sherlockhomes

The Sherlock Holmes File | Michael Pointer

pick

I loved this book! Especially the account of the Holmesians' first road trip to Switzerland in full Victorian cosplay! Author, Michael Pointer, pictured, though he didn't state what character he represented.
Probably for Baker Street diehards only, but if you're a bit irregular then there's plenty to love.

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Bookwomble

The Sherlock Holmes File | Michael Pointer

One of the chapters is an account of the first Sherlock Holmes Society of London's pilgrimage to the Reichenbach Falls in Switzerland in 1968.
The society Flickr account has an album of photos showing their journey, in costume, from London to Switzerland, including several luminaries of Holmesian studies. It was gratifying to find a couple of photos including Michael Pointer.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/shsl/albums/72157640063611234/
#Sherlocked

Bookwomble The photo shows the pilgrims meeting Adrian Conan Doyle at his Swiss home, Chateau de Lucens. Holmes is Society member Tony Howlett, and as Irene Adler, Dominique Joos, an actor hired for the role, who performed in a “whodunit“ scene at the Society banquet in Geneva. (edited) 3w

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Bookwomble

The Sherlock Holmes File | Michael Pointer

"If Conan Doyle had really meant business when he attempted to get rid of Sherlock Holmes, he should have killed off Dr Watson. That's the key to it. Without Watson there really can be no Holmes."

Pointer giving the good doctor his due recognition, both as a character & as a narrative device.

Of all the Watsons, Nigel Bruce's incarnation (despite the un-Canonical bumbling) is always the one that springs to my mind.
#NoPlaceLikeHolmes #Sherlocked

bibliothecarivs Okay, Bruce's Watson is the one that comes to mind, but which is your favorite portrayal in film/ television? 3w

Bookwomble @bibliothecarivs While Jeremy Brett is my favourite Holmes (though only a hair's breadth ahead of Basil Rathbone), and both Watson actors in that production were good, neither emanated the warmth of character that Bruce installed in his part. It's not always an accurate depiction, but captures Watson's faithfulness, dependability and vulnerability. So, it is Nigel Bruce for me 😊 3w

Bookwomble @bibliothecarivs Pointer's opinion of Bruce's Watson is: "regrettable"! I accept, myself, that he's not a good representation of Doyle's Watson, but I guess he seeped into my consciousness as a child. My least favourite Watson portrayals are Jude Law and Martin Freeman, as they always present to me as being themselves pretending to be the part they're playing, rather than actually being the part. 3w

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bibliothecarivs Fascinating. Thanks for sharing, my friend. 3w

dabbe Nigel & Basil! 🖤🖤🖤 3w

The_Book_Ninja I used to watch the Rathbone Sherlocks when I was a kid too and absolutely loved them. Imagine my surprise when I eventually read a book and there was no incredulous buffoonery from Watson. I now consider Bruce‘s Watson as beyond ridiculous 2w

Bookwomble @The_Book_Ninja Not at all accurate, but I'm still fond of him 😊 2w

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Bookwomble

The Sherlock Holmes File | Michael Pointer

I read " The Public Life of Sherlock Holmes" last week & enjoyed it enough that I bought the author's follow up, "The Sherlock Holmes File".
They do cover similar ground but from different angles, & the File is a larger format to better display the significantly greater number of illustrations. I imagine the material Pointer put together when researching the first book was enough to justify this one.
It focuses on the development of Holmes's ⬇️

Bookwomble ... appearance, props and personal characteristics, from Doyle's written description, to the early illustrations and the additions made by artists (deerstalker cap) and actors (Inverness cape and meerschaum pipe) to the now accepted figure of Holmes.
Despite the tanned dust jacket (which is fine for the price I paid), the book's in good order for its age (1976), and while I hadn't intended to read it immediately, it looks like that is happening! 3w

Bookwomble #NoPlaceLikeHolmes 3w

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Bookwomble

The Public Life of Sherlock Holmes | Michael Pointer

pick

I really enjoyed Pointer's knowledgeable critiques and reviews of the Great Detective's appearances off the page and on the boards, the silver screen, the airways, the idiot box, and vinyl.

