Almost put it in my pocket. . .

While visiting a small Carnegie Library on Friday I checked out the shelves for Sherlock Holmes books.

This library is celebrating it's first one hundred years this summer.

In the old part of the library the shelves are just as old as the building.
And many of the books pre-date the building its self.

We found many copies from the late 1800's

Like I said, I went looking for Sherlock Holmes books, and more specifically any works by Doyle.

I found the four shown copies you see in the picture. (No not the Roddy Doyle one, the one to the right of it.)

While I have seen individual copies of The Complete Sherlock Holmes, The White Company and the Lost World before, I had never seen a copy of Great Shadow.

 I looked inside and found the copyright date on this addition as 1920.

Wow!

While the thought of slipping it into my pocket was only fleeting, I can not fib and say the thought of finding some way to get it home did not cross my mind.

But it still rests on the shelf where I noticed it.

May ask the librarian if I can make a donation some day to acquire it.

We'll see.

I did find another couple of books in the romance section that had Holmes' name in the title.

While at the library yesterday . . .

. . . . this book was in the 'New Fiction' area.

I will let you know what I think.

Did anyone read It!

Apparently when a doll house was made for Queen Mary, started in 1920, that contained a new Sherlock Holmes story written by ACD.
Did anyone read it?

Somewhere in this little library is there an unknown Sherlock Holmes story?

Some nice photos.


And yes it has been read.

The Criminal Mastermind of Baker Street by Rob Nunn - A review.

Like I said in my previous post, this is not a book I would have picked up on my own.

I don't like reading books about Holmes that takes him out of my comfort zone.

Rob asked my to take a look at his first book and give my thoughts.

What Rob has done is take a fun exploration into Holmes career as if he had taken that once suggested path down the road to a career in crime.

Rob has connected in some way all sixty of the stories into a web of crime that only Moriarty could appreciate.
Smoothly blending many of the habits and traits we love about Holmes  while adding an almost noble veneer to a mob boss in Victorian London.

He has not taken the heart that is inside Holmes and Watson and made them Moriarty like in that of a one dimensional crime boss, but instead has tried to make their new life explainable and acceptable.

Most of the places and characters we love make an appearance in the book and make it feel familiar.

The Holmes in Criminal Mastermind is a crime boss for the little people, with at times a Robin Hood like air.

If I am to find any faults with Robs first book it would be that on a couple of occasions the conclusions seemed abbreviated or too quick to come to an end.

And with any tale of Holmes and Watson I would have liked to have seen them written in Watson's hand.

Rob's writing is very good and you can tell he has a background in education and a love for his subject.

I enjoyed the book and look forward to more works from Rob Nunn.

The Criminal Mastermind of Baker St. by Rob Nunn - A book review to follow.

I do not usually read books that take Holmes and Watson out of my comfort zone. I am happy to have Holmes and Watson live at Baker St. and be my dynamic duo with all the best intentions.

But a local Sherlockian that I have met and correspond with has asked me to review his latest book.

So while it seems to take Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson down a path I would never consider, I must admit I am looking forward to reading it..

So, in the next couple of days, be looking for my thoughts on Rob's new book.

Young Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes goes to prep school in Ridley Pearson's 'Lock and Key: The Downward Spiral'

Story Here.

In the (book) news.

Manchester, NH – Sherlock Holmes fans unite: Belanger Books LLC and Arkham House Publishers Inc. recently launched a Kickstarter campaign to publish the first new Solar Pons story collection in over 20 years.  

“It is with great pleasure & excitement to announce this news; The Derleth Solar Pons character will be coming back to life in the 21st Century!” said Danielle Hackett and Damon Derleth, co-owners of Arkham House Publishers Inc., in a joint statement. “We are pleased to be working on this project with Belanger Books and look forward to this release and future projects together.”

