Christopher Pittard

When it comes to literary criticism you have a span between readable and accessible to the layman, all the way to incomprehensible academic gibberish. This is heavily leaning toward readable, covering contextual essays about detective fiction, the historical era, views on ACD's innovations and imitations, and the usual race, gender and equality commentary that are the staple of the genre. There's a very good discussion on the impact on The Strand magazine and their role in motivating the show more character to survive beyond 6 outings, as well as the impact of Sidney Paget's illustrations on the character of Holmes and later adaptations.
Some of it's really interesting and some of it you'll probably skip, but that's normal with these grab bags. show less