It could have been a dense info-dump, but Pointer cleverly distilled that into the 80-odd pages of Catalogue at the back of the book, delivering 116 initial pages of deftly handled history and anecdotes.
On the strength of this, I've ordered a copy of his 👇

Bookwomble ... "The Sherlock Holmes Files", which, by the same publisher within a year of the present book, I trust doesn't do much recapping of this material.
David & Charles published a series of Holmesian studies in the early to mid '70s, which all seem to be fairly highly rated. It would be a pleasant thing were some other titles to appear on my shelves ?:
https://www.librarything.com/nseries/389564/David-and-Charles-Holmesian-Studies 3w

Bookwomble #NoPlaceLikeHolmes #Sherlocked 3w

dabbe #stacked #sherlocked 🤩 3w

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Bookwomble

The Public Life of Sherlock Holmes | Michael Pointer

"So far we have been spared the spectacle of Sherlock Holmes on ice!"

If you live long enough, though... ?⛸️?

"Sherlock Ice Skating Show"
https://scarlettentertainment.com/gb/acts/sherlock-ice-skating-show

#Sherlocked

BarbaraJean The key words there are “so far” 😂 3w

TieDyeDude I am a firm believer that everything is better as an ice capade show! 😝 3w

dabbe 😮🤩😮 3w

Read4life @dabbe are you ready for a trip to Switzerland? #Sherlocked ✈️ 3w

dabbe @Read4life Let me check my calendar! 🩵✈️🩵 3w

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Bookwomble

Sherlock Holmes of Baker Street: The Life of the World's First Consulting Detective | William Stuart Baring-Gould

A couple of Sherlock Holmes books I didn't go looking for yesterday, but which I found anyway! ?
I'm pleased to have added Baring-Gould's pseudo biography to my collection: it's a 1962 first edition and treats its subject as if historical, in best Holmesian tradition.
The Public Life of Sherlock Holmes is a 1975 review of "the many ways in which the entertainment industry has used, and misused, the best-known character in all fiction." ?

Bookwomble Naturally limited to its publication date, with some neat photos from film and stage. The second half is a catalogue listing the Great Detective's appearances on stage, screen and radio, which is a useful reference, but dry reading, so I won't do that when I come to it.
#NoPlaceLikeHolmes (edited) 4w

tpixie Very interesting finds! 🥇 4w

Cuilin I love it when books find their owner!!! #IAmSherlocked 4w

dabbe 🖤🔎🖤 #sherlocked 4w

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dabbe

The Adventure of The Second Stain | Arthur Conan Doyle

#NoPlaceLikeHolmes @cuilin
#TheSecond Stain

Our last story in THE RETURN OF SH! Next up, the final novel, THE VALLEY OF FEAR. The 1st discussion will be over Part 1 (chapters 1-7) in TWO weeks: February 1 (already February!!!) The 1st discussion will be led by @Cuilin. The 2nd discussion will be over Part 2 (chapters 1-7) on February 22nd and will be led by @dabbe.

Thoughts, Sherlockians?

Librarybelle I was definitely thinking about Jane Eyre and poor Bertha! It actually made me think more of that whole situation versus any other Holmes‘ stories. 3mo

dabbe @Librarybelle Yep. She tried to kill Jane and Rochester. And to use “Creole“ to show a woman who is impassioned. Prejudice, anyone? 😳

I also thought of “The Naval Treaty,“ “A Scandal in Bohemia,“ and “Charles Augustus Milverton“: a story with a stolen document, a story where a personal something is hidden, and a story with blackmail.“ Doyle needs some new tropes! 2mo

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dabbe

The Adventure of The Second Stain | Arthur Conan Doyle

#NoPlaceLikeHolmes @cuilin
#TheSecond Stain

Our last story in THE RETURN OF SH! Next up, the final novel, THE VALLEY OF FEAR. The 1st discussion will be over Part 1 (chapters 1-7) in TWO weeks: February 1 (already February!!!) The 1st discussion will be led by @Cuilin. The 2nd discussion will be over Part 2 (chapters 1-7) on February 22nd and will be led by @dabbe.

