Featured Author - Dec 2013 - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

[ஐ Katya (Book Queen)ஐ, Cozy Mysteries Group Owner]

Each December I've tried to feature an old classic mystery author. Not all are entirely cozy but like Dame Agatha Christie and Ellery Queen (previous featured), it's good to go back and see the foundations of where mysteries came from. With that in mind, this year's featured classic mystery author is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Sherlock Holmes novels:

1887 - A Study in Scarlet
1890 - The Sign of Four
1902 - The Hound of the Baskervilles
1915 - The Valley of Fear

Sherlock Holmes short story collections:

1892 - The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
1894 - The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes
1905 - The Return of Sherlock Holmes
1917 - His Last Bow
1927 - The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes
1928 - The Complete Sherlock Holmes Short Stories

Professor Challenger Stories:

1912 - The Lost World
1913 - The Poison Belt
1926 - The Land of Mist
1927 - The Disintegration Machine
1928 - When The World Screamed
1952 - The Professor Challenger Stories

Plays

1893 - Jane Annie or the Good Conduct prize (with J.M. Barrie)
1895 - A Question of Diplomacy
1899 - Brothers
1903 - A Duet. A Duologue
1907 - The Story of Waterloo
1909 - The Fires of Fate
1910 - Brigadier Gerard
1912 - A Pot of Caviare
1912 - The Dramatic Works of Arthur Conan Doyle
1912 - The Speckled Band
1912 - The House of Temperley
1922 - Sherlock Holmes (with William Gillette)

Pamphlets:

1902 - The War in South Africa: Its Cause and Conduct
1907 - The Case of Mr. George Edalji
1912 - The Case of Oscar Slater
1914 - In Quest of Truth
1914 - To Arms!
1914 - Great Britain and the Next War
1915 - The Treatment of our Prisoners
1920 - Our Reply to the Cleric
1920 - A Debate with Dr. Joseph McCabe
1920 - Spiritualism and Rationalism
1925 - The Early Christian Church and Modern Spiritualism
1925 - Psychic Experiences (reprint)

[ஐ Katya (Book Queen)ஐ, Cozy Mysteries Group Owner]

Fiction:


1879 - The Mistery of Sasassa Valley
1885 - The Surgeon of Gaster Fell
1889 - Micah Clarke, his statement as made to his three grandchildren
1889 - The Mystery of Cloomber
1889 - Mysteries and Adventures
1890 - The Captain of the Polestar and other tales
1890 - The Firm of Girdlestone: A Romance of the Unromantic
1891 - The White Company
1892 - The Doings of Raffles Haw
1892 - The Great Shadow
1892 - Beyond the City
1893 - The Gully of Bluemansdyke (reissue of Mysteries and Adventures 1889)
1893 - The Refugees. A Tale of Two Continents
1894 - An Actor's Duel and The Winning Shot
1894 - The Parasite
1894 - Round the Red Lamp: Being Facts and Fancies of a Medical Life
1895 - The Stark Munro Letters
1896 - The Exploits of Brigadier Gerard
1896 - Rodney Stone
1896 - Uncle Bernac: A Memory of the Empire
1898 - The Tragedy of Korosko
1899 - A Duet, with an Occasional Chorus
1900 - The Croxley Master
1900 - The Green Flag and Other Stories of War and Sport
1901 - Strange Studies from Life
1903 - The Adventures of Gerard
1906 - Sir Nigel
1908 - Round the Fire Stories
1911 - The Last Galley: Impressions and Tales
1918 - Danger! and Other Stories
1922 - Tales of Long Ago
1922 - Tales of Pirates and Blue Water
1922 - Tales of Adventure and Medical Life
1922 - Tales of Terror and Mystery
1922 - Tales of Twilight and the Unseen
1922 - Tales of the Ring and Camp / The Croxley Master and Other Tales of the Ring and Camp
1928 - The Dreamers
1929 - The Maracot Deep and Other Stories
1929 - The Conan Doyle Stories
1931 - The Conan Doyle Historical Romances I (Includes:The White Company, Sir Nigel, Micah Clarke and Refugees)
1932 - The Conan Doyle Historical Romances II (Includes: Rodney Stone, Uncle Bernac, The Exploits of Gerard and The Adventures of Gerard)
1934,47 - The Field Bazaar (Private Printings)
1958 - The Crown Diamond (Private Printing)

Verse:

1898 - Songs of Action
1911 - Songs of the Road
1919 - The Guards Came Through and Other Poems
1922 - The Poems of Arthur Conan Doyle. Collected edition

Works on War, the Army and Spiritualism:

