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Black RiverTribune
Sherlock Holmes Corner
Sherlock Holmes Corner
Local Sherlock Clubs
The nearest one is in Hanover, known as The
Sherlock Holmes Club of the Upper Valley. It
was founded by Tom Brydges, a retired
engineer who has taught courses on Sherlock
Holmes through Dartmouth.
The group meets monthly at the Howe
Library in Hanover between 5 p.m. and 6:30
p.m. on the third Wednesday of the month.
The next meeting is Sept. 17, and the group is
planning to discuss "The Hound of the
Baskervilles," considered one of the greatest, if
not the greatest, mystery novel ever penned.
In October, they may be watching the film
version with Basil Rathbone.
The club can be reached by writing Brydges at
12 Ferson Road, Hanover, NH 03755, calling
him at 603-643-0036, or sending an e-mail to
tombrydges@wildblue.net.
If you're in the Bennington area fairly often,
there is the internationally renowned Baker
Street Breakfast Club, an eclectic and fun
group of people who use Holmes as a
springboard to fun and pot luck dinners.
They've been meeting for around 20 years, and
once hosted an international literary conference
at Bennington College dedicated to Holmes;
another event is being planned.
The contact is Sally Sugarman at
sugarman@bennington.edu, or by writing P.O.
Box 407 Shaftsbury, VT 05262.
Even though they are in Pennsylvania, I should
mention the White Rose Irregulars, headed by
Mrs. Hudson herself. The lady could not have
been more kind and helpful to me on my visit
to the Scintillation, and is deserving of
generous praise. That Web site is
http://www.whiteroseirregulars.org.
The nearest one is in Hanover, known as The
Sherlock Holmes Club of the Upper Valley. It
was founded by Tom Brydges, a retired
engineer who has taught courses on Sherlock
Holmes through Dartmouth.
The group meets monthly at the Howe
Library in Hanover between 5 p.m. and 6:30
p.m. on the third Wednesday of the month.
The next meeting is Sept. 17, and the group is
planning to discuss "The Hound of the
Baskervilles," considered one of the greatest, if
not the greatest, mystery novel ever penned.
In October, they may be watching the film
version with Basil Rathbone.
The club can be reached by writing Brydges at
12 Ferson Road, Hanover, NH 03755, calling
him at 603-643-0036, or sending an e-mail to
tombrydges@wildblue.net.
If you're in the Bennington area fairly often,
there is the internationally renowned Baker
Street Breakfast Club, an eclectic and fun
group of people who use Holmes as a
springboard to fun and pot luck dinners.
They've been meeting for around 20 years, and
once hosted an international literary conference
at Bennington College dedicated to Holmes;
another event is being planned.
The contact is Sally Sugarman at
sugarman@bennington.edu, or by writing P.O.
Box 407 Shaftsbury, VT 05262.
Even though they are in Pennsylvania, I should
mention the White Rose Irregulars, headed by
Mrs. Hudson herself. The lady could not have
been more kind and helpful to me on my visit
to the Scintillation, and is deserving of
generous praise. That Web site is
http://www.whiteroseirregulars.org.
Where to Find the Stories
Many of the Sherlock Holmes stories are in the public
domain, and can be found online in HTML, e-book, or
Palm format. One of the best is the University of
Virginia's E-text Center, which collects public domain
works from all over and makes them freely available.
The list of authors whose surnames start with "D" can
be found by clicking this link:
http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/ebooks/Dlist.html
Simply scroll down to "Doyle, Arthur Conan" and let
yourself in for many happy hours of reading pleasure.
Many of the Sherlock Holmes stories are in the public
domain, and can be found online in HTML, e-book, or
Palm format. One of the best is the University of
Virginia's E-text Center, which collects public domain
works from all over and makes them freely available.
The list of authors whose surnames start with "D" can
be found by clicking this link:
http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/ebooks/Dlist.html
Simply scroll down to "Doyle, Arthur Conan" and let
yourself in for many happy hours of reading pleasure.
Calling All Contributors
Got something to say about Sherlock Holmes? Some thoughts on
the stories, or some scholarship to share? Like to vent about the
upcoming movies?
We're interested in all things Sherlock here at the Tribune, so if you
have something you'd like to share with your fellow Sherlockians,
please send it along to sseitz@blackrivertribune.com. We're waiting
to hear from you.
Got something to say about Sherlock Holmes? Some thoughts on
the stories, or some scholarship to share? Like to vent about the
upcoming movies?
We're interested in all things Sherlock here at the Tribune, so if you
have something you'd like to share with your fellow Sherlockians,
please send it along to sseitz@blackrivertribune.com. We're waiting
to hear from you.
Sherlock Holmes and The
Heir of Albion
by Ronan Coughlan
Reviewed by Philip K. Jones
This book is, at fewer than 200 pages, a short novel
and it should be classed as a parody.. As is so with any
good parody, it is written as if it is entirely serious and
it takes a while for the reader to notice the delicious, dry
humor buried in the narrative. Perhaps a passage from
“Chapter the Sixth” will illustrate this element. The
narrator has been left to wait by Holmes and he says:
“I requested another pot of tea and began to think. I
found it tiring, so stopped..”
