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4.11 AVERAGE
4.11 AVERAGE
The revival of Sherlock Holmes.
After pressure from the readers and a solid financial incentive, Doyle exhumes Sherlock Holmes, with this final collection of stories.
It’s clearly a mature and experienced author’s work, contrary to the early work, there’s no weak stories here, the quality is consistent though out the collection.
But it’s also the least memorable collection with a more subdued Holmes without the eccentric quirky qualities from the earlier books.
The narration by Stephen Fry is as always brilliant.
After pressure from the readers and a solid financial incentive, Doyle exhumes Sherlock Holmes, with this final collection of stories.
It’s clearly a mature and experienced author’s work, contrary to the early work, there’s no weak stories here, the quality is consistent though out the collection.
But it’s also the least memorable collection with a more subdued Holmes without the eccentric quirky qualities from the earlier books.
The narration by Stephen Fry is as always brilliant.
It was at such moments that for an instant he ceased to be a reasoning machine, and betrayed his human love for admiration and applause. The same singularly proud and reserved nature which turned away with disdain from popular notoriety was capable of being moved to its depths by spontaneous wonder and praise from a friend.
REREAD 2025. 4.5 stars. This has always been one of my very favourite books in the Sherlock Holmes collection, and on this reread, I loved it even more than usual, and I raised my rating to 4.5. Honestly, I could see myself raising it to a full 5 stars on a subsequent reread. Some of these stories make me straight up emotional!! Like the "Adventure of the Empty House", when Holmes returns, or "The Adventure of the Six Napoleons" where we see more of his humanity and emotion. "The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton" is probably my favourite Holmes story of all time, just because of the Holmes/Watson of it all. Rereading this always feels like coming home, and this time, it made me even happier than usual. Just what I needed in a difficult week.
Listened to the audiobook as read by Charlton Griffin, as I usually do, and it remains the superior version. I'm not sure if I've ever commented on it, but I love the little musical pieces that they use, and sporadic little sounds effects that really add to the experience. (Especially in Charles Augustus Milverton.) I'm already looking forward to rereading this again. It's SO good.
“So it was, my dear Watson that at two o’clock to-day I found myself in my old armchair in my own old room, and only wishing that I could have seen my old friend Watson in the other chair which he has so often adorned.”
--
“Well, well, my dear fellow, be it so. We have shared this same room for some years, and it would be amusing if we ended by sharing the same cell.”
Never not a banger. Some of my favourite stories are in this collection. Nothing beats "The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton" for romance. Nothing!! There's a lot of the humanity of Holmes in this collection, too, and I just eat it all up.
want to put sherlock holmes in my pocket and keep him there forever
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
How this book ended up on my TBR: Sherlock Holmes, of course. I'm making my way through the collected works.
The short stories in this collection are as follows:
-The Adventure of the Empty House (liked this)
-The Adventure of the Norwood Builder (also liked this)
-The Adventure of the Dancing Men (also liked this)
-The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist (also liked this)
-The Adventure of the Priory School (also liked this and I promise I didn't like all of them)
-The Adventure of Black Peter
-The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton (eh)
-The Adventure of the Six Napoleons
-The Adventure of the Three Students (interesting addition)
-The Adventure of the Golden Pince-Nez (actually liked this upon reflection)
-The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter
-The Adventure of the Abbey Grange
-The Adventure of the Second Stain
Arthur Conan Doyle returned to Sherlock Holmes after effectively killing him off in The Final Problem (in The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes), but the public would not stand for it. Plus, he was having difficulty making a living off nonfiction, so Holmes returned, and in some ways it feels like his heart wasn't quite in it. I can't blame him, and there are only so many mysteries to cover. He deviates in some interesting ways in this collection; some I appreciated, and some I didn't. But overall this was an engaging read.
PER USUAL, Stephen Fry is an absolute delight to listen to.
The short stories in this collection are as follows:
-The Adventure of the Empty House (liked this)
-The Adventure of the Norwood Builder (also liked this)
-The Adventure of the Dancing Men (also liked this)
-The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist (also liked this)
-The Adventure of the Priory School (also liked this and I promise I didn't like all of them)
-The Adventure of Black Peter
-The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton (eh)
-The Adventure of the Six Napoleons
-The Adventure of the Three Students (interesting addition)
-The Adventure of the Golden Pince-Nez (actually liked this upon reflection)
-The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter
-The Adventure of the Abbey Grange
-The Adventure of the Second Stain
Arthur Conan Doyle returned to Sherlock Holmes after effectively killing him off in The Final Problem (in The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes), but the public would not stand for it. Plus, he was having difficulty making a living off nonfiction, so Holmes returned, and in some ways it feels like his heart wasn't quite in it. I can't blame him, and there are only so many mysteries to cover. He deviates in some interesting ways in this collection; some I appreciated, and some I didn't. But overall this was an engaging read.
PER USUAL, Stephen Fry is an absolute delight to listen to.
Originally read - 2010-11
Listened to - 2016
Re-listened -2017
These stories came after a hiatus, but Conan-Doyle seems to have given himself time for a lot of fresh ideas, because they feel original and fresh. Sherlock gets a bit more sardonic here, where he used to be more of an aloof dramatist.
Listened to - 2016
Re-listened -2017
These stories came after a hiatus, but Conan-Doyle seems to have given himself time for a lot of fresh ideas, because they feel original and fresh. Sherlock gets a bit more sardonic here, where he used to be more of an aloof dramatist.
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
informative
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes