Sunday, November 14, 2021




 THE EXPLOITS OF SHERLOCK HOLMES

Sherlock Holmes (1887---)

Adrian Conan Doyle (1910-1970)

John Dickson Carr (1906-1977)


This is a collection of pastiches about Sherlock.  Twelve stories in the traditional assemblage.  Carr and Doyle wrote the first six and Doyle alone was responsible for the rest:

The Adventure of the Seven Clocks:  Celia Forsythe is traveling is Switzerland with her employer, Lady Mayo, when they meet Charles Hendon, a suave gentleman of leisure traveling by train through the Alps.  Celia is interested in him, but doesn't understand why he hates clocks, destroying them with his stick or burying them in the snow...

The Adventure of the Gold Hunter:  What does the death of Squire Trelawney have to do with a gold watch (a hunter) and a jar of vaseline?

The Adventure of the Wax Gamblers:  Sherlock engaged in fisticuffs with Bully Boy Rasher and knocked him out, receiving a sprained ankle in the melee.  Watson is pressured into touring a wax museum in order to get the goods on Sir Gervase Darlington, a loud-mouth braggart with too much money.

The Adventure of the Highgate Miracle:  Mr. Cabpleasure worships an umbrella and his wife is upset.  What has this to do with the misplacement of a bottle of milk?

The Adventure of the Black Baronet:  Colonel Jocelyn Dalcy has been fatally stabbed while drinking a cup of port.  How is the Battle of Bosworth Field between the York and Lancaster adherents relevant to his death?

The Adventure of the Sealed Room:  Colonel Warburton has been shot and killed in a locked room.  A game of bezique and a fireplace poker almost end Homes's career.

The Adventure of Foulkes Rath:  Is Squire Addleton's nephew implicated in his uncle's death?  And what has a medieval executioner's axe have to do with it?  Holmes, meanwhile, collects samples of dust...

The Adventure of the Abbas Ruby:  Black thumbs, red camellias, and the NonPareil Club all lead Holmes and Watson to Oxford Street when Holmes accuses himself of idiocy.

The Adventure of the Dark Angels:  Joshua Ferrers lives in the country and never mows his lawn or weeds his garden.  Dark nights and seraphic post cards spell his doom..

The Adventure of the Two Women:  Blackmail and secret documents lead Holmes and Watson into the world of crime...

The Adventure of the Deptford Horror:  not for the faint of heart unless interested in arachnology.

The Adventure of the Red Widow:  Watson marries, but leaves his bride in the lurch when Lord Jocelyn Cope is slain in Arnsworth Castle.  Rug fibers tell Holmes that the perp is fifty years of age, has a malformed left foot and smokes Turkish tobacco in a cigarette holder.  Holmes gets a chance to practice his pyromania.

These stories were a lot of fun, taking me back to when i first read the originals.  The first six were quite in the style of Arthur Doyle;  the last ones were very slightly different in aura, perhaps using a bit more detail than Adrian's father would have employed.  i've noticed in the past, and in reading these stories, that too much detail can interfere with the reader's mental conception of the action.  Arthur Doyle was a master at providing entrancing descriptions that drew in the reader but didn't hamper his/her imaginative facilities.  Pastiches in general, the ones i've read anyway, usually are couched in the author's habitual style, with not much attempt at duplicating that of Arthur.  The first six included in this volume come very close to imitating to perfection the atmosphere of the originals, and are very well done.  The last six are also good, but not quite possessing the genuine ambience of Arthur's descriptions, even though they are just as enjoyable as the first six.  If you're interested at all in re-visiting Holmes and Watson, these stories would be a great place in which to do that.

18 comments:

  1. My sister went through a Sherlock Holmes phase when we were growing up; she read all of Conan Doyle's stories. I've only read a few of them myself. I'm glad so many of these were such fun.

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    1. i first read them at an early age and was addicted... so when i saw this i had to have it; it wasn't quite the thrill that SH was when i was 12 but the stories were still good and took me back to the day...

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  2. I didn't know about these--I'll have to hunt them up. Even if they're not quite as good as the original stories, they could still be pretty good! And John Dickson Carr at least knows how to write a mystery.

    Have you read the Solar Pons stories? Also not quite as good as the originals, but Derleth was very clearly modelling after Sherlock Holmes, and back in the day I remember they amused me...

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    1. i read those quite a while ago and liked them in my uncritical, enthusiastic way... nowadays i might have lost my youthful eagerness altho i hope not...

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  3. I've always found the Holmes pastiches that I've read to be quite a lot of fun. It sounds like these fit that bill.

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  4. i'd think so... i've read quite a few myself and i thought these were near the top... i bought the book from Abebooks and it was more than i wanted to pay, but i guess it was worth it...

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  5. I had never heard of these. I'll have to find a copy. I re-read all of Conan Doyle's Holmes stories every couple of years. I can't even say what the attraction is, but I've been reading them my whole life.

    Have you read "Arsene Lupin versus Herlock Sholmes"? More parody than pastiche, and Lupin is less entertaining than Holmes, but still a bit of fun.

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    1. i've also reread the Canon occasionally but not THAT often! this collection was the best among the pastiches that i've read. as i indicated, tho, there still remain vagaries in comparison with the originals... i just can't recall whether i read that particular one or not; i'll have to look for it, tx...

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  6. There is a series called Enola Holmes, and the main character is Sherlock's much younger sister. There are six so far in the series. It's fun, Eleanor and I are enjoying it.

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    1. i heard about that fairly recently; do you know anything about the author?

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    2. We watched the movie 'Enola' which was quite good but more for a teenaged audience - my daughter enjoyed it.
      I had to look up pastiche - sounds like French food. Showing mi ignorance.

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    3. LOL! nobody knows everything, even me hahahaa... as i age i wonder if i ever knew anything at all...

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    4. Then you are good company with Socrates!

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    5. Ugh, I am so sorry, I have been terrible at comments and getting back to people but now it is officially Christmas Break so here we go! I don't know anything much about the author at all but the books are spot-on with making you feel as though you are in the gritty world of London, 1888. Eleanor is really enjoying them, even though her eight-year-old knowledge of the period itself is a bit limited. But she asks lots of questions when she doesn't understand what something means. She loves the books a whole lot and I am so glad we discovered this series.

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  7. I seem to keep missing your posts. I guess I should check in more frequently. I had no idea that one of my favorite mystery writers collaborated with -is Adrian Doyle Arthur's son? How interesting.

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    1. OK Got the book for $4.00 on eBay. If my husband complains, I'm blaming you.

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  8. Oh what a fun find! I love Sherlock Holmes. I'd love to do a re-read of his mysteries one day. I'd also like to read some of Doyle's (the father's) other works. I read The Lost World (I think it was) and really enjoyed it!

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  9. Happy Thanksgiving, mudpuddle. I hope you and yours have a blessed day!

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