The story collection is titled The Papers of Solar Pons: New Adventures of the Sherlock Holmes of Praed Street and features new stories by bestselling author David Marcum. Marcum is most known for his Sherlock Holmes fiction (The Papers of Sherlock Holmes) as well as collections he’s edited such as The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes stories, currently on Volume VIII. “I first read a Solar Pons story at age eight, two years before I discovered Sherlock Holmes, and I credit the enjoyment of that Pons story with giving me an appreciation for that type of adventure,” said Mr. Marcum.

Solar Pons was created by August Derleth in the 1920s as a continuation of the Sherlock Holmes canon. Derleth, who famously created Arkham House Publishing to preserve the writings of his friend, author HP Lovecraft, had corresponded with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, asking whether Doyle would be providing any new Holmes adventures. When Doyle said no, Derleth determined to write some himself. However, instead of writing more Holmes tales, Derleth came up with Solar Pons, a detective very similar to Holmes, and Dr. Lyndon Parker, his Dr. Watson. Eventually, between the 1920’s and his death in 1971, Derleth wrote over seventy Pons tales, set in that period between the end of World War I and 1939. “The Pons stories clearly take place in Holmes’s world, as the Great Detective himself is referenced by Pons and Parker on several occasions,” explained Marcum.

The Papers of Solar Pons: New Adventures of the Sherlock Holmes of Praed Street contains 12 new Pons adventures, ranging from the early 1920s to the late 1930s – the range of time described in the original Pontine Canon. Additionally, one of the tales contains a flashback to one of Pons’s early cases, soon after he set up his London practice. “And as something extra, the book also contains a Holmes story that I wrote a few years ago, explaining the origin of Solar Pons,” said Mr. Marcum.

Other Sherlock Holmes connections include a story where Pons is called upon to investigate the theft of Watson’s Tin Disptach Box from Cox & Co., and another where Pons and Parker revisit the site of one of the Holmesian Canon’s murders. And then there is the murder that occurs in the lab at Barts, where Holmes and Watson first met so many years before. “I very much appreciate the Derleth Estate for allowing me to bring these stories to the public, and hopefully to generate some new interest in one of the greatest detectives of all time, Solar Pons,” said Mr. Marcum.

Derrick Belanger, co-owner of Belanger Books, LLC hopes that Mr. Marcum’s book will be the first of many new Pons adventures.  “Our goal is to publish yearly anthologies of new Solar Pons stories as creating new editions of the original August Derleth Solar Pons books. The character is beloved by many mystery fans who have been wanting more tales of the detective for decades,” said Mr. Belanger. “We will reach out to authors for contributions and release a call for story submissions in the near future.”

The Papers of Solar Pons: New Adventures of the Sherlock Holmes of Praed Street will be released by December, 2017 if fully funded via Kickstarter.  The Kickstarter campaign rewards include hardcover, paperback, and e-book versions of Marcum’s Solar Pons book. Backers may also get an autographed hardcover edition of the book, signed by David Marcum as well as other backing levels that include additional Sherlock Holmes books published by Belanger Books. For updates as the project progresses, please visit New Solar Pons Book, Sherlock Holmes of Praed Street Returns on Kickstarter.

Source

After such a good interview, I can't believe they just picked up on the word 'transgender'. . .

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Predicts the Future of Sherlock Holmes 

The novelist and NBA legend says the detective could be "an alien" or 'transgender.' 

By Ryan Britt

 on September 19, 2017

Filed Under Books, Comics, Fandom, Gender, Race & Sports

The biggest name in Sherlock Holmes fandom is without a doubt, NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. After dazzling hardcore Sherlock fans and newcomers alike in 2015 with his novel Mycroft Holmes, Abdul-Jabbar has returned to chronicling the adventures of Sherlock’s older brother with the new steampunk graphic novel adventure; Mycroft Holmes and the Apocalypse Handbook.

