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Continuing Buddy Read of the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, with Adrian
"Silver Blaze" is Doyle at his very best. Although he was later raked over the coals for some inaccuracies about horse racing (corrected in the Jeremy Brett Granada adaptation, which has the reveal before the race), Doyle's depiction of animal behavior is spot-on in the story, both in terms of the frightened animal's flight to another stable for security, and the now-famous dog that did not bark.
Mary wrote: ""Silver Blaze" is Doyle at his very best. Although he was later raked over the coals for some inaccuracies about horse racing (corrected in the Jeremy Brett Granada adaptation, which has the reveal..."I have to agree Mary, Silver Blaze is just fabulous. I think his descriptive powers in this story are a forerunner of how great The Hound of the Baskervilles will be next year.
And the dog, well everyone knows about the DOG
And here we are, another two months have passed and we're about to enter December.So just to remind people this is the full reading schedule
* June and July 2020 -The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (although Scandal in .Bohemia must be the last read not the first) (12 short stories) ,✅
* August and September - A Study in Scarlet (novel) ✅
* October and November - The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (without The Final Problem) (12 short stories)✅
* December and January 2021 - The Sign of the Four (novel) and then
* February 2021 - The Final Problem from “Memoirs”
* March and April 2021 - The Return of Sherlock Holmes (13 short stories)
* May and June - His Last Bow (7 short stories - 8 in America)
* July and August -The Valley of Fear (novel)
* September and October - The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes (12 short stories) (Ending in “Shoscombe Old Place”)
* November and December- The Hound of the Baskervilles (novel)
So dig out your copies of The Sign of Four or fire up your kindle (e-book reader) and post your comments as you read over the next couple of months, enjoy
Thanks for re-posting the list Adrian! I had to go back to find out what we´ll be reading next...
Finished the last three stories in Memoirs and ready to go on to Sign of Four. Enjoyed meeting Mycroft in Greek Interpreter and the Naval Treaty shows how much Sherlock enjoys a surprise reveal.
Michaela wrote: "Thanks for re-posting the list Adrian! I had to go back to find out what we´ll be reading next..."No probs Michaela, always useful to have the list. I'm just really glad that there are a few people joining us for December/January.
Ellen wrote: "Finished the last three stories in Memoirs and ready to go on to Sign of Four. Enjoyed meeting Mycroft in Greek Interpreter and the Naval Treaty shows how much Sherlock enjoys a surprise reveal."I'm really glad you enjoyed the Greek Interpreter, it is a great story. And yes Sherlock's reveal is very similar to Poirot's reveals.
Glad you're joining us through Sign of Four Ellen.
I have been enjoying my read of The Sign of Four. I have enjoyed the sense of suspense. Having just read six (6) Miss Marple novels in the last few months, I have enjoyed the change of energy and pace.
Well, I started reading this a couple of days ago, for the "n"th time in my life, and the amazing thing is yet again its almost like I have never read it. The writing is so crisp, so focussed, and whilst I do remember the story the intricacies and odd throw away comments I had forgotten. So, so far its great fun.My version has an introduction by the great Graham Greene, himself a Holmes lover. He comments that this story has remained in his memory for over sixty years, and I can understand why.
I started my reread yesterday and am up to chapter 9. We get a little bit of personal info on Dr. Watson in the first chapter in a way that again highlights Sherlock's methods. This is great storytelling. In my opinion Gregson is a bit of a doofus even more than Lestrade.
Of all the full-length Holmes novels, The Sign of Four has the most Holmes in it, and the most character-driven dialogue between the two men. The Hound of the Baskervilles has a better mystery, but The Sign of Four has equally brilliant set pieces and perhaps the most memorable rapport between Holmes and Watson.Probably of you already know, but it's fascinating to think that both Sign and The Picture of Dorian Gray were commissioned at the very same luncheon at the Langham Hotel between Doyle and Oscar Wilde, by the editor of Lippincott's!
https://www.londonremembers.com/memor...
Haven’t been in a reading mood all December. October and November just got away from me....so needless to say, I’m behind! Thankfully short stories are, well....short lol. I did go back through all the comments to make sure I’m were I’m supposed to be and please forgive me if I’m wrong but I need to read all the short stories between SilverBlaze through Naval Treaty (cardboard box for me is in his last bow but I’ll read that one too) and the novel, The Sign of Four, correct?
Allie wrote: "Haven’t been in a reading mood all December. October and November just got away from me....so needless to say, I’m behind! Thankfully short stories are, well....short lol. I did go back through a..."
Hi Allie, just to say no need to stress or get concerned, we are, as you know, reading at a very leisurely pace (because I know we all have other reading challenges or commitments).
So to answer your questions :-
Yes, all the short stories from Silver Blaze to Naval Treaty (from Memoirs). The Final Problem , we will read in February.
And yes, we are through December and January reading Sign of Four.
I'm sure you'll catch up, so no worries.
