Arthur Conan Doyle picks his favorite Sherlock Holmes stories. All 12.
Sherlock – the blurb
When this competition was first mooted I went into it in a most light-hearted way, thinking that it would be the easiest thing in the world to pick out the twelve best of the Holmes stories. In practice I found that I had engaged myself in a serious task…
In 1927, Strand magazine challenged its readers to guess which of his Sherlock Holmes stories Arthur Conan Doyle himself rated as his very best. (Mr R. T. Newman of Spring Hill, Wellingborough, won GBP100 for successfully guessing ten of the twelve stories correctly.) Doyle revealed his choice and, in his own inimitable way, explained his reasoning in an article for the magazine. The stories included ‘The Speckled Band’, ‘The Final Problem’ and ‘The Dancing Men’.
Arthur Conan Doyle’s favorite twelve Sherlock Holmes stories are now published together for the first time, with his original Strand article to introduce his own selection.
No dirty dozen here
I loved the premis around this book, a competition. The article included as a forward by Conan Doyle explains why he picked each book and is a lovely little appetizer. I’ve read a Study in Scarlett but these are 12 short stories dotted around Holmes’ career including the infamous The Final Problem and ‘that woman’ Irene Adler.
Baker Street, Moriarty and all the classic hallmarks of Sherlock are included as well as references to his cocaine habit, funnily enough not picked up on by the BBC in their adaptation.
I enjoyed the stories, all around 30 pages, but found after a while they became a bit too formulaic and a bit too repetitive. A character would enter Baker Street with a seemingly unsolved crime. Holmes would have virtually solved the crime before said character had left but kept his cards close to his chest whilst figuring out the final jigsaw piece. Holmes and Watson would then go off gallivanting for the night, often with Watson’s pistol at the ready, before Holmes would apprehend the guilty party and explain all to Watson and the reader. Maybe if there had only been 10 it wouldn’t have quite grated as much as it did but alas, 12 there were and the last couple were more of a chore than a pleasure. A shame as really on their own they are quite good.
