The Further Rivals of Sherlock Holmes

Rivals of Sherlock Holmes #3

by ed. Sir Hugh Greene (Editor)

Perkis, C.L. The Redhill sisterhood. --
Morrison, A. The loss of Sammy Throckett. --
Donovan, D. The problem of Dead Wood Hall. --
Morrison, A. The case of Janissary. --
Bodkin, M. McD. Murder by proxy. --
Hume, F. The amber beads. --
Bodkin, M. McD. How he cut his stick. --
Meade, L.T. and Halifax, C.A race with the sun. --
Fletcher, J.S. The contents of the coffin. --
Futrelle, J. The mystery of room 666. --
Marsh, R. The man who cut off my hair. --
Whitechurch, V.L. The affair of the German dispatch-box. --
Bramah, E. The tragedy at Brookbend Cottage

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Short Stories, Fiction, Detective, Historical

317 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1973

Reviews

[Dfordoom · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Further Rivals of Sherlock Holmes was the third of Hugh Greene’s anthologies of Victorian and Edwardian crime stories. This time it’s crime in the countryside. And once more Greene has found some wonderful little stories. There are several women detectives, including M. McD Bodkin Q. C.’s pistol-packing Dora Myrl and Richard Marsh’s Judith Lee, a child who solves a mystery (in The Man Who Cut off My Hair) with her lip-reading skills. Marsh was the author of one of the strangest of Victorian gothic mystery novels, The Beetle, and this story has some of the same interesting weirdness as that novel. There are a number of tales of intrigue and espionage, including the truly bizarre but highly diverting and action-filled A Race with the Sun by L. T. Meade and Clifford Halifax. Jacques Futrelle’s The Mystery of Room 666 is a splendid tale of madness and murder told by a madman. Arthur Morrison contributes a couple of typically well-crafted stories. Ernest Bramah’s The Tragedy at Brookbend Cottage boasts both a delightfully convoluted plot and a very dark tone. There are only a couple of relatively weak stories and they’re still by no means bad stories (like Fergus Hume’s The Amber Beads). Overall this is a wonderfully entertaining collection and I recommend it highly.

[Adelais · Rating 3 out of 5]

Симпатична збірка вікторіанських детективів, досить вільно об'єднаних місцем дії поза Лондоном. Видно, що укладач вже трохи по денцю скріб, бо в основному сюжети передбачувані і герої теж. Але декілька справді чудові, особливо про дівчинку, яка вміла читати по губах, здається, це з більшої збірки про неї, треба пошукати.
The Redhill Sisterhood: про підозрілу банду на околицях англійського містечка, тільки не ту, яку всі мали на увазі. Розслідує леді-детектив Лавдей Брук, і банду вона перехитрила.
The Loss of Sammy Throckett: про підступність під час змагань з професійної ходьби (professional pedestrianism). Не дуже цікаво, зате скільки нових спортивних слів дізналася.
The Problem of Dead Wood Hall: Про два незвичайних убивства в кущах, ревнощі і далеку країну Перу. Сюжет наче й непоганий, але оповідач страшенно нудний і пафосний.
The case of Janissary: і знову про ставки, тільки цього разу на перегонах, а сищик ще той махлюй, тому справедливості для шахрая (і вбивці) тут не буде.
Murder by proxy: теж якось нуднувате і занадто марудне. Вбили сквайра, хто з його двох племінників це зробив, якщо один стояв у кімнаті над трупом, а інший внизу в садку їв персик? Відповідь досить очевидна, бо персики так просто не їдять.
The Amber Beads: симпатична розповідь про те, як циганка-власниця ломбардної крамнички врятувала від смертного вироку темношкіру служницю, порозслідувавши замість інспектора (той чітко визнав, хто тут розумніший, і з захопленням виконував вказівки). Але як вбивця зміг прикинутися служницею, досить непереконливо. Ну і словник епохи він такий, не дуже ввічливий.
How He Cut His Stick: в банківського клерка вкрали валізу з грошима в потязі, та ще й звинуватили. До справи береться міс Дора Мірл і за кілька днів усе розплутує, а клерк ходить за нею у відданому захваті і виконує всі команди. А ще так багато їздити на веліках для здоров'я корисно.
A Race With The Sun: про майже промисловий шпіонаж, де винахідника намагаються вбити за допомогою повітряної кулі і його ж винаходу (не шукають легких шляхів). Непогано, але відчувається незакінченим.
The Contents of the Coffin: досить схематична оповідка про те, як вивезти награбовані гроші за допомогою труни. Звичайно, видатний детектив перехопив, але пояснення небагате.
The Mystery of the Room 66: розповідь про вбивство від імені обвинуваченого, і все не так, як здається (майже), а ще він не може зтерти пляму крові з руки.
The Man Who Cut Off My Hair: дівчинка вміє читати по губах, і так знаходить своїх кривдників-грабіжників. Насправді класна історія.
The Affair of German Dispatch-Box: як ексцентричний детектив відікрав у німецького дипкур'єра важливий британський документ. Непогано, але вторинне.
The Tragedy of Brookbend Cottage: як вбити дружину за допомогою електрики, якщо на допомогу не прийде знаменитий детектив. Трошки wtf, бо мотиви ледь окреслені, а герої взагалі силуетами.

