All Things Conan Doyle & Holmes

[Archaic]

Hi everyone.
Due to unanimous opinion on another thread we are starting this 'All Things Conan Doyle & Holmes' thread.
Our hope is that everyone will feel free to contribute any sort of Conan Doyle or Sherlock Holmes material, resources and knowledge they might have. The thread has been put here in Pub Talk so that content can be as diverse and open-ended as possible.

I had started another Conan Doyle thread in Shades of Whitechapel after finding a documentary examining the real-life murder cases investigated by Arthur Conan Doyle. Because Holmes is so popular we quickly got "off-topic", so the idea is that by starting a much broader thread here in Pub Talk we won't be able to get off-topic...all content relating to Sir Arthur, Holmes, or any subjects relating to them in any way are welcome.

Here are a few ideas of content we can share: links to websites and museums, photographs and illustrations, real-life murder cases that Conan Doyle took an interest in, books & other collectibles, trivia, character analysis, Holmes as an iconic figure around the world, personal stories, whatever anybody wants.
The more interactive this thread is the more enjoyable it will be, so if you happen to be interested certain aspects of Sherlock Holmes & Sir Arthur Conan Doyle please feel free to ask other members to discuss those subjects or to answer any questions you might have.
Above all, please have fun with this thread. I hope it will be an enjoyable way to pool our knowledge, share resources and enjoy ourselves.

I'll start with a couple of videos I had posted on the previous thread as well as a link to that thread. Here's the other thread-Documentary, Arthur Conan Doyle, Murder Detective http://forum.casebook.org/showthread.php?t=4396

and the video about his real-life criminal investigations-
'Arthur Conan Doyle, Murder Detective' Video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwhtakNDc4I

This documentary by Nigel Williams is superb; it takes an in-depth look at the life of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle from childhood on... did you know his father was place in an Asylum? Some of the highlights include visits to Conan Doyle's homes, his school Stonyhurst, a discussion of the influence of Dr Joseph Bell upon him and Conan Doyle's floundering career as a doctor before becoming a writer, how he developed the character of Holmes, how advances in criminal forensics inspired him, etc. I recommend this film to everyone, it's fascinating.
> Life of Air Arthur Conan Doyle Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJbYkq767QA

Thanks and best regards,
Archaic

[Archaic]

Video: Walking Tour of Sherlock Holmes' London

This is a very enjoyable 6-minute walking tour of special Sherlock Holmes sites in London.
These are the real London locations related to the original books- not to the later movies.
A must for any Holmes fan or history buff.

It's presented by Simon Rodway of Silver Cane Walking Tours.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rM_XIHbx4ps&feature=related

Cheers,
Archaic

[Archaic]

Sherlock Holmes Museum, London: Website & Tour

Here's the official website of the Sherlock Holmes Museum at 221B Baker Street, London:

http://www.sherlock-holmes.co.uk/

Video tour of the Sherlock Holmes Museum: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nE4b...eature=related

Best regards,
Archaic

[Celesta]

Sherlock Holmes: The Man and His World by H.R.F Keating.

A biography of Doyle's great detective, with lots of nice old drawings and even some photos.

[Celesta]

For Jeremy Brett lovers

Here's a link to a site with some photos of the actor Jeremy Brett. To some, Jeremy was the penultimate Sherlock.

http://www.sherylfranklin.com/sh-brett5.html

[Celesta]

Sherlock Holmes and Probabilistic Induction

"Sherlock Holmes and Probabilistic Induction" by Soshichi Uchii, Kyoto University, Japan.

http://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/archive/00000167/00/holmes.html

[Celesta]

The Chronicles of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

That was a nice introduction, Archy. I have a fairly nice resource, yet another link. I didn't see this posted.

http://www.siracd.com/index.shtml

It has a daily quote function, too.

[Archaic]

Conan Doyle E-Books, Free To Download Or Read Online

If all this talk of Conan Doyle and Holmes has made you a feel a bit peckish and you want to read some more of the old tales, here they are as free e-books available on several different sites:

Bibliomania (A wonderful free resource if you love to read):
http://www.bibliomania.com/0/5/182/frameset.html

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University of Adelaide Free E-books, Conan Doyle, Download or Read Online:

http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/d/doyle/arthur_conan/

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This site asks you to register but is free-
CONAN DOYLE STORIES E-BOOKS:

http://www.goanwap.com/ebook-sh-list-0.html

Here is the above site's introduction:
Sherlock Holmes is a famous fictional detective of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, who first appeared in publication in 1887. He is the creation of Scottish-born author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. A brilliant London-based consulting detective, Holmes is famous for his intellectual prowess, and is renowned for his skillful use of "deductive reasoning" while using abductive reasoning (inference to the best explanation) and astute observation to solve difficult cases.