Thanks for confirming, Adrian! No worries here....just would like to be out of this dang reading slump and hoping Sherlock & Watson can help do that for me!
Allie wrote: "Thanks for confirming, Adrian! No worries here....just would like to be out of this dang reading slump and hoping Sherlock & Watson can help do that for me!"
I hope so to. I'm putting my money on Sherlock and Dr John helping your slump.
Happy New Year to you, all the rest of the Sherlock Buddy Readers, all the rest of the English Mystery Clubbers and of course our Mod, Jean. May 2021 bring good news , health and more happiness to us all, oh and some great reads.
Mod
Happy new year for everyone! I have just finished "The sign of four" It is easy to read and very intriguing! It makes me remember Study in scarlet. In both there is a story inside a story. I don´t say any more. I don´t want to spoil the reading, and I don´t know how to insert the spoiler alert yet...)
It’s an easy formula, Carolina! < spoiler > your message here < / spoiler >
Just don’t put spaces in between anything (I had to here in order to show the formula :)
That formula is also how you bold, underline, or italicize a text if that’s something you’d like to do.
Bold: < b > your message < / b >
Underline: < u > your message < / u >
Italicize: < i > your message < / i >
*Just remember no spaces between the figures and the figures and the first and last part of your message. Your message itself can have spaces like a normal sentence though.
carolina wrote: "Happy new year for everyone! I have just finished "The sign of four" It is easy to read and very intriguing! It makes me remember Study in scarlet. In both there is a story inside a story. I don´t ..."I've always found it an easy read carolina, so its nice to hear someone else say that, I'm also glad you enjoyed it.
Happy New Year to you as well.
And @Allie, thanks for sharing those tips
Thanks allie for all the tips! I am going to try it!
So as we near the end of January, I hope anyone still reading The Sign of Four is really enjoying it. A wonderful novel with some great characters and an intricate investigation by Holmes and Watson.So for next month, February, we have only one short story as part of our ongoing read through to next Christmas, and that is the infamous The Adventure of the Final Problem from The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.
This is a short story that leads nicely into the read for March and April which is aptly entitled The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
By the time Sir ACD wrote this and it was published in 1893, he was getting mightily fed up with his creation and had even written to his mother saying he was thinking of killing Holmes. So you can imagine the response from his fans and avid readers when it was released.
Anyway, I hope everyone is still enjoying the interplay between Sherlock and John and the wonderful characters and settings of Victorian London and its suburbs.
As ever please feel free to leave your thoughts or questions on this thread and I will do my best to comment or answer.
Mod
You’ve done a great job running this, Adrian! I’ve been a bad participant though. I still need to catch up from December and January!
Reread The Sign of Four in December and thoroughly enjoyed it. When you have a great story like this it doesn't matter that you know how it turns out. I like the story within a story a bit better here than in A Study in Scarlet.
Allie wrote: "You’ve done a great job running this, Adrian! I’ve been a bad participant though. I still need to catch up from December and January!"
Thanks so much, I just find it fun to talk about books that have a very special meaning to me. And I'll let you off Allie 😊.
February is an easy month with only one short story The Adventure of the Final Problem. And if you do want to catch up Dec and Jan, then The Sign of Four is a really enjoyable, not too long read.
Ellen wrote: "Reread The Sign of Four in December and thoroughly enjoyed it. When you have a great story like this it doesn't matter that you know how it turns out. I like the story within a story ..."I'm glad you really enjoyed it Ellen. I think its a wonderful book, that introduces us to Mary Morstan if nothing else.
Adrian wrote: "Ellen wrote: "Reread The Sign of Four in December and thoroughly enjoyed it. When you have a great story like this it doesn't matter that you know how it turns out. I like the story w..."Apparently those who have made a study of this say Dr. Watson was married three times but I know when his wife is mentioned I only think of Mary.
Ellen wrote: "Apparently those who have made a study of this say Dr. Watson was married three times but I know when his wife is mentioned I only think of Mary...."Yes "apparently" he had a wife before Mary , who also died, although I haven't noticed any mention; then Mary who dies before Holmes returns; and then he re-marries before the books end, although again we don't get a name.
So here we are in February, and we have an easy month, in that we only have The Adventure of the Final Problem, which is the last short story in MemoirsThis is a wonderful short story that both demonstrates the wonder of Sir Arthur's writing and also John Watson's love for his friend.
I find, considering this is just a short sorry , it is jam packed with vivid scenes and memories, Enjoy
Finally caught up on The Sign of Four, so will soon read this.
Adrian wrote: "So here we are in February, and we have an easy month, in that we only have The Adventure of the Final Problem, which is the last short story in MemoirsThis is a wonderful short st..."
Yay! Maybe I can finally catch up lol.
