Title: The Uncollected Sherlock Holmes.
Author: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (introduction and compiled by Richard Lancelyn Green).
Country: U.K.
Language: English.
Publication Date: 1896, 1924, 1912, 1902, 1921, 1903, 1917, 1929, 1930, 1923, 1927, 1924. (1983 introduction and this volume).
Summary: This book compiles unpublished Sherlock Holmes stories and plays, as well as articles and speeches of Doyle's pertaining to the conception of or his experience writing and being the writer of Sherlock Holmes. Every part has its own small individual introduction, that provides the details and historical context for the offered material. It collects the
Introduction, 4
short stories, 2
poems, 2
plays, 4
prefaces, 6
articles, 2
speeches, 1
review, and 1
story outline. The detailed
Introduction, which makes up half the book, goes into detail about the conception of Sherlock Holmes and his climb to fame - the original inspiration by one of Doyle's professors - Dr Joseph Bell, other possible inspirations for Holmes and Watson, the influence on Doyle by Edgar Alan Poe and his Detective Dupin, some of the things and cases that inspired the novels and short stories, Doyle's relationship with
The Strand Magazine, illustrating the books and adapting Sherlock Holmes to the stage, what Doyle and his contemporaries thought of the great detective and the influence he came to have on both British and American societies, and, finally, Doyle's ultimate struggle to get rid of Holmes, and the public's reaction to it. The book additionally collects all the previously uncollected material that Conan Doyle had done on Holmes outside the major novels and stories:
The Field Bazaar (1896) is a
short story Doyle wrote as a contribution to The Field Bazaar of Edinburgh University, in which Holmes impresses Watson by deducing the contents of Watson's letter from Edinburgh University, and Watson's intentions about it, without exchanging a single word with him.
How Watson Learned the Trick (1924) is a
short story submitted by Doyle for the Doll House library that was a part of a Doll House that was given to Queen Mary from Britain, in which Watson believes he has cracked Holmes's "method" but, after proudly testing it out on Holmes himself, realizes he is still very far from giving the famous detective a run for his money.
To Sir Arthur Conan Doyles (1912) is a
poem written to Doyle from Arthur Guiterman as a part of his 'Letters to the Literati' and published in
Life, in which he praises Doyle, but gently calls him out on his "ingratitude" of stating, through Sherlock Holmes, that Poe's Detective Dupin was a "very inferior" detective.
To an Undiscerning Critic (1912) is a
poem that was Doyle's response to Guiterman, pointing out how silly it is to believe that a writer's character is necessarily the mouthpiece for a writer's beliefs and values.
The Stonor Case (1902, premiered in 1910) is a
play adaptation of
The Speckled Band, where Holmes and Watson have to solve a death that appears to be a murder, but happens in an absolutely sealed and locked room, and prevent another one.
The Crown Diamond (1921) is a
play that is either an adaptation of, or originally lead to,
The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone, in which Sherlock lures the thieves of an invaluable diamond to Baker street, and tricks them into revealing their nature with a help of a plaster dummy of himself. The
Prefaces part collects the prefaces from several different Sherlock Holmes editions:
Author's Edition of the Sherlock Holmes Stories (1903),
His Last Bow: Some Reminiscences of Sherlock Holmes (1917),
Sherlock Holmes The Complete Short Stories (1928),
Sherlock Holmes The Complete Long Stories (1929), and
Crowborough Edition (1930).
Some Personalia About Mr Sherlock Holmes (1917) is an
article written by Conan Doylen that rounds off his series of stories by describing the effect they had had on the reading public, and giving examples of Doyle's own attempts to emulate his famous character.
Sherlock Holmes on the Screen (1921) includes
Conan Doyle's Speech at the Stoll Convention Dinner, in which he speaks a little about the inspiration behind and creation of Holmes, and toasts Mr Eille Norwood, who personified Holmes perfectly on the screen; and
Sherlock Holmes Replies (in the person of Eille Norwood), in which Norwood replies to the speech by praising Doyle, and expressing his humility at having to adapt such a great creation.
Sidelights on Sherlock Holmes (1923) is an
article written as a part of Doyle's autobiography,
Memories and Adventures, in which Doyle discusses his own similarities to his characters, how a human mind is multi-dimensional and a writer puts himself into all his characters, the experiences he has had putting on the plays and seeing Holmes adapted to the screen, and some amusing anecdotes from his life where people had mistaken him for Holmes, or insisted on acting as if Holmes was a real person.
Mr Sherlock Holmes to His Readers (1927) is an
article written by Doyle to inaugurate a competition where readers were asked to put Doyle's top 12 favourite Holmes stories in order of his preference, in which he discusses Holmes, what critics and readers have said of him over the years, and expresses his hopes that all of his stories were of a similar quality, either read forward or backward. (The article, sans the last two paragraphs, was used as a preface to
The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes.) Doyle includes
How I Made My List, which he discusses his favourite stories and why they are so, and includes his list.
The Background to Sherlock Holmes (1924) is a
composite article derived from Doyle's autobiography,
Memories and Adventures, which consists of some autobiographical information of his life and life style, as well as all the material which has a direct bearing on the background and composition of the Sherlock Holmes stories.
