"A mind once stretched by a new idea can never regain its original dimensions." ~Oliver Wendall Holmes

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Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Number 19: Finish the Canon of Sherlock Holmes and the Anne of Green Gables series

I enjoyed both the Sherlock Holmes stories and the Anne of Green Gables stories, although they were very different.  


I enjoyed the Sherlock Holmes stories, because each one was really very independent of the others.  I could listen to each "episode" with another person while traveling in the car and they could listen along without missing anything.  There was an over arching story of Prof. Moriarti and the "ring of crime" that you could follow throughout all of the stories, but it really is not a predominant part of any of the individual tales.  The relationship between Holmes and Watson was always the most interesting part to me.  Holmes is very much like an autistic savant.  He is a difficult person to interact with socially, but Watson is his steadfast friend, confidant, and partner.  They often exchange fun banter in an old-english kind of way.   Below, I have copied and pasted the whole list of S.H. stories so you can see just how many there are.  I was surprised when I found out.

The Anne of Green Gables novels were also very good, particularly the first three or so.  After that, they seemed to get a little forced.  Anne grew into adulthood and her life got predictable and pretty boring.  In total, I read books 1-5, which are all the books before Anne has children and the books become predominantly about her children.  I liked the homey stories of Anne's childhood and the interesting peek into rural Canadian life in the early 1900's.  When I read stories like these, I often feel as if I really should have been a part of that era.  


The Cannon of Sherlock Holmes

Novels

Here is the list of the four novels of the canon:
  1. A Study in Scarlet (published 1887)
  2. The Sign of the Four (published 1890)
  3. The Hound of the Baskervilles (serialised 1901–1902 in The Strand)
  4. The Valley of Fear (serialised 1914–1915)

Short stories

The 56 short stories are collected in five books:
  1. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (published 1892)
    1. "A Scandal in Bohemia"
    2. "The Adventure of the Red-Headed League"
    3. "A Case of Identity"
    4. "The Boscombe Valley Mystery"
    5. "The Five Orange Pips"
    6. "The Man with the Twisted Lip"
    7. "The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle"
    8. "The Adventure of the Speckled Band"
    9. "The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb"
    10. "The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor"
    11. "The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet"
    12. "The Adventure of the Copper Beeches"
  2. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (published 1894)
    1. "Silver Blaze"
    2. "The Adventure of the Cardboard Box" (this story is included as part of His Last Bow in lifetime editions of the collection)
    3. "The Adventure of the Yellow Face"
    4. "The Adventure of the Stockbroker's Clerk"
    5. "The Adventure of the Gloria Scott" (Holmes's first case, described to Watson)
    6. "The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual" (another early case, told by Holmes to Watson)
    7. "The Adventure of the Reigate Squire"
    8. "The Adventure of the Crooked Man"
    9. "The Adventure of the Resident Patient"
    10. "The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter" (Mycroft appears for the first time)
    11. "The Adventure of the Naval Treaty"
    12. "The Final Problem" (Watson reports the death of Holmes)
  3. The Return of Sherlock Holmes (published 1905)
    1. "The Adventure of the Empty House" (the return of Holmes)
    2. "The Adventure of the Norwood Builder"
    3. "The Adventure of the Dancing Men"
    4. "The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist"
    5. "The Adventure of the Priory School"
    6. "The Adventure of Black Peter"
    7. "The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton"
    8. "The Adventure of the Six Napoleons"
    9. "The Adventure of the Three Students"
    10. "The Adventure of the Golden Pince-Nez"
    11. "The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter"
    12. "The Adventure of the Abbey Grange"
    13. "The Adventure of the Second Stain"
  4. His Last Bow (published 1917)
    1. "The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge" (originally published simply as "A Reminiscence of Mr Sherlock Holmes," this story is made up of two parts given separate titles: "The Singular Experience of Mr. John Scott Eccles" and "The Tiger of San Pedro")
    2. "The Adventure of the Red Circle"
    3. "The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans" (Mycroft appears)
    4. "The Adventure of the Dying Detective"
    5. "The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax"
    6. "The Adventure of the Devil's Foot"
    7. "His Last Bow" (told in third-person)
  5. The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes (published 1927)
    1. "The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone" (told in third-person)
    2. "The Problem of Thor Bridge"
    3. "The Adventure of the Creeping Man"
    4. "The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire"
    5. "The Adventure of the Three Garridebs"
    6. "The Adventure of the Illustrious Client"
    7. "The Adventure of the Three Gables"
    8. "The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier" (narrated by Holmes; Watson does not appear)
    9. "The Adventure of the Lion's Mane" (narrated by Holmes; Watson does not appear)
    10. "The Adventure of the Retired Colourman"
    11. "The Adventure of the Veiled Lodger"
    12. "The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place"
Lucy Maud Montgomery's books on Anne Shirley:
#BookDate publishedAnne Shirley's age
1Anne of Green Gables190811—16
2Anne of Avonlea190916—18
3Anne of the Island191518—22
4Anne of Windy Poplars (US & Canada)
Anne of Windy Willows (Other)
193622—25
5Anne's House of Dreams191725—27
6Anne of Ingleside193934—40
 
The following books focus on Anne's children, or on other family friends. Anne appears in these volumes, but plays a lesser part.
#BookDate publishedAnne Shirley's age
7Rainbow Valley191941—43
8Rilla of Ingleside192149—53
9The Blythes Are Quoted200940—75
 
Anne Shirley features in one story (and is referenced in other stories) in each of the following collections:
#BookDate publishedAnne Shirley's age
Chronicles of Avonlea1912approx. 20
Further Chronicles of Avonlea1920approx. 20
The prequel, Before Green Gables (2008), was written by Budge Wilson with authorization of heirs of L. M. Montgomery.

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