Sep 27, 2012
Welcome to a very special series of BSB podcast specials with our
very own Lyndsay Faye!
Lyndsay teaches
a class about the Sherlock Holmes stories at the Center for Fiction
in Manhattan and has kindly agreed to record it for posterity.
So now you can listen to her introduction to the Sherlock Holmes
canon wherever you are. Here's Lyndsay's class description for the
week—and don't forget to do your homework for next month's ;)
SESSION 1: The Adventures --A Scandal in Bohemia --The
Red-Headed League --The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle --The
Adventure of the Speckled Band The Sherlock Holmes mysteries are
timeless adventure stories, still more popular today than upon
their initial appearance in the Strand Magazine. While the two
novels A Study in Scarlet and The Sign of Four were published
first, Holmes as a cultural phenomenon exploded when Doyle adapted
the character into a short form hero. Three of these tales are
included in Conan Doyle's "Top Five" List of his own favorite
stories, while "The Blue Carbuncle" offers a deliciously
atmospheric account of Holmes's deductive abilities. We'll discuss
the style and efficiency of Doyle's prose, the real life
inspiration for the character of Holmes, the effect these works
wrought on the mystery genre, Victorian London as a major
character, and the inherent vigilantism of Holmes's moral
compass.