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MAY 2023 E-MEETING, Post 3 of 6: The Case of the Literary Archetype: Presentation on Sherlock Holmes

7) THE CASE OF THE LITERARY ARCHETYPE

It’s been almost 150 years since Arthur Conan Doyle created one of the most popular fictional characters in history. Sherlock Holmes and his associates have had an outsized impact on popular culture in many ways; how have they affected science fiction and fantasy?

Come, Watson, Come! The game is afoot!

Artist Sidney Paget (1860-1908) was the quintessential Holmes illustrator, having produced hundreds of drawings, gouache, watercolour, and ink-wash paintings for the Sherlock Holmes stories originally published in Strand Magazine. He lent the great detective his signature deerstalker cap and Inverness cape, and Paget’s image of Holmes remained a durable influence on subsequent interpretations of the character.

The Sherlock Holmes Canon

For your information and as an adjunct to this ZOOM presentation, listed here are the 62 Holmes stories authored by Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930), four novels and 58 short stories, published over a span of 40 years, from 1887 to 1927.

Novels

A Study in Scarlet (1887)

The Sign of the Four (1890)

The Hound of the Baskervilles (serialized 1901-1902; book, 1902)

The Valley of Fear (serialized 1914–1915; book, 1915)

Some of Sidney Paget’s Illustrations for The Hound of the Baskervilles

Short Stories

Collected in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1892):

“A Scandal in Bohemia” (June 1891)

“The Red-Headed League” (August 1891)

“A Case of Identity” (September 1891)

“The Boscombe Valley Mystery” (October 1891)

“The Five Orange Pips” (November 1891)

“The Man with the Twisted Lip” (December 1891)

“The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle” (January 1892)

“The Adventure of the Speckled Band” (February 1892)

“The Adventure of the Engineer’s Thumb” (March 1892)

“The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor” (April 1892)

“The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet” (May 1892)

“The Adventure of the Copper Beeches” (June 1892)

Holmes Investigates in “The Boscombe Valley Mystery.”

Collected in The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (1894):

“The Adventure of Silver Blaze” (December 1892)

“The Adventure of the Cardboard Box” (January 1893)

“The Adventure of the Yellow Face” (February 1893)

“The Adventure of the Stockbroker’s Clerk” (March 1893)

“The Adventure of the Gloria Scott” (April 1893)

“The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual” (May 1893)

“The Adventure of the Reigate Squire” (June 1893)

“The Adventure of the Crooked Man” (July 1893)

“The Adventure of the Resident Patient” (August 1893)

“The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter” (September 1893)

“The Adventure of the Naval Treaty” (October–November 1893)

“The Final Problem” (December 1893)

Gouache illustration of Holmes and Watson by Paget for “The Adventure of Silver Blaze.”

Collected in The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1905):

“The Adventure of the Empty House” (October 1903)

“The Adventure of the Norwood Builder” (November 1903)

“The Adventure of the Dancing Men” (December 1903)

“The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist” (January 1904)

“The Adventure of the Priory School” (February 1904)

“The Adventure of Black Peter” (March 1904)

“The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton” (April 1904)

“The Adventure of the Six Napoleons” (May 1904)

“The Adventure of the Three Students” (June 1904)

“The Adventure of the Golden Pince-Nez” (July 1904)

“The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter” (August 1904)

“The Adventure of the Abbey Grange” (September 1904)

“The Adventure of the Second Stain” (December 1904)

Collected in His Last Bow: Some Reminiscences of Sherlock Holmes (1917):

“The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge” (1908)

“The Adventure of the Red Circle” (1911)

“The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans” (1908)

“The Adventure of the Dying Detective” (1913)

“The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax” (1911)

“The Adventure of the Devil’s Foot” (1910)

“His Last Bow. The War Service of Sherlock Holmes” (1917)

Holmes and Watson at breakfast in “The Five Orange Pips.”

Collected in The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes (1927):

“The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone” (1921)

“The Problem of Thor Bridge” (1922)

“The Adventure of the Creeping Man” (1923)

“The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire” (1924)

“The Adventure of the Three Garridebs” (1924)

“The Adventure of the Illustrious Client” (1924)

“The Adventure of the Three Gables” (1926)

“The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier” (1926)

“The Adventure of the Lion’s Mane” (1926)

“The Adventure of the Retired Colourman” (1926)

“The Adventure of the Veiled Lodger” (1927)

“The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place” (1927)

Holmes and Watson in “The Greek Interpreter.”

Special-Occasion Stories:

“The Field Bazaar” (1896; written for an Edinburgh University fund-raiser)

“How Watson Learned the Trick” (1924; written for inclusion as a very tiny book in the library of a special miniature dollhouse built for Queen Mary)

Engraving, The Death of Sherlock Holmes at Reichenbach Falls; “The Final Problem.”