Alistair Duncan - February 2008
A compelling overview of the world of Sherlock Holmes.
The book begins with an examination of the effect that the stories have had on modern crime literature. It goes on to examine the origins of the character of Holmes himself from his appearance to his drug use and supposed dislike of women. We then move onto a mini-biography of some of the significant characters in the series. Each of the original stories by Conan Doyle is then examined in an effort to explain some of the more esoteric aspects and to try and form a proper chronology - as Doyle did not write the stories in strict chronological order. Finally we examine some of the pastiche stories that have been written by other authors.
Section Two examines the more notable actors to have portrayed Holmes in film and television. Their individual pros and cons along with a critique of their films forms part of this. We then discuss what would be required in order to film something that would come close to a definitive series of the entire canon of stories.
