The Annotated Sherlock Holmes (2-Volume Set | ed. Baring-Gould)
by Arthur Conan Doyle 
, William S. Baring-Gould (Editor)
The Annotated Sherlock Holmes {Conan Doyle}: Baring-Gould (Collections and Selections — Omnibus 1-2)
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Here, in two volumes, is every word that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) ever wrote about the adventures of the detective and the doctor... fifty-six short stories and four complete novels, arranged chronologically from Holmes's first case, in 1874, when he was a university student, to his signal service to the British Empire in the opening days of the First World War.Tags
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Member Reviews
I pulled this out intending to do my annual Christmas read of The Blue Carbuncle, but made the mistake of glancing at the introduction. 12 chapters of introduction later, I finally read The Blue Carbuncle yesterday.
Baring-Gould didn't so much as introduce the annotated volumes and write a short but thorough biography of not only Conan Doyle, but Sherlock, Watson (to a lesser extent) and several chapters of pure out-and-out speculation of exactly where 221B Baker Street was, the layout of the rooms (was Watson on the third floor, or the second?; did Sherlock have 2 doors out of his bedroom?), and what kinds of furniture might or might not have been there. His cited sources include all the great 'scholars' of Sherlock Holmes: Morely, show more Starr, etc. and I have to say, these men needed more fresh air.
I'm sort of kidding, but sort of not - reading the annotations is fascinating. These men treat Holmes as though he were not only a real life historical figure, but a static one. The dichotomy is surreal. For example, Baring-Gould discusses the furniture in the flat, and the it seems that if Holmes had been a real person, these men (and yes, they're all almost without exception, men) expected him to have never, ever changed or moved any of the furniture.
Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Blue Carbuncle, as I always do, though the annotations included quite a few snide comments by one Magistrate S. Tupper Bigelow, who impressed me as a complete prat, who needed to be reminded it's a story and even Conan Doyle was allowed to take creative liberties. There was also a whole discussion on whether or not Doyle intended to use the word commute and whether or not it implied Holmes had royal blood. That made me roll my eyes and cry 'oh, horse sh*t' loud enough to make MT laugh. Overall though, the rest of the annotations were thoroughly interesting, if not always informative, and they gave me a deeper context for enjoying a story that's already a firm favorite of mine. show less
Baring-Gould didn't so much as introduce the annotated volumes and write a short but thorough biography of not only Conan Doyle, but Sherlock, Watson (to a lesser extent) and several chapters of pure out-and-out speculation of exactly where 221B Baker Street was, the layout of the rooms (was Watson on the third floor, or the second?; did Sherlock have 2 doors out of his bedroom?), and what kinds of furniture might or might not have been there. His cited sources include all the great 'scholars' of Sherlock Holmes: Morely, show more Starr, etc. and I have to say, these men needed more fresh air.
I'm sort of kidding, but sort of not - reading the annotations is fascinating. These men treat Holmes as though he were not only a real life historical figure, but a static one. The dichotomy is surreal. For example, Baring-Gould discusses the furniture in the flat, and the it seems that if Holmes had been a real person, these men (and yes, they're all almost without exception, men) expected him to have never, ever changed or moved any of the furniture.
Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Blue Carbuncle, as I always do, though the annotations included quite a few snide comments by one Magistrate S. Tupper Bigelow, who impressed me as a complete prat, who needed to be reminded it's a story and even Conan Doyle was allowed to take creative liberties. There was also a whole discussion on whether or not Doyle intended to use the word commute and whether or not it implied Holmes had royal blood. That made me roll my eyes and cry 'oh, horse sh*t' loud enough to make MT laugh. Overall though, the rest of the annotations were thoroughly interesting, if not always informative, and they gave me a deeper context for enjoying a story that's already a firm favorite of mine. show less
I have very mixed feelings about this 2-volume book. If you're reading the Holmes stories for the umpteenth time, it is a great resource. But if you are reading them the first time around, all the notes just get in the way. Given Doyle's distaste for the character he created, he would probably be appalled at the amount of time some people have spent mythologizing him and pretending he was real. Also, these books are way too heavy to read for enjoyment!
Quirky work, but the definitive annotated Holmes until Leslie S. Klinger's version came along. Mixes historical explanations with Baring-Gould's own chronology and inventive explanations. He was one of the best at playing the Game, though his chronology in particular can be (and has been) challenged. I took away a half star for the lack of an index for easily finding an individual story, since they are arranged not in Canonical publication order but according to the editor's imaginative chronology. If you are interested in arguing over how many wives Dr. Watson had, you need this set. If you have not read the Holmes stories before, do not start here. Either the Oxford editions or the New Annotated would be better choices for new readers.
