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The Uncollected Sherlock Holmes
Short plays, jottings, parodies and self-parodies are gathered in this volume which is designed to help readers gain an insight into the background of the Sherlock Holmes stories. An introduction reveals the sources on which the author drew.
404 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1983
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811 people want to read
About the author
Arthur Conan Doyle
15.8k books24.4k followersSir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle was a Scottish writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for A Study in Scarlet, the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Holmes and Dr. Watson. The Sherlock Holmes stories are milestones in the field of crime fiction.
Doyle was a prolific writer. In addition to the Holmes stories, his works include fantasy and science fiction stories about Professor Challenger, and humorous stories about the Napoleonic soldier Brigadier Gerard, as well as plays, romances, poetry, non-fiction, and historical novels. One of Doyle's early short stories, "J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement" (1884), helped to popularise the mystery of the brigantine Mary Celeste, found drifting at sea with no crew member aboard.
Doyle was a prolific writer. In addition to the Holmes stories, his works include fantasy and science fiction stories about Professor Challenger, and humorous stories about the Napoleonic soldier Brigadier Gerard, as well as plays, romances, poetry, non-fiction, and historical novels. One of Doyle's early short stories, "J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement" (1884), helped to popularise the mystery of the brigantine Mary Celeste, found drifting at sea with no crew member aboard.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
August 1, 2021
Far from essential, the appeal of these 'uncollected' pieces of Sherlock Holmes miscellany is evidenced in an innocuous statement by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle on page 271: "… in '91, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes began to appear in the Strand Magazine. The public having shown them some favour I was persuaded to continue them…" That's it: we always want more Sherlock Holmes.
There are, alas, no unearthed gems in this book – compiled in 1983 by Richard Lancelyn Green – no 'lost works' waiting to be revealed. No apocrypha to shake the foundations of the canon. Green's introduction is, at nearly 150 pages, the largest piece; the second largest is Doyle's conversion of 'The Speckled Band' (from Adventures) into play form, entitled 'The Stonor Case'. Everything else is small fare: book prefaces from early editions and extracts from Doyle's autobiography where he talks about Holmes, newspaper interviews and speeches and short parodies. 'The Field Bazaar' is an amusing self-parody by Doyle, whilst 'The Adventure of the Two Collaborators', by Doyle's friend J. M. Barrie (author of Peter Pan) is genuinely charming. A short fluff piece in which Doyle ranks his twelve favourite Holmes stories will appeal to fans.
As I said, this is far from essential, but somehow my interest in the great detective was rekindled regardless. Sherlock Holmes just has that indefinable essence. We always want more.
There are, alas, no unearthed gems in this book – compiled in 1983 by Richard Lancelyn Green – no 'lost works' waiting to be revealed. No apocrypha to shake the foundations of the canon. Green's introduction is, at nearly 150 pages, the largest piece; the second largest is Doyle's conversion of 'The Speckled Band' (from Adventures) into play form, entitled 'The Stonor Case'. Everything else is small fare: book prefaces from early editions and extracts from Doyle's autobiography where he talks about Holmes, newspaper interviews and speeches and short parodies. 'The Field Bazaar' is an amusing self-parody by Doyle, whilst 'The Adventure of the Two Collaborators', by Doyle's friend J. M. Barrie (author of Peter Pan) is genuinely charming. A short fluff piece in which Doyle ranks his twelve favourite Holmes stories will appeal to fans.
As I said, this is far from essential, but somehow my interest in the great detective was rekindled regardless. Sherlock Holmes just has that indefinable essence. We always want more.
February 3, 2018
This is really two books in one - the first half, a very informative part-biography of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, intended to put into context the sources of inspiration for the parodies/pastiches of Holmes, that follow in the second half. Finally a number of articles about the character of Holmes by notable writers such as J.M Barrie, and interviews with Conan Doyle himself complete what is a fascinating book "A Companion to Sherlock Holmes" if you like, possibly too detailed for the casual reader - much better for those who know the stories well already..
June 18, 2017
Really interesting collection of Conan Doyle's "other" Sherlock Holmes writings--including the full text of plays he wrote, interviews he gave, transcripts of speeches, and more. The introduction Richard Lancelyn Green put together is particularly useful, but the entire collection is excellent.
