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The Annotated Sherlock Holmes Vol 1 Only
1974 2ND EDITION 688 PP VOL 1 ONLY GREEN CLOTH HARDCVR W/ DJ
Hardcover
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About the author
Arthur Conan Doyle
15.4k books24.1k followersSir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for A Study in Scarlet, the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Holmes and Dr. Watson. The Sherlock Holmes stories are milestones in the field of crime fiction.
Doyle was a prolific writer. In addition to the Holmes stories, his works include fantasy and science fiction stories about Professor Challenger, and humorous stories about the Napoleonic soldier Brigadier Gerard, as well as plays, romances, poetry, non-fiction, and historical novels. One of Doyle's early short stories, "J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement" (1884), helped to popularise the mystery of the brigantine Mary Celeste, found drifting at sea with no crew member aboard.
Doyle was a prolific writer. In addition to the Holmes stories, his works include fantasy and science fiction stories about Professor Challenger, and humorous stories about the Napoleonic soldier Brigadier Gerard, as well as plays, romances, poetry, non-fiction, and historical novels. One of Doyle's early short stories, "J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement" (1884), helped to popularise the mystery of the brigantine Mary Celeste, found drifting at sea with no crew member aboard.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 1, 2022
Santa Claus brought me this book many, many years ago, which was where I first learned that highly educated grown-up people argued about whether it was rainy or sunny on November 3, 1878.
I still own it and use it. A must-have for devoted Sherlock fans.
I still own it and use it. A must-have for devoted Sherlock fans.
January 17, 2013
I have been rereading this since Jan. 1. I am fascinated by all the minutiae of the annotated version.
December 11, 2021
First is my review of Volume 1. Then Volume 2 and a "Final Thoughts" commentary about Sir Arthur himself.
*--- Volume 1 ---*
I just completed Volume 1 and will start Volume 2 but wanted to provide my review.
These volumes should be in every Sherlock Holmes fans' library!! I read all of Conan Doyle's Holmes stories as a young teenager and loved them all. But being young and American, a lot of details and context that would have added enhanced color and significance to this great literature were all lost.. to a young kid (me).
With these volumes, annotations abound with wonderful tidbits that enhance one's enjoyment!
I personally love details about locations and shops and all things about Victorian London that are filled in. London/British slang are identified - quick -- what is a "bob and a tanner"??? Easy to see in annotations and faster than Wikipedia ;-)
Another thing I like are when British Victorian era prices are annotated with (1950s?) to US values.
Volume 1 also has an excellent Forward that presents amazing details about Conan Doyle's life prior to and as he became famous. This is AMAZING content I never found ANYWHERE. THIS IS the Shizzle!!
What was the most relatable thing about Doyle is - he wrote these wonderful works to make money. He was AMAZINGLY FANTASTIC especially as he got cranking out story after story and taking all of this to the bank - GOOD FOR HIM!!!
The Forward details all of this and you have to marvel at how brilliant Doyle was and how fiscally astute he was as well.
Again... he didn't get knighted for nothing.. he was simply brilliant and awesome.
Was he human and make mistakes? Sure.. duh!! Lots of minor chronological errors CAN BE DEDUCED if you spent the time through all of the works.
There are also exaggerations and out-and-out false hoods written as truth in these stories.
This is where the annotations REALLY annoy me. I have gotten used to them and now usually ignore them. They point out anachronisms, they conjecture what Watson was thinking, why could have Holmes made such an anachronistic error or cite a historical reference incorrectly.
Ugh! HEYYY!!! Conan Doyle was brilliant but these stories were written over years and how (and WHY should) he recall referenced past works correctly??
Like any serial type author, Doyle kept things consistent and balanced through out but he did not have a full staff of continuity editors making sure everything lined up!!
But the annotations rip "Watson" and "Holmes" constantly. The answer to all of this is - Doyle wrote excellent one-of-a-kind FICTION that has lived on beautifully through generations. Why act like teenage nit-picker-know-it-alls and play this game.
You see the same kind of issues in Star Trek's original series. In this case, writers wrote what filled their dramatic needs.. they didn't check some Enterprise specifications to see if the space ship could withstand Warp 10.. they just wrote what they needed. Same for Doyle, back then.