I have been an avid Sherlock Holmes enthusiast since I started reading the stories at the age of nine. Ten years ago, I had the opportunity to acquire a used copy of "The Annotated Sherlock Holmes." What a disappointment! The editor chose to arrange the individual works in a chronology of his own devising, and by deviating from the established arrangement of the works, makes it very difficult to find a given story. And most of the "annotations" detract from the stories -- there is very little of significance added. I have awarded this enormous book a single star and am donating my boxed set to the public library.
Although it is nice to have all of Sherlock Holmes stories in one book, it's hard to read with that big of a book. I love all the extra stuff in it though and the notes in the stories.
Fun way to read the Sherlock Holmes stories with annotations and articles that kind of assume he really existed. It is an American publication so it sometimes explains things that would already be familiar to a British reader but is none the worse for that.
The annotations add tremendously to the atmosphere, making it easy to understand references to localities in London, customs of the day, etc. Clearly created by someone who loved the works and their times.
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The most famous fictional detective in the world is Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. However, Doyle was, at best, ambivalent about his immensely successful literary creation and, at worst, resentful that his more "serious" fiction was relatively ignored. Born in Edinburgh, Doyle studied medicine from 1876 to 1881 and received his M.D. in show more 1885. He worked as a military physician in South Africa during the Boer War and was knighted in 1902 for his exceptional service. Doyle was drawn to writing at an early age. Although he attempted to enter private practice in Southsea, Portsmouth, in 1882, he soon turned to writing in his spare time; it eventually became his profession. As a Liberal Unionist, Doyle ran, unsuccessfully, for Parliament in 1903. During his later years, Doyle became an avowed spiritualist. Doyle sold his first story, "The Mystery of the Sasassa Valley," to Chambers' Journal in 1879. When Doyle published the novel, A Study in Scarlet in 1887, Sherlock Holmes was introduced to an avid public. Doyle is reputed to have used one of his medical professors, Dr. Joseph Bell, as a model for Holmes's character. Eventually, Doyle wrote three additional Holmes novels and five collections of Holmes short stories. A brilliant, though somewhat eccentric, detective, Holmes employs scientific methods of observation and deduction to solve the mysteries that he investigates. Although an "amateur" private detective, he is frequently called upon by Scotland Yard for assistance. Holmes's assistant, the faithful Dr. Watson, provides a striking contrast to Holmes's brilliant intellect and, in Doyle's day at least, serves as a character with whom the reader can readily identify. Having tired of Holmes's popularity, Doyle even tried to kill the great detective in "The Final Problem" but was forced by an outraged public to resurrect him in 1903. Although Holmes remained Doyle's most popular literary creation, Doyle wrote prolifically in other genres, including historical adventure, science fiction, and supernatural fiction. Despite Doyle's sometimes careless writing, he was a superb storyteller. His great skill as a popular author lay in his technique of involving readers in his highly entertaining adventures. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Arthur Conan Doyle has a Legacy Library. Legacy libraries are the personal libraries of famous readers, entered by LibraryThing members from the Legacy Libraries group.