September 27, 2024
As you would expect, this one is mostly for fans and completionists. If you are either the unofficial, non-canon Holmes work is interesting. I actually found the vignette How Watson Learned the Trick the most interesting despite being all of 3-4 pages, as it very accurately captures the Holmes/Watson dynamic in an amusing way. The history behind it is fascinating as well: there was a dollhouse assembled for Queen Mary of Teck and for the library famous authors such as Doyle were commissioned to put short works in books that stacked the shelves, so each tiny page had roughly a sentence or two and could actually be read despite the small size.
As for the more notable inclusions in my edition:
"The Field Bazaar" - decent if unremarkable and similar to How Watson Learned the Trick.
"The Story of the Man With the Watches" - this is not technically a Holmes story but could be considered one and has been adapted as one multiple times. I think the set up of the murder is fun but Doyle has a tendency to put in long back story dumps revealing a mystery in some weaker works and that's how this is solved. The actual solution to what happened that day is also not particularly interesting.
"The Story of the Lost Special" - this also is solved by a long back story revealed by someone involved in a crime but is so complex and wild of a scheme (an entire train disappeared from one point to the next with several passengers and crew) that it's a fun read.
"The Crown Diamond" - a stage play that's similar to a published Holmes story.
"Uncle Jeremy's Household" - I read this on my own, separately. It's almost a Proto Holmes story, predating A Study in Scarlet by a few years. Baker Street is there, though elements of Watson and Holmes are swapped between two characters, a doctor studying and a chemist. I started out loving this one for the first 3 of 6 sections but what starts out as a Gothic feeling story of an isolated English country house and the family living there that might not be as they seem even to each other it basically boils down to some very obvious things that make the story feel much too long for what it is.
As for the more notable inclusions in my edition:
"The Field Bazaar" - decent if unremarkable and similar to How Watson Learned the Trick.
"The Story of the Man With the Watches" - this is not technically a Holmes story but could be considered one and has been adapted as one multiple times. I think the set up of the murder is fun but Doyle has a tendency to put in long back story dumps revealing a mystery in some weaker works and that's how this is solved. The actual solution to what happened that day is also not particularly interesting.
"The Story of the Lost Special" - this also is solved by a long back story revealed by someone involved in a crime but is so complex and wild of a scheme (an entire train disappeared from one point to the next with several passengers and crew) that it's a fun read.
"The Crown Diamond" - a stage play that's similar to a published Holmes story.
"Uncle Jeremy's Household" - I read this on my own, separately. It's almost a Proto Holmes story, predating A Study in Scarlet by a few years. Baker Street is there, though elements of Watson and Holmes are swapped between two characters, a doctor studying and a chemist. I started out loving this one for the first 3 of 6 sections but what starts out as a Gothic feeling story of an isolated English country house and the family living there that might not be as they seem even to each other it basically boils down to some very obvious things that make the story feel much too long for what it is.
December 8, 2011
This was quite an interesting read. However, if you haven't read all official Sherlock Holmes stories yet, you might end up getting some endings spoiled for you or just becoming confused (the book throws a lot of titles at you and you're mostly just expected to know the case from that story).
The introduction is quite long, about 120 pages, and talks about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle himself, mostly focusing on his work and publications and of course, Sherlock Holmes, and his conflicting feelings about the detective. The next sections are devoted to short stories ACD wrote about him, several plays he wrote the script for, speeches and articles about the detective, and finally, there's a section with articles written by others (such as two parodies and a review of the Adventures by Joseph Bell, the original inspiration for Holmes).
Overall, I think it's a nice addition to my collection of stories (I was highly amused by ACD's sense of humor and the way Holmes treated Watson in the short stories - not all that nicely, but it still made me laugh). I would have gone for four stars, but the book repeats itself quite often. Reading about the taxi driver who said he'd deduced he was driving Conan Doyle in a Holmes-like style, only to confess he'd read his name of his suitcase afterwards, is funny, but it gets dull after reading the same passage five times. So, three stars. Or four, as long as you don't read it in one go and just a chapter every month or so as a kind of reference.
The introduction is quite long, about 120 pages, and talks about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle himself, mostly focusing on his work and publications and of course, Sherlock Holmes, and his conflicting feelings about the detective. The next sections are devoted to short stories ACD wrote about him, several plays he wrote the script for, speeches and articles about the detective, and finally, there's a section with articles written by others (such as two parodies and a review of the Adventures by Joseph Bell, the original inspiration for Holmes).
