Main Contents

Sherlock Holmes on the Web
The Basic Holmesian Library

Compiled by John Bennett Shaw, B.S.I.

February 1983
Revised October 1988

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Introduction:

A decade or more ago I staged an exhibition of the items I then considered to be the One Hundred Basic Books, Pamphlets and Periodicals relating to Sherlock Holmes. The catalog of this display was never issued and over the years I have had many requests for the list, especially from new recruits to the Cult.

I thought that at my 1983 workshops it would be of interest to distribute such a list and I plan to provide a copy to each participant: to guide him through the welter of words that have been printed about Mr. Holmes, his life and times and career, his friends and enemies, and his standing today as a world figure who lives and is revered and respected by all.

I have tried to list One Hundred items which would give one an in-depth view of the entire Holmesian culture. Selection was a most difficult task and I am sure that a number of valuable items have been omitted and that of some of those included many will think better left out. It was especially difficult to limit the inclusion of works done in an ephemeral way as gift books, in periodicals, in a form not yet collected between covers, in foreign languages, and so on. Thus I have had to neglect for this listing a number of fine contributions by such writers as Jay Finley Christ, Lord Donegall, Charles Honce, Nathan Bengis, and Edgar W. Smith. I must not fail to mention the many charming, profound and interesting contributions to The Writings About The Writings done by foreign authors such as Henry Lauritzen, A. D. Henriksen, Karl Krejci-Graf, Ted Bergman, Rudolph Cechura, Kohki Naganuma and many others.

Since I first compiled The Basic One Hundred, a number of important works have appeared. So I have started anew, deleting many from my previous listings and bringing up to date my suggested Holmes Library. Up to date being to 1 March, 1983.

And in a few cases I have, in brackets, suggested other items by the same author that might well serve as a substitute.

Please remember that while I have listed but one hundred items I have not listed some three thousand!

Good reading and good collecting.

Post-script, June 1988

Since issuing this list of reading suggestions in 1983, I have revised it several times. Once again I have gone over it with care and have deleted, sadly, several items in order to include three or four new and important volumes. AND I know that I will have to make further revisions as there seems to be no end to the welter of Holmesian words.

THE BASIC ONE HUNDRED: A SHERLOCK HOLMES LIBRARY

    The Canon:

  1. Baring-Gould, William S.

    THE ANNOTATED SHERLOCK HOLMES (Two volumes), 1967
    (note: A One volume edition, 1986)

  2. Doyle, Pj and E. W. McDiarmid, editors

    THE BAKER STREET DOZEN, 1987
    (Note: An anthology of Doyle's twelve favorite stories with a thirteenth added - to make it a 'Baker's Dozen'
    and each with an essay by a noted Sherlockian scholar)

    The Canon, Apocrypha:

  3. Doyle, Arthur Conan

    TALES OF TERROR AND MYSTERY, 1947
    (Note: Contents include "The Man With The Watches" and "The Lost Special")

  4. Tracy, Jack, editor

    SHERLOCK HOLMES, THE PUBLISHED APOCRYPHA, 1980
    (Note: Peter Haining, editor, THE FINAL ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, 1981.
    In many instances this is a duplication however Haining has items not in Tracy, and vice versa)

    Holmes, General Writings About:

