Sherlock Sunday - The Redacted Sherlock Holmes
Posted by Steve Emecz on
Every Sunday we like to share a particular writer or a theme.
Orlando Pearson releases stories retelling key events from history revealing how Sherlock Holmes was involved in the events in the background. There are seven short story collections, one novel and a series of plays so far.
The Redacted Sherlock Holmes Interview was recorded this week featuring the author himself, plus the narrator Keith Spilsbury who has narrated most of the stories.
Please use the contact us form, quote #Sherlock Sunday Redacted and let us know which country you are from. There are five books this week - 4 short stories and a short story collection.
Please check your library so you don't ask for books already have (codes are hard to re-allocate).
Is the London Softwear Company going to close its London factory? Ambitious politician Mr. Lawler, who has commissioned Sherlock Holmes in two previous cases, wants Holmes to find out. And what is the company's special Dutch finishing process, and why does London Software Company's managing director spend so much time in Amsterdam? In a variety of disguises, Holmes and Watson find out the true meaning of a Dutch Sandwich and how such sandwiches are common not just to The London Software Company, but also to a café to be opened by a Mr. Starr and a Mr. Buck.
Another encounter with Wilhelm Gottsreich Sigismond von Ormstein, hereditary king of Bohemia, and Holmes’ commissioner in Sherlock Holmes and a Scandal in Bohemia. The king is no longer with his first wife and has organized a ball at the Savoy Hotel in London to choose a new bride. But the lady who caught his eye fled as the clock of St. Martin in the Fields church struck midnight leaving only a dancing slipper behind. The trail takes Holmes and Watson to Venice and Holmes discloses a shocking truth to Watson that nearly ruptures their friendship. A case combining high literature, ancient literature, and moral hazard.
The Adventure of the Fourth Messenger
Soon after Holmes's return from apparent death, Holmes and Watson return from a walk through London and find a preacher waiting for them. He wants their help in writing his account of the life of a religious leader in an Eastern Mediterranean country whose death has caused unparalleled speculation. Shortly afterwards, the preacher is abducted. The great Baker Street detective investigates before opining on the reliability of the testimony of the preacher. Holmes adduces some startling reasons for believing in the historical accuracy of the preacher's testimony.
How does a composer make sure his works make an impact? Composer Edward Elgar wants to know and petitions Holmes. Straight after this encounter, Elgar starts on the work that is to become his masterpiece. And to maximize public interest in it, the composer and Holmes indicate that there are mysteries about its content, inspiration, and origin. On one matter, Holmes withholds an insight of his from Elgar and -- deliberately or not -- the title Enigma Variations is the result. It is only after Elgar's death and an illuminating night-time encounter with a literary contemporary of Elgar that Holmes discloses his insight, and even then insists it remain secret until after his own death.
The Redacted Sherlock Holmes (Volume I)
Orlando Pearson, Dr. Watson's successor as the assistant to Sherlock Holmes, was entrusted by the doctor with notes on cases too controversial to publish during Holmes's career. The three complete stories in this volume were withheld respectively due to the threat they posed to national security, the disclosure of a scandal in a foreign Royal family, and the exposure of excessively close links between Government ministers and industry. Other stories, which are available online, highlighted such matters as Government failure to regulate the banks and some grotesque events in Camberwell. It is obviously inconceivable that any of these issues could be of relevance in the better ordered 21st century, but these stories, freshly unearthed, provide a fascinating insight into some of the issues facing society at the turn of the 20th and right up to the early 1950's.