Circumstances have combined, in the spring of
1900, to cause Watson to be away from Baker Street and
Holmes recruits an innocent to replace him for a short
while. This person, one Hector Wace, is introduced to
other aspects of Holmes not described by the Good
Doctor. Their first day clears up the matter of “The
Giant Rat of Sumatra” and introduces Wace to Miss
Junia Verney, the resident of 221A Baker Street, as well
as to Holmes’ newest client, Professor James Moriarty.
Events rapidly spiral downward from there.
The ensuing jumble involves a varying number of
sinister, interesting and otherwise describable characters
in a scheme that involves world domination, royal
blackmail, several Very Secret Societies and the Home
Secretary, not necessarily in that order. If taken
seriously, the narrative is real action-packed adventure in
which Holmes saves the World (and, of course, England)
from a Fate Worse than Death. If not taken seriously, it
provides a number of amusing aspects, including verses
set to the tune of “John Brown’s Body” praising Mrs.
Hudson’s "Spotted Dick"* and a number of previously
unintroduced associates in Holmes’ investigations.
Needless to say, Holmes is successful and the
Professor is cleared of any wrongdoing, but Holmes does
manage to arrange(?) for him to be sentenced to an
extremely distasteful (to Moriarty) fate. Love is
triumphant, at least twice, and the villains are
discommoded, mostly with Extreme Prejudice, as the
saying goes. Don’t pay too much attention to the action,
but rather, as with Ernest Bramah’s “Kai Lung” books,
savor the nuances and the contrasts. There is a definite
flavor of arch satire involved in this tale, which is
probably best read, as it was written, over a pot of
Guinness.
*Editor's Note: This is a British pudding, served as dessert. Make
your own jokes from here.. --SS
Heir of Albion
by Ronan Coughlan
Reviewed by Philip K. Jones
This book is, at fewer than 200 pages, a short novel
and it should be classed as a parody.. As is so with any
good parody, it is written as if it is entirely serious and
it takes a while for the reader to notice the delicious, dry
humor buried in the narrative. Perhaps a passage from
“Chapter the Sixth” will illustrate this element. The
narrator has been left to wait by Holmes and he says:
“I requested another pot of tea and began to think. I
found it tiring, so stopped..”
Circumstances have combined, in the spring of
1900, to cause Watson to be away from Baker Street and
Holmes recruits an innocent to replace him for a short
while. This person, one Hector Wace, is introduced to
other aspects of Holmes not described by the Good
Doctor. Their first day clears up the matter of “The
Giant Rat of Sumatra” and introduces Wace to Miss
Junia Verney, the resident of 221A Baker Street, as well
as to Holmes’ newest client, Professor James Moriarty.
Events rapidly spiral downward from there.
The ensuing jumble involves a varying number of
sinister, interesting and otherwise describable characters
in a scheme that involves world domination, royal
blackmail, several Very Secret Societies and the Home
Secretary, not necessarily in that order. If taken
seriously, the narrative is real action-packed adventure in
which Holmes saves the World (and, of course, England)
from a Fate Worse than Death. If not taken seriously, it
provides a number of amusing aspects, including verses
set to the tune of “John Brown’s Body” praising Mrs.
Hudson’s "Spotted Dick"* and a number of previously
unintroduced associates in Holmes’ investigations.
Needless to say, Holmes is successful and the
Professor is cleared of any wrongdoing, but Holmes does
manage to arrange(?) for him to be sentenced to an
extremely distasteful (to Moriarty) fate. Love is
triumphant, at least twice, and the villains are
discommoded, mostly with Extreme Prejudice, as the
saying goes. Don’t pay too much attention to the action,
but rather, as with Ernest Bramah’s “Kai Lung” books,
savor the nuances and the contrasts. There is a definite
flavor of arch satire involved in this tale, which is
probably best read, as it was written, over a pot of
Guinness.
*Editor's Note: This is a British pudding, served as dessert. Make
your own jokes from here.. --SS
Great Balls of Fire
LONDON -- If something like this happened
to Sherlock Holmes, Watson never told us.
Recently, Robert Downey, Jr., who is
playing Sherlock Holmes in director Guy
Ritchie's new film, had a scene in which he
smokes Holmes' ever-present pipe. Downey
put the pipe down on the arm of the chair he
was using, and a stray spark dropped onto his
pants, setting the crotch ablaze.
According to a witness on set quoted in a
number of news accounts, "Robert leaped
from his armchair and jumped up and down,
slapping his crotch and howling, 'Oh God, I'm
on fire!'"
As so often in the stories, Watson came
through. Jude Law, cast as Holmes' steadfast
companion, grabbed a flower vase and
splashed water on the fire, thus ensuring the
possibility of a Robert Downey III.
LONDON -- If something like this happened
to Sherlock Holmes, Watson never told us.
Recently, Robert Downey, Jr., who is
playing Sherlock Holmes in director Guy
Ritchie's new film, had a scene in which he
smokes Holmes' ever-present pipe. Downey
put the pipe down on the arm of the chair he
was using, and a stray spark dropped onto his
pants, setting the crotch ablaze.
According to a witness on set quoted in a
number of news accounts, "Robert leaped
from his armchair and jumped up and down,
slapping his crotch and howling, 'Oh God, I'm
on fire!'"
As so often in the stories, Watson came
through. Jude Law, cast as Holmes' steadfast
companion, grabbed a flower vase and
splashed water on the fire, thus ensuring the
possibility of a Robert Downey III.
| Robert Downey, Jr. as Sherlock Holmes in the upcoming film. |