Thoughts, Sherlockians?

Daisey, erzascarletbookgasm, CogsOfEncouragement, AnneCecilie, Born.A.Reader, Aimeesue, Larkken, Librarybelle, mom2bugnbee, Chrissyreadit, Read4life, StayCurious, Sace, CatLass007, Mollyanna, curiouserandcurioser, eeclayton, dabbe, IndoorDame, kelli7990, TheAromaofBooks, 5feet.of.fury, Tineke, Fr3NcHtOaSt, Blackink_WhitePaper, RayHallucinogen, Pageturner1, PageShifter, AllDebooks, AnnR, kimrenee, aroyse, CrystalE02

Librarybelle Yeah, just odd. I‘m not sure why Holmes wanted to protect Lady Hilda and yet not mention that security is a bit lax for important political correspondence. 3mo

Cuilin Exactly, there‘s a spy in the government, we‘ll just sweep that under the carpet too. 2mo

dabbe @Librarybelle @Cuilin ... could SH be like “Well, I've done my job. You asked me to get the document; there it is. I'm outta here.“ 😂 2mo

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Cuilin @dabbe he‘s like “That‘s Mycroft‘s problem” 😆 2mo

dabbe @Cuilin Oh, man, EXCELLENT observation! 😂🙌🏻😂 2mo

AnneCecilie Holmes mind works in mysterious ways, but I like your take on it @Cuilin 😝 2mo

33 likes6 comments

dabbe

The Adventure of The Second Stain | Arthur Conan Doyle

#NoPlaceLikeHolmes @cuilin
#TheSecond Stain

Our last story in THE RETURN OF SH! Next up, the final novel, THE VALLEY OF FEAR. The 1st discussion will be over Part 1 (chapters 1-7) in TWO weeks: February 1 (already February!!!) The 1st discussion will be led by @Cuilin. The 2nd discussion will be over Part 2 (chapters 1-7) on February 22nd and will be led by @dabbe.

Thoughts, Sherlockians?

Daisey, erzascarletbookgasm, CogsOfEncouragement, AnneCecilie, Born.A.Reader, Aimeesue, Larkken, Librarybelle, mom2bugnbee, Chrissyreadit, Read4life, StayCurious, Sace, CatLass007, Mollyanna, curiouserandcurioser, eeclayton, dabbe, IndoorDame, kelli7990, TheAromaofBooks, 5feet.of.fury, Tineke, Fr3NcHtOaSt, Blackink_WhitePaper, RayHallucinogen, Pageturner1, PageShifter, AllDebooks, AnnR, kimrenee, aroyse, CrystalE02

Librarybelle This did seem a bit convoluted, and the whole “steal one letter to get another letter” scheme seems a bit flimsy. I think Conan Doyle was really sick of these stories. 😂 3mo

eeclayton I guess it makes sense to keep the document and use it against the potentate in the future if necessary. What I don't understand is why it seemed safer to carry the letter home instead of putting it in a safe. 3mo

Cuilin It was all very melodramatic. What was in that letter? We‘ll never know. 2mo

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dabbe @Librarybelle At least he didn't kill SH this time around; I think he knew he might be writing some more! 😂 2mo

dabbe @eeclayton And Hope did that for days! When the government safe isn't good enough but your little box in your bedroom is, what does that say about national security? 2mo

dabbe @Cuilin Inquiring minds want to know! 😂 2mo

AnneCecilie This reminded me of an other of Doyle‘s stories where the same plot device was used. For the wife it‘s the fear that her husband will find out she has had feelings for someone else. As several other have already stated it doesn‘t make sense for the husband to carry his letter back and forth and was does it say about government security? 2mo

dabbe @AnneCecilie I also want to know why Mrs. Hope's husband wouldn't forgive her; it seems Victorian expectations for wealthy women were nearly impossible to uphold. 2mo

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