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34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great, and well-priced, addition to your collection, July 1, 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: The Original Illustrated Sherlock Holmes (Hardcover)
If you're a Holmes fan, this book will make a great addition to your collection: it reproduces the original illustrations created by Sydney Paget for the stories in Strand Magazine. (But it's not the "complete" Sherlock Holmes -- some of the stories were published elsewhere.) Paget was originally a fashion illustrator, hired by mistake for his brother Walter who specialized in adventure stories -- but the Holmes tales brought out the best in Sydney. While some of the pictures are merely dutiful scene-setting, others are exciting enhancements of the story (cf. the Hound of the Baskervilles!). In any case, the pictures are a good corrective for the cartoonish Holmes and Watson depicted in dozens of Hollywood epics: they're a pair of active, well-dressed young men, not the scarecrow and his doddering sidekick. (The TV series with Jeremy Brett got this right, although it made a botch of some of the plots.) And I enjoyed the glimpses they give you into the world of Victorian society -- the interiors of elegant living rooms and hansom cabs, ladies' at-home dresses, tea-trays and decanters. At this price, you can't afford to pass it up!
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22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Nice edition to Read and to Keep, February 12, 2008
This review is from: The Original Illustrated Sherlock Holmes (Hardcover)
Sherlock Holmes is one enduring character, written with the analytical reader in mind, with Conan Doyle presenting the logic and the reasoning as detailed as the story itself. This particular edition, is the perfect one. Comfortably large size, easy on the eyes, hardbound is elegant and somehow I found it very easy to position it anyways I wanted, whether I was sitting upright with the book on the desk, or when in travel with the book on my lap, lying on my side with the book on the left. I thought this is important to mention , now ofcourse to the content.. The higlight of this edition is the illustration collection by Sydney Paget, as they appeared when it was first published. It is significant to read the stories with Sydney Paget's illustrations, since Sydney Paget practically defined the way Sherlock Holmes appeared. though Conan Doyle's descriptins can lead one to visualize Holmes, it was Sydney who set it on paper. and the fact that he was working along with Conan Doyle, brings in the authenticity and approval of the visual representation of the stories. Sydney Paget ofcourse is a master illustrator, with fascinating black and white illustrations capturing all the drama in the stories. The book contains, 37 short stories and a complete novel from The Strand Magazine. With all 356 original illustrations by Sidney Paget. Stories included are The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, published in The Strand between July, 1891 and December, 1892 (12 stories); The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes. Published in The Strand as additional episodes between December, 1892 and November, 1893 (12 stories); The Hound of the Baskervilles, published in The Strand between August, 1901 and April, 1902; and The Return of Sherlock Holmes, published in The Strand between October, 1903 and January, 1905 (13 stories).
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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good Book, With Intended Flaws, December 31, 2010
This review is from: The Original Illustrated Sherlock Holmes (Hardcover)
Obviously, I bought this book to read firsthand the tales of Sherlock Holmes. It does have the serialized short stories of Sherlock Holmes that were printed in "The Strand". In fact, the smears and smudges that were in the original magazine are also reproduced. This fact annoyed me at first, but added authenticity to the book. Also all illustrations that are necessary to solving various cases are also included in this book. But, it is not the 'complete' canon of Sherlock Holmes, though. It has what was printed in "The Strand", which is: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, The Return of Sherlock Holmes, & "The Hound of the Baskervilles" as they were originally presented. But, it is missing: His Last Bow, The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes, "A Study in Scarlet", "The Sign of the Four", & "The Valley of Fear". These texts are missing (for a good reason), because there were not printed in "The Strand". Just fair warning, there are still more Sherlock Holmes mysteries out there...
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