Trekkies (like these annotation's authors) nit pick about this. Doyle was well known for being tried of writing them and got more cavalier in my opinion as he wound things down.. good on him.
For reference, when Star Trek's new TV series came out, the show's creators literally wrote all laws, specifications and rules into official Canon that never could be wavered in Next Generation.
*--- Volume 2 ---*
I completed reading Vol II and wanted to update my review of Vol I with these final thoughts about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Everything I wrote in the Vol I review still stands but I want to conclude with final thoughts.
In general, Doyle continued his generally excellent Sherlock Holmes stories work for several more decades.
Like most of his book length single stories (A Study in Scarlet, Baskervilles, Boscombe Valley, etc.) and true to a great deal of shorter stories here in Vol II, Doyle continually uses the same multiple literary devices:
1. Real (presumed yellow journalism) stories from the wild west, i.e., USA are the foundation of the story line of the "adventure"
2. OR that the primary actors of the adventures had lived in other parts of the British dominion (South Africa, Australia and/or Canada) and were in London (or recently arrived)
3. The primary crimes of interest take place locally and the stories follow the current events as they come to conclude with a resolution and then the INFAMOUS back stories (that some are decades old) that follow with some final epistle of the current circumstance
While most are great stories, one tires of seeing this pattern repeat and repeat, when reading the "canon".
If one is familiar with Doyle's attitude about the characters he created, after decades of writing, you get the idea he is merely "phoning it in" (no exuberant effort is made) to appease his fans and add more pounds Sterling to his existing assets.
At this point, and after decades of being an ardent fan of his work, I have had enough. I am happy for the man. He grew up in a difficult and somewhat destitute family and was aided by more financially stable relatives.
He was able to get an education to become a Dr, that led to an absolutely poor medical career. And he lucked out, by getting his stories published.
As his writing success took hold, it becomes noticeable as Doyle cranked out stories that allowed him to prosper. Again, I am happy for him and his Estate (that still is cashing out).
Sadly, Doyle took the contemporary attitude about people of color into his stories. As he referenced US culture in his stories, so did the abject racism that still abounds here.
One of Doyle's stories make reference to comparing African tribal characteristics as if they some non homo sapien "breeds". Utterly disgusting to me personally.
Stories regarding Americans always focus on the evil POOR PEOPLE and the great wealthy individuals in the stories, who save the day.
Doyle also includes "colorful" American terms for African Americans, probably for "authenticity" but I also find Doyle duplicitous in feeding racism.
Again, this was the standard white man's perspective then, and sadly still today (review written week of George Floyd's murder by cop in MN)
REGARDLESS - these volumes are a FANTASTIC ASSET TO LA Public Library system! Thank you !!!
*--- Volume 1 ---*
I just completed Volume 1 and will start Volume 2 but wanted to provide my review.
These volumes should be in every Sherlock Holmes fans' library!! I read all of Conan Doyle's Holmes stories as a young teenager and loved them all. But being young and American, a lot of details and context that would have added enhanced color and significance to this great literature were all lost.. to a young kid (me).
With these volumes, annotations abound with wonderful tidbits that enhance one's enjoyment!
I personally love details about locations and shops and all things about Victorian London that are filled in. London/British slang are identified - quick -- what is a "bob and a tanner"??? Easy to see in annotations and faster than Wikipedia ;-)
Another thing I like are when British Victorian era prices are annotated with (1950s?) to US values.
Volume 1 also has an excellent Forward that presents amazing details about Conan Doyle's life prior to and as he became famous. This is AMAZING content I never found ANYWHERE. THIS IS the Shizzle!!
What was the most relatable thing about Doyle is - he wrote these wonderful works to make money. He was AMAZINGLY FANTASTIC especially as he got cranking out story after story and taking all of this to the bank - GOOD FOR HIM!!!
The Forward details all of this and you have to marvel at how brilliant Doyle was and how fiscally astute he was as well.
Again... he didn't get knighted for nothing.. he was simply brilliant and awesome.
Was he human and make mistakes? Sure.. duh!! Lots of minor chronological errors CAN BE DEDUCED if you spent the time through all of the works.
