Customer Reviews

The Quotable Sherlock Holmes

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A modern look at quotations from the Sherlockian Canon, done in an amusing and interesting way. Each group of quotes on a subject is then put under headings such as: "HIS CHOSEN AEROBIC ROUTINE," "JUST ONE OF THOSE DAYS," and "PLEASE CONFUSE ME WITH THE FACTS."

The original Sidney Paget drawings are throughout the book, and the cover looks suitably Victorian/Edwardian. It's a small volume, but it contains, as the back page says: "THE WORLD ACCORDING TO HOLMES."

Keep it close by, as a reference tool, or just a book to thumb through. It's worth it!

I like to be a really arrogant know-it-all and pretend to be Sherlock Holmes. My long-suffering friends know this (one of whom has even agreed to be my Watson, on the basis that she puts up with my arrogance, insanity, and over-analysis of everything) and hence chose to provide me with this indispensable book. After all, I need witty, pithy quotes to use after I've finished complaining that "my mind rebels at stagnation." This book serves that purpose wonderfully. It is a compilation of Holmes' funny, witty, provocative, intelligent and perceptive statements from the entire Canon. Of course, the book is in no way a replacement for the stories themselves; it is, however, a wonderful reference (it's divided into chapters, each dealing with a particular aspect of Holmes' existence) as well as a pleasurable read.

It ends, particularly fittingly, with a very famous quote (aren't they all?): the game is afoot.

The game is certainly afoot. For this is a book that plays The Game - it pretends that Holmes and Watson really existed (oops. Did I just imply the two aren't real? Of course they're real!) The introduction, written by the grandson of John Watson, claims the book to be a lost, and now found and published, manuscript. It's written with wit and humor (and a few stabs at modern academia) and is an entirely fitting complement to Holmes' wit.