  5. Baring-Gould, William S.

    SHERLOCK HOLMES OF BAKER STREET, 1962

  6. Bell, H. W.

    SHERLOCK HOLMES AND DOCTOR WATSON, 1931

  7. Blackbeard, Bill, editor

    SHERLOCK HOLMES IN AMERICA, 1981

  8. Blakeney, T . S .

    SHERLOCK HOLMES: Fact or Fiction, 1931

  9. Blegen, Theodore C. and E. W. McDiarmid, editors

    SHERLOCK HOLMES: Master Detective, l952

  10. Brend, Gavin

    MY DEAR HOLMES, 1951

  11. Cutter, Robert A., editor

    SHERLOCKIAN STUDIES: Seven Pieces of Sherlockiana,1917

  12. Dalcin, D. Martin

    A SHERLOCK HOLMES COMMENTARY, 1972

  13. Five Orange Pips, The

    THE BEST OF THE PIPS: A Collection of the Writings About the Writings, 1955

  14. Grazebrook, 0. F.

    STUDIES IN SHERLOCK HOLMES (Seven pamphlets), 1949-53

  15. Green, Richard Lancelyn

    THE SHERLOCK HOLMES LETTERS, 1986

  16. Haining, Peter, editor

    THE SHERLOCK HOLMES SCRAPBOOK, 1973
    (Note: Haining, Peter, A SHERLOCK HOLMES COMPENDIUM, 1980 is similar and equally entertaining)

  17. Hammer, David L.

    THE GAME IS AFOOT, 1983, and FOR THE SAKE OF THE GAME,1986
    (Note: These two guides to Holmesian places are complimentary)

  18. Hardwick, Michael

    THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO SHERLOCK HOLMES, 1987

  19. Harrison, Michael

    A STUDY IN SURMISE: The Making of Sherlock Holmes, 1984

  20. Harrison, Michael, editor

    BEYOND BAKER STREET: A Sherlockian Anthology, 1976

  21. Harrison, Michael

    IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, Revised edition,1971

  22. Harrison,, Michael

    THE WORLD OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, 1973
    (Note: Harrison's I SHERLOCK HOLMES,1977 can be substituted)

  23. Haycraft, Howard

    MURDER FOR PLEASURE: The Life and Times of the Detective Story, 1941

  24. Herbert, Paul D.

    THE SINCEREST FORM OF FLATTERY, 1983

  25. Holroyd, James E .

    BAKER STREET BY-WAYS, 1959

  26. Holroyd, James E.

    SEVENTEEN STEPS TO 221B, 1967

  27. Keefauver, Brad

    THE ELEMENTARY METHODS OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, 1987

  28. Klinefelter, Walter

    SHERLOCK HOLMES IN PORTRAIT AND PROFILE, 1963

  29. Knox, Ronald A.

    ESSAYS IN SATIRE, 1928
    (Note: This volume contains the cornerstone of any Holmesian library,
    the essay "Some Studies in the Literature of Sherlock Holmes")

  30. Liebow, Ely M.

    DR. JOE BELL: Model for Sherlock Holmes, 1982

  31. McQueen, Ian

    SHERLOCK HOLMES DETECTED, 1974

  32. Merrill, Edward A.

    FOR THE SAKE OF THE TRUST: Sherlock Holmes and the Musgrave Ritual, 1982

  33. Montgomery, James

    ART IN THE BLOOD, 1950

  34. Montgomery, James

    SHOTS FROM THE CANON, 1953

  35. Montgomery, James

    THREE TRIFLING MONOGRAPHS, 1952
    (Note:The three Montgomery items were issued in one volume by Magico, 1983)

  36. Norwegian Explorers, The

    CULTIVATING SHERLOCK HOLMES, 1978

  37. Redmond, Donald A.

    SHERLOCK HOLMES: A Study in Sources, 1982

  38. Roberts, S. C.

    HOLMES AND WATSON: A Miscellany, 1953

  39. Sayers, Dorothy L.

    UNPOPULAR OPINIONS, 1946

  40. Scowrers and Molly Maguires of San Francisco, The, and The Trained Cormorants of Los Angeles County

    WEST BY ONE AND BY ONE: An Anthology of Irregular Writing,1965

  41. Shepherd, Walter

    ON THE SCENT WITH SHERLOCK HOLMES, 1978
    (Note: Issued in an enlarged edition by Gaslight, Bloomington, Indiana, 1988)

