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JANUARY 2012 A Happy New Year! The new Sherlock tv series started on the first day of the year to much acclaim. This second series, like the first, will comprise three individual 90-minute films. Also the second Hollywood film starring Robert Downey and Jude Law was released at the end of last year. Both these enterprises completely distort the original characters as created by Sir ACD. The Hollywood film tries to retain the Victorian period but changes Holmes and Watson into modern action-type heroes completely alien to the period whereas the tv series is a complete modernisation so that Holmes and Watson are contemporary young men. There has been much discussion on the sexual proclivities of these character versions in the press and whilst Sherlock raids the original stories for aspects of the plots the only way to regard the series is as a modern detective series with characters that just happen to bear familiar names and not to compare it with the true canon. The magic of using the name Sherlock Holmes is simply a cash-cow marketing ploy. The whole point in producing new stories about Sherlock Holmes is to try and capture the essential essence of the originals simply because Sir ACD only produced 60 stories and fans want to read more! At present young people coming to Holmes for the first time will meet him as a completely different figure from the true hero and all the internet forums are buzzing with tittle-tattle based on these modern versions. The only consolation is that in a year or two when the novelty has worn off the original canon will still be there in print and available to download on to your Kindle and I-Pad!
NOVEMBER Roger Johnson the editor of The Sherlock Holmes Journal will be interviewing Anthony Horowitz the author of The House of Silk at the British Library on Sunday 27th November at 2.30. Admission £7.50, concessions £5. This new Holmes novel is also the Book at Bedtime on Radio 4 for the week commencing 7th November read by Sir Derek Jacobi. The hype over this new pastiche is considerable and must be slightly peeving to the many previous 'pastichers' who have not had the benefit of such extravagant publicity. Mr Horowitz is the eminent author of the Alex Rider teenage spy books, and the writer of popular tv series Foyle's War and Midsummer Murders.
OCTOBER There has been much newspaper coverage for Anthony Horowitz's new Sherlock Holmes novel called The House of Silk. The author lays great stress on his intention of "continuing the canon" by emulating Conan Doyle as closely as possible and that the book is authorised by the Doyle Estate. This is presented as some sort of novelty whereas pastiche Holmes novels have been published for decades and run into the hundreds. Holmes sits more happily in the short story form and there have been thousands of such pastiches. The Singular Adventures of Mr Sherlock Holmes first published in 2003 and now in its third revised edition was written as if it were Watson's last flourish and recommended by Sherlock Magazine as "one of the best collections of Holmes pastiches for some time." Mr Horowitz is, of course, the author of the successful Alex Rider teenage spy books and his latest feat has been compared to other examples of eminent authors writing new James Bond stories etc. These novels are not tainted with the generic term "pastiche".
SEPTEMBER A "previously unknown novel" by Conan Doyle has recently been published. The Narrative of John Smith appears to be more of a notebook with ideas for a novel rather than a finished product in itself. Dating from 1883 it pre-dates A Study in Scarlet by some four years. It is published by the British Library at £10 and contains 144 pages.
AUGUST The Sunday Telegraph reports that A Study in Scarlet, Holmes's first adventure has been removed from the reading list of 11 and 12 year-olds in a Virginia school on the grounds that it is derogatory to Mormons.
MAY The death has been announced of Edward Hardwicke, surely the best Dr Watson of all time.
JANUARY Author Paul Spiring has found an entry in Conan Doyle's bank book that he claims shows £500+ was paid to Bertram Fletcher Robinson for assistance with The Hound of the Baskervilles. The equivalent in today's money would be £45,000.