Has a review of the New Annotated Holmes that I just bought, and it’s positively glowing.
The most exciting news for me though, is that there is to be a matching edition of the longer works later this year.
The website of The Sherlock Holmes Society of London
‘The biggest thing for years’–well, The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes certainly qualifies for that description. The first two volumes, containing all the short stories and running to a total of nearly 1900 pages, are now available. Volume three, the long stories, is due in 2005. Leslie S Klinger’s approach is essentially that of William S Baring-Gould, who edited the original Annotated thirty-seven years ago, perpetuating the ‘gentle fiction’ that Holmes and Watson really existed. Unlike Baring-Gould, though, he presents the stories in their published order, and he eschews the straight-faced whimsy that his predecessor sometimes indulged in. Instead, he concentrates on sound research and applies admirable judgement in selecting and presenting his findings. Modern technology gives him advantages that Baring-Gould lacked, as do the excellent bibliographies of De Waal and Gibson & Green, and the resources of the Sherlock Holmes Collection at Minneapolis. That must be offset, however, by the sheer volume of material published since the 1960s. Mr Klinger’s application and energy in tackling his monumental task are astounding, particularly when we bear in mind that this is a separate project from his other annotated edition, The Sherlock Holmes Reference Library, which is aimed much more at the specialist reader. The New Annotated will include a huge number of illustrations, all much better reproduced than those in the original Annotated, but ultimately a book like this stands or falls by the quality of its notes, the notes are exemplary in their breadth, depth and accuracy. The bibliography is as extensive as anyone could wish, and the introductory essay, ‘The World of Sherlock Holmes’, is masterly. Highest recommendation!
