The Silly Side of Sherlock Holmes

Original Illustrations

by Philip Ardagh

Nothing evokes the world of Sherlock Holmes like the original illustrations from The Strand Magazine - used here to tell of a strange change in behaviour of the master detective, as seen through the eyes of his long-suffering companion, John Watson, MD, to outrageously silly effect. Failure to laugh could result in prosecution...

With the full consent of the estate of the late, and undeniably great, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (which has very wisely registered the name 'Sherlock Holmes' as a trademark), Philip Ardagh - himself a life-long Sherlock Holmes fan - has taken illustrations from issues of The Strand Magazine and welded them together to create The Silly Side of Sherlock Holmes: A Brand New Adventure Using a Bunch of Old Pictures. The title says it all, really. Be prepared for some very silly sleuthing indeed.

In writing The Silly Side of Sherlock Holmes (and The-Not-So-Very-Nice Goings-On at Victoria Lodge before it), Philip Ardagh follows in the grand tradition of E. V. Lucas and George Morrow and their 1911 book What A Life! (based on a heavily doctored Whiteley's store catalogue), Woody Allen's What's Up, Tiger Lily? (an existing Japanese film for which he created a completely new plot and dialogue), and those caption competitions you used to find in the back of Punch.

Genres: Humor

128 pages, Hardcover

First published November 3, 2005

About the author

Over six-and-a-half feet tall, with a bushy beard, Philip Ardagh is not only very big but also very hairy. He is the author of the Eddie Dickens Trilogy and when not writing silly books, Mr. Ardagh is quite serious and frowns a great deal. He lives in a seaside town somewhere in England with his wife and their son, Fred.

Reviews

[Gerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

In his earlier book 'The Not-So-Very-Nice Goings-On at Victoria Lodge' Philip Ardagh used illustrations from 'The Girl's Own Paper' of the 1890s to tell a brand new tale of intrigue that had hilarious undertones.

Here he uses the same principle, combining the original illustrations from the Sherlock Holmes stories in 'The Strand Magazine' with his hilarious text to tell the tale of 'The Silly Side of Sherlock Holmes'. Not unexpectedly Sidney Paget, the original Holmes' illustrator in 'The Strand Magazine', features prominently and his illustrations help immensely in telling a tale of frivolous fun.

The (silly) story all begins with the words, 'One morning, Holmes burst from the grandfather clock in the corner, dressed as a duchess.' Paget's illustration, from 'The Gold Pince-Nez', depicts the duchess popping out from the long case clock with the caption 'From this day forward, Watson,' he informed me, 'I shall be showing more of my silly side.' And that certainly sets the tone for all that follows ... with one or two more cross-dressing episodes to boot!

The Grimm Sisters, Doctor Quack and others appear in unlikely situations in a book that is fun to read, challenging to work out which Holmes' stories the illustrations come from (the author kindly delineates them all at the end) and provides plenty of laugh-out-loud moments in this likeable bit of frippery!

[Pluto_reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

This was a very silly silly silly book about Sherlock that gave me a few laughs that were much needed; never imagined or thought that Sherlock could have this very silly side of him.

[Elly White · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh my goodness my friend tossed this book at me when I was in need of a laugh and that's what it provided. It's not a novel or a story but a collection of pictures form the original Strand magazine, with captions. oh my the captains fit perfectly, and are very funny. It is a very silly, book and should not be taken with the slightest shred of seriousness! If you are familiar with the illustrations then that adds another level of humor to the book. Do not read if you want something serious, or if you want accuracy. Do read if you want something funny, very Silly and a little bit idiotic.

[Heather W · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really, really, really quick read that is exactly what it says on the tin - silly. It is nonsense and there was no mystery. I really like books like this, especially when it is a topic/ book series I love. I spent a bit longer seeing if I could identify which the stories the pictures came from.

All in all, a re-read that I great fun

[Gillian · Rating 2 out of 5]

The best part of this book for me were the illustrations but then they were from the original Conan Doyle stories published in the Strand Magazines, a publication I remember enjoying when I was young and even then they were from another age. The new captions for original illustrations raised a smile once or twice but not enough to recommend the book.

[Ross Vincent · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short little book, combining classic Pictures from the old Sherlock Holmes stories and a new, silly little Adventure.

A perfect little book to read on the anniversary of the birth of Sherlock Holmes

[Adrian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Silly and a lot of fun. A good stocking filler for the Sherlock Holmes fan in your life! 3 1/2 stars.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very clever, very silly.

[Gus Scholtz · Rating 5 out of 5]

He has taken pictures from the Strand magazine and formed a comical story using them. Laugh out loud funny.Especially for a Holmes fan.
Very quick read but very funny and entertaining.

[Tim Robinson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some cheap giggles. Nothing like his best work.

[Outlander · Rating 2 out of 5]

A Pythonesque view of Sherlock Holmes using the Strand cartoons of the period, a bit of fluff to lighten the pea-souper smog of Victorian/Edwardian London.

[Leni Dytrych · Rating 3 out of 5]

An odd little book

[Esmee Metz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Coffee table book more like. Cute to look through, not a vacation book.

[Tinneal · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book as a Get Well Soon gift from a very good friend. She couldn't have picked a better book for me!

Although this book is quite short, it does well with the pages it has. It's a collection of some of the original Sidney Paget illustrations done for the Holmes canon. They're taken out of context, and given a new captions, which when read in order, make a new story. It's very dumb and very silly and made me laugh until I cried. Brilliant!

[Savanna Rhodes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was honestly perfection. If you're even slightly interested in Sherlock Holmes and have some awareness of the original stories/illustrations then you'll probably be able to find some sort of appreciation for this book. I found it hilarious and absolutely loved it; it's definitely worth getting.

[Benji · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essentially a book of captions, tSSoSH takes illustrations from original Sherlock Holmes books and takes them out of context with brilliant results. A small yet funny book which I would recommend for a good little laugh.

[Elli · Rating 4 out of 5]

HAHAHAHAHH!!!!!!!! I laughed through this whole book!!!!! Totally happy I bought this!!!!!!!!

[Lin Let · Rating 3 out of 5]

A super fast read but very funny too. Wished it was longer though ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ

[Andy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wie Philip Ardagh Sherlock Holmes sieht, ist schon recht originell. Die Illustrationen passen perfekt. Ein nettes kleines Buch.

[Alison Clifford · Rating 2 out of 5]

Entertaining!

[Lori Forrester · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was quite funny and the pictures used fit what was written. The story was... not what I had expected; I am glad I read it.

[Katrina MacWhirter · Rating 4 out of 5]

"With the power of his magnificent mind, Holmes levitated his napkin..."

[Swati Daftuar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hahahaha what the hell was that. Whatever it was, I definitely liked it.