Mod
Bionic Jean wrote: "LOL a "short sorry" Adrian - it's usually me who makes these typos :D"Damn predictive text ha ha.😊
And I hope you enjoy @Michaela and @Allie
So here we are towards the end of February, I hope people have had a chance of reading The Adventure of the Final Problem. I just find it so emotional even after all the number of times I've read it.To me Sir ACD sets the scene so well, and I can see the mountains, and smell the mountain air as Holmes and Moriarty battle at the Falls. I feel Watson's pain and wonder where we go next.
(view spoiler)
Agree Adrian, as I just read the short story. Looking ahead to the next book! :)
And unbelievably here we are in March 2021. Spring here in the UK is just around the corner and the Daffodils are already beginning to flower. And now it is time to rejoice as we get some amazingly good news in the first short story in The Return of Sherlock Holmes. We shall be reading this wonderful collection of short stories through March and April.
This book comprises :-
The Empty House
The Norwood Builder
The Dancing Men
The Solitary Cyclist
The Priory School
Black Peter
Charles Augustus Milverton
The Six Napoleons
The Three Students
The Golden Pince-Nez
The Missing Three-Quarter
The Abbey Grange
The Second Stain
Some amazing stories in this collection, so I hope those still travelling along with us, are ready 100% to be taken back to Victorian London, to experience the full force of Sherlock Holmes talents, and to be guided step by step along with Dr John Watson, as he renews his acquaintance with the "most intelligent man he has ever known"
ACD must have felt strongly about no more Sherlock Holmes to kill him off. What an outcry there must have been to persuade him to bring him back. Lucky for us.
Ellen wrote: "ACD must have felt strongly about no more Sherlock Holmes to kill him off. What an outcry there must have been to persuade him to bring him back. Lucky for us."Indeed, ACD was a little less emotional than his creation John Watson. “Killed Holmes,” he wrote in his diary. He later said of his famous character: “I have had such an overdose of him that I feel towards him as I do towards paté de foie gras, of which I once ate too much, so that the name of it gives me a sickly feeling to this day.”
However, he did not understand fans – particularly fans of Holmes – very well. The public reaction to the death was unlike anything previously seen for fictional events. More than 20,000 Strand readers cancelled their subscriptions, outraged by Holmes’ premature demise. The magazine barely survived. Its staff referred to Holmes’ death as “the dreadful event”.
And it didn't stop there, people wore black armbands to signify their sadness at Holmes' death. However it took 8 years of public, and rumour has it, Royal pressure before ACD would relent and write another Holmes story, and 10 years before he would "bring him back from the dead".
Adrian wrote: "Ellen wrote: "ACD must have felt strongly about no more Sherlock Holmes to kill him off. What an outcry there must have been to persuade him to bring him back. Lucky for us."Indeed, ACD was a lit..."
And even a decade later, fans queued up to get their copies of a Holmes story once he came back from the dead. I question, in this day and age of short attention spans, whether or not such a feat could be achieved.
Tara wrote: "And even a decade later, fans queued up to get their copies of a Holmes story once he came back from the dead. I question, in this day and age of short attention spans, whether or not such a feat could be achieved...."Completely agree Tara, I very much doubt if that would happen today.
Mod
Reread the first four stories. Dancing Men always gives me such a sense of loss. All the years of happiness that might have been. I don't know if Conan Doyle meant to stir up that kind of emotion but I feel it every time.
Bionic Jean wrote: "Some great short stories to see us through April too, here :) Thanks for the list Adrian; latecomers have time to read them all!"Thanks Jean, I do agree there are some fabulous stories in this collection, commencing with the wonderfulThe Adventure of the Empty House.
As you say we still have another month in which to read these wonderful short stories.
Ellen wrote: "Reread the first four stories. Dancing Men always gives me such a sense of loss. All the years of happiness that might have been. I don't know if Conan Doyle meant to stir up that kind of emotion b..."A wonderful point of view Ellen and completely right. I have always found that underneath the intricate detective stories was always an author that had a real understanding of human emotions
So, a quick apology to all my fellow Sherlockians, i have been somewhat occupied through March with a few unfortunately sad situations.That said I hope those of you still following this Sherlock group read are continuing to enjoy the extraordinary short stories and novels of Sir ACD.
In these difficult times, lets just take the time to experience and immerse ourselves in some of the best detective stories ever written, involving one of Britains most famous fictional heroes.
Sorry about the sad situations Adrian, and hope all is sorted out now! I didn´t find time to read the stories in March, but will do so in April, and looking ahead to more Sherlock the other months!
Allie wrote: "Hope all is well now, Adrian!"Thanks Allie, as my mum used to say "These things are sent to try us".
English Mysteries Club
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Authors mentioned in this topic
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I must admit that I realized that I have read it before, but I didn´t remember. So I enjoyed the r..."
Ha ha. I'm glad you really enjoyed the book carolina. I really enjoyed Silver Blaze, the picture of Dartmoor is painted so well, as you say he depicts the Victorian world of London and the suburbs so well.