BBC reprints of the Conan Doyle stories

[Carol the Dabbler]

I recall hearing Moftiss mention (in the commentary for "Hounds") that there was a series of Conan Doyle reprints with Cumberbatch and Freeman on the cover, but that's all I knew till today. It turns out there are five such books so far, paperbacks published by BBC Books, each with an introduction by someone highly identifiable with Sherlock.

Here are the five books to date:

• Sherlock: A Study in Scarlet (17 Oct 2011), 212 pp, Intro by Moffat

• Sherlock: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (7 Nov 2011), 324 pp, Intro by Gatiss

• Sherlock: The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (23 Apr 2012), 224 pp, Intro by Thompson

• Sherlock: The Hound of the Baskervilles (23 Apr 2012), 224 pp, Intro by Cumberbatch

• Sherlock: The Sign of Four [sic] (23 Apr 2011), 192 pp, Intro by Freeman

Here's what I find intriguing:

Two of the books (A Study in Scarlet and The Hound of the Baskervilles) are novels that have already been made into Sherlock episodes. Two of the others are collections that include short stories that have already been used (from Adventures: 'A Scandal in Bohemia' and 'The Five Orange Pips'; from Memoirs: 'The Naval Treaty' and 'The Final Problem').

Then there's The Sign of [the] Four. Hmm. Will it be the basis for a Series 3 episode? Or is that just Moftiss messing with our heads again? Or what?

[Carol the Dabbler]

As mentioned, each book has an introduction written by one of the three writers or two stars. I'm often skeptical of such claims, but in this case I am pleasantly surprised to see that the two intros I've read do sound like they were written by the people to whom they are attributed.

Just for fun, see if you can identify the authors of these brief samples:
 

 

I have taken down the old black briar, transfixed my unopened correspondence to the mantelpiece with a jackknife and settled down into a brown study.

^ That quote is from

Mark Gatiss's intro to The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

 

 

 

What I was wary of was the idea that Holmes would become 'cool'. And not good cool. Telly cool. Which, y'know... ain't cool.

 

^ And that one is from

Martin Freeman's intro to The Sign of Four

 

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

Then there's The Sign of [the] Four. Hmm. Will it be the basis for a Series 3 episode?

 

Aha -- so it is!  But I didn't resurrect this thread just to say "I told you so" -- BBC Books has announced two more Holmes reprints:

 

 

This time, we can support Sherlockology (our reliable source of Sherlock information) while getting a good deal on one or both of the books:

 

Two new tie in editions of classic Sherlock Holmes stories are set to be published by BBC Books on December 5 2013 in advance of the release of Sherlock Series Three.

 

'The Return of Sherlock Holmes' features a new introduction by Mark Gatiss, which includes ‘The Adventure of the Empty House’, as well as the debut of the villain Charles Augustus Milverton - who has become Magnussen in Sherlock Series Three.  

 

'His Last Bow' is introduced by Steven Moffat, and features the final chronological adventure for Holmes and Watson by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle within its pages.

 

Both titles will carry an RRP of £6.99 in the UK.

 

You can pre-order both at a discount on Amazon UK below, with a percentage of the sale going towards helping us run our website.

 

Sherlock: The Return of Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock: His Last Bow