1900 - The Great Boer War
1901 - The Immortal Memory
1905 - The Fiscal Question
1906 - An Incursion into Diplomacy
1907 - Through the Magic Door [Essays on books.]
1909 - The Crime of the Congo
1909 - Divorce Law Reform: An Essay
1911 - Why He is Now in Favour of Home Rule
1914 - The German War
1914 - Civilian National Reserve
1914 - The World War Conspiracy
1914 - The German War
1915 - Western Wanderings
1915 - The Outlook on the War
1916 - An Appreciation of Sir John French
1916 - A Visit to Three Fronts
1916 - The British Campaign in France and Flanders, 1914-1918
1917 - Supremacy of the British Soldier
1918 - Life After Death (A Form Letter)
1918 - The New Revelation: or, What Is Spiritualism?
1919 - The Vital Message
1922 - Spiritualism-Some Straight Questions and Direct Answers
1921 - The Wanderings of a Spiritualist
1922 - The Case for Spirit Photography (with others)
1922 - The Coming of the Fairies
1923 - Our American Adventure
1923 - Three of them. A Reminiscence
1924 - Memoirs and Adventures
1924 - Our Second American Adventure
1924 - The Spiritualists Reader (Editor)
1924 - Leon Denis: The Mystery of Joan of Arc (Translator)
1926 - The History of Spiritualism 2 vol.
1927 - Pheneas Speaks. Direct Spirit Communications
1928 - A Word of Warning
1928 - What does Spiritualism actually Teach and Stand for?
1929 - An Open Letter to those of my Generation
1929 - Our African Winter
1929 - The Roman Catholic Church. A rejoinder.
1930 - [A Form Letter]
1930 - [A Second Form Letter]
1930 - The Edge of the Unknown

[Tricia]

Wow, I didn't realize Doyle was so prolific! Since I've never read a Sherlock Holmes novel, I'm going to aim on one of those. Thanks for the great list.

[☯Emily]

A Study in Scarlet is not Doyle's best novel, but it introduces Holmes and Watson and gives a background that is helpful to other novels and the short stories. The best book is the Hound of the Baskervilles. If you only want to read one, then that should be the one. I think Doyle's short stories are wonderful, so they are great option if you want something quick to read during the busy holiday season.

[❂ Murder by Death]

I *love* Sherlock Holmes - I even dragged DH to 221b Baker St. when we were in London, even though the whole thing is sort of cheesy and touristy. :D

[Marisa, Cozy Mysteries Assistant Moderator]

Jennifer, I went with my friends too, and I enjoyed it a lot :D

[Heather L , Cozy Mysteries Moderator]

I probably won't read anything by Doyle this month, since we will be reading The Hound of the Baskervilles for a classics group read in January, and there are a few Christmas-themed books I want to get to this month.

[Leslie]

Ha ha ha! I just finished reading the complete Sherlock Holmes in November but maybe I will some of his other short stories, or Uncle Bernac: A Memory of the Empire (as a U book!)...

[ஐ Katya (Book Queen)ஐ, Cozy Mysteries Group Owner]

I've only read, well it was an audio CD, one of his books. Something about looking for the red headed stranger. Was good. It's time for me to read more, it's just a matter of well... finding the time. lol

[Ericka]

my favorite mystery author in the entire world. i adore sherlock holmes!

[Leslie]

Heather L wrote: "I probably won't read anything by Doyle this month, since we will be reading The Hound of the Baskervilles for a classics group read in January, and there are a few Christmas-themed boo..."

The Holmes short story The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle is set at Christmas. It is available as part of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes on many websites, including Project Gutenberg & Amazon.

[Tricia]

☯Emily is tired of waiting for GR announcement, so now has Booklikes account. wrote: "A Study in Scarlet is not Doyle's best novel, but it introduces Holmes and Watson and gives a background that is helpful to other novels and the short stories. The best book is the Hound of the Ba..."

Thanks for the recommendation. I'll order Hounds too!

[Jennifer]

❂ Jennifer (reviews on BookLikes) wrote: "I *love* Sherlock Holmes - I even dragged DH to 221b Baker St. when we were in London, even though the whole thing is sort of cheesy and touristy. :D"

Me too. Paying homage to a person who never was, but had to do it.

Trivia note - Conan Doyle was a great believer in the occult and supernatural. Believed that fairies were real.

[Heather L , Cozy Mysteries Moderator]

Leslie wrote: The Holmes short story The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle is set at Christmas. It is available as part of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes on many websites, including Project Gutenberg & Amazon."

Cool, thanks for the tip, Leslie. I picked up a copy of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes from the library used book sale last summer, so maybe I'll try to work that one in this month.

[Marisa, Cozy Mysteries Assistant Moderator]

Thank you for the tip, Leslie! As I've read all her Holmes novellas and novels, I think I'll read that story.

