The Baker Street Four, Vol. 1
by J. B. Djian & Olivier Legrand; ill. David Etien; trans. Mark Bence (Insight, 2017
first published as “Les Quatre de Baker Street vol. 1” (Editions Glénat, 2009)
A thick volume containing two adventures of Sherlockian street kids Billy, Charlie, Tom (and cat). The stories are nothing special but the art is rather splendid, foregrounding the characters and rendering London’s East End with a grimy palette and considerable background detail.
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
dir. Guy Ritchie (2011)
Robert Downey Jr’s Holmes hides his genius behind a facade of extemporised buffoonery. Jude Law’s Watson is less idolising, more exasperated, than in the original stories. Their dynamic nevertheless works, carrying the more stylised mayhem as Ritchie’s treatment walks its fine line.
The Case of the Left-Handed Lady
by Nancy Springer (Penguin, 2007); audiobook read by Katherine Kellgren (Recorded Books, 2007)
Again, the mystery element is slight, but 14-year-old Enola Holmes proves intelligent, quick-witted and resourceful… and more than a match for her famous older brother! Both Sherlock himself and Victorian London reveal different facets of themselves when encountered by a female protagonist.
The Valley of Fear
by Arthur Conan Doyle (George H. Doran, 1915); audiobook read by Stephen Fry (ABC/Audible, 2018)
In essence, two largely unconnected novellas. The first sees Holmes in fine form, his aura only enhanced by Inspector MacDonald’s shining a lesser light of uncommon strength. The second is an engaging enough story of Freemason gang activity in lawless north-east America.
Sherlock Holmes
dir. Guy Ritchie (2009)
Ritchie’s interpretation of Sherlock Holmes works on several levels—as a dark and detailed period piece, as character comedy, and as a buddy film. Jude Law (Watson) and Robert Downey Jr (Holmes) have an edgy dynamic. Rachel McAdams scintillates as Irene Adler.
The Sign of the Four
by Arthur Conan Doyle (Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine, 1890); audiobook read by Stephen Fry (ABC Audio, 2017)
A bravura second outing for Holmes and Watson, once again deflated by a lengthy coda in which neither man features. An important novel for having affirmed the strength of these two characters, and for indicating that Conan Doyle should prefer short stories.
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
by Arthur Conan Doyle (George Newnes, 1892); audiobook read by Stephen Fry (ABC, 2017)
The first and arguably most accomplished batch of Sherlock Holmes short stories. The cases are consistently ingenious and Holmes is full of a vitality that Conan Doyle would not always muster. Stephen Fry reads with the obvious relish of a lifelong fan.
The Case of the Missing Masterpiece
by Terrance Dicks (Blackie & Son, 1978)
This first book of the Baker Street Irregulars series shows Terrance Dicks to be right at home in a London setting. Unlike his Doctor Who novelisations, the Holmes-inspired mystery is rich in background detail and characterisation, its investigation offering plenty of suspense!
The Ardlamont Mystery: The Real-Life Story Behind the Creation of Sherlock Holmes
by Daniel Smith (Michael O’Mara, 2018)
Whereas Smith sifts every last scrap of the defendant’s and victim’s backstories, the key medical witnesses—Joseph Bell and Henry Littlejohn, upon whom Doyle based Sherlock Holmes—have walk-on parts at best. An assiduously researched historical non-event with a reprehensibly misleading subtitle.
A Study in Scarlet
by Arthur Conan Doyle (Ward Lock & Co, 1887); audiobook read by Stephen Fry (ABC/Audible, 2017)
This would have made a fine short story—introducing the great detective to his chronicler—yet the lengthy second part serves only to demonstrate Conan Doyle’s dependence on Holmes and Watson. In the absence of these seminal characters, the prose turns flaccid.