Some years ago, I had a terrific idea: An anthology of great
introductions to Sherlock Holmes. The reason I know it was a terrific idea is that
(I later learned) Edgar Smith edited just such a volume published by the Baker
Street Irregulars in 1959.
Within the last few weeks I acquired a copy of Introducing
Mr. Sherlock Holmes and read it with great enjoyment. There’s a note in the
front that says this is a new, limited edition of 350 copies and mine is number
301. One of the neat aspects of the book is that each essay appears just as it
did first – in the original type face, etc.
Without critiquing each of these essays at length, here are the
award-winners, in my opinion:
Most enjoyable: A tie between Vincent Starrett
and S.C. Roberts, two of the Sherlockian/Holmesian giants of their generation.
These essays are full of love and command of the material, plus erudition.
Most disappointing: Dr. Joseph Bell’s 1893 introduction
to A Study in Scarlet. ACD’s influential professor seems to have
forgotten what he was writing about.
Most inaccurate: The great Howard Haycraft’s introduction
to The Boys’ Sherlock Holmes, which I encountered as a boy, has errors
of fact on almost every page.
Most surprising: Rex Stout! He attacks Holmes (and,
to a lesser degree, Watson) for six pages before offering one positive
paragraph at the end. This shocked me more than “Watson Was a Woman”!
Most critically flawed: Fletcher Pratt dismisses
The Valley of Fear as he lauds The Hound of the Baskervilles as the only
successful Holmes novel. He was wrong.
Most insightful: Anthony Boucher, on the other
hand, correctly appreciates the magnificent achievement of The Valley of
Fear, correctly noting that the second part is the world’s first
hard-boiled detective story.
Most Canonical: Arthur Conan Doyle’s
wonderfully nostalgic introduction to The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes.
Most iconic: “In Memorium,” Christopher Morley’s
introduction to the Doubleday Complete Sherlock Holmes. How many
of us have read it repeatedly? Morley was paid so much for those five pages to visit
London on the proceeds. And well worth it!
This was another book that I purchased through Denny Dobry
of the BSI Trust. Contact him at dendobry@ptd.net
to fill your Sherlockian book needs at good prices.
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