The Misadventures of Sherlock Holmes

by Ellery Queen

First published in 1944, this is an anthology of parodies and pastiches, and comprises of a collection of more than 30 stories—written by detective story writers, famous literary figures, humorists and others—of burlesques and pastiches of the famous detective that represent the highlights of character, style, idiosyncrasies, deduction associated with Sherlock Holmes.

Genres: Mystery, Short Stories, Humor, Fiction

540 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 1, 1944

About the author

aka Barnaby Ross.
(Pseudonym of Frederic Dannay and Manfred Bennington Lee)
"Ellery Queen" was a pen name created and shared by two cousins, Frederic Dannay (1905-1982) and Manfred B. Lee (1905-1971), as well as the name of their most famous detective. Born in Brooklyn, they spent forty two years writing, editing, and anthologizing under the name, gaining a reputation as the foremost American authors of the Golden Age "fair play" mystery.

Although eventually famous on television and radio, Queen's first appearance came in 1928 when the cousins won a mystery-writing contest with the book that would eventually be published as The Roman Hat Mystery. Their character was an amateur detective who used his spare time to assist his police inspector father in solving baffling crimes. Besides writing the Queen novels, Dannay and Lee cofounded Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, one of the most influential crime publications of all time. Although Dannay outlived his cousin by nine years, he retired Queen upon Lee's death.

Several of the later "Ellery Queen" books were written by other authors, including Jack Vance, Avram Davidson, and Theodore Sturgeon.

Reviews

[Kathy Chung · Rating 4 out of 5]

to be read with an open mind. Some of the stories here follows the brilliant deduction of Sherlock Holmes mind and some are not as...hmm...what shall i call it....some are funny.

overall a good read. nice to look upon "old friend".

[Chad D]

Well, that was fun.

Wildly inconsistent, as one might expect. But thin tastes of the real thing.

[Riju Ganguly · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most enjoyable collections that I have EVER read. Period. To say anything more would be spoiling your fun, oh prospective reader. So get hold of this classic. Read the stories preferably one at a time. Enjoy.
Highly Recommended.

[Mark Isaak · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of Sherlock Holmes stories by writers other than Conan Doyle, edited by Ellery Queen (Frederic Dannay and Manfred B. Lee), who, in opening comments to the stories, reveal themselves to be ardent and knowledgeable fans. The stories are grouped into those written by detective-story authors, humorists, famous literary figures, and devotees. They include parodies, crime dramas patterned after the original stories, and other pastiches. Sherlock Holmes is alternately the hero, the co-star, an incidental character, target of lampoon, or present in spirit only. The mystery stories are usually not as good as those which made Holmes famous to begin with, but they have value as homage and/or satire. I particularly enjoyed Anthony Berkeley's "Holmes and the Dasher", a satire of Holmes written in the style of P. G. Wodehouse. "The Canterbury Cathedral Murder", featuring the daughters of Sherlock and Dr. John, is also notable. The number of Holmes take-offs has exploded since this book was published in 1944, but I think this book still collects many of the best and most notable.

[Monica Willyard Moen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though many of the stories in this anthology have been collected in later anthologies about Sherlock Holmes, this book is worth reading for its introduction alone as well as commentary on many of the stories made by Ellery queen. I also appreciate the way the stories are arranged both in category and in placement in regard to one another. This is a very nice collection that should please anyone who enjoys the stories from Baker Street.

[Alex Stöckli · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nicht weit gekommen

[John Marr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent anthology. The parodies are hilarious, the pastiches spot on.

[Erik Deckers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting look back at some old writers

As a big fan of Ellery Queen and his magazine, it was a nice treat to be able to read some old Sherlock Holmes pastiche and parodies.

[Kevin O'Brien · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a classic collection of stories written by a variety of authors in the early part of the twentieth century. Some of the authors are famous (like Mark Twain), others might be known only to mystery afficianados and a few you might never of heard of. But they were the beginning of the industry that has grown up of Sherlock Holmes parodies and pastiches. If you are not a Sherlockian there is very little point in reading this, but to Sherlockians this should be on your list of "must reads". My rating is therefore given only for my fellow Sherlockians.

[Andrew Mossberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

excellent collection of Sherlock Holmes stories by authors other than A. Conan Doyle.

[James Bojaciuk · Rating 4 out of 5]

An able collection assembled from all the bits and pieces of Sherlockana which existed before 1944.

This, then, is also the book's downfall. There were very few quality Sherlock Holmes pastiches before the 1970s: a fact the book makes clear, with its only four truly excellent stories. "But Our Hero was Not Dead" (here listed as "But He was Not Dead," and other either title what I consider one of the few first rate pastiches) by Manly Wade Wellman, "The Mary Queen of Scots Jewel" by William O. Fuller, and "The Unique Hamlet" by Vincent Starrett. August Derleth's Solar Pons story, as always, is wonderful.

The rest of the collection, really, is only of interest to the truly obsessive (of which I am one).

[Christiane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to pay $5 to get this through ILL but for Sherlock Holmes fans this is a great read! Editor Ellery Queen collects a wide assortment of parodies, pastiches, and "unrecorded" cases from authors both obscure today and some who have remained very well known (A. Christie, M. Twain, O. Henry). Even for the widely read fan, there will be plenty of new material here. My favorite was the story “The Canterbury Cathedral Murder”, where the sleuth is “Shirley Holmes”, the Great Detective’s equally intelligent daughter. (The narrator is, of course, Joan Watson, son of the good doctor!)

[Mechayoshi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Took my time reading this but very worth it. Contains many rare and obscure pastiches and parodies. Some emulate the originals so well they could be written by Doyle, others cleverly exaggerate for comedy. Others aren't Sherlock stories but stories that feature him in some way. Either way, amazing read.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful collection of non-Sherlockian stories. Fairly uneven; some were great, some just so-so.