Inverse got in touch with Abdul-Jabbar to find out how he approached his new Mycroft story but discovered a slew of other stunning facts along the way. The NBA All-Star’s insights about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s detective adventures are mind-blowing and sincere. Here’s which Holmesian techniques Abdul-Jabbar used to win on the basketball court, how he switched to writing for a visual medium, and why he thinks a future Sherlock could be transgender.

What was the single biggest change challenge in switching from prose to graphic novel?

The novel’s narrative—from language to setting to characterization—is an extension of Conan Doyle’s Holmesian world. But the graphic novel’s narrative is the opposite. Like the BBC’s Sherlock, I chose to embrace the spirit of Conan Doyle’s characters but be more adventurous with my approach. In the graphic novel, Mycroft is a roguish very reluctant hero more interested in gambling and womanizing than saving the world. The setting moves from Victorian England to the Wild West to Washington, D.C. There are steampunk weapons, lots of humor, and appearances by Queen Victoria and Jesse James. And Sherlock.

Why do you think Mycroft works as an action hero? Does he work BETTER as an action hero than Sherlock?

The Mycroft of my graphic novel is a dynamic action hero because he is in desperate need of redemption. He has a secret past with his younger brother Sherlock that has affected him. He also feels disconnected from the world around him because his enormous intellect makes people so painfully predictable. Going off on an Indiana Jones-type adventure is an opportunity to find meaning and surprise in life.

I’ve read that you used Sherlock Holmes stories as inspiration when you played for the NBA? Is that true? What other aspects of life do the Sherlock Holmes stories impact? In other words, is there a lot of wisdom that is applicable to other settings?

It’s true that the Holmes stories inspired me to be much more observant about opponents so I can gain an advantage over them during games. I even had my own Baker Street Irregulars. [Sherlock's secret urchin informants, first seen in 'A Study in Scarlet.']

I started paying special attention to the conversations among the ball boys and other staffers. When I overheard a couple ball boys joking about how Bob Lanierand his coach would smoke in the locker room at halftime, I decided to run Bob up and down the court as fast as I could the second half.

More important though, the Holmes stories are about the triumph of reason and logic over superstition and mob mentality, which is the basis for modern civilization. That struggle between reason and group-think is the major social issue in our country. To me, logic is the key to saving humanity from its self-destructiveness.

Would you ever consider bringing Mycroft into a more contemporary setting?

I would be interested in modernizing it for a movie or TV series.

Are you considering doing more pastiches connected to Sherlock Holmes characters?

I’m focused on Mycroft for now. But I never know when I might decide to do something different in the Holmesian universe.

What is your favorite original Sherlock Holmes story?

I have a lot of favorites. As much as I like the stories, I prefer the novels because it means spending more time with Watson and Holmes. I especially like The Hound of the Baskervilles because it appears to be horror story without rational explanation until Holmes applies his expertise. For me, the story is a metaphor for much of the irrationality that people use to explain what they don’t want to examine closely.

What is your favorite adaptation?

I loved the Basil Rathbone movies when I was a kid. His terse dialogue and fiercely intense expression made the stories so suspenseful. The BBC’s Sherlock is brilliant in every way. Innovative plots, clever characterization, witty dialogue—and still making us care deeply about Holmes and Watson’s relationship. Recently, I read a mystery novel IQ by Joe Ide that features a Sherlock-type sleuth who is a black kid from the streets of South Central Los Angeles. I loved his take on the classic story.

Sherlock's appearance in the new graphic novel

What do you think Sherlock Holmes will look like in the 22nd century?

The idea of a character who is the epitome of rational thinking with an insatiable hunger for knowledge, but who needs a friendship in order not to lose his humanity will always be around. It doesn’t matter what race, gender, or nationality the new Sherlocks are. Perhaps the next one will be transgender or an alien or an android. It doesn’t matter as long as we don’t lose the essence of what Holmes represents.

This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

---

Mycroft Holmes and the Apocalypse Handbook, written by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Raymond Obstfeld with art from Joshua Cassara, Luis Guerrero, and Simon Bowland is out today from Titan Comics.