Overall, I think it's a nice addition to my collection of stories (I was highly amused by ACD's sense of humor and the way Holmes treated Watson in the short stories - not all that nicely, but it still made me laugh). I would have gone for four stars, but the book repeats itself quite often. Reading about the taxi driver who said he'd deduced he was driving Conan Doyle in a Holmes-like style, only to confess he'd read his name of his suitcase afterwards, is funny, but it gets dull after reading the same passage five times. So, three stars. Or four, as long as you don't read it in one go and just a chapter every month or so as a kind of reference.
April 28, 2022
This volume brings together all of Conan Doyle’s writings on Sherlock Holmes outside the canon of 4 novels and 56 stories. This includes articles and speeches he wrote and gave later in his life looking back on the origins of his creation. By this later point in his life he was happier to talk of Holmes than he was earlier when he tried to kill him off.
In addition, there are the scripts for one full-length play and an one act short play that Conan Doyle wrote using earlier stories as the basis. They expand the stories, bringing in new characters.
However, the main section of the book is the Introduction by Lancelyn Green, taking up 150 of the 400 pages. This details the history of Conan Doyle’s writing and the inspiration for some of the stories. I was particularly pleased to find this after the dreadful notes in “The Annotated Sherlock Holmes”. That wasted opportunity ignores the real world of the stories creation, preferring to pretend that Holmes is real, ignoring Conan Doyle. So, this is recommended for those who, like me, wasted their money on the expensive waste of space.
In addition, there are the scripts for one full-length play and an one act short play that Conan Doyle wrote using earlier stories as the basis. They expand the stories, bringing in new characters.
However, the main section of the book is the Introduction by Lancelyn Green, taking up 150 of the 400 pages. This details the history of Conan Doyle’s writing and the inspiration for some of the stories. I was particularly pleased to find this after the dreadful notes in “The Annotated Sherlock Holmes”. That wasted opportunity ignores the real world of the stories creation, preferring to pretend that Holmes is real, ignoring Conan Doyle. So, this is recommended for those who, like me, wasted their money on the expensive waste of space.
November 18, 2013
I was hesitant to pick this up because I thought I would start getting bored with Holmes and Doyle but I actually enjoyed this quite a bit. To this point I've read all of the published stories and a collection of pieces written by folks, mostly after Doyle's death, from a scholarly perspective. Everything contained here (save the introduction) was written during Doyle's life or shortly thereafter. These pieces tell of the way Holmes was experienced as he was written. Though I've heard some of the stories about letters Doyle received, etc. countless times by now, hearing about them during his life was fascinating. Truth or legend, this gave me a sense of the origin of them and the way Holmes was received by the public at the time. I also was hesitant about this book because a full half of it is an introduction, specifically a biography of Doyle. I expected this to just be filler to make the book long enough but I found it compelling and appropriately related to the other material included.
September 23, 2024
The Uncollected Sherlock Holmes compiles all (or most) of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's additional writings on Sherlock Holmes as well as a few other relevant pieces by other authors. The book contains the manuscript for the two stage adaptations of Sherlock Holmes actually written by Conan Doyle himself, small comedic scribbles penned by Conan Doyle for various occasions, commentaries by the author in interviews or introductory notes, and comments by other people, including Dr. Joseph Bell. The book is a great read for the knowledgeable Sherlock Holmes-enthusiast, especially seeing as none of the pieces included in this volume are easily accessible anywhere else. The introduction is very long (almost half the book) and does tend to drag a bit, but that's quickly forgotten once you get to the main part of the book. Recommended, but mostly for the seriously interested.
December 15, 2022
El hacedados de reigate
April 2, 2023
A must-read for more hardcore Sherlock fans. If you came looking for unpublished story drafts or a collection of parades / fresh narratives, you'd be disappointed (though there are a few of those). The book is mostly composed of behind-the-scene stories for all the works of Sherlock canon and speculations on ACD's inspirations. I can easily imagine most of the pages failing to engage those who aren't absolute Holmes fanatics (as the factual info is often repetitive), but this book has been an absolute jewel for me. If you've read all the Sherlock books, absolutely give this a read - It will inspire you to appreciate Sherlock more profoundly.
February 25, 2025
Quite a good collection of minor Sherlock Holmes sketches + several interviews with Doyle + two wonderful parodies + an illuminating biography. The best possible reading after you have done with the canonical 56 short stories and 4 novels.
July 28, 2025
I skipped the introduction, so this was a fairly short collection with some repetition, but still an interesting look at Sherlock Holmes and his creator.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews