The Case-Book Of Sherlock Holmes (2015) - Plot & Excerpts
*WARNING: VERY, VERY LONG!*Don't read this if:1.tYou have not read the book yet2.tYou have no sense of humour“The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes“ is the final collection of Sherlock Holmes stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle. The collection I have has 10 stories:1.t"The Adventure of the Illustrious Client"2.t"The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier"3.t"The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone"4.t"The Adventure of the Three Gables"5.t"The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire"6.t"The Adventure of the Creeping Man"7.t"The Adventure of the Lion's Mane"8.t"The Adventure of the Veiled Lodger" 9.t"The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place" 10.t"The Adventure of the Retired Colourman"1. The Adventure of the Illustrious ClientThis story is set in September 1902 and is narrated by Doctor Watson. This is a case from the latter years of Sherlock's career.The case: Sherlock Holmes receives a letter from Sir James Damery who asks him to help stop the marriage between Baron Gruner and Violet de Merville. Baron Gruner's wife supposedly died in an accident, but it's suspected that the Baron killed her. Sherlock and Doctor meet Miss Kitty Winter who decides to help them convince Violet that Baron is a dangerous man. She admits she was his last mistress. He used her and ruined her and now she wants revenge. Miss Winter tells them about Baron's book with a lock which contains list of women he used. (Does this remind anyone of Cruel Intentions? :D )He takes the case but soon is beaten by Gruner's henchmen, so Doctor Watson is sent to the Baron disguised as a collector to get some information out of him. However, the Baron realises he's a spy. Luckily, Sherlock appears and Gruner goes after him in rage. When he tries to exit his house, a woman appears and attacks him with something and the Baron ends up screaming with his face burned and mutilated. Sherlock later reveals he stole the diary while the doctor was talking to Gruner. Soon, they find out there will be no marriage and that Kitty Winter will stand trial.Sherlock is prosecuted for burglary.Interesting facts: Doctor Watson is no longer Sherlock's flatmate. He now lives at Queen Anne Street.Sherlock Holmes has an assistant called Shinwell Johnson, an ex-villain, who is working for him as an underground agent.Interesting scenes/quotes:When Sherlock meets Violet he actually shows interest in her. Too late for that now, Sherlock old man.After Sherlock is seriously injured in an assault, Watson goes to him and offers to beat the guys up. AWWW There is also a scene where John muses about his relationship with Sherlock. It's a beautiful, but also sad:„I was nearer him than anyone else, and yet I was always conscious of the gap between.“Sherlock asks John a favour:Sherlock: „Now, Watson, I want you to do something for me .”John: “I am here to be used, Holmes.“ Ahhh… Ok? This is very ambiguous, Doyle. LOLI liked: This is a very dark and disturbing story. It's different from the other stories by Doyle and I liked it a lot. 2. "The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier"Unusually, this story is narrated by Sherlock Holmes. Why? Because, as SH, explains:1.tJohn Watson's accounts are superficial.2.tHe needs to stick to facts and figures.Yeah, just admit you're missing Watson, Holmes.The story is set in January 1903. The Case: Holmes is visited by Mr. James M. Dodd who asks him to help him find his friend, Godfrey Emsworth. They were in the army together and after the war he sent him a letter but got no response. He tried to contact him again, but Emsworth's father replied his son had gone on a voyage round the world. Dodd is suspicious of this and tells Holmes he went to his friend's house and after he spent some time there, got an impression his friend is involved in some scandal. His suspicion was confirmed when he saw Godfrey's pale face outside the window. He is convinced he is hiding, but does not know the reason.Of course, Sherlock and John help the young man. They discover that after Godfrey was shot, he ended up in a place where everyone was disfigured. He later found out it was a hospital and that he slept in a leper bed. That is the reason why the young man has been hiding and could not see anyone. However, the story has a happy ending. A doctor informs them it's not leprosy but some other disease and that he is going to be all right.Interesting scenes/quotes:Sherlock admits how important John is to him:„Watson had at that time deserted me for a wife, the only selfish action which I can recall in our association.I was alone."… And how much he needs him and misses him. AWWWWWW You can also find one of Sherlock Holmes’s most famous quotes in this story:When you have eliminated all which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.I liked: Although I think this is a sad story, it's also one of the best Doyle's stories about friendship. Here we have a young man who is determined to find his old friend and we have Sherlock who misses his faithful companion. The only thing I did not like is that the story is short and has ends abruptly. You wait to see the happy reunion of two friends who have not seen each other in a long time, and all you get is a woman fainting. What an anti-climax!3. "The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone"The Case: Sherlock is involved in the Case of the Crown Diamond. He confesses to John he expects to be murdered and that is the reason why he has the wax figure in his house again (read The Empty House if you want to know why he used it before). The main suspect is Count Negretto who comes to see him and find out how much Sherlock knows. Sherlock cleverly uses the wax dummy, a gramophone, the curtain and John to get the stone. Happy End.Interesting facts: Sherlock has a page called Billy. Sherlock likes to dress as a workman, and old man etc.Interesting scenes/quotes:Sherlock: “Yes, you can, Watson. And you will, for you have never failed to play the game. I am sure you will play it to the end.”Of course he will, Sherlock. He loves you. *evilgrin*I liked: Sherlock sounded so bitter, and alone in this story. He sounded human. I felt sorry for him. *sigh*4. "The Adventure of the Three Gables"The story is narrated by John Watson.The Case: A house agent comes to see an old lady to make an offer. He will buy her house and everything in it. Her lawyer warns her it’s a strange agreement; if she signs the document she won’t be able to take anything out of the house, including her possessions. Sherlock Holmes concludes that the person who hired the agent wants something she recently obtained. Soon, after she refuses to sell the house, someone brakes into the house and steals something, leaving a torn piece of a paper. It turns out the paper is from a book written by her son. The culprit? A woman who was involved with her son. She decided to leave him because he wanted to marry her. He did not take it well and wrote a story about her. Ah, crazy people!In the end, Sherlock makes a deal with the woman and the case is closed.Interesting facts: Sherlock likes to gossip. LOLI liked: I did like the story, especially the end but I think it was too short. The woman was an intriguing character. I wish Doyle wrote more about her. 5. "The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire"The Case: Mrs. Gibson was found murdered but before that, her servant girl saw her trying to suck blood of her child. A vampire! Oh, interesting... The servant girl is accused because they found a gun in her wardrobe. Sherlock is not fooled; he is convinced someone placed it there. She explains how Mrs Gibson was jealous of her and hated her. Sherlock works his magic and discovers-it was suicide. Oh, noes. What about vampires?I liked: No, I did not. This could have been a great story. It started off well, but then you got a crazy, jealous woman who killed herself. I am very disappointed.6. "The Adventure of the Creeping Man"The story is narrated by Doctor Watson and it’s set in September 1903. The Case: Mr. Trevor Bennett believes his colleague, a well-known professor, is crazy. He has begun acting strangely after his engagement. The things get worse after he comes back from Prague with a box. He starts receiving mysterious letters marked with a cross. He was also attacked by his dog twice. One night he even saw him crawling in a hallway.Because Sherlock does not want the dog to bite his master again, he goes to solve the case. After Sherlock and John become spies hidden in the bushes and the dog attacks again, it’s revealed the poor professor has been taking an elixir of life made by some charlatan. The love affair gave him the idea he could turn himself into a young man. See what loves does to you? Next time, dear professor, go find someone your age!Interesting facts: This is the story in which Holmes sends Watson his famous message (BBC Sherlock, anyone?! :D):“Come at once if convenient-if inconvenient come all the same. SH”6. "The Adventure of the Lion's Mane"The story is narrated by Sherlock. It’s set in July, 1907. The Case: After Sherlock whines more about his life and how our dear doctor does not visit him anymore, he goes for a walk and meets a man called Harold. Harold was walking to the river when he saw a man dying. His last words were “lion’s mane” and his back was covered with dark red lines. Sherlock does his magic, it seems it’s some sort of a love affair, forbidden love and stuff like that, but... NO! The secret is revealed when a dog dies in the exact same place as its master. The main suspect has also been attacked and Sherlock figures out that, in fact, an animal killed them all! Oh. Ok.I liked: Not really. This story has a bad ending.TBC
