The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes

All the stories have a suitable Holmesian atmosphere, the first two of the twelve being somewhat ridiculous, but then they tend to get better with each one. There's a degree of trope-dumping to be expected of a pastiche, and some recycling/redressing of plots, but Doyle Snr. did that himself.

Sadly, no telling of the Giant Rat of Sumatra case, the most evocative title for me of all the Untold Tales, but otherwise a pretty strong offering. Edith von Lammerain is a powerful Irene Adler stand-in, though of a darker strain, and not one to evoke any of Holmes's admiration.

If you've read and enjoyed the Canon, these are a good addition.

If you're going to read Sherlock Holmes pastiches, you eventually should read The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes, published in 1954 and written by Adrian Conan Doyle, the son of Arthur Conan Doyle, and and John Dickson Carr, Arthur Conan Doyle's biographer. It is an early collection of pastiches and by people so intimately connected with the originator of Sherlock Holmes. I worried though, because Adrian Conan Doyle has been described as a "spendthrift playboy" who (with his brother Denis) "used the Conan Doyle estate as a milch-cow." And the first two stories, and mysteries, I thought, were dreadful. After that, however, some of them were better, entertaining, and even good. As pastiches go, they captured the stories fairly well. Though show more Watson was never so precise in his dates. And, these stories make the same allusions to quirks in the Canon that are shoved in as winks and nods to Sherlockians, but come across as shoved in and corny. So every story mentions the gasogene, or the Persian slipper, or the jackknife, or the God-awful deerstalker, or insert Holmes trope reference here. Instead of giving a nod and imparting a smile, I roll my eyes and think of the milch-cow. Still, as Holmes pastiches go, this is an important, historic collection, and a good diversion. show less

Adrian Conan Doyle (the son) & John Dickson Carr cash in on Sherlock fame by creating new short cases from phrases in the original stories.
e.g. "The Seven Clocks" is created from a sentence in the original 'A Scandal in Bohemia'; "From time to time I heard some vague account of his doings: of his summons to Odessa in the case of the Trepoff Murder".
I do like many shared-universe compilations, but think that retroactive ones (like this one)are mostly 'good try - no zing'.
These new cases attempt to faithfully adhere to the original language and rhythm, but end up feeling a parody of Holmes rather than new Holmes cases.

Cada año surgen cientos de pastiches holmesianos (o sherlockianos), pero muy pocos alcanzan el nivel de excelencia esperado. Sin embargo, en los años 50 del pasado siglo, Adrian Conan Doyle, hijo menor de Sir Arthur y conocedor de su manera de escribir, y John Dickson Carr, famoso escritor de novelas de misterio y policíacas y gran seguidor de Sherlock Holmes, unieron fuerzas para escribir algunos relatos a la forma de Conan Doyle padre. Los amplios conocimientos de ambos, y su obsesión por los detalles en cuanto a léxico, vocabulario, estilo y demás, hacen de estos relatos una de las mejores aproximaciones a la obra de Conan Doyle. La manera de expresarse de Holmes y Watson, los misterios presentados y la ambientación show more victoriana, logran que el lector se olvide por un momento de que no está leyendo una de las historias escritas por Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Estos son los seis relatos incluidos en esta edición de Valdemar de ‘Las hazañas de Sherlock Holmes’:

La aventura de los siete relojes. Celia Forsythe consulta a Holmes sobre el inexplicable miedo a los relojes por parte de Charles Hendon, que llega a aplastarlos.

La aventura del hacendado de Trelawney. El reverendo James Appley acude a Holmes por la muerte, aparentemente debida a causas naturales, del terrateniente John Trelawney.

La aventura de los jugadores de cera. Holmes, convaleciente de un esguince de tobillo, recibe la visita de Eleanor Baxter y de su abuelo, Sam Baxter, vigilante nocturno en el Museo de Cera de Madame Taupin. Resulta que las cartas de unos jugadores de cera aparecen movidas.

La aventura del milagro de Highgate. La irritante Gloria Cabpleasure acude con un intrigante problema a Holmes: su marido está obsesionado con un paraguas.

La aventura del baronet atezado. Gregson encuentra a Holmes y Watson en su retiro de vacaciones en Sussex y los lleva a Lavington Court, donde el coronel Dalcy, un invitado de Sir Reginald Lavington, ha aparecido apuñalado.

La aventura de la habitación cerrada. Cora Murray acude al doctor Watson con el fin de que la lleve hasta Holmes, y ambos puedan ayudarla con su problema. Resulta que el coronel Warburton y su esposa, con los que vive, han aparecido muertos en una habitación cerrada. Se cree que el coronel asesinó a su esposa para posteriormente suicidarse. show less

Written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's son together with John Dickson Carr, these stories are an interesting example of early Holmes-inspired fiction. Definitely not as bad as some modern-day Sherlock Holmes pastiches and more in keeping with the style and era.

They have only one major flaw - they're imitation. Although well-written, these stories try too hard to be genuine Holmes stories. There are constant mentions of London's famous fog, Holmes repeats some of his best-known quotes, and there are more descriptions than in the original stories. Some of the plots are slightly too elaborate (and sometimes also highly improbable, like "The Adventure of the Wax Gamblers").

Still, if you're in the right mood, this can be a fun read. I liked show more that there were references to the places where these unwritten cases by Conan Doyle are mentioned in the original stories. For instance, "The Adventure of the Seven Clocks" references Watson's remark in "A Scandal in Bohemia": 'From time to time I heard some vague ac­count of his doings: of his summons to Odessa in the case of the Trepoff murder'. This adds a nice touch of authenticity to the stories, which are smooth reading, even if not very memorable. show less

All the stories contain some point which breaks suspension of disbelief and a couple of them break "improbable" and go straight to "absurd". Also one scene is notable for portraying Lestrade as a Clouseau-like character which seems a pretty ridiculous break in characterisation. Not awful but not some of the better Sherlock Holmes fanfiction I've read.

An Official follow on volume to the 'canon' of Sherlock Holmes written by Conan Doyle's son Adrian in Collaboration with John Dickson Carr in the 1950s

Some of the stories lean a little too heavily on premises/ideas of earlier tales, but in general the tone is right.

If you enjoy Sherlock Holmes, go right a head, it's a pretty good stand in.

3.5 Stars