Sherlock Holmes and the Whitechapel Murders

[belinda]

Edgar Allan Poe really did invent the Genre with the brilliant Murders In The Rue Morgue

I wonder if Conan Doyle was a fan of Poe?

Which story is that excerpt from?

Was there very much detective fiction in the 19th century?

Perhaps we should have a Poe thread too

[GregBaron]

Doyle..........

Thanks Captain Hook, I believe that was the passage I was referring to from memory. Even though Sherlock dismisses his predecessors.............it's obviously a tribute by Doyle to his mentors..................


Greg

[Mayerling]

I Heed the Call

Somehow it is only fitting to re-enter this fray by a misquote:

Dr. Watson: "Jeffrey Bloomfield - the writer and "Sherlock Holmes" fan who is as famous to Casebook readers as ..."

Jeff: "Oh my blushes, Doctor."

Dr. Watson: "As I was about to say as he is unknown outside to most people!"

Jeff: "Hm, that's a little unfair!"

[With apologies to THE VALLEY OF FEAR]

Feel free to ask me now.

Jeff

[Mayerling]

Marie Roget as film

I noticed when reading the earlier comments on this thread the film of the Mary Rogers Case that was mentioned as in the works. There was, actually, a "B-feature" based (at least in name, and involving C. Auguste Dupin) on the Poe story THE MURDER OF MARIE ROGET, but they changed the story (bringing in the French music hall for some reason - Marie being a singer/dancer of some note, and not the "seegar" girl at Anderson's store). It was made in the early 1940s and I think Patrick Knowles was Dupin. Roger Corman apparently never tried to make a version in the fifties or sixties with his chief star, Vincent Price.

Jeff

[Steven Russell]

Doyle and Poe's influence

Dear all,
Unlike Holmes, Doyle was indeed fulsome in his praise for Poe and commented several times, publicly and privately, on his great debt to the American. Doyle was keen to point out that he did not consider his own work (at least in the detective field) equal to that of Poe. In fact, Doyle's attitude to Holmes became somewhat ambivalent and a good case can be made that the later stories were conceived more for financial than literary reasons. Doyle regarded his historical novels e.g. The White Company and Sir Nigel as far superior to his Holmes stories and for some time appears to have been rather miffed that the popularity of Holmes detracted from the public's appreciation of what he considered to be his "higher work".

For more on Doyle, his relationship with Holmes, and his admiration of Poe, I would reccommend Teller of Tales by Daniel Stashower, and especially Penguin's The Uncollected Sherlock Holmes.

But it is said that the artist is not always his own best critic and the enduring popularity of the Holmes stories lends weight to this observation. On Desert Island Discs my book would be The Complete Sherlock Holmes and I wouldn't have to think about it much either. The three volume annotated set by Leslie S. Klinger is excellent. Ever wondered what a tantalus, a gasogene, or a palimpsest are? It's all there along with a great deal of history from the period.

Best wishes,

Steve.

[Mayerling]

I read Stashower last year and he is the best biographer of Doyle so far - adequately (finally) dealing with the spiritualism phase of his career. I do wish someone would do a multi-volume biography on Doyle. His collected letters were published last year too.

[mklhawley]

I read Stashower last year and he is the best biographer of Doyle so far - adequately (finally) dealing with the spiritualism phase of his career. I do wish someone would do a multi-volume biography on Doyle. His collected letters were published last year too.

Hi Jeff,

I just noticed that you are on line now. Thank you, very much. Tom brought up a question of possible infuences of JTR from authors, like Doyle. Any additional thoughts?

Sincerely,

Mike

[Captain Hook]

Any additional thoughts?

Certainly. A major character in A Study in Scarlet is called Enoch J Drebber. J D Rebber: Jack the Ripper. Enoch, of course, is apocryphal.

Cheers
Hook

[Steven Russell]

Certainly. A major character in A Study in Scarlet is called Enoch J Drebber. J D Rebber: Jack the Ripper. Enoch, of course, is apocryphal.

Cheers
Hook

Brilliant! And Joseph Stangerson = Joseph [Sickert] stang (stung) her [Victoria's] son. It all makes sense! Good one, Hooky.

Cheers,

Steve.

[Captain Hook]

Stangerson

Hi Steven,

That's clever. I wonder what Gregson stands for. Not to mention Lestrade.

Cheers
Hook

[Steven Russell]

Not sure but Tobias Gregson is an anagram of stab goose ring - which is what Ryder should have done before inserting the Blue Carbuncle. It could have saved him much trouble.

Best wishes,

Steve.

[Steven Russell]

Greetings,

I have a question. Since Arthur Conan Doyle created the character, Sherlock Holmes, one year before the Whitechapel murders, would it be safe to assume these murders may have influenced the popularity of the Sherlock Holmes mysteries. If the population was in fear of an unknown killer, reading a fictional character who always solves the case might have helped calm fears. A mondern day example is the TV series 24. The post 9/11 twin towers incident made this show ripe for an eager audience. Am I way off?

Sincerely,

Mike

This is a nice idea but I don't think A Study in Scarlet proved all that popular at the time. This was the only Holmes story available in 1888 and it is probably fair to say that the vast majority of the public will have had no idea who Sherlock Holmes was at that time. The Sign of Four was next (1890) but Holmes did not really take off until the following year when the short stories began to appear in The Strand magazine. A bit of a shame but there it is.

Best wishes,
Steve.