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Contains
BBC Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: The Adventure of the Gloria Scott: Part 1 by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
BBC Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: The Adventure of the Gloria Scott: Part 2 by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
BBC Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: The Adventure of the Gloria Scott: Part 3 by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
BBC Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: The Adventure of the Resident Patient: Part 1 by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
BBC Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: The Adventure of the Resident Patient: Part 2 by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
BBC Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor: Part 1 by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
BBC Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor: Part 2 by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
BBC Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: The Adventure of the Reigate Squire: Part 1 by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
BBC Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: The Adventure of the Reigate Squire: Part 2 by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
BBC Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: The Man with the Twisted Lip: Part 1 by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
BBC Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: The Man with the Twisted Lip: Part 2 by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
BBC Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: The Hound of the Baskervilles: Part 1 by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
BBC Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: The Hound of the Baskervilles: Part 2 by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
BBC Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: The Hound of the Baskervilles: Part 3 by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
BBC Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: The Hound of the Baskervilles: Part 4 by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
BBC Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: The Hound of the Baskervilles: Part 5 by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
BBC Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: The Hound of the Baskervilles: Part 6 by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
BBC Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: The Hound of the Baskervilles: Part 7 by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
BBC Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: The Hound of the Baskervilles: Part 8 by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
BBC Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: The Hound of the Baskervilles: Part 9 by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
BBC Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: The Adventure of the Copper Beeches: Part 1 by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
BBC Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: The Adventure of the Copper Beeches: Part 2 by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
BBC Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: The Boscombe Valley Mystery: Part 1 by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
BBC Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: The Boscombe Valley Mystery: Part 2 by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
BBC Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: The Adventure of the Cardboard Box: Part 1 by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
BBC Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: The Adventure of the Cardboard Box: Part 2 by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
BBC Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb: Part 1 by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
BBC Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb: Part 2 by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
BBC Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: The Adventure of the Crooked Man: Part 1 by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
BBC Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: The Adventure of the Crooked Man: Part 2 by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
BBC Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: The Adventure of Silver Blaze: Part 1 by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
BBC Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: The Adventure of Silver Blaze: Part 2 by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
BBC Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet: Part 1 by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
BBC Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet: Part 2 by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
BBC Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: The Adventure of the Three Students: Part 1 by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
BBC Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: The Adventure of the Three Students: Part 2 by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
BBC Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist: Part 1 by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
BBC Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist: Part 2 by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
BBC Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: The Adventure of Black Peter: Part 1 by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
BBC Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: The Adventure of Black Peter: Part 2 by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
BBC Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: The Adventure of the Norwood Builder: Part 1 by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
BBC Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: The Adventure of the Norwood Builder: Part 2 by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
BBC Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans Part 1 by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
BBC Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans Part 2 by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
BBC Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans Part 3 by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
BBC Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: The Adventure of the Abbey Grange: Part 1 by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
BBC Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: The Adventure of the Abbey Grange: Part 2 by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
BBC Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: The Adventure of the Devil's Foot: Part 1 by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
BBC Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: The Adventure of the Devil's Foot: Part 2 by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
BBC Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: The Adventure of the Dancing Men Part 1 by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
BBC Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: The Adventure of the Dancing Men Part 2 by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
BBC Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton: Part 1 by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
BBC Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton: Part 2 by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
BBC Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: The Adventure of the Six Napoleons Part 1 by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
BBC Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: The Adventure of the Six Napoleons: Part 2 by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
BBC Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: The Problem of Thor Bridge: Part 1 by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
BBC Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: The Problem of Thor Bridge: Part 2 by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
BBC Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax: Part 1 by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
BBC Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax: Part 2 by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
BBC Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: The Adventure of the Illustrious Client: Part 1 by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
BBC Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: The Adventure of the Illustrious Client: Part 2 by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
BBC Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: The Adventure of the Creeping Man: Part 1 by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The Annotated Sherlock Holmes (2-Volume Set | ed. Baring-Gould) (2-Volume Set | ed. Baring-Gould)
- Original title
- The Annotated Sherlock Holmes
- Original publication date
- 1967
- People/Characters
- Sherlock Holmes; John H. Watson; Sir Henry Baskerville; Arthur Conan Doyle; Lucy Ferrier; Mycroft Holmes (show all 9); Jefferson Hope; Professor James Moriarty; Mary Morstan
- Important places
- 221B Baker Street, London, England, UK; Baskerville Hall, Dartmoor, Devon, England, UK; London, England, UK; England, UK
- Epigraph
- I trust that the younger public may find these romances of interest, and that here and there one of the older generation may recapture an ancient thrill.
—Arthur Conan Doyle
Written in June, 1929, for his Preface to <... (show all)i>The Complete Sherlock Holmes Long Stories
The enthusiast likes to dream of the great omnibus volume in which the whole Sherlockian codex would be annotated from end to end for a new generation.
—Christopher Morley
Written circa November, 1943, for his ... (show all)Introduction to Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson: A Textbook of Friendship - First words
- "It is possible that there are some, who will read this, who have never read The Valley of Fear," said Mr. Anthony Boucher, introducing that last of the Sherlock Holmes novels to Limited Edition Club subscribers in 195... (show all)2.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Ave atque vale, Sherlock!
Ave atque vale, John!
Ave atque vale, Sir Arthur! - Canonical DDC/MDS
- 823.8
- Canonical LCC
- PR4620.A5
- Disambiguation notice
- This work is for the two-volume set of the Baring-Gould Annotated Sherlock Holmes. Individual volumes should not be combined with the complete set, nor with works annotated by different editors.
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Statistics
- Members
- 1,073
- Popularity
- 23,809
- Reviews
- 15
- Rating
- (4.59)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 6
- ASINs
- 23
