A series of posts, containing full spoilers, as I make my way once more through the complete canon, picking out points of interest and reflecting on my personal experience of the stories.
- After a comic strip version of “The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle” this was my first proper encounter with the written Holmes as a friend brought a classic adventures edition into school which I borrowed. I also read “The Thirty-Nine Steps” in the same edition.
- This was the first new Holmes story for eight years. Doyle’s antipathy towards his character is well-known and the first words between Watson and Holmes are practically parodic:
“Well Watson, what do you make of it?”
Holmes was sitting with his back to me, and I had given him no sign of my occupation.
“How did you know what I was doing? I believe you have eyes in the back of your head.”
“I have, at least, a well-polished , silver-plated coffee-pot in front of me,” said he.
- “Sherlock Holmes Was Wrong” by Pierre Bayard, whilst containing a lot of pseudo-literary nonsense, does propose an alternative, and more logical, solution to the case. It also contains spoilers for Agatha Christie’s “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd” and “Towards Zero”.
Previous posts in this series can be found here.
As Holmes himself is still on his Great Hiatus in my re-read of the canon, it is a fitting point to announce that tis blog will be on a temporary hiatus of its own as I work on a different project, which will involve several months of concentrated effort. If it is successful, you will be the first to know. Happy New Year!
Countdown John's Christie Journal 
How intriguing about your secret project! I hope it goes well and that you have had a holiday.
I only read this story for the first time as an adult and I found it less exciting than its reputation suggested. I wonder if coming to this story as a child makes a difference.
LikeLike
Holmes doesn’t really work in novel form, hence he is absent a lot of the time. The central premise of Sherlock Holmes Was Wrong though is quite interesting, but I wouldn’t buy the book just for the twenty or so really relevant pages.
LikeLike