Photos via Titan Books, Getty Images / Slaven Vlasic
Source

The novelist and NBA legend says the detective could be "an alien" or 'transgender.' 

Art in the Blood

If you have followed this blog for more than a week you well know that I love art work involving Sherlock Holmes and the 'lighter side' of the Canon.
So get this book was a real treat because I have always loved Scott Bonds treatment of the Canon.

This book covers most of the work Bond has done on Sherlock Holmes with captions explaining way the work was relevant when he did.
Glossy and well made, the book is a lot of fun.

Now I'm really BLUE! What do you think about this?

Is this how you remember BLUE starting;

I went to visit my friend Sherlock Holmes two days after Christmas and found him sitting on the sofa  wearing a purple dressing-gown. His pipe was on the coffee table and a pile of newspapers was next to him. Beside the sofa was a wooden chair with a very dirty old hat hanging on the back. His magnifying glass was lying nearby and I guessed he’d been studying the hat. 
‘You’re busy,’ I said; ‘perhaps I’m disturbing you.’ ‘Not at all. I’m glad to have a friend to discuss this with,’ he said, looking at the hat. ‘It’s not a very important case, but there are some interesting points and we might learn something from it.’ I sat down in his chair and warmed my hands in front of the fire. The weather was very cold and the windows were covered with ice. ‘I suppose that hat is a clue in some deadly crime that you’re trying to solve.’ ‘No crime,’ said Sherlock Holmes, laughing. ‘Just one of those funny little incidents that happen in large cities, where so many people live together in a small space. Many problems are just strange without being criminal.’ ‘That’s true,’ I agreed. ‘Our last case didn’t involve anyone breaking the law.’ ‘Exactly. You’re talking about the Irene Adler case. Well, I’m sure this one will be the same. Do you know Peterson, the security guard?

Would you have read it if this is how it was written?

This is how BLUE is suppose to start; I had called upon my friend Sherlock Holmes upon the second morning after Christmas, with the intention of wishing him the compliments of the season.

Just reading the original one tries as best as one can his or her own English actors accent.

While preparing to re-read BLUE for some Christmas time research I came across the above version of BLUE here.

Now to be fair, this version is introduced this way; Intermediate readers keep close to the original stories but are retold in modern English using words from the top 2000 most common words in the British National Corpus. This means you do not have to learn words that are very uncommon or old fashioned. Other words are explained in footnotes.

While I understand the premise of the intent, I have to wonder why it would be necessary and would it make the reader want to read more about Sherlock Holmes, or any other book adapted this way.

The introduction also states that this adaptation is suitable for foreign intermediate learners and native 5th graders.
My daughter is a native 4th grader and I know she would have no trouble working through BLUE in its original format. Not to say she is smarter than other kids (we do however believe she is) but she has been taught how to work out things she doesn't understand. Or to at least ask questions.

And since the new version is already giving footnotes for 'difficult' words and such, I have to wonder why they didn't just do that with the original?

I am probably making this sound more serious to me than it really is. But when I read the opening paragraph, not yet realizing it was an 'easy' adaptation, . . .  well I though I had landed in a bad rerun of Sherlock Peorias rants on Elementary.

Okay, I'm better now.

'Sherlock Holmes and the Cryptic Clues', New book offers quite the howl this Halloween! By Michael McClure

Sherlock Holmes and the Cryptic Clues

By Michael W. McClure

From the publisher;

THE FINAL WORD in Sherlockian scholarship, this book takes you on a tour of the resting places of over 300 creations that were brought to life by that master storyteller, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Each Canonical cemetery represents a different adventure of the master detective, Sherlock Holmes. The illustrated tombstones found in the graveyards offer epitaphs that reveal the honoree's ultimate demise or particular plot in life. Whether funny, punny, poignant, or just plain awkward, the engravings represent the plights of hundreds of Canonical characters taken from all sixty stories. Every member of the elite Baker Street Irregulars and the nonpareil Adventuresses Of Sherlock Holmes is listed after the tale from which their Investiture was taken. Hundreds of detailed illustrations and humorous cartoons reveal that A.C. Doyle’s creations must have died laughing! Beware ... deathly prose doth lie within !

