The world bibliography of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. A classified and annotated list of materials relating to their lives and adventures.

by Ronald Burt De Waal

First printing.

Genres: Nonfiction

526 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1974

Reviews

[Brooke · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't really know what this was when I ordered it from Book Depository. It was really inexpensive, and I had seen it on some kind of "books every Sherlockian should own" list. I was surprised when it arrived, a massive hardcover, sort of beat up, it had been a library book in Washington at one point. I felt a little buyer's remorse. ("Where am I supposed to keep this beast?") But it ended up being really fun to go through, despite it's sadly outdated content. It's got a ton of illustrations and lists. I love me some lists. My favorite section was the bibliography of Holmes film content. Some really weird stuff listed in there that I just had no idea about. Anyway, I recommend this for crazed Sherlockians, but not for anyone else.

[Jesse Field · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another book chosen at Wilson Library to prop my laptop up to a higher position so I don't crane my neck as much.

Just yesterday as I taught my class I was thinking aloud about the way "fantasy" is related to the idea of the "floating life" in Chinese literature. Sherlock Holmes is of course a fantasy character in a fantasy world. He is also the subject of fandom: fantasy readers who create communities based on mutual interest in the fantasy. Thus de Waal created this bibliography after being inducted into the "Baker Street Irregulars." What the bibliography is is no less than a record of the international fandom; it is an archive of community. I note the touching intimacy of the acknowledgements, in which de Waal writes, "Had it not been for my mother, I probably never would have developed an interest in Sherlock Holmes..." which reminds me that close family attachments in fandom communities are not impossible, as I implied yesterday in class. But I would still say they are rare -- friendships based on mutual interest are the central thing.

This is a bizarrely attractive bibliography to me, in large part because of the section titled "The Writings about the Writings," which is an annotated bibliography with a humor element, e.g.:

3329. Johnson, Virginia P. "The Adventure of the Misguided Males," BSJ [OS], 3, No. 4 (October 1948), 501-505. Further evidence that not only was Watson a woman, but also that he was the wife of Sherlock Holmes!

or in the section on criticism of the "Tales," under "The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton,"

2311. Donegall, Lord. "'The Worst Man in London,'" The New Strand, 1, No. 4 (March 1962), 424-426. (Baker Street and Beyond, No. 4) After dating the adventure February 1899, the author is somewhat critical of Holmes and Watson for their housebreaking activities during the Milverton episode.