Conan Doyle wrote four novels and fifty-six short stories that featured Holmes. All but four stories are narrated by Holmes's friend and biographer, Dr. John H. Watson; two are narrated by Sherlock Holmes himself, and two others are written in the third person. The first two stories, short novels, appeared in Beeton's Christmas Annual for 1887 and Lippincott's Monthly Magazine in 1890, respectively. The character grew tremendously in popularity with the beginning of the first series of short stories in The Strand Magazine in 1891; further series of short stories and two serialised novels appeared until 1927. The stories cover a period from around 1878 up to 1907, with a final case in 1914.

Conan Doyle, when asked if there was a real Sherlock Holmes, always maintained that Holmes was inspired by Dr. Joseph Bell, for whom Doyle had worked as a clerk at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. Like Sherlock Holmes, Bell was noted for drawing large conclusions from the smallest observations. Dr. Bell was also interested in crime and assisted the police in solving a few cases.

Enjoy! Best regards,
Archaic

[belinda]

Here's a link to a site with some photos of the actor Jeremy Brett. To some, Jeremy was the penultimate Sherlock.

http://www.sherylfranklin.com/sh-brett5.html

Jeremy Brett was, is and always will be Holmes

[Adam Went]

How many people here have read the Holmes-esque books by Carole Nelson Douglas? There was a 2-book series called "Chapel Noir" and "Castle Rouge" around a few years back which are described as "A novel of suspense featuring Irene Adler, Sherlock Holmes and Jack the Ripper".....I have read the former of the two and found it quite a good read, reasonably well based in historical fact given that it's a fiction novel, although a bit dreary in parts...... anybody else read one or both of these and have any thoughts?

Cheers,
Adam.

[Nurse Sarah]

I have just bought a copy of Andrew Lycett's biography of Conan Doyle, about to start reading it...

Can anyone else recommend any biographies of Doyle?

[Celesta]

How many people here have read the Holmes-esque books by Carole Nelson Douglas? There was a 2-book series called "Chapel Noir" and "Castle Rouge" around a few years back which are described as "A novel of suspense featuring Irene Adler, Sherlock Holmes and Jack the Ripper".....I have read the former of the two and found it quite a good read, reasonably well based in historical fact given that it's a fiction novel, although a bit dreary in parts...... anybody else read one or both of these and have any thoughts?

Cheers,
Adam.

Hi Adam, I've read nearly the whole series of Irene Adler books, but I've not read Castle Rouge yet. The first few books are the best in the series. Irene is an extraordinary woman as depicted here, ahead of her time, naturally. I also found Chapel Noir a bit dreary in parts, which is why I haven't finished the second one. I will though.

I like the historical characters she introduces, Buffalo Bill, Louis Tiffany, Sarah Bernhardt, etc. I'm not as fond of the way she makes Holmes an adversary or at least a competitor.

I prefer the way Laurie R. King depicts Holmes. In her stories, he's older, more mature in a number of ways, mellowed by life experience, yet still has the razor keen mind and extraordinary abilities, and Watson remains a kind and loving man and loyal friend in their later years.

Holmes purists will not like either of these authors, but I quite enjoy them, esp. the second series.

[Archaic]

Book: 'The Science of Sherlock Holmes'

Here's a cool book that is one of the 68 books currently on my Amazon Wish List. It's available used for very cheap and looks like a great read.

'The Science of Sherlock Holmes:
From Baskerville Hall to the Valley of Fear, the Real Forensics Behind the Great Detective's Greatest Cases'

Link on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Science-Sherlo.../dp/0471648795

Here's the Review From Publishers Weekly, which mentions a possible new Ripper Suspect (?):
Forensic expert Wagner has crafted a volume that stands out from the plethora of recent memoirs of contemporary scientific detectives. By using the immortal and well-known Sherlock Holmes stories as her starting point, Wagner blends familiar examples from Doyle's accounts into a history of the growth of forensic science, pointing out where fiction strayed from fact. The author avoids the technical details that mar so many other efforts in this genre, injecting life into her narrative by weaving in true crime cases that either influenced Holmes's creator or may have been influenced by a published story from the Baker Street sleuth. Particularly memorable is a creepy 1945 murder of a man who, as a youth, had had an encounter with a spectral dog reminiscent of the hound of the Baskervilles. While some of the speculations are thin (including a passing suggestion about a new Ripper suspect), Wagner presents a balanced view of the history of forensic science that should appeal to a wide audience. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review, Chemistry World: "…will be appreciated…not just by devotees of Holmes…but by anyone interested in the Victorian beginnings of forensic science…" (Chemistry World, August 2006)

If you read it, or have perhaps already read it, please tell us what you think of it.

Thanks and best regards,
Archaic

[Stewart P Evans]

Dust and Shadow

The below novel, Dust and Shadow, by Lyndsay Faye, Simon & Schuster, was published in April 2009 and is an excellent read. It pits Sherlock Holmes against Jack the Ripper and is based on much research. I enjoyed it.

[belinda]

Here's a little puzzle for you. Which former Doctor Who also played Sherlock Holmes

And no you are not allowed to look it up