Having spent quite a bit of time with Michael at Sherlockian and other events and really appreciating his humor, I am really looking forward to this book and intend to get him to sign it very soon.

I always have a great time at his meetings and look forward to them every chance I get. We also share a love of Scotland which never hurts.

While I have yet to view the book (it was only announced today) I will give my thoughts on it as soon as I get it.

Get a copy and put one in your Halloween stocking!

Get a copy here!

Love the cover Michael!

Nope, I didn't make the party . . .

While I look forward to reading this, I see my name is notiecably absent from the list.

For good reason; I was never invited to the party.

Oh, well.

I look forward to anything by Chris Redmond, so it should be a fun read.

Another list. . . have you read them all?

10 books for Sherlock Holmes fans

If you are headed west,

Sherlock Holmes finds a home in Calf. Gold Country.

 Source

JACKSON — Walk in the door of Hein & Company Used and Rare Books, past the giant literary sculpture — a twister built from hundreds of hardcovers — and all the cozy little reading spots, and head up the stairs to a scene straight out of an Arthur Conan Doyle novel. It’s like a time-machine jump into Victorian London, complete with Sherlock Holmes’ sitting room, Dr. Watson’s Apothecary, Mrs. Hudson’s Tea Shop and more.

So. Much. More.

What began as fun little idea dreamed up by two uber-Sherlock fans, bookstore co-owner Linda Hein and best friend Beth Barnard, has turned into a Sherlockian marvel, a Baker Street West that includes a pub, secret passageways, revolving bookcases and a Victorian parlor for special events. You can indulge your inner detective at the All Things Sherlockian shop, dabble in steampunk apparel at Adler’s Emporium and channel your inner child at Wiggins’ Toy Shoppe. There’s even a bee-themed shop, South Downs Apiary, in its final building phase, with hexagonal shelves bearing honey, beeswax candles and copies of “The Beekeeper’s Apprentice,” the book that launched Laurie R. King’s Holmes-inspired series.

That’s not all. There are murder dinners and afternoon tea mysteries; a Sherlockian literary society, Holmes’ Hounds; and a theatrical company, the Baker Street Players, which is up for three SARTA awards from the Sacramento Area Regional Theatre Alliance for last spring’s production of “Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the American Twins,” by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro.

And it’s all run by this Sherlockian trio: the Heins — Linda and her husband Wolfgang, and Barnard, who serves as artistic director.

Naturally, we had questions — elementary ones, of course — and Linda was happy to play Sherlock to our befuddled Watson.

Q How on Earth did this start?

A Four years ago, my girlfriend and I would meet in different restaurants for lunch, and talk about different Sherlock Holmes stories. I asked my husband if we could have a little part of the bookstore to make a tiny 221 Baker Street. But as soon as he started building that room, our imaginations went wild. We put in a tea shop, and I said, “You can have a pub.” We have eight shops all dedicated to a subject or a character — the only shop that doesn’t directly relate is the pub, but every Victorian London should have a pub. We expect they’ll all be finished by the weekend after Thanksgiving.

Q What came first, Baker Street West or the Holmes Hounds?

A We officially opened 221 Baker Street in November 2013 — still a work in progress — but it wasn’t until January that we started Holmes Hounds, thinking if we had 10 or 12 people like us, who want to talk about Sherlock Holmes stories, it will be wonderful. The room was twice as big as we’d planned, but we outgrew the room! We have 90 members.

