Sherlock Holmes Library

At Telegraph.co.uk ... We still believe in Sherlock Holmes, even in the age of DNA 150 years after his birth, Conan Doyle lives on in his greatest creation, says Melanie McDonagh "...Holmes's appeal shows no sign of diminishing, but in an odd way, he has become less relevant than ever. In my edition of the stories, the publisher assured readers that Scotland Yard had incorporated Holmes's scientific methods into its own investigations. But the science outran the deduction: practically every contemporary crime (and practically every contemporary crime drama) seems to revolve around the use of DNA or forensic evidence, which renders the Holmes method pretty well redundant. I can't, alas, think of a single modern murder that could have been cleared up by a man with a magnifying glass and a remarkable capacity for reasoning. It's the size of the DNA database that delivers modern criminals to justice...." Read the full article here

Wired's This Day in Tech celebrates ACD's 150th ... This Day In Tech Events That Shaped the Wired World May 22, 1859: It's Elementary, My Dear Reader Conan Doyle became a medical doctor, a vocation that didn’t become his destiny but led him to to it. He impatiently filled the many patient-less hours of a struggling practice, creating a character who became the archetypal protagonist of crime fiction. He was also sowing the seeds for generations to come of eccentric, cerebral detectives whose crime-solving technique was light on physical prowess and heavy on the powers of observation and deduction... Read the Full Article Here

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She Likes to Watch on Sherlock Holmes ... "Well, my dear Watson, it appears that we have a far different Holmes on our hands."

Here's the official site for Guy Ritchie's upcoming Sherlock Holmes flick starring Robert Downey Jr . and Jude Law . check out the trailer, if you haven't already, and see what you think of Ritchie's take on the venerable sleuth.

Lots of coverage this week on the news that Guy Ritchie is to helm a comic book inspired Sherlock Holmes feature film. I'll reserve judgement until 2010 rolls around and I actually see the film but I can't help but worry that it may end up being another "Van Helsing" or "From Hell" - an expensive mediocrity. Here are links to just a few of this week's press dispatches on the news.. Empire : "Guy Ritchie's mined the criminal underbelly for some time now, with all his tales of less-than-diamond geezers wheelin' and dealin' around the East End. But he's looking now to the, er, sleuthing overbelly with the news that he is to direct a new Sherlock Holmes for Warners...." The Guardian : "Jason Statham is Sherlock Holmes. Dexter Fletcher is Dr Watson. And Madonna is Irene Adler. Well, not quite, but Guy Ritchie has signed up to helm a film based on the famous tenant of 221b Baker Street and, if previous experience is anything to ...

At Blue Sky Disney a look at The 5 Best Scripts Hollywood Never Made includes an unproduced gem featuring the Master: Sherlock Holmes and the Vengeance of Dracula- Screenplay by Michael B. Valle PITCH: Think literally Sherlock Holmes meets Dracula. Everything that "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" got wrong, this script got right. It takes two classic characters from the turn of the century, that occupied a similar place and has them meet. Taking place in 1891, it involves a great deal of characters from both books and has Holmes investigating a series of murders as Dracula has made it back to London. Holmes, a man of absolute logic has to come to grip with the fact that the criminal he's hunting doesn't correspond to his "elementary" view of the facts. Many of the characters that populate the novels of each book are here... including that "Napoleon of Crime, Professor Moriarty" as well... ( read complete article )

Part One Part Two via PLbrettfan

William Powell as Philo Vance; Clive Brook as Sherlock Holmes; Warner Oland as Fu Manchu, with Eugene Palette and Jack Oakie. Scene from "Paramount on Parade" (1930)

From YouTube comes this 10 minute long short film... Sherlock Holmes - Case of Copper was made as an IBH Film Studies project, which turned out rather well. I attempted to write a script as if it had been Sir Arthur Conan Doyle who wrote it, using the same language and style of writing. Aside from writing the script, I was also the Director, Editor, and Chief Actor in the film. A lot of work, that turned out well. There was numerous other crew members who where a crucial part in making the film, not only actors, but people behind the set as well, including youtube member M4771, who was the chief camera man. I hope you all enjoy 'Sherlock Holmes - Case of Copper'

