Professor Moriarty

The Final Problem (1893), pt. 1 – Professor Moriarty

Want to read this along with me? This essay is part of The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, published in 1894. I used the epub version found on Feedbooks.com. And now we come to this, the final story in the Memoirs and what Doyle believed would be the final Holmes story ever. Of course, we now [...]

The Naval Treaty

The Naval Treaty (1893) pt. 2 – Canon-Watching

Want to read this along with me? This essay is part of The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, published in 1894. I used the epub version found on Feedbooks.com. Aside from the cultural aspects, which I detailed in my previous essay, there is some more exploration of the subtler parts of the canon worth noting here. [...]

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Twenty Years of Darkness

Twenty years ago, my girlfriend at the time came home with a new roleplaying game: a big green book called Vampire. Me and a friend of mine made up characters – globe-trotting Archons that went around assassinating people and solving problems, if I recall correctly. It was utterly ridiculous, but we were enthralled because it [...]

Hospital

The Naval Treaty (1893) pt. 1 – Cultural Contexts

Want to read this along with me? This essay is part of The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, published in 1894. I used the epub version found on Feedbooks.com. This story is another literary first – in this case, one of the very first stories in what we now consider to be the espionage genre. It [...]

The Greek Interpreter

The Greek Interpreter (1893)

Want to read this along with me? This essay is part of The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, published in 1894. I used the epub version found on Feedbooks.com. This story is most noteworthy for being the story in which we learn more about Sherlock’s family, and especially the introduction of Sherlock’s brother, Mycroft Holmes.1 Aside [...]

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My Advice? Stop Listening To Advice

You. Yes, you. The prospective writer or game designer. The one with over 500 unread blog posts in your RSS reader. You. We need to talk. Have a seat. Would you like something to drink? No? Okay. Look, this isn’t easy for me to talk about, but I think you need to hear it. I’m [...]

The Resident Patient

The Resident Patient (1893)

Want to read this along with me? This essay is part of The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, published in 1894. I used the epub version found on Feedbooks.com. More edition wackiness here. Remember how I said that in American printings of Memoirs (such as the one listed on Feedbooks) that the story “The Cardboard Box” [...]