Q Tell us about the plays …

A When we opened Baker Street, we christened it with four performances of “Houdini and the Last Seance,” and one of our members invited a well-known author, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, who has written books about Mycroft Holmes and (numerous) novels. She was inspired to write “The Case of the American Twins.” So Wolf and I put together a production company, the Baker Street Players. We had eight performances, and they were all sold out. We’re planning at least three or four (plays) per year.

Q We didn’t see a conventional theater setup. How do you stage these?

A You know theater-in-the-round? It’s the reverse: The audience is in the center; the actors are around. We have eight secret passageways. During the play, we have five of them in use. Actors come out of one storefront and exit in another storefront, and come out in a different one, very mysteriously. It’s probably more fun than we deserve!

BAKER STREET WEST

Find Baker Street West on the second floor of Hein & Company Used and Rare Books, open daily at 204 Main St., Jackson. You can wander through the Baker Street scenes and shops at any time, but the best way to experience this creative marvel is at an event, such as a mystery theater dinner — the next two are scheduled for Oct. 22 and 29 — or a play.
The Baker Street Players’ next production will be “The Final Toast” by Edgar award-winning author Stuart Kaminsky, which will open the last weekend in January and run through early March. Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, who wrote “Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the American Twins,” is working on a sequel, tentatively scheduled for spring.
Learn more and add yourself to the mailing list at www.bakerstreetwest.com.

And for some more on this place: Victorian Scribbles

What do you think? A new book list.

Here is a list of 10 Books for Sherlock Holmes Fans

Source

Thanks to the enterprising work of mystery writers and die-hard Sir Arthur Conan Doyle fans, there are plenty of books for Sherlockians (it's a real term), who know that the mark of a great mystery novel is when its solution is far from elementary.

1. The Hound of the Baskervilles, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Any Sherlock Holmes fan will know it’s worth going back to the beginning when analyzing a problem. Rediscover The Hound of the Baskervilles—the third Holmes novel that launched the detective from popular character to international icon. The mystery of the death of Sir Charles Baskerville is now widely considered one of the top English novels, and scholars have given it a 100 rating, making it the #1 Holmes novel of all time.

2. The Dark Water: The Strange Beginnings of Sherlock Holmes, by David Pirie

Author David Pine takes readers through the fictional world of Arthur Conan Doyle—the famous detective’s creator. Sherlock is based on Doyle’s friend, Dr. Joseph Bell, and this story follows Doyle and Bell as they encounter all sorts of Victorian criminals in this addictive, eerie mystery.

3. Nevermore, by William Hjortsberg

In this murder mystery pastiche by William Hjortsberg, Sherlock Holmes teams up with Harry Houdini and the ghost of Edgar Allan Poe—yes, you read that right—to solve a series of murders perpetrated by a copycat serial killer imitating the work of the long dead Poe. Holmes fans with a healthy love of the paranormal will devour this modern homage that brings together three icons of the strange and unusual.

4. The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, by Vincent Starrett

A die-hard Sherlock Holmes fan himself, Vincent Starrett was the author of several Holmes-inspired books, including his most famous: 1933’s The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes. Written as a fictional biography of Holmes, this book gives fans a further look into the Holmes case files—lovingly recorded by his trusty assistant Dr. Watson. As a Holmes expert, Starrett’s attention to detail and the inspiration behind Holmes’ most challenging mysteries makes The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes an essential addition to any fan’s library.

5. The Nine Tailors, by Dorothy L. Sayers

British mystery writer Dorothy L. Sayers is best remembered for her Holmesian creation, amateur detective Lord Peter Wimsey. A typical “gentleman detective,” Wimsey solves crimes for fun, and is assisted by his former valet Mervyn Bunter. In the ninth novel in the Wimsey series, Wimsey and Bunter find themselves thrown into an epic murder mystery when they take a wrong turn in East Anglia. Though at first charmed by the unique traditions of this small English town, Wimsey and Bunter’s hopes for a relaxing weekend in the country are quickly dashed.