The True Story of Sherlock Holmes (1900) is an
article in which Doyle discusses the birth and death of Sherlock Holmes, as well as his views on detective fiction.
The Last of Sherlock Holmes (1904) is an
article of an interview with Doyle that announces Holmes's retirement, and has Doyl share some of his ideas on what Holmes may be up to after retreating to a peaceful life n the country.
Plot for Sherlock Holmes Story was discovered and published in Hesketh Pearson's biography of Doyle, that lays out a plot with a case in which a woman appears to Holmes to help solve a murder where all evidence definitively points to someone whom the girl vehemently believes did not do it. (There is no evidence that this was written by Doyle, and strong internal evidence suggests otherwise.)
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: A Review (1892) is a
review by Joseph Bell, in which he praises Holmes and the effect he's had on society and literature, describing what makes Holmes so effective, and why he likes him so much. (It was subsequently used as the introduction to
A Study in Scarlet.) In
Sherlock Holmes Parodies, J.M. Barrie, a good friend of Doyle's, writes
2 short stories to parody Sherlock Holmes: In
The Adventures of the Two Collaborators (1890), Doyle and Berrie visit Holmes and Watson to solve the mystery of why nobody is going to their collaborated opera, though Holmes refuses to answer, even when Doyle tells him his existence depends on it.
The Late Sherlock Holmes (1893) is written as newspaper bulletins about the mysterious death of Sherlock Holmes at the Falls of Reichenbach, and Watson being arrested for his murder.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle or, An Ungrateful Father (1926) by Beverley Nichols is an
article in which Doyle discusses that while he has gratitude to Holmes, there are many downfalls of working with his character, and the fact that Holmes had gotten in the way of the perception and exposure of Doyle's other contributions, most of which he considered to be much more elevated literary works.
My rating: 8/10.
My Review: This is a definitive must-have for any fan of Sherlock Holmes. Conan Doyle lived a very long life, made numerous contributions in many fields, and was interviewed and written about hundreds of times. This volume provides the convenient task of having selected absolutely everything even remotely to do with Holmes. I was a little mislead by the title, and I'm glad it was so, because I appreciated what I got even though it wasn't quite what I expected - there are only a few short "unpublished" Holmes works, with most of the book consisting of biographical and autobiographical non-fiction. I wholly enjoyed getting such a thorough explanation of Doyle's own views on Holmes, which are often unexpected and fill out the character of Holmes even further. Doyle often talks of how Holmes is a machine, basically purely a brain, a perfect intellect who lacks, however, a heart and, almost entirely, empathy. Having gotten into several debates with Holmes fans of how Holmes is
not "surely secretly a much deeper character", I am happy to hear that the way Holmes was written is unapologetically exactly the way he was intended. Even Watson, Doyle hurries to point out, is written for one single purpose only - to react appropriately to Holmes, with most other characteristics stripped from him. I do strongly believe that Holmes and Watson stand firmly on their own merits, exactly as they have been written and intended, and one need not colour them into "more human" or "better developed" creations in order to appreciate their brilliance and enjoy them. I feel like Doyle does have a point when he repeatedly points out that in order for a detective mystery to be solid and compelling, the emphasis has to be on the case and the process, rather than any humanity within the detective himself. It's only ironic and sweet that by doing just that, Doyle infected the public with a ravenous fascination with Holmes's psychology that has not waned to this day. It's absolutely fascinating how this one character, whom Doyle considered one of his baser creations, took two enormous nations by storm and wove himself firmly into both cultures forevermore. It's really saying something that Holmes's name, among only that of
Winston Churchill, could single-handedly drive up the sales of
The Strand. Between the two hilarious poems, an exchange between Doyle and Guiterman, and then some of Doyle's consequent interviews, I can quite relate to Doyle's views on how much the characters writers create are actually them. Whereas in the poem Doyle playfully points out that it's silly to assume that a character is the author's mouthpiece, he later points out that perhaps one puts a little of himself into
every character one pens, and what that may mean for him, having created as many villains as he has. Probably the most memorable selections from this volume are J.M. Barrie's parodies, which were absolutely hysterical, with the exceptional wit you'd expect from someone who created
Peter Pan, and I was delighted to both discover their existence and read them both in this volume (I was actually almost in tears of laughter - this is not common for me). Another thing that stood out to me that hit very close to my heart is that through many interviews and essays, it becomes very clear how much Doyle respects Holmes, and, more than that, how much Doyle respects the art of writing. His discussion on how Holmes's "real death" would only come if he ever felt he let him down, and how all art is good and worthwhile as long as it is sincere and represents one's best effort is an endearing aspect of Doyle's beliefs on his role as an author. The only part of this book I would say I could really take or leave are the plays - I simply do not believe Doyle's stories translate very effectively to the stage, as a format. As well, I certainly do not agree with Doyle that reading Sherlock Holmes cannot make one a better person in a way that good literature does, and is only effective to pass the time in an amusing manner. This, however, I ascribe to Doyle's very high standards for literature (which I share), and perhaps his humility in not realizing that though he set out to write a one-dimensional detective purely for fun, he created a powerful, influential, enticing character whose methods, adventures, and values can, I believe, greatly benefit the reader. Overall, something every Sherlock Holmes fan should read, and will undoubtedly enjoy.
( The Uncollected Sherlock HolmesCollapse )