[Jeanie]

Sherlock Holmes is either my favorite detective or is in the top 3--Poirot, Archie Goodwin/NeroWolfe, and Armand Gamache jockey for top sspot depending on which I'm reading at the moment--and I have quite a collection of Holmes in audio. I most recently picked up Simon Vance's reading of Homes in "The Complete Sherlock Holmes, Heirloom Edition" and have listened twice to all three volumes of "The Complete Stories of Sherlock Holmes".
It's true that A Study in Scarlet isn't the best, but it is a good introduction. I think the short stories are my favorites.

[❂ Murder by Death]

Marisa wrote: "Jennifer, I went with my friends too, and I enjoyed it a lot :D"

I should have said above with my first post, that I thought it was great as well. :D

[Heather L , Cozy Mysteries Moderator]

Jennifer wrote: Trivia note - Conan Doyle was a great believer in the occult and supernatural. Believed that fairies were real.

Would you believe I learned about that from Elizabeth Peters? It was a part of the plot in her book The Love Talker, which I read back when she was our Featured Author.

[Annie]

I am very much a Sherlock Holmes fan! The Hound of the Baskervilles is my all-time favorite.

[Kathy]

Annie, this is my favorite too.

I can't quite believe that Holmes is a fictional character sometimes. There have been so many interpretations of his personality and character; some I liked and some not so much.

Holmes is especially interesting because Conan Doyle came to hate him, killed him off (supposedly) and then had to bring him back as his other works were not as popular or lucrative.

Thanks so much for this list. When I really like an older author I have to search and search for their complete works. And then some of them are not totally accurate. Well, it can't be an easy task compiling every book, short story, play, etc. that a prolific author ever completed.

[☯Emily]

Agatha Christie also came to heartily dislike one of her characters: Hercule Poirot. She wanted to stop writing books with him in it, but the public wanted more.

[ஐ Katya (Book Queen)ஐ, Cozy Mysteries Group Owner]

I have 3 of his short stories on audio CDs that I bought for like $1 each. They aren't very long. I do however, have a leather bound edition of the complete works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, so I know I have all of them. Just need to read them. :)

[Daisy]

I just finished a second read of The Adventure Of The Dying Detective, Arthur Conan Doyle.

It was a fun read. I'd forgotten some of the details.

In the first paragraph of the story I just love the description of Holmes as described through Mrs. Hudson's (his landlady) eyes.

Sherlock Holmes's flat is "invaded at all hours by throngs of singular and often undesirable characters." He shows "an eccentricity and irregularity in his life." He is incredibly untidy and has an "addiction to music at strange hours." He carries out "revolver practice" indoors, has "weird and often malodorous scientific experiments and the atmosphere of violence and danger which hung around him made him the very worst tenant in London."

[Heather L , Cozy Mysteries Moderator]

I thought this might interest Sherlock Holmes fans --

In checking TV listings for this week, I saw that there is a new PBS program on Tuesday night, Dec 17: How Sherlock Changed the World. Check your local PBS station for time/dates in your area.

[Annie]

Heather, Thanks for posting about this PBS program. I'm off to set up my DVR!

[Vicky]

Heather L wrote: "I thought this might interest Sherlock Holmes fans --

In checking TV listings for this week, I saw that there is a new PBS program on Tuesday night, Dec 17: How Sherlock Changed the World. Check y..."

Thank you. I'm taping this one also.

[Heather L , Cozy Mysteries Moderator]

You're welcome! I wasn't able to watch or record it tonight, but have plans to watch when it airs again late Friday night.

[Beth]

Just finished A Study in Scarlet. I have never read Sherlock Holmes before (shame shame) and really enjoyed it. I am moving on to Hounds now. Thanks for the nudge to read these!

[❂ Murder by Death]

Beth wrote: "Just finished A Study in Scarlet. I have never read Sherlock Holmes before (shame shame) and really enjoyed it. I am moving on to Hounds now. Thanks for the nudge to read these!"

I love The Hound of the Baskervilles - it's just so spooky! :)

[ஐ Katya (Book Queen)ஐ, Cozy Mysteries Group Owner]

❂ Jennifer (reviews on BookLikes) wrote: "Beth wrote: "Just finished A Study in Scarlet. I have never read Sherlock Holmes before (shame shame) and really enjoyed it. I am moving on to Hounds now. Thanks for the nudge to read these!"

You're welcome. We all need one now and then. That's one reason why I like to feature a classic mystery author once a year.

[Dolly]

The only Sherlock Holmes story I've ever read is A Study in Scarlet and that was only about a year ago. I really liked it and realized that I certainly need to read more of these books.

[Sally]

I reread The Hound of the Baskervilles right after a trip to England in September. One of the places we visited was Dartmoor. I'm happy to say it is still suitably bleak and spooky. It isn't a place I would want to be lost in. We walked up to some of the ancient stone house foundations and drove past the same old prison that is in the book. I had a better appreciation for the story after visiting that incredible place.

