The Greatest Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Four Months
939 pages
I finally finished!
This volume of forty-four short stories and four novels has been my reading companion since June when I started this blog. I feel like I’m closing a chapter of my own life. I have to find a new book friend now.
I know I’ve said this in other posts, but I am so glad I finally decided to read the Sherlock Holmes stories for myself. Emphasis on for myself. There are little nuances and fun quotes that I missed when I just listened to them. And the dramatizations (radio, television, and movie) lose the sense of realism that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle achieved by using Dr Watson as his story-teller. (I have a post about that here.) My favorite example of this realism is when Doyle-as-Watson says in The Hound of the Baskervilles that he is transcribing his letters as he wrote them to Holmes. “One page is missing,” he says. Doyle didn’t have to put that in the story, but because he did, The Hound feels that much more real. It gives credibility to the story. That small detail is omitted from dramatizations because those are concerned with the story and not the method of story-telling.
I hope I have encouraged you to read some Sherlock Holmes stories. Each one offers a great adventure and puzzling mystery. Several have astounding conclusions. Over the next few days, I’m going to give you highlights from my favorites. Stay tuned!
One last word: I am so glad there are twelve more short stories, even if they aren’t in this volume. I’m not quite ready to say goodbye to my friends, Dr Watson and Sherlock Holmes, just yet.