6. The Moonstone, by Wilkie Collins

Generally considered the first ever English detective novel, Wilkie Collins’ The Moonstone greatly influenced Arthur Conan Doyle and his creation of Sherlock Holmes. Published in installments in 1868, The Moonstone tells the story of a precious yellow diamond given to Rachel Verinder on her 18th birthday. Though it is said to bring bad luck to its owner, the bauble is nevertheless stolen from Rachel’s bedroom at night. Now, Sergeant Cuff must decipher who the thief is in this mystery that anticipates both Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie’s novels.

7. Murder on the Orient Express, by Agatha Christie

Agatha Christie’s 1932 classic take on one of the 20th century’s most infamous crimes, the kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby, solidified the success of Christie’s creation: Detective Hercule Poirot, perhaps the most well known fictional detective after Sherlock Holmes. "I was still writing in the Sherlock Holmes tradition,” Chrisite explained in her autobiography on the creation of Poirot. “Eccentric detective, stooge assistant, with a Lestrade-type Scotland Yard detective, Inspector Jap.”

Like Holmes, Poirot went on to international fame and is the only fictional character to receive an obituary in The New York Times.

8. Dust and Shadow, by Lyndsay Faye

Holmes takes on perhaps the most infamous unsolved mystery in this historical fiction novel by Lyndsay Faye: The Jack the Ripper murders. As the Ripper rages on through London’s Whitechapel district, Holmes finds that even he is out of his depth, especially when his trusty sidekick Watson is wounded in the fray.

9. Arthur and George, by Julian Barnes

George Edalji was the half-Indian son of a vicar, who found himself convicted of a crime he did not commit in 1903. Thanks to the efforts of Arthur Conan Doyle, Edalji was pardoned in 1907. Barnes’ Arthur and George is a fictional account of these very different men and the unusual circumstances in which their lives intersected. Though, as a novelist, Barnes only adheres loosely to the facts of the case, it undoubtedly had an impact on Doyle’s interest in the wrongfully accused and gives us a glimpse into his somewhat tumultuous private life.

10. The Final Solution, by Michael Chabon

Holmes was said to have taken up beekeeping when he retired from sleuthing, and that’s where we find him in Michael Chabon’s novel, The Final Solution—an unnamed 89-year-old man (who may or may not be Sherlock Holmes) biding his time in the English countryside during WWII. But when a young mute boy wanders into his life with nothing but an African gray parrot as a companion, this detective may need to put his skills back to work to discover the origins of this strange boy and his pet that keeps repeating numbers in some strange German code.

In this age of 'pay for what you like' , is the hunt over?

As much as I hate to publicly agree with Sherlock Peoria, occasionally he does make some good points, . . . . occasionally.

His points today have made me stop and wonder.

In this age when things are much easier to come by, even for a price, is being a Sherlockian collector as fun as it once was?

I remember one trip when I went to Maine, for a non-Sherlockian reason, if I would pass a barn or old building selling used books I would pull in an search for authors that I really liked. Sometimes coming away with nothing, sometimes adding to my collection.
Many times I was surprised and came away with several Doyle books I had not come across before.

But it was fun looking in these out of the way places and meeting the proprietors.

I use to drive into small towns, when on trips, looking for used book shops, where now I look for mirco-breweries.
(Well, maybe that's a good thing.)

Now we can just search on-line for things we don't have. I must admit, I have done it. EBAY and other places make it so easy. Almost like a virtual hunt.

But what about that hunt? Was the hunt part of the pleasure we got from our collections?
Now it's not the hunter that gets the prize, but the one with the fastest speed-dial or biggest check book, the most time to search the web.
There have always been 'collectables' that have been out of reach for the working class, and there always will be. But we had our small victories when we would climb up into the hay loft of an old barn and come across a Morley we did not have.

I also find myself buying far less pastiches than before because they are to available. I guess that is probably a good thing also.

Oh, well. I guess I better go check my EBAY bids.

In a few years, this generation will be waxing nostalgic for what we have now. And I guess that is the way it should be.