  42. Shreffler, Philip A., editor

    THE BAKER STREET READER: Cornerstone Writings about Sherlock Holmes, 1984

  43. Simpson, A. Carson

    Simpson's SHERLOCKIAN STUDIES (A series of Eight Pamphlets), 1953-60

  44. Smith, Edgar W., editor

    BAKER STREET AND BEYOND, 1957

  45. Smith, Edgar W., editor

    A BAKER STREET FOUR WHEELER: Sixteen Pieces of Sherlockiana, 1944

  46. Smith, Edgar W.

    THE INCUNABULAR SHERLOCK HOLMES, 1958

  47. Smith, Edgar W.

    INTRODUCING MR. SHERLOCK HOLMES, 1959

  48. Smith, Edgar W., editor

    PROFILE BY GASLIGHT, 1944

  49. Sons of the Copper Beeches, The

    LEAVES FROM THE COPPER BEECHES, 1959
    (Note: or MORE LEAVES FROM THE COPPER BEECHES,1976)

  50. Speckled Band, The

    THE SECOND CAB, 1947
    (Note: also three more volumes in series)

  51. Starrett, Vincent

    THE PRIVATE LIFE OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, 1933

  52. Starrett, Vincent, editor

    221B: Studies in Sherlock Holmes, 1940

  53. Tracy, Jack

    THE ENCYCLOPAEDIA SHERLOCKIANA, 1977

  54. Van Liere, Edward J .

    A DOCTOR ENJOYS SHERLOCK HOLMES, 1959

  55. Williamson, J. N. and H. B. Williams, editors

    THE ILLUSTRIOUS CLIENTS CASE-BOOK, 1948
    (Note: a second and a third volume were issued )

    The Agent:

  56. Carr, John Dickson

    THE LIFE OF SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE, 1949

  57. Doyle, Arthur Conan

    MEMORIES AND ADVENTURES, 1924

  58. Edwards, Owen Dudley

    THE QUEST FOR SHERLOCK HOLMES: A Biograhical Study of Sir Arthur Cona Doyle, 1983

  59. Lellenberg, Jon L., editor

    THE QUEST FOR SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE: Thirteen Biographies in Search of a Life, 1987

  60. Nordon, Pierre

    CONAN DOYLE, 1966

  61. Pearson, Hesketh

    CONAN DOYLE: His Life and Art, 1943

    Bibliography and Chronology:

  62. Baring-Gould, William S .

    THE CHRONOLOGICAL HOLMES, 1955

  63. Christ, Jay Finley

    AN IRREGULAR CHRONOLOGY OF SHERLOCK HOLMES OF BAKER STREET, 1947

  64. De Waal, Ronald B.

    THE WORLD BIBLIOGRAPHY OF SHERLOCK HOLMES AND DR. WATSON, 1974,

    THE INTERNATIONAL SHERLOCK HOLMES, 1980
    (Note: Hopefully this essential project will be completed with a third volume in 1989)
    [Porlock Note: Third installment issued in '94 in 4 volumes titled 'The Universal Sherlock Holmes']

  65. Green, Richard Lancelyn and John Michael Gibson

    A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF A. CONAN DOYLE, 1983

  66. Redmond, Christopher A.

    THE TIN DISPATCH BOX: A Compendium of the Unpublished Cases of Sherlock Holmes, 1965

  67. Smith, Edgar W.

    BAKER STREET INVENTORY: A Sherlockian Bibliography, 1945

  68. Smith, Edgar W.

    SHERLOCK HOLMES, THE WRITINGS OF JOHN H. WATSON, M.D., 1962

  69. Zeisler, Ernest Bloomfield

    BAKER STREET CHRONOLOGY, 1953

    Performing Arts:

  70. Doyle, Arthur Conan and William Gillette

    SHERLOCK HOLMES: A Drama in Four Acts, 1922

  71. Hardwick, Michael and Mollie

    FOUR SHERLOCK HOLMES PLAYS, 1964

  72. Pointer, Michael

    THE PUBLIC LIFE OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, 1975

  73. Steinbrunner, Chris and Norman Michaels

    THE FILMS OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, 1978

    Specialized Items:

  74. Beaman, Bruce R., compiler

    THE SHERLOCK HOLMES BOOK OF QUOTATIONS, 1980

  75. Goodrich, William D.

    GOOD OLD INDEX, 1987
    (Note: a much needed concordance to The Canon)

