In 1887, Sherlock Holmes began to stalk the literary world. He lived at 221B Baker Street, London, and ran a private detective agency. He was brilliant, eccentric, and without equal. After a few years he was joined by Dr. Watson, both as a right-hand man as a chronicler. Created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Holmes was featured in four novels and fifty-six short stories. And I think it's safe to say that Holmes had an affection for the Americans starting from his very first story — "A Study in Scarlet" — when he told of an adventure in Utah.
And even today, Holmes has left an indelible impression upon the world at large, including American shores. In March 2009, Sherlock Holmes in America was published as a collection of 16 original short mystery stories featuring the famous detective. The collection was edited by Martin H. Greenberg, Jon L. Lellenberg, and Daniel Stashower. Some of the writers included in the collection are Robert Pohle, Loren D. Estleman, Victoria Thompson, Gillian Linscott, Carolyn Wheat, and Jon L. Breen.
Timing for this collection is just about perfect, as the marketing starts to ratchet up later in the year for the upcoming Guy Ritchie movie. Simply titled Sherlock Holmes, with Robert Downey Jr. as Holmes and Jude Law as Dr. Watson, the movie will release on Christmas Day 2009 and I know I'm intrigued to see it. Though this is definitely not the first time Holmes will grace the big screen, it will be the first time in since around 1946.
As a relative newbie to the Sherlock Holmes stories, I figured Sherlock Holmes in America would be a great way to get my feet wet. And I was definitely correct. Now I will have to go back to the original source material and start my way through the great detective's many adventures.
Article comments
1 - anon
"Though this is definitely not the first time Holmes will grace the big screen, it will be the first time in since around 1946."
Um...no. There have been numerous film version of Holmes since the 1940's. Please do a modicum of research before writing a review.