[ஐ Katya (Book Queen)ஐ, Cozy Mysteries Group Owner]

That's great Sally. Would love to visit places like that.

[Heather L , Cozy Mysteries Moderator]

Finished A Study in Scarlet this afternoon, and have started The Hound of the Baskervilles. With sub-zero temps moving in overnight, Sunday will be a good day to hole up and spend most of the day reading.

[Marisa, Cozy Mysteries Assistant Moderator]

My God, Heather! Enjoy your readings (I don't think that weather can be enjoyed)

[Heather L , Cozy Mysteries Moderator]

Marisa: Yes, the weather pretty much sucks across most of the US right now. It was 9F at 6am, but with windchill felt like -6 . . . and it steadily dropped throughout the day. At 7pm it was 0F, with windchill of -17. Our high for monday is only supposed to be -14, but windchills will be -40 to -50. As an idea how dangerous those temps are, area schools canceled classes for Monday last Friday, and a lot of stores and businesses say they will close early Monday night.

[Marisa, Cozy Mysteries Assistant Moderator]

Keep safe, Heather, and I hope it ends being a lot of small problems, but nothing else.

[Heather L , Cozy Mysteries Moderator]

Thanks, Marisa -- we have surrived the evil Polar Vortex. There were a lot of frozen pipes, water main breaks and power outages across the country, but thankfully only 21 deaths attributed to the extreme cold so far (3 in my own state).

Finished The Hound of the Baskervilles this evening. What an excellent read! That scene at the end of chapter nine, on the dark, cold moor was enough to make one shiver more than the polar vortex that had us in its icy grip this week.

[ஐ Katya (Book Queen)ஐ, Cozy Mysteries Group Owner]

I'm glad everyone had fun exploring an old classic author this past month. Sometimes it's good to go back to see where things started. I've been trying to feature classic mystery authors each December. (Now that the obvious choices are gone, next December is going to be harder! lol)

[Marisa, Cozy Mysteries Assistant Moderator]

Wilkie Collins? Edgar Allan Poe? Georgette Heyer? S.S. Van Dine? ;) I think there're still some good options...

[Daisy]

Would Josephine Tey or Ngaio Marsh count as cozies?

[ஐ Katya (Book Queen)ஐ, Cozy Mysteries Group Owner]

Not all our classic authors aren't necessarily "cozies" as they were written back before we had definitions like that. But we couldn't have gotten to where we are now if they hadn't started it all.

[☯Emily]

Have you selected Dorothy Sayers?

[Daisy]

Briansgirl (Book Sale Queen) wrote: "Not all our classic authors aren't necessarily 'cozies'"

I guess I had realized that. I statement was meant to be three-fold: suggesting the two authors as classics (Josephine Tey is one of my favorites), asking everyone's opinion as to whether these might be considered classic and generally asking people if they would consider these as cozy. Not very clear . . . I know.

[Heather L , Cozy Mysteries Moderator]

☯Emily is tired of waiting for GR announcement, so now has Booklikes account. wrote: "Have you selected Dorothy Sayers?"

Sayers was featured a couple years ago. There's a list of all previous featured authors on the main FCA board.

[Lynn]

Heather L wrote: "☯Emily is tired of waiting for GR announcement, so now has Booklikes account. wrote: "Have you selected Dorothy Sayers?"

Sayers was featured a couple years ago. There's a list of all previous feat..."

Is there some reason authors cannot be repeated? Most have enough works to be a feature author more than once. And if classic authors are used only in December, it's not like we'd be using the same ones every year. Additionally, the group gets new members all the time -- who have not participated in all the featured author discussions/read-alongs. I see no problem with repeating.

[Marisa, Cozy Mysteries Assistant Moderator]

I think that, mainly, because there're a lot of authors.

[ஐ Katya (Book Queen)ஐ, Cozy Mysteries Group Owner]

Lynn wrote: "Is there some reason authors cannot be repeated? Most have enough works to be a feature author more than once. And if classic authors are used only in December, it's not like we'd be using the same ones every year. Additionally, the group gets new members all the time -- who have not participated in all the featured author discussions/read-alongs. I see no problem with repeating."

At some point, yes, I may be repeating some featured authors. After all, it's been nearly 4 years of monthly authors featured. We have so many cozy authors though that I don't really want to keep going back, however some we've featured in the past have new series out, etc. Classic authors might definetly be repeated. Some newer authors don't have as many books to feature, so on rare occasions, I've featured more than one author in a month before.

Please be sure to check the list of all the authors we've previously featured. The threads are all still active for you to check out their bibliographies. Also, please feel free to suggest anyone you'd like to see featured (just mark which ones would be "classic" authors as not many of those are suggested, so I don't miss them.)