost inexplicable ways, and present mysteries beyond the face-value plots. Baring-Gould's love for his subject is very apparent throughout the over 800 pages of this book.

Baring-Gould's work is my favourite of all my Holmes books. It is must for any fan of Holmes.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) is best known as the creator of the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. This outstanding biography by Hesketh Pearson (and wonderfully narrated by Tim Pigott-Smith) reveals Doyle's many other accomplishments, including how he came to the profession of medicine, his activities as a war correspondent, his eventual interest in spiritualism, as well as his many other writings. Ironically, Doyle felt his Sherlock Holmes stories to be the least of his literary works while prizing his now largely forgotten major historical novels. Here too is the story of Doyle as a husband, including the death of his first wife and the enduring affection of his second marriage. A true "rags to riches" tale, Arthur Conan Doyle: A Life is a technically flawless production with musical interludes and cues that is a "must" for anyone who has ever thrilled at one of his immortal stories.

Let me get my one negative comment, if that is what it is, out of the way at the beginning: Charles Viney's THE AUTHENTIC WORLD OF SHERLOCK HOLMES (the item currently for sale through Amazon.com) is an exact, page-by-page reproduction of SHERLOCK HOLMES IN LONDON, an earlier edition of the same material, now out of print. (The only differences are the title and dustjacket.) The book for sale here is well worth having, but you probably won't need both for your own collection, unless you're possessed of a "collecting mania" rivaling that of Baron Gruner's - Sherlockians will understand the reference. Therefore, be forewarned.

That caveat made, let me strongly recommend this excellent collection of period photographs, offered here at a very modest price. Viney has hit upon the wonderful idea of linking the images of the imperial city with Holmes's cases, accompanied by relevant extracts from the stories. He includes, as an appendix, a period ordnance map of London (c. 1888), where you can locate every major building, street, circus, alley and mew.

Now for Sherlockians the opportunity to spend more time with Mr. Holmes, which this lovely book provides, is self-recommending. Yet for a more general reader, whose interests might include history, Victorian culture and London, this book also has much to offer.

For in addition to creating Mr. Holmes, a figure who would become, as the OXFORD COMPANION TO ENGLISH LITERATURE notes, the most famous character in the literature of the world, another of Conan Doyle's great achievements was to deal through each case with an issue then current in contemporary British society. Bicycles are becoming the object of a fad, particularly giving women, literally, greater mobility, and you have THE ADVENTURE OF THE SOLITARY CYCLIST. Impoverished English nobles given to marrying wealthy American young ladies: THE NOBLE BACHELOR. The espionage that surrounds international power politics: THE NAVAL TREATY and THE BRUCE PARTINGTON PLANS. But even secondary details, only dealt with in passing - Londoner's love of Turkish Baths, for example, are displayed within the Holmesian canon, as in THE ILLUSTRIOUS CLIENT. All can be found as one spends time with the world's first consulting detective. Viney's book gives pictorial evidence of that London culture, physical clues as to how they lived then; how the great metropolis looked to the great sleuth who wished to know it with precision.

May I make one more suggestion? For those who love London as I do, whether you are a Sherlockian or someone with an interest in the capital city of Victorian culture, please check out Felix Barker's book LONDON IN OLD PHOTOGRAPHS. (Currently available through Amazon.com.) This too shows the great town through period photographs. As Mr. Barker has arranged them, these images will lead you on walking tours through London from the Strand to Saint Paul's; from the corner of Baker and Oxford Streets to the Bank of England. This too, is a book to treasure.

The world of Sherlock Holmes is primarily contained in the canon of short stories and novels of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Added to this relatively short list of pieces is an ever-growing body of extra-canonical tales, some derivative of details and clues left in the canon, and others extrapolations of the characters found in the Conan Doyle texts set in new situations. Beyond this, there are analyses, pictorial and filmographic studies, essays, plays, collections, travelogues, dictionaries and encyclopedias, and more. The body of work grows regularly.

Every Sherlockian and Holmesian dreams of retelling the tale in his own words, from his own perspective, with his own chronology and unique starting point. This brief text by Holroyd starts with an imaginary visit of Conan Doyle to the home of Holmes and Watson, but this, alas was not to be for him. His search for the intersection of Holmes and 'reality' takes him to actual foot journeys around London (including a search for the real location of 221B Baker Street, perhaps the most famous address that never existed). He explores the drawings of Sidney Paget, Dorr Steele and others. He searches the solutions in the stories themselves for clues, as well as the characters.

Holroyd provides an interesting 'who's who' of Baker Street Regulars as the final essay, giving portraits (snapshots, really) of the key players, princes and villains alike, in the stories. Details are important, as Holmes might say, but a general view of the players is also very useful for those who'd like a refresher.

James Edward Holroyd was chairman and a founding member of the Sherlock Holmes Society of London, and belongs to many other such groups around the world. His passion for his subject is evident on every page, and each essay is brief enough to be thoroughly enjoyed in a short amount of time. This book makes good companion reading while going through the canon of stories themselves.

This is an excellent selection of classic BSI (Baker Street Irregulars) and other criticism on the Sherlock Holmes stories, with entries by such famous Sherlockians as Rex Stout, Vincent Starrett, Christopher Morley, etc. Most of the individual articles are available elsewhere, but as a compiliation of essential writings about Holmes this is hard to beat. Mr. Shreffler does a fine job of sorting the wheat from the chaff -- I have dozens of books on this subject, and if you are only going to purchase one Sherlockian book in your life (but who in their right mind would ever do that?), this book would be a fair choice.

Two potential caveats for newcomers: 1) I am not sure why this book is so expensive; perhaps the number of remaining copies is limited. When I acquired my copy a few years ago, it was substantially cheaper. If you're on a tight budget, you can probably get more Sherlockian bang for your buck elsewhere. 2) Keep in mind that this is almost entirely a compilation of SHERLOCKIAN criticism, as opposed to the more conventional brand. In other words, the articles proceed under the tongue-in-cheek assumption that Holmes & Watson were real people -- thus, this book will probably not help you very much if you are looking for sources for an academic, literary study of Doyle's work. If you are reading for personal enjoyment, though, and have the cash, it's great fun, and **highly** recommended.

A fine addition to this volume would be Shreffler's "Sherlock Holmes by Gas-Lamp", which includes highlights of the first 40 years of the Baker Street Journal.

I teach ESL (ELL) in middle school and I use the Dominoes series in my class. The kids love them and they learn so much using them. We start out with the starter and work our way up to the more difficult books as the year progresses. The books are short--just six chapters, and there are fun activities at the end of each chapter.

Super service and book exactly as described. Will buy again!

In this story, it's fairly obvious WHO done it right from the beginning, but HOW is the mystery. Two sisters, heiresses, are living with their stepfather. One dies tragically and mysteriously, with only enough time to tell her sister that it was the speckled band that caused her death. Now the other sisters life is in danger. Sherlock has to discover what the speckled band is in time to save her life. Soon he and Watson find their own lives in danger. The story is a fascinating mystery/adventure, with just a touch of the exotic, well-written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

This is the final recording in the series, completing the David Timson readings of the Sherlock Holmes canon on Naxos (there are sixteen in all). Although some of these are among the weakest of Doyle's output, Timson gives them new life with his spirited readings. For example, The Lion's Mane never felt so exciting when I read it in the past. As a bonus, there's a fine pastiche by Timson himself that does justice to his literary talents.

One warning - finding all of these is not easy because Amazon doesn't seem to catalog them all in the same fashion. When you search for "Sherlock Holmes Audio CD", for example, only some of them come up. I had the most success searching for "David Timson Audio CD".