It's elementary that any Conan Doyle fan will want this splendid set of Sherlock Holmes mysteries-twelve timeless classics performed as radio theater, linked by violin music interludes. The great Sir John Gielgud stars as the sleuth of Baker Street, with Ralph Richardson as his venerable companion, Dr. Watson, and Orson Welles as the nefarious Professor Moriarty. With three giants of the theater in such colorful roles, it's no mystery why this collection was so popular on cassette. Includes:
Sir 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.
Mr Trevor Bennett comes to Sherlock Holmes with an unusual problem. He is Professor Presbury’s personal secretary, and Mr Bennett is also engaged to the professor’s only daughter, Edith Presbury.
Professor Presbury is himself engaged to a young lady, Alice Morphy, a colleague’s daughter, although he himself is already over sixty years old. Their impending marriage does not seem to have caused a great scandal; so that is not Mr Bennett’s problem. Nonetheless, the trouble seems to have begun at about the time of Professor Presbury’s and Alice’s engagement.
First, the professor suddenly left home for a fortnight without telling anyone where he was going. He returned looking very weary. It was only through a letter from a friend, sent to Mr Bennett, that he learnt that Professor Presbury had gone to Prague.
Also, the professor’s faithful wolfhound has taken to attacking him on occasion, and has had to be tied up outside. Of course, Holmes knows that what dogs do in the night is often important!
4 stars & 4/10 hearts. This is a slightly disturbing tale, involving an older professor madly in love with a beautiful and much younger girl, and ‘an obscure scientist who was striving ... for the secret of rejuvenescence and the elixir of life’ and created a ‘wondrous strength-giving serum’ made in some way from langurs, ‘the great black-faced monkey of the Himalayan slopes, biggest and most human of climbing monkeys.’
While Prof. Presbury was not a likeable character by any means, Miss P. & Mr. Bennett were a nice young couple. The sci-fi element wasn’t my fav, but I did like Holmes’ monologue on it and I enjoyed him & Watson as usual. Also, there is one of my favourite bits of Sherlock’s humorous mockery of Watson within these pages:
Content: For G*d’s sake.
“He was crawling, Mr. Holmes—crawling! He was not quite on his hands and knees. I should rather say on his hands and feet, with his face sunk between his hands. Yet he seemed to move with ease. I was so paralyzed by the sight that it was not until he had reached my door that I was able to step forward and ask if I could assist him. His answer was extraordinary. He sprang up, spat out some atrocious word at me, and hurried on past me, and down the staircase. I waited about for an hour, but he did not come back. It must have been daylight before he regained his room.” “Well, Watson, what make you of that?” asked Holmes with the air of the pathologist who presents a rare specimen. “Lumbago, possibly. I have known a severe attack make a man walk in just such a way, and nothing would be more trying to the temper.” “Good, Watson! You always keep us flat-footed on the ground. But we can hardly accept lumbago, since he was able to stand erect in a moment.” … “Speaking as a medical man,” said I, “it appears to be a case for an alienist. The old gentleman's cerebral processes were disturbed by the love affair…. His letters and the box may be connected with some other private transaction—a loan, perhaps, or share certificates, which are in the box.” “And the wolfhound [who keeps attacking him since] no doubt disapproved of the financial bargain.”
Jack Bennett asks Sherlock to investigate his employer and future father-in-law Professor Presbury. The professor's personality and behavior have suddenly changed. Bennett fears that Professor Presbury could become dangerous. As does the professor's daughter Edith. The changes in the professor's character have coincided with his dog taking a sudden violent dislike towards him. While Bennett is discussing the case with Holmes, Edith arrives. She says she saw her father's face at her bedroom window the previous night. The problem is her bedroom is on the second floor and there is no way for any man to have been able to get to that window.
Presbury is a widower engaged to a considerably younger woman, Alice Morphy. The Professor is quite displeased at hearing that Bennett, who also happens to be his assistant, has hired the Great Detective. He escorts Holmes and Watson off the property. When Holmes reads of thefts from zoos — all monkeys and apes — he begins to unravel the mystery.
This is definitely one of the more extraordinary and fantastical stories of the Holmes canon. With a extremely odd climax which verges on science fiction.
The science is just so wrong that the story is completely soured for me. It actually is cringe worthy, in my estimation. I suppose it could be viewed as an attempt at science-fiction, but It reads more as a fear of scientific progress. I like to pretend it doesn't exist.
ونعود مع مغامرة جديدة للمحقق المشهور شيرلوك هولمز يطلب من هولمز التحقيق بالتصرفات الغريبة التي يمر بها أحدث أشهر أساتذة الجامعة وكالعادة يرافقه صديقه العزيز الدكتور واطسون كانت قصة ممتعه وخفيفه انصح بها
Some people groan at the story, and some people love it, but without giving anything away, it's important to remember that what is discussed in this story was actually occurring in the 1920's when it was written, predominately by Serge Voronoff. I don't think that I can say anything else without giving away significant plot points, but read it for yourself, and see what you think.
Solid read but nothing to write home about. Was good enough to make me want to read more sherlock though and the mystery was actually pretty interesting. CREEPERRRRRR, SHES A CREEPERRRR, KINDA SCARY DONT KNOW HOW TO TREAT HER
Once upon a time this work used to be regarded as proto-scifi. Later people dubbed it as a biothriller(-ish). Alas! Now this story has become a matter of groan in the world of Sherlockiana. By this time Sir Arthur must have been detesting the Great Detective greatly. Otherwise he would have shaped this one differently.
Pored priče iz naslova knjiga sadrži još nekoliko Holmsovih avantura i sve se dešavaju nakon njegovog 'oživljavanja'. Dakle Morijarti je mrtav a Šerlok rešava slučajeve koji nisu naročito nadahnuto napisani, iako je simpatično čitati te staromodne dijaloge u svoj njihovoj naivnosti. Saznajemo i kako se Holms na kraju karijere povukao u jednu vilu gde je mogao na miru da živi podalje od gradske vreve i kako je čak i u tim idiličnim uslovima poneki slučaj znao da mu upadne u krilo, dakle sve ono što je čitalačka rulja želela i smatrala izuzetno važnim a nesretni Dojl nije imao snage ili hrabrosti da im ne da i time ih pouči dobrom ukusu. Dok sam čitao shvatio sam i da je stari dobri Šerlok malo previše napadan u svom moralisanju i didakticizmu te da bi mi bilo veoma interesantno čitati 'Professor Moriarty: The Hound of the D'Urbervilles' od Kima Njumana gde bih za protagonistu imao nekog malo drugačijih nazora.
Caveat: I need to read more of Sherlock’s other adventures to put this story in context and give it a fair evaluation. I don’t know, for example, how the quality of writing in this story stacks up against the other stories in the Holmes canon.
Take this rating with a grain of salt. Overall, I liked it. The story was a bit simple but good. It kept me engaged. I don’t know if I’ve been spoiled by the bbc tv series or what but I was kind of expecting more clever twists and turns. This story had some great one liners though like the classic “come if convenient. If inconvenient, come anyway — SH”
It was interesting at first. Then the revelation let me down. A fun read but better not think about it too much because it's rubbish the more you think about it.