Part of a 1992 TV telethon The Four Oaks Mystery combined the sleuthing skills of four different telly detectives in four separate short films to solve one rather poor mystery. The detectives Holmes, Van Der Valk, Taggart and Wexford each had their own segment - the Holmes chapter opens the mystery and runs about 5 minutes.. Though rare this is less of a gem than might be hoped. Still, every Sherlockian should have the chance to see it at lease once (completests that many of us are)

via 24 Hour Museum The exhibition, including items from the collection of the late Richard Lancelyn Green, includes various interactive features... "Narrated by Stephen Fry, the collection’s patron, the exhibition showcases a range of interactive displays and a 'new' Sherlock Holmes mystery, giving visitors the chance to try their hand at being a clever sleuth as well as fully immerse themselves within the extraordinary world of Sherlock Holmes. It also includes interactive readings of selected works by Conan Doyle, virtual display panels and a new Sherlock Holmes mystery, The Case of the Portsmouth Doctor, written and performed specially for the exhibition." Read the full article at 24 Hour Museum

Before Nancy Drew or Veronica Mars there was, according to author Nancy Springer, a young lady with serious sleuthing skills and some pretty impressive DNA. Her name was Enola Holmes and you can guess whose sister she was. From the Books For Kids Blog .... "Enola, by her very name, which spelled backward is "alone," is no stranger to her mother's penchant for ciphers and hidden meanings, especially of the botanical sort, but when her mother suddenly disappears on her fourteenth birthday, Enola feels that the birthday gifts left behind for her contain the secret of her mother's whereabouts. Her much-older brothers, Mycroft and Sherlock Holmes, are, however, clueless about the disappearance until an audit of the manor's accounts shows that their mother has been embezzling funds for years, enough to provide herself with considerable "mad money" far from the restraints of Victorian widowhood." Read the complete review at Books For Kids

Fit me for a dunce cap I've done it again. While searching Librivox for Holmsian goodies I stupidly searched just for dear old Sherlock and not ACD. If I'd been half as clever as I'd like my children to think I am I would have noted that in addition to The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Collection Librivox's tireless volunteers had also recorded both The Sign of Four and The Hound of the Baskervilles . A couple of short stories can also be found in short story collections. ( The Dying Detective , The Speckled Band and The Dying Detective again) Fan's of Conan Doyle's other works will be pleased to find The Lost World , The Parasite and The Japanned Box also ready to be downloaded. Still in the recording phase are A Study in Scarlet and Tales of Terror and Mystery .

via The Baker Street Blog Brad Keefauver of Sherlock Peoria contemplates a Holmes specific Wiki : To Sherlockipedia and Beyond . . . Sounds like a terrifc idea. The original Wikipedia, in the meantime, has done an excellent job with the Canon themselves - Wikipedia: Sherlock Holmes

via sherlock.jamesbickers.com The ten minute interview on film that occasionally shows up, in full or in excerpts, on various DVDs and Sherlockian documentaries has been posted at YouTube by TVDAYS

Librivox , the free user created public domain audio books folks, have one set of Holmes stories complete and available for download and two more in the pipeline. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is now online. Each story is read by a different Librivox member, and while the quality varies a bit the good will and volunteer spirit behind the project more than makes up for it. In the works are Memoirs ( get a sneak preview here ) and Return ( progress report here )

Sherlock Holmes Podcast - I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere : The podcast for those interested in the life and times of Mr. Sherlock Holmes - where it is always 1895 A pair of Baker Street Irregulars have begun a wonderful podcast that I heartily recommend. Here's what they cover in the inaugural effort... In this episode, we explore the following topics: Why a podcast? Ways to listen to the show The breadth of interest in Sherlock Holmes Listener comments - welcome, encouraged, by phone, email or the comment feature below Show frequency and length My First Meeting with Sherlock Holmes - Burt and Scott each share their own first experience with the great detective The Editor's Gas Lamp - from the Baker Street Journal, Vol. 1, No. 2 (1946), "What Is It That We Love In Sherlock Holmes?"

Poster: A Study in Terror

Russian cartoon: Sherlock Holmes & Dr. Watson Found on YouTube - a highly regarded animated take on Holmes from Russia... Part One Part Two