The Sherlock Holmes Companion - Hardcover

Smith, Daniel

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0785827846 ISBN 13: 9780785827849

Publisher: Castle Books, 2011

Synopsis

Sherlock Holmes remains as popular, and as fascinating, now as he ever did. Now, in this beautiful and lavishly illustrated book, Daniel Smith explores Sherlock Holmes and his world in every engrossing respect. The Sherlock Holmes Companion, a witty and informed text, provides plot summaries of every single Sherlock Holmes story, in the order in which they were written, and with good-humored and even waspish assessments of their relative merits. There are compact biographies of Holmes, Moriarty, Watson, and Conan Doyle—whose own life and earnest preoccupations remain of enduring interest. The book contains many original interviews with some of the actors who’ve played Holmes, or written film or television scripts about him, over the years as well as a comprehensive chronology of all the thespians to attempt a portrayal of Holmes, from Basil Rathbone and Jeremy Brett to Stewart Granger.

If you want to know the different kinds of firearms ever toted by Holmes, or when he first took to sporting a deerstalker, or how often the examination of footprints facilitated the successful solution of a case, or when Roger Moore played Holmes or Robert Duvall Watson and why, then this book is for you. Illustrated throughout with more than 150 pictures—half in full color—ranging from period engravings, gorgeous theatre posters and book jackets to modern-day location shots and film stills from TV adaptations, The Sherlock Holmes Companion is a compendious guide to all the stories, their author and the enigmatic pipe-smoking creation at their heart.

About this title

About the Author:

Daniel Smith is a writer and book editor born in Wallington, Surrey (one of the settings in The Adventure of the Cardboard Box).  He became a Holmes devotee when still a child, a passion that remained through an English degree and beyond.  He now lives in East London with his fiancee and has more film versions of The Hound of the Baskervilles than he knows what to do with.

Review:

'Engaging dip-into book'

"We wholeheartedly recommend The Sherlock Holmes Companion. It’s a great celebration of part of our cultural heritage. Smith’s prose is lucid, economical and informative, and the book is a treasure trove of details about the world of the famous detective and his human creator. It’s the kind of book likely to persuade you to revisit the literary canon once again, and as each generation finds inspiration from the stories, to remember the richness of the world that Conan Doyle created. It’s one that resonates with readers and audiences worldwide to this day."ÿ

"In this beautifully illustrated volume, Daniel Smith explores Holmes in historical context, and as a timeless figure constantly reinterpreted, investigating Holmes and his craft. Offering synopses of his cases, discussing Sir Arthur Conan Doyle as author, justice campaigner and fmaily man, he examines the legacy of Holmes and his creator, the enduring appeal of the stories and their interpretation on screen and stage. A delightful, comprehensive and fascinating guide to a phenomenon that continues to enthral readers and audiences the world over, this detailed study is a great tribute to the detective and his world; literature and legend"ÿ

"We wholeheartedly recommend The Sherlock Holmes Companion. It's a great celebration of part of our cultural heritage. Smith's prose is lucid, economical and informative, and the book is a treasure trove of details about the world of the famous detective and his human creator. It's the kind of book likely to persuade you to revisit the literary canon once again, and as each generation finds inspiration from the stories, to remember the richness of the world that Conan Doyle created. It's one that resonates with readers and audiences worldwide to this day."ÿ

'Engaging dip-into book'

About this edition

• Publisher: Castle Books
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0785827846
• ISBN 13: 9780785827849
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 192