Hi, all,

Somewhere amidst Italian dinner Monday - I think it was mid-gelato - we decided that February might be Sherlock Holmes month. Which is of course entirely appropriate since February's regarded as Holmes's Anniversary Month anyway. We also decided to concentrate on Moriarty, though I'm not sure why. [It may be because of the reptilian way his head moves; I can't be sure.] But herein lies the rub: Moriarty actually appears only twice in the Holmes Canon*. While he's present in The Valley of Fear [novel] and figures ~ahem~ prominently in The Adventure of the Final Problem, and is mentioned a couple of other times, most of his infamy is post-Conan Doyle.

In addition to that, the Holmes novel I'd mentioned is in the fifth loop of purgatory known as "waiting for publisher reprint". [Put the phone down, Ellen, I'm pretty sure it's not yours...]

SO here's what we'll do: there's a nifty little two-volume set of Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Novels and Stories available. Volume I contains the collections "Memoirs" and Return of Sherlock Holmes. "Memoirs" contains "Final Problem"; "Return" contains "Adventure of the Empty House". [You'll want to read 'House' after you finish 'Problem'. Trust me.]

Volume 2 contains The Valley of Fear. In addition, there's a brand new Moriarty novel out, in paperback, titled [brace yourself] The Hound of the D'Urbervilles. Among other things, it presents 'Final Problem' from Moriarty's point of view. We have all these at Bear Pond, even as I type.

In other Holmes/Moriarty news:

There's a lovely British publisher called Titan Books which has been faithfully republishing Holmesian pastiches in affordable paperback [$9.95] editions, all under the group title The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. There are classics here: Sherlock Holmes' War of the Worlds, by Manly Wade Wellman; The Whitechapel Horrors by Edward Hanna; even Seance for a Vampire by Fred Saberhagen.

They're such nice editions that I've purchased some I'd already owned; we at Bear Pond can order you whatever you want.

Two earlier series featured Moriarty as protagonist. John Gardner, of post-Fleming James Bond fame, published two novels in the 70's, The Return and The Revenge of Moriarty. Both great, both out of print but available through your finer local library or used book store. And I write this I discover that Return is coming back in print in June 2012! Woo-hoo. Michael Kurland published four books about Moriarty, starting with The Infernal Device, in 1979. They're also terrific [although his portrayal of Holmes is either entertaining or annoying, depending on your point of view], also out of print. See above.

Also featured in the All Holmes All the Time Mystery section: The Last Sherlock Holmes Story by Michael Dibdin A Study in Sherlock, edited by Laurie King The Pirate King, written by Laurie King

And The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz is still on Staff Picks.

Enjoy yourselves. Why don't you shoot some Holmes recommendations my way? Thanks!

george