Gravest issues may depend upon the smallest things.The casebook of Sherlock Holmes ist erneut eine Kurzgeschichtensammlung mit 12 Geschichten um Sherlock Holmes, die zwischen 1921–1927 erschienen.1.tThe Adventure of the Mazarin Stone (1921)Sommer 1903: Die britische Regierung geht wirklich sorglos mit ihrem Schätzen um. Schon wieder muss der Premierminister Holmes um Hilfe bitten. Diesmal ist ein Krondiamant verschwunden. Da diese Angelegenheit sehr gefährlich zu werden verspricht, hat Holmes sich mal wieder ein Wachsabbild seiner selbst anfertigen lassen.2.tThe Problem of Thor Bridge (1922)Oktober 1900: Der Superreiche Neil Gibson bittet Holmes seine Gouvernante von dem Vorwurf Gibsons Frau erschossen zu haben, zu befreien. 3.tThe Adventure of the Creeping Man (1923)Ein Sonntag im September 1903: Mr. Trevor Bennet, Assistant von Professor Presbury und Verlobter seiner Tochter Edith bittet Holmes, das seltsame Verhalten seines Schwiegervaters in Spe, aufzuklären.4.tThe Adventure of the Sussex Vampire (1924)November 1896: Mr. Robert Ferguson kann sich das seltsame Verhalten seine Frau nicht erklären, die er dabei erwischte, wie sie ihrem Säugling Blut aus dem Hals saugte.5.tThe Adventure of the Three Garridebs (1924)Ende Juni 1902: Nathan Garrideb soll Fünf Millionen Dollar erben, wenn es ihm gelingt 3 Männer mit den Nachnamen Garrideb aufzutreiben.6.tThe Adventure of the Illustrious Client (1924)1902: General de Mervilles Tochter Violet hat sich in einen zwielichtigen Ganoven verliebt. Holmes soll diese Verbindung hintertreiben.7.tThe Adventure of the Three Gables (1926)September 1903: Holmes wird von einem Schlägertypen gewarnt einen bestimmten Fall nicht anzunehmen und bringt ihn eben dadurch dazu, diesen Fall zu untersuchen.8.tThe Adventure of the Blanched Soldier (1926)Januar 1903: James M. Dodd macht sich Sorgen um seinen Armeekumpel Godfrey Emsworth, der auf keinen seiner Briefe antwortet. Holmes soll Godfrey finden.9.tThe Adventure of the Lion's Mane (1926)Ende Juli 1907: Rentier Holmes untersucht einen Badeunfall und zeigt eine Bildungslücke in Mariner Biologie.10.tThe Adventure of the Retired Colourman (1926)1898: Josiah Amberleys Frau ist mit seinem Geld und neuem Liebhaber durchgebrannt. Holmes soll helfen.11.tThe Adventure of the Veiled Lodger (1927)Ende 1896: Wieder einmal macht sich eine Vermieterin Sorgen um ihre Untermieterin. Diese will Holmes beichten.12.tThe Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place (1927)1902: Shoscombe Old Place wird gepfändet, gewinnt Sir Robert Norberton nicht das nächste Derby. Seine Schwester jedoch, die Eignerin des Stalls, verhält sich seit einiger Zeit seltsam. Holmes war wohl das, was man schon um 1900 all Age Literatur nennen konnte. Er begann seine Ermittlungen in der viktorianischen Ära, ermittelte unter Edward und ist auch in den goldenen Zwanziger Jahren noch aktiv. Nun lasen die Kinder die Geschichten, welche ihre Eltern zu ihrem ersten Erscheinen bereits verschlangen.Man merkt langsam deutlich, dass dem Autor die Ideen ausgehen. Motive wiederholen sich, er driftet immer öfter in die Fantasy Ecke ab (The Adventure of the Creeping Man) und einige Fälle sind wirklich durchs Knie ins Auge.Zwar erfährt man auch diesmal wieder einiges über Holmes und Watsons Verhältnis zueinander, so sieht sich Watson als eine Institution für Holmes, wie dessen Geige und als einen Wetzstein für Holmes Verstand, den er mit seiner eigenen Langsamkeit irritiert und so zu Höchstleistungen anspornt, doch gibt es immer wieder Augenblicke, in denen durchscheint, dass er für Holmes mehr ist. ([…] to know the depth an loyalty of love which lay behind that cold mask.). Langsam emanzipieren sich die Geschichten von Watson. Es gibt sogar Kurzgeschichten, die Holmes erzählt, und nicht sein getreuer Chronist. Watson scheint auch irgendwann um 1900/1903 wieder aus Holmes Wohnung ausgezogen zu sein, und praktiziert wieder als Arzt in seinem Räumen in der Queen Anne Street und er hat wieder Rendevous (The good Watson had at that time deserted me for a wife (1903)). Auch erfährt man dass Holmes Auch erfährt man dass Holmes 6 Jahre alleine arbeitete, ehe Watson zu ihm stieß.Holmes nimmt neue Technik an, so wurde in den frühen Geschichten noch telegrafiert, in diesen Kurzgeschichten bereits telefoniert.Auch in dieser Sammlung gibt es einen gelungenen Erzbösewicht, den sadistischen Österreichischen Baron aus „The Adventure of the Illustrious Client“. He has breeding in him – a real aristocrat of crime with a superficial suggestion of afternoon tea and all the cruelty of the grave behind him. Warum dieser Baron Adelbert Gruner die Fantasie nie so anregte wie Moriarty kann ich nicht verstehen. Er hat mehr Stil und sieht auch besser aus. That man collects women, and takes pride in his collection, as some men collect moths or butterflies.Fazit: Die schlechtesten Kurzgeschichten aus der Sherlock Holmes Reihe. Was die ersten Geschichten so besonders machte, die Ermittlungsarbeit, das miträtseln, die Logik wird zugunsten einer Ein-Mann Show aufgegeben. Hier geht es nur noch um Holmes und seine Schrullen, schade eigentlich.