There are also exaggerations and out-and-out false hoods written as truth in these stories.
This is where the annotations REALLY annoy me. I have gotten used to them and now usually ignore them. They point out anachronisms, they conjecture what Watson was thinking, why could have Holmes made such an anachronistic error or cite a historical reference incorrectly.
Ugh! HEYYY!!! Conan Doyle was brilliant but these stories were written over years and how (and WHY should) he recall referenced past works correctly??
Like any serial type author, Doyle kept things consistent and balanced through out but he did not have a full staff of continuity editors making sure everything lined up!!
But the annotations rip "Watson" and "Holmes" constantly. The answer to all of this is - Doyle wrote excellent one-of-a-kind FICTION that has lived on beautifully through generations. Why act like teenage nit-picker-know-it-alls and play this game.
You see the same kind of issues in Star Trek's original series. In this case, writers wrote what filled their dramatic needs.. they didn't check some Enterprise specifications to see if the space ship could withstand Warp 10.. they just wrote what they needed. Same for Doyle, back then.
Trekkies (like these annotation's authors) nit pick about this. Doyle was well known for being tried of writing them and got more cavalier in my opinion as he wound things down.. good on him.
For reference, when Star Trek's new TV series came out, the show's creators literally wrote all laws, specifications and rules into official Canon that never could be wavered in Next Generation.
*--- Volume 2 ---*
I completed reading Vol II and wanted to update my review of Vol I with these final thoughts about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Everything I wrote in the Vol I review still stands but I want to conclude with final thoughts.
In general, Doyle continued his generally excellent Sherlock Holmes stories work for several more decades.
Like most of his book length single stories (A Study in Scarlet, Baskervilles, Boscombe Valley, etc.) and true to a great deal of shorter stories here in Vol II, Doyle continually uses the same multiple literary devices:
1. Real (presumed yellow journalism) stories from the wild west, i.e., USA are the foundation of the story line of the "adventure"
2. OR that the primary actors of the adventures had lived in other parts of the British dominion (South Africa, Australia and/or Canada) and were in London (or recently arrived)
3. The primary crimes of interest take place locally and the stories follow the current events as they come to conclude with a resolution and then the INFAMOUS back stories (that some are decades old) that follow with some final epistle of the current circumstance
While most are great stories, one tires of seeing this pattern repeat and repeat, when reading the "canon".
If one is familiar with Doyle's attitude about the characters he created, after decades of writing, you get the idea he is merely "phoning it in" (no exuberant effort is made) to appease his fans and add more pounds Sterling to his existing assets.
At this point, and after decades of being an ardent fan of his work, I have had enough. I am happy for the man. He grew up in a difficult and somewhat destitute family and was aided by more financially stable relatives.
He was able to get an education to become a Dr, that led to an absolutely poor medical career. And he lucked out, by getting his stories published.
As his writing success took hold, it becomes noticeable as Doyle cranked out stories that allowed him to prosper. Again, I am happy for him and his Estate (that still is cashing out).
Sadly, Doyle took the contemporary attitude about people of color into his stories. As he referenced US culture in his stories, so did the abject racism that still abounds here.
One of Doyle's stories make reference to comparing African tribal characteristics as if they some non homo sapien "breeds". Utterly disgusting to me personally.
Stories regarding Americans always focus on the evil POOR PEOPLE and the great wealthy individuals in the stories, who save the day.
Doyle also includes "colorful" American terms for African Americans, probably for "authenticity" but I also find Doyle duplicitous in feeding racism.
Again, this was the standard white man's perspective then, and sadly still today (review written week of George Floyd's murder by cop in MN)
REGARDLESS - these volumes are a FANTASTIC ASSET TO LA Public Library system! Thank you !!!
February 24, 2020
Great for anyone interested in the Sherlockian game.
January 30, 2009
This is one of my treasures. I am a fan of the Annotated Series and an ardent fan of Sherlock Holmes so this is close to perfection for me.
September 11, 2021
A vital edition of the Canon to have in any collection. The annotations give a wealth of information about Holmes and his world. Having the stories in chronological order is excellent as well.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews