Falling for Holmes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My first literary encounter with the great consulting detective Sherlock Holmes came at the age of about eleven in the books concession of De Gruchy's department store, St Helier, Jersey. There, hemmed in a corner by glassware, on one side, and menswear, on the other, I would spend many a long Saturday morning flicking through books with lurid sci-fi covers while waiting for my mother to return from her shopping expeditions. Then, time seemed to run a lot slower, a small island felt like a large place -€“ and the ground looked that much closer.

It was down near the floor, tucked in a corner of the crime section (ghetto-ised, alongside science fiction), that my eyes alighted on the first edition of The Penguin Complete Sherlock Holmes Stories, published in 1981. I recall seeing it and thinking it was the biggest book I'd ever seen: bigger even than The Lord of the Rings, which I must have just finished. Of course, at that age, bigger meant better. This was clearly what I had to read as soon as possible.

I have no recollection whether I saved up my book tokens or pocket money or whether I received the book as a present (my mother has always been a fan of Chesterton's Father Brown stories and nudged classics my way). But I do recall moments lying in my bed as well as sitting at my parents' desk (the book was too vast to read comfortably in a chair) straining to read that gargantuan beige breeze block. And while I did read many of the stories, it wasn't easy: the type was small, the lines were long, the stories came relentlessly one after the other, separated by just a couple of line spacings. In short, it was hard work and in the end I put it down, unfinished.

It wasn't until a few years later when I became an avid follower of Jeremy Brett in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes that I returned to the book. These wonderful hour-long episodes gave the stories their full due, being faithful, authentic adaptations anchored by an astonishing central performance. So I was somewhat gobsmacked at the close of the second series of Adventures when, in The Final Problem, Holmes and Moriarty have their fatal encounter above the Reichenbach Falls. I could not believe what I was seeing and scurried back to the book to, first, ascertain that - the horror! - yes, what I had witnessed really did faithfully recount what happened in the story. And, secondly, to read on and find out just how Conan Doyle would write Holmes out of the wet hole down which he'd so gleefully hurled him.

This time I was completely hooked and I devoured the rest of the stories.

I've frequently wondered why it is that the Sherlock Holmes' stories should initially have failed to find a home in my heart and I have come to the conclusion that it is all Penguin's fault. The sheer bloody size of The Penguin Complete Sherlock Holmes Stories, with its 1,136 pages and its tiny type and endless lines, defeated me at eleven. Certainly, the episodic nature of the adventures, the slight lessening in quality of some of the later stories as Conan Doyle grew weary of his creation, as well as the shaky narrative in some of the novels where extended exposition deprives us of Holmes' company for too long, may have all played their part.

But really it was that bloody great beige breeze block of a book. It simply didn't allow the stories to breathe, didn't allow the reader to pause to reflect. There was no suggestion of taking a moment before turning the page and embarking on another adventure. In short, I didn't so much read Holmes as find myself smothered by him.

All of which is to explain why I pleaded with Louise, Press Copy Manager, to be able to write the blurbs on the new Penguin Red Classics editions of the stories. In eight dramatic, Hammer-horror-film-poster-style A-format (little ones) editions, the complete stories are once again available as Penguins. These are books that won't strain your reading arm, won't have you forgetting what line you're on - and won't smother you if you fall asleep in the sun with it lying on your face.

The numbered new editions are published on March 6th in all their lurid glory. Pick one up and enjoy the stories like you're reading them for the very first time. Meanwhile, I'll be hiding a few in the ghetto sections of bookshops, where some unsuspecting little kid, perhaps waiting for his mum, might accidentally discover the great detective for himself.

Colin Brush
Senior Copywriter

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Comments

[Rob]

As someone who's grown up with and loved Holmes... do you LIKE these new covers?

[Colin]

Absolutely, yes. Here's what the series designer, Coralie Bickford-Smith, had to say: “Many people will have a fixed set of ideas about Holmes and I wanted to confound these expectations and show that there’s more to the character. The vibrant, two-tone covers use typefaces that evoke the Victorian era and an early cinema poster aesthetic emphasises the adventure and excitement of the stories.”
That's pretty much what I like about them.

[Tim de los Reyes]

I too, remember squinting through Conan Doyle's prose in the gargantuan editions of Penguin's Sherlock Holmes' collection. I had previously discovered Holmes in dumbed-down juvenile abridged versions of his stories, and I wanted the real deal. The Penguin "bricks" looked as official as anything I'd ever seen, but proved daunting as reading material. I remember the herculean effort it took to hold it up and keep the page open as I read it before bed---not as deadly as a hardcover, but altogether discouraging even for a sworn disciple of Holmes... I saw these new editions in my local bookstore and I must say, they looked very tempting, even if I had read most of these stories already. The colors are very attractive and the art is fantastic.

[Tim de los Reyes]

I love specifically how the covers portray the pulp appeal of Sherlock Holmes stories--- as the literary precursor of Philip Marlowe, I think it's quite fitting.