On the same link as the last post you can also find some othe Sherlockian book connections

Here

An interesting piece on the author of a popular new Holmes book.

Sherlock Holmes the girl genius

He has been a hound, one half of an African-American duo busting crime in modern-day Harlem and has, over the years, matched wits with everything from Martian invaders to flesh-eating zombies.

But Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, the great detective who continues to inspire legions of adaptations across mediums, is rarely reimagined as a young girl.

With her debut young adult novel A Study In Charlotte, American writer Brittany Cavallaro, 29, fills that gap.

"There's been a gold rush of adaptations, but it seemed like Sherlock was getting reimagined every which way but as a teenage girl. It was important for me to do a feminist retelling of Sherlock Holmes," she tells The Sunday Times over Skype from her home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

"I thought it was crucial to give girls - especially now, with young girls so interested in the television and film adaptations of Sherlock - a genius character that looked like them. I love that Elementary (a television series with Lucy Liu as "Joan" Watson) reimagined Watson as a woman, but it's important to have the complicated, difficult genius - the person actually calling the shots - be a girl."

She experienced firsthand the casual assumption that mysteries are a man's domain.

Would we accept Sherlock's flaws if he were a woman? We're tougher on female characters than we are on men.

AMERICAN AUTHOR BRITTANY CAVALLARO

When she was a young girl, her grandfather gave her little brother a leather-bound edition of the Holmes stories.

"It went to him - you know, the boy, the one who my grandfather automatically identified as the one who'd be interested in reading about and solving mysteries. And I stole it," she says with a laugh.

Holmes became a life-long interest for Cavallaro, who would go on to study detective fiction when she did her PhD in English literature.

And when she started on A Study In Charlotte, the first book in a planned trilogy, she knew right off the bat that it would be built around a prickly girl genius.

Charlotte Holmes and Jamie Watson, descendants of the original Holmes and Watson, are teenagers struggling to figure themselves out, but are already burdened with the legacies of their ancestors.

Marooned in an American boarding school, the two develop a tentative relationship when they find themselves framed for a classmate's murder.

The fun, fast-paced novel dangles new twists and mysteries that pay tribute to Doyle's canon. It is also Cavallaro's way of confronting expectations attached to gender.

"People don't tend to look to girls to be the genius. And when they do, they still want them to be pleasant and social and likable. Charlotte isn't any of those things and I wanted to see what the consequences of that would be," she says.

"When you're a girl who doesn't really understand her place in the world, when you're a girl who has the same kind of self-destructive eccentricities Sherlock had, how would that play out? Would we accept Sherlock's flaws if he were a woman? We're tougher on female characters than we are on men."

Her Charlotte is flawed and fumbling: She was sexually assaulted by the classmate whose death she is now being blamed for, and indulges a drug addiction.

Cavallaro says it was also crucial that she stick to Doyle's tradition of telling the story through Watson's eyes. In the book, Jamie - whose problems are of the run-of-the-mill teenage variety, among them hormones and grades - reports on Charlotte's frenetic, self- destructive fervour with fascination and confusion.

"I wanted him to be the storyteller and for the girl to not be there just to further his story. She's not a manic pixie dream girl. She's not just a love interest or arm candy," says Cavallaro, who is married.

"She's somebody who's driving the story, who's just fine without him, and he knows it, shows it and respects it."

She started on the novel in 2013, while she was trying to put off studying to sit a big examination for her PhD. She banged out the draft in about six weeks and finished revising the novel with her literary agent in early 2014.

Months later, the book was snapped up by HarperCollins.

Cavallaro has just turned in the second book and is getting started on the third.

She says: "Holmes has been a huge part of my life - I'm a Sherlockian and proud of it. So to have this as my Sherlockian calling card, to put my own spin on a character that's been embedded in the common consciousness for so long, is amazing."

•A Study In Charlotte ($32.13) is available at Books Kinokuniya.

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