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The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
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The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
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To be fair, Watson is certainly not Holmes's 'doctor', instead being a friend and companion who happens to be a doctor. I'd be beating a dead horse in objecting to the 'drug-addict' charge or the unsociable one I suppose, since it appears definitions are wont to depend on the person.For those concerned by a perceived arrogance, further to 'A Scandal in Bohemia' in the present collection, I suggest 'The Adventure of the Yellow Face' in The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.
As I remarked earlier with regard to screen adaptations, Holmes isn't the kind of character you could 'get away with' these days. We've come to prefer our heroes accessible to us, mirrors of our own conditions, particularly intellectually, so we dislike the notion of someone being better than those around them (unless, say, they have a moral, political or other ideological stance we agree with) even under the most objective criteria. It's all a bit postmodern now- one writes as much for the sake of who might be reading one's story as much as (and often more), for the story to stand on its own merits and be told without bar or impediment.
On the digestibility of successive stories, it's worth recalling that the stories were originally serialised in a magazine, so that each story has its own pace and styles of build-up and only a continuity on the more general terms exists between them.
Not sure if anyone here would be interested but there is a writing contest going for Sherlock Holmes and all the proceeds will go to help save Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's house. Anyone, anywhere can enter with a short story or poem. Contest Information
For those interested, PBS is doing a second season of "Sherlock". This is set in present day London in which Dr Watson "blogs" about the cases of Sherlock Holmes. I missed the first season but took an interest after having read "The Adventures".Last night I watched the episode "A Scandal in Belgravia" which is a re-imagined "Scandal in Bohemia" in which Irene Adler's pictures are stored on a (can you guess?) smart phone.
It is a little fast paced at times so I recommend using a DVR/TiVo to slow it down at times.
I can't guarantee that you will like it, but it is a very interesting adaptation and has a pretty high score/rating on IMDB.com. Personally I really liked it!
The next episode is based on: The Hound of the Baskervilles.
I really enjoy the first two series of Sherlock immensely myself. Chris you will enjoy the final episode when you come to it I guarantee.
Classics for Beginners
Books mentioned in this topic
The Hound of the Baskervilles (other topics)Sherlock Holmes Was Wrong: Reopening the Case of The Hound of the Baskervilles (other topics)
A Study in Scarlet (other topics)
I can only read one at a time too... I am taking that to be the nature of the short story... I need time to think about, and digest what I read before moving onto the next case...