What do You think about The Case-Book Of Sherlock Holmes (2015)?
By the time this anthology was assembled and published in 1927, Conan Doyle's creative flame was waning to an occasional spark. He cannot be faulted. As he expressed so frankly in the preface, "His (Holmes') career has been a long one—though it is possible to exaggerate it; decrepit gentlemen who approach me and declare that his adventures formed the reading of their boyhood do not meet the response from me which they seem to expect." Conan Doyle desperately wanted to be a major player in the Victorian and Edwardian literary worlds. In the end, he made peace with the fact that he would be remembered primarily for Sherlock Holmes, but he never considered it a personal victory.These twelve stories are not inspired. They are, for the most part, workmanlike and satisfying. One or two, such as "The Creeping Man", are just bizarre. This volume is not so much an epilogue to the Holmes corpus as it is an encore. At times I can't help feeling that Conan Doyle should have retired his character with "The Return Of Sherlock Holmes". But there is enough here to satisfy the hardcore fans (like me) and nothing to diminish the author's reputation. You'll enjoy this book if you enjoy Sherlock Holmes. It won't leave wanting more,unlike the first four volumes in the corpus; neither will it turn you off to revisiting earlier stories. In short, it is a dignified, albeit unintentional, valediction to a long career. By 1927 Conan Doyle was weary and Sherlock Holmes was redundant. Conan Doyle died three years later. Sherlock Holmes never has.
—Terry Bonner
The Case-book of Sherlock Holmes has 12 cases. Some are great cases, some are not so great.The Adventure of the Illustrious Client was not really a mysterious case at all, in fact I found it as a waste of Holmes’s talent. He was asked to help preventing a young girl from marrying one of the worst men in Europe. Basically, they way I see it, the case was only about finding the mistakes of the man…this didn’t need extreme deduction at all, it was a bit dull. The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier was more interesting than the previous case. Holmes was asked by a man named James M. Dodd to help him solved the mystery around his missing best friend. He was so confused with his best friend’s family. Holmes solved the case easily. What’s interesting about this case is that this case is, as if, written by Sherlock Holmes, not by Watson. The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone was a very interesting case. It was about a missing jewel. The story didn’t begin with someone asking for Holmes’ favor, it begun in the end of the case.Continue reading>> http://bokunosekai.wordpress.com/2011...
—Novia
This is the final Sherlock Holmes book, and while it is enjoyable, I think "Casebook" is the weakest collection of Sherlock stories. Having gone through all nine books this summer, it really seems like Doyle was so tired of the character that he was phoning it in by the 1920s. But I did have some favorites in the bunch: "The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone," in which Holmes uses that wacky new gizmo called a phonograph to fool some criminals; "The Problem of Thor Bridge" has an ingenious method of framing someone for murder using a rock, a handgun and some string; and "The Adventure of the Three Garridebs," because Sherlock shows genuine feeling for Dr. Watson when he gets shot in the leg while on a case. "It was worth a wound, it was worth many wounds, to know the depth of loyalty and love which lay behind that cold mask." Despite the unevenness of this story collection, it was bittersweet for me. I'm sad that my summer of Sherlock is now over. I've spent the past two and a half months listening to the marvelous actor Derek Jacobi narrate all nine books of Holmes, and he really made the great detective come alive. If any of you Goodreaders want to delve into the Sherlock canon, I recommend letting Jacobi be your guide.
—Diane Librarian