[Bill FromPA · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perkis, C.L. The Redhill sisterhood. --
Morrison, A. The loss of Sammy Throckett. --
Donovan, D. The problem of Dead Wood Hall. --
Morrison, A. The case of Janissary. --
Bodkin, M. McD. Murder by proxy. --
Hume, F. The amber beads. --
Bodkin, M. McD. How he cut his stick. --
Meade, L.T. and Halifax, C.A race with the sun. --
Fletcher, J.S. The contents of the coffin. --
Futrelle, J. The mystery of room 666. --
Marsh, R. The man who cut off my hair. --
Whitechurch, V.L. The affair of the German dispatch-box. --
Bramah, E. The tragedy at Brookbend Cottage

[Travis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Uneven, but interesting and occasionally entertaining time capsule.
Whole bunch of writers attempted to cash in on the detective craze and you can discover why so many of this writers/characters aren't household names.

Real hit or miss. You seem to get either a interesting detective or a clever mystery, with a rare few you get both.
Couple decent examples of women detectives.

[Cristina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I particularly liked the story called "The mistery of room 666". It was such a great turn of events.

[Chazzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

An Anthology of 13 tales of crimes that take place in the English countryside. These tales are from Victorian and Edwardian times The crimes are varied and don’t necessarily involve death. There are also property crimes such as theft, vandalism and more.

The majority of the stories were published in periodicals of the time and many only that one time. Some of the authors became well known, some not.

“The Amber Beads” by Fergus Hume was an interesting read for me, as I had read “The Mystery of a Hansom Cab” in 2023 and found that a good read with a number of twists and turns to untangle. The book was published in Australia a year before the first Sherlock Holmes mystery and was a huge success for a number of years. The short story was just as enjoyable.

The introduction is also interesting as it gives the background of the authors and their writing. Some of the authors I’ve read before. Learning of their backgrounds made the stories more interesting and has given me more authors to explore.

[Mark Higginbottom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another in this series of classic golden age crime stories....the last they did I think....and this one is fab .A really fascinating mix of stories most of which I'd never read before.They will appeal to any fans of crime fiction I'm sure,the stories are great and certainly kept me page turning until the end .After reading all this series of books I feel now I shall have to dig out the two television series based on these ...The Rivals Of Sherlock Holmes which are also excellent.....what a shame there aren't any more though.....🙁

[Robert Hepple · Rating 4 out of 5]

First published in 1973, 'Further Rivals of Sherlock Holmes' is the third in the series that began with 'The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes in 1971. This volume contains 13 short stories originally published over the years 1894-1914, by several good authors who were popular at the time. What the stories have in common is a provincial setting, as well as that authentic feel for the period which can include casual racism and anti-German paranoia. Not to mention some bonkers plots, but great fun.

[Davidg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another excellent collection of Victorian crime and mystery stories from Sir Hugh Greene. Calling it “Rivals of Sherlock Holmes” is a bit of a cheat on behalf of the publisher as several of the stories do not fit the brilliant detective mould.

As always, some stories work better than others. For me, the collection started and ended well but sagged a little in the middle.

Enjoyable easy read though.

[Tansy Hepton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting collection of detective stories written around the same time as Sherlock Holmes. They are a mixed bag, none as good as the best of Conan Doyle but I enjoyed then for their portrayal of the times - and especially for the female detectives. Who knew they were a thing then? There's also an introduction with a little bit of biography of many of the authors.

[Rachel Lapidow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting to see the literary competition for Sherlock Holmes. Many of these detectives were interesting and I would like to read more stories of them. Be aware that in some of the stories, the authors use terms for people of color that are very offensive.

[Outlander · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are no real rivals for Sherlock Holmes, he's unsurpassable.

[Jasmine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating clarification: 3.5 stars

Not a bad collection of mystery stories, though I wouldn't go as far to say that they are 'rivals' of Sherlock Holmes. Some of the stories' resolutions were a little hard to understand--probably because their meaning/relevance now has changed since they were published in the late 18th-early 19th century. I bought the book at a second-hand place for the vintage-looking cover :p

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

A third collection in a series gathering other detectives from the same era as Sherlock Holmes. The earlier collections may be better, but these stories were mediocre. I can understand why these detectives would disappear while Holmes continues to be read.

[Leli · Rating 4 out of 5]

precious.
classic crimes.

------------------------


jadi autis. padahal lagi jagain si kals yg demam.

[Bev · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was pretty good. Some stories were well written, some were predictable and felt like they were following step-by-step instructions on mystery writting.

[Cindy DeLong · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this, but not as much as Sherlock Holmes.