cintinative Posted July 9, 2018 Share Posted July 9, 2018 I have a Penguin Classics compilation of Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (I believe it is The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes). I also have a really old hardback from my parents with a couple of stories in it that are not in the Penguin Classics version. So this made me wonder if there are some must read stories that I should track down for DS12 to read as different compilations have different stories. Or is there a favorite compilation that you all have? Thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Targhee Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 My vote is The Complete Sherlock Holmes ? I like the longer ones: Hound of the Baskervilles was written as a novella, but is sometimes included in anthologies. Also Valley of Fear, Study in Scarlet, and Sign of Four. My Sherlock fan (dd15) says some of her favorite shorter cases are: Speckled Band, Red Headed League, Five Orange Pips, The Cardboard Box. We own The Adventures of... The Memoirs... the longer ones mentioned above, and His Last Bow (which was probably the least favorite collection), and three different other collections. Anyway, there is some repeating in different collections and that’s why I suggest The Complete Sherlock Holmes - you get them all without repeat! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cintinative Posted July 10, 2018 Author Share Posted July 10, 2018 43 minutes ago, Targhee said: My vote is The Complete Sherlock Holmes ? Do you like your edition? If so, do you mind sharing the publisher? It looks like some people are commenting on Amazon that certain ones don't have the illustrations (such as the crime scenes) but I can't tell what edition those are for because Amazon lumps all the reviews together. Thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 I am polar opposite to Targhee, lol. I prefer the short stories, and ones with an interesting or unique component to them. We have this fat, comfortable, old hardback of the Complete Sherlock Holmes, published in 1938, and that's fun, just from the old used book aspect. ; ) But it contains all things Sherlock (except, no illustrations) -- all 4 novellas, and all 56 stories: - 4 novella-length stories: Study in Scarlet Sign of Four Hound of the Baskervilles Valley of Fear - 5 collections of short stories: Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (12 stories) Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (11 stories) The Return of Sherlock Holmes (13 stories) His Last Bow (9 stories) Case Book of Sherlock Holmes (12 stories) Also, you can read online: https://sherlock-holm.es/html/ As for which stories are the best... that will vary from person to person. I personally prefer the short stories in the 2 collections of: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, and The Return of Sherlock Holmes. Below I am copy-pasting my reply to this similar question in the past thread "Best Sherlock Holmes to start with?" Whatever you read from, enjoy your adventures with Sherlock Holmes! Warmest regards, Lori D. ________________________ A Study in Scarlet, followed by Sign of Four, introduce the characters/world of Sherlock Holmes. BUT, JMO, those are NOT the very best works of that "world". I personally think the short stories in the collection (The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes) that follows those two longer works has the most engaging stories, especially the stories of: - "The Red-Headed League" - "A Scandal in Bohemia" - "The Blue Carbuncle" - "The Speckled Band" For more opinions and ideas, check out these past threads:Sherlock Holmes short stories - a new question (which to start with)Sherlock Holmes (stories) - which for a 6th grader to start withWhat's your favorite Sherlock Holmes for pre/early-teens?Which Sherlock Holmes story for 5th and 8th grades?Sherlock Holmes for a 5th grader? (who just finished Hound of the Baskervilles; which next)Sherlock Holmes - which titles to read first?What are your favorite Sherlock Holmes short stories? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 3 hours ago, cintinative said: Do you like your edition? If so, do you mind sharing the publisher? It looks like some people are commenting on Amazon that certain ones don't have the illustrations (such as the crime scenes) but I can't tell what edition those are for because Amazon lumps all the reviews together. Thanks in advance! This edition has original illustrations, BUT, it only has 3 of the 5 story collections (Adventures, Memoirs, and Return), and 1 novella (Hound). This edition is complete (all novellas and stories) AND illustrations, but is in 2 volumes -- volume 1, and volume 2. As a side note, when my DS#1 was around your DS's age, he was really into mysteries, and in addition to Sherlock Holmes, he enjoyed the Baker Street Irregular books by Robert Newman, that were a bit of a spin-off from Sherlock Holmes: The Case of... series: ...Baker Street Irregulars (book 1) ... Vanishing Corpse (book 2) ... Somerville Secret (book 3) ...Threatened King (book 4) ... Etruscian Treasure (book 5) ... Frightened Friend (book 6) ... Murdered Players (book 7) ... Indian Curse (book 8 ) ... Watching Boy (book 9) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Targhee Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 3 hours ago, cintinative said: Do you like your edition? If so, do you mind sharing the publisher? It looks like some people are commenting on Amazon that certain ones don't have the illustrations (such as the crime scenes) but I can't tell what edition those are for because Amazon lumps all the reviews together. Thanks in advance! I didn’t know there were illustrations. I don’t believe any of my volumes have them. I don’t own The Complete Sherlock Homes (because between all the books we have we have the complete works). But I did give my sister this edition which she likes (though says it is a bit big) https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Sherlock-Holmes-Knickerbocker-Classics/dp/1937994309/ref=mp_s_a_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1531195486&sr=8-6&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=sherlock+holmes&dpPl=1&dpID=61%2BDd7qIX5L&ref=plSrch 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cintinative Posted July 10, 2018 Author Share Posted July 10, 2018 8 hours ago, Targhee said: I didn’t know there were illustrations. I don’t believe any of my volumes have them. My Penguin Classics has a couple but they were very hard to read. I thought it was my old eyes but my 12 year old couldn't decipher them either. They were crime scene sketches. ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cintinative Posted July 10, 2018 Author Share Posted July 10, 2018 @Targhee and LoriD Any opinions on the Father Brown stories by Chesterton? I have a complete book of them (found it at the thrift store) and I am not sure if I should assign the whole book or not. It's probably 300 pages plus. I haven't read it yet--I hope to start this week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Targhee Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 I hope Lori has an answer about Father Brown - I haven’t read any. Though I have really enjoyed the series on Netflix! (I have a feeling that after the first few episodes they probably strayed from Chesterton significantly - preview before sharing with kids). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cintinative Posted July 10, 2018 Author Share Posted July 10, 2018 9 hours ago, Lori D. said: This edition has original illustrations, BUT, it only has 3 of the 5 story collections (Adventures, Memoirs, and Return), and 1 novella (Hound). This edition is complete (all novellas and stories) AND illustrations, but is in 2 volumes -- volume 1, and volume 2. I can't seem to tag you so I decided to just quote. Any opinions on the Father Brown mysteries? I haven't read it yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cintinative Posted July 10, 2018 Author Share Posted July 10, 2018 25 minutes ago, Targhee said: I hope Lori has an answer about Father Brown - I haven’t read any. Though I have really enjoyed the series on Netflix! (I have a feeling that after the first few episodes they probably strayed from Chesterton significantly - preview before sharing with kids). I have caught portions of a couple of the episodes and I agree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 4 hours ago, cintinative said: Any opinions on the Father Brown stories by Chesterton? I have a complete book of them (found it at the thrift store) and I am not sure if I should assign the whole book or not. It's probably 300 pages plus. I haven't read it yet--I hope to start this week. 4 hours ago, Targhee said: I hope Lori has an answer about Father Brown - I haven’t read any. Though I have really enjoyed the series on Netflix! (I have a feeling that after the first few episodes they probably strayed from Chesterton significantly - preview before sharing with kids). I haven't seen the TV series, so don't know if it stays close to the stories or not, Yes, I've got the complete Father Brown and really enjoyed it. Chesterton is all about paradox, and he has a mix of types of crimes (murders, but also thefts and others). My DS found Chesterton's writing style a little harder to get through at that age (12-14yo) when he was really into mysteries, so I probably wouldn't assign more than a few stories, and then let your student decide if he/she wants to read on. The Complete Father Brown contains 5 collections: - Innocence of Father Brown (12 stories) - Wisdom of Father Brown (12 stories) - Incredulity of Father Brown (8 stories) - Secret of Father Brown (8 stories) - Scandal of Father Brown (8 stories) I recommend reading the first 5 stories from Innocence of Father Brown, as they are loosely connected (I don't believe any of the other collections do that), AND because that gives you a good sense of Father Brown's character and you get 2 major surprise twists that result in setting up the "world" and characters of the rest of the mysteries. So that would be these 5 stories: - "The Blue Cross" - "The Secret Garden" - "The Queer Feet" - "The Flying Stars" - "The Invisible Man" Chesterton was a prolific mystery story writer, and created a number of other detectives or amateur sleuths who also have a collection of stories about them. Paradox runs through all of the stories, with the variation coming from the type of character the main detective has. For a tween/teen, probably only the first 2 would be of interest: - The Club of Queer Trades (6 stories -- Basil Grant is a bit of a humorous poke at Sherlock Holmes, and the stories are all whimsical -- not crimes, but rather the unraveling of mysteries to discover people who make a living through new and unique means (i.e., "queer trades"). Very amusing, and unusual for a mystery collection to be all humorous.) - The Paradoxes of Mr. Pond (8 stories -- Mr. Pond is a quiet civil servant who is an "odd duck" who is able to solve baffling "locked room" types of mysteries) - The Poet and the Lunatics (8 stories -- Gabriel Gale is a poet/artist who solves mysteries committed by those who suffer madness, and he is able to do so because he himself fights to stay on that knife edge between creativity/imagination and madness. Here's a quick article about this character.) - The Man Who Knew Too Much (8 stories -- Horne Fisher is an upperclass gentlemen with connections to many powerful political figures, and as a result, is able to solve mysteries, but because they are committed by people who can't be prosecuted (diplomatic immunity), it causes him great despair.) Are you looking for other mystery titles as well? Let us know, as we can probably suggest some more! (:D Warmest regards, Lori D. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cintinative Posted July 10, 2018 Author Share Posted July 10, 2018 59 minutes ago, Lori D. said: Are you looking for other mystery titles as well? Let us know, as we can probably suggest some more! (:D Warmest regards, Lori D. Thank you so much!! Well, I'm not sure. So far we are following the WTM recommendations and then we can branch off if he is interested. He has read Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express and once he's done with his current book, I will assign the Sherlock Holmes book. I was thinking of going from there to Father Brown and then letting him decide if he wanted to read some more mystery stories. ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 9 minutes ago, cintinative said: Thank you so much!! Well, I'm not sure. So far we are following the WTM recommendations and then we can branch off if he is interested. He has read Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express and once he's done with his current book, I will assign the Sherlock Holmes book. I was thinking of going from there to Father Brown and then letting him decide if he wanted to read some more mystery stories. ? Sounds good! And if he enjoyed Murder on the Orient Express and wanted another Christie mystery, DS like And Then There Were None even more than Murder on the Orient Express. : ) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluegoat Posted July 19, 2018 Share Posted July 19, 2018 I always think The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes has the most perfect stories in it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cintinative Posted July 19, 2018 Author Share Posted July 19, 2018 I ordered the "complete stories" and it turns out the Penguin classics version I had been reading has stories from several different collections and they are not all from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes so I am really glad I ordered the complete stories. Unfortunately DS13 is not digging the stories so far, and I gave him the ones Lori D. recommended. <<sad>> 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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