  76. Rosenblatt, Julia Carlson and Frederic H. Sonnenschmidt

    DINING WITH SHERLOCK HOLMES, 1976

  77. Thomas, Frank

    SHERLOCK HOLMES BRIDGE DETECTIVE, 1973

  78. Titus, Eve

    BASIL OF BAKER STREET, 1958

  79. Warrack, Guy

    SHERLOCK HOLMES AND MUSIC, 1947

  80. Wolff, Julian

    THE SHERLOCK HOLMES ATLAS, 1952

    Parodies and Pastiches:

  81. Boucher, Anthony

    THE CASE OF THE BAKER STREET IRREGULARS, 1940

  82. Boyer, Richard L.

    THE GIANT RAT OF SUMATRA, 1976

  83. Carr, John Dickson and Adrian Conan Doyle

    THE EXPLOITS OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, 1960

  84. Council of Four, The

    THE SCIENCE FICTIONAL SHERLOCK HOLMES, 1960

  85. Derleth, August

    IN RE: SHERLOCK HOLMES, THE ADVENTURES OF SOLAR PONS, 1945
    (Note: This interesting series of Pon's cases continued through seven more volumes and in 1982
    a collected edition in two volumes THE SOLAR PONS OMNIBUS was published)

  86. Fish, Robert L.

    THE INCREDIBLE SCHLOCK HOLMES, 1956
    (Note: And equally charming is THE MEMOIRS OF SCHLOCK HOLMES, 1974)

  87. Gardner, John

    THE RETURN OF MORIARTY, 1974
    (Note: A second volume THE REVENGE OF MORIARTY, 1975)

  88. Greenberg, Martin Harry and Carol-Lynn Ršssel Waugh, editors

    THE NEW ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, 1987

  89. Hardwick, Michael

    THE PRISONER OF THE DEVIL, 1979

  90. Heard, H. F.

    A TASTE FOR HONEY, 1941

  91. Kurland, Michael

    THE INFERNAL DEVICE, 1979

  92. Leblanc, Maurice

    ARSENE LUPIN VERSUS HERLOCK SHOLMES, 1910

  93. Meyer, Nicholas

    THE SEVEN-PER-CENT SOLUTION, 1974

  94. Queen, Ellery, editor

    THE MISADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, 1944

  95. Starrett, Vincent

    THE UNIQUE HAMLET, 1920

    Periodicals:

  96. THE BAKER STREET GASOGENE

    Edited by Peter A. Ruber, New York, 1961-62
    (Note: Volume I, Number 1 reprinted by Magico, 1985)

  97. THE BAKER STREET JOURNAL

    c/o Fordham University Press,
    University Box L,
    Bronx, N.Y., 10458

  98. BAKER STREET MISCELLANEA

    c/o The Sciolist Press,
    P.O.Box 2579,
    Chicago, Ill. 60690

  99. THE PONTINE DOSSIER

    (Note: ceased publication in 1978)

  100. THE SHERLOCK HOLMES JOURNAL

    c/o The Sherlock Holmes Society of London,
    Attn. Nicholas Utechin,
    Highfield Farm House,
    23 Highfield Avenue,
    Headington, Oxford,
    England U.K.

A Final Note:

Three new Sherlockian periodicals have appeared in the past year or so. These are: THE SHERLOCKIAN, A QUARTERLY JOURNAL edited by Kelvin I. Jones; THE SHERLOCK HOLMES REVIEW edited by Steven T. Doyle; and THE BAKER STREET GAZETTE edited by Sharida Rizzuto. It may well be that one or more of these publications will justify inclusion in The Basic List when next revised.

Interesting developments in the literature of The Holmesian World are the various items designed for computers. Especially noteworthy is AN ELECTRONIC HOLMES COMPANION published by PsyLogic Systems, Tolland, CT. This includes on software discs the complete Canon together with various programs of use to Holmesians.

This revision of The Basic List prepared for presentation to The Great Alkali Plainsmen on the occasion of their 25th anniversary celebration, Kansas City, MO., October 1988


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