Introduction to the Master

[Helene O'Troy]

When did you first hear about the great Sherlock Holmes? What was the first story you read? And how did you know you were hooked?



My father is responsible for my obsession. He began reading to me some of the shorter, simpler tales as bedtime stories when I was a child. Eventually I began reading them on my own. When I was twelve he took me to England for the first time and together we explored every single Holmesian landmark we could find. In recent years he's been spending roughly half the year living in London, sending me pictures of his day trips to Dartmoor and the Sussex Downs.
I have a good friend who runs a rare and used book shop. He and his father happily feed my cravings by setting aside any Holmes- or Conan Doyle-related tomes they come across.

[Pat " A Study In Scarlett" O'Hara]

I think I was about 14 or 15 when I saw a movie with Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes. It was Hound of the Baskervilles. My Grandmother told me it was a book so I promptly went to the library and found the Annotated Sherlock Holmes. Oh the joy!!!! Anywho it was to become a lifelong interest from then on.

[sherlockrulez]

It was when I was 10 years old, and I saw the Hound of the Baskervilles episode of Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century that I took an interest. "Elementary, my dear Watson." were the first words I heard from The Master, and I knew I had heard them before. It was like love at first sight. The first story I read was Larry Millett's, The Red Demon, and of the Canon it was SCAN. I never let him go, and I have a very obsessive personality. My obsessions only last a year (if it's lucky) but Sherlock Holmes remained, and always will. He and Watson are quite amazing are they not?

I really do envy every new Sherlockian out there. I've had to resort to buying my Holmes books from Amazon.com, seeing as i've read everything at Barnes&Noble and Borders. Oh, the sadness.

[Melanthios]

I first read a simplified version of The Dancing Men in Highlights when I was about nine. I grew up on murder mysteries, but not Holmes--my mother and I watched Mystery! and Agatha Christie was the only mystery writer in my life for a long time. Then I saw LXG a few years ago and got hooked on VicLit. My friend Laura and I got into Holmes about the same time, and now she's an amazing pastiche writer of no small fame, I'd like to say!

[Ann Margaret Lewis]

I started reading Holmes in high school because I was bored. Seriously. I had started reading mysteries because they seemed to keep my mind busy, and after reading all the Agatha Christies I thought, "maybe I should look at a classic mystery, too, and see what that's like." So I picked up Hound of the Baskervilles figuring I could shoot two birds with one stone for my AP English class and get some extra credit for a book report or something--and I was hooked. Oh, btw, I did get extra credit and got an A in that class. Is it any wonder I majored in English Literature in college?

[Bones]

I was first introduced to the master in the 7th grade when we read the Speckled Band as part of our text book reading. This was followed by an introduction to Misters Brett and Burke as Holmes and Watson. Well...I was hooked. It had it all intellectual stimulation, challenge, and a good mystery. Of course I had also seen Young Sherlock Holmes as a kid, but that did not count. I started reading the stories...but then strayed, but returned when I was 16. It was then I really started to read and analyze the canon, adopting some of Holmes' methods in my own studies. Boy oh boy...its been the best obsession ever!

I took his methods with me into college and then strayed again when I started graduate school. About two years ago I came back to Holmes as I was starting my dissertation. This time the interest is unwavering and I shan't stray...I even quote him in my dissertation. How about that?!

[Vicki "Victoria Misselthwaite" Stewart]

It's hard to say what exactly got me into Sherlock Holmes to start with...though I think I started sometime in the 80s, between the beginnings of my HUGE and still enduring Star Trek fandom, and my not so huge, but nearly as enduring Doctor Who fandom...it may be that Tom Baker's brief Holmesian encounter first drew my attention...or not, as I hardly remember the film, beyond the fact that I was excited that The Doctor was playing Holmes...I remember my dad had a copy of the canon, and I read through some of it, and although at the time, I didn't go any further, Sherlock Holmes was always someone I appreciated. Some years later, I fell in love with a small terrier in the local animal shelter, and adopted him, and named him Sherlock...

Fast forward even more years after that...early this year, or perhaps late last year, I was reminiscing about my little dog...he had died suddenly, in 1995, of an illness. This led me back to Sherlock Holmes...only this time, I was serious! I started rediscovering the canon, and one thing led to another...which led me to a new appreciation of Jeremy Brett, as well as to the wonderful world of pastiche! LOL I've now got my own copy of the canon [somehow my dad's old copy didn't survive our move from California to Ohio], and I'm attending From Gillette to Brett II, which will be my first major SH event ever...and of course, I've gone and joined several message boards and blogs to join in the fun!

[Helene O'Troy]

O yes! 'The Talons Of Weng-Chiang'!! That is one of my absolute favorite Who episodes!

[Vicki "Victoria Misselthwaite" Stewart]

Ah yes...that was a very good episode...it's been a long time! Though I was actually referring to Tom Baker in The Hound of the Baskervilles, which I remember excitedly anticipating, even though at the time, I really had no clue! I think I want to see it again just to refresh my memory, especially now that I'm familiar with the story... :)

[Helene O'Troy]

O yes, that too. I've always loved him as Rasputin, too.

[Nigel]

I recently read "Ten Years Beyond Baker Street" by Cay Van Ash which pits Holmes and Dr. Petrie against Rohmer`s wonderful villain; the oriental Moriarty, Dr. Fu Manchu. It is set in February of 1914 whilst Holmes was playing the role of Altamount for Von Bork and, amongst other things, it ties up one of the unpublished cases mentioned in SUSS.

I`ve read quite a lot of pastiche`s over the years and I`ve thrown about 90% of them away as sub-standard. This one escaped the cull as it is written in Rohmer`s style rather than Doyle`s. I have therefore added it to my personal Holmesian canon - a slow but enjoyable process for all of us who feel that the 56 short stories and 4 novels simply are`nt enough.

[Madison "Solitary Cyclist" Lee]

My introduction to Holmes was in my seventh grade English class. We were doing a unit on mystery and listened to an old Rathbone radio play (SPEC). I loved it. Then, we acted a play version of REDH and I played Watson; my crush played Holmes. I bought a copy of the Adventures on vacation and tore through it in a month. My first full-story was "A Study in Scarlet". It was love at first read, really.

[sherlockian]

I started with a small collection of six short stories from the canon; and the first Sherlock Holmes story I read was SILV. That collection also included BOSC, SPEC, FIVE, COPP and REDH. After reading those, I got hooked and bought the complete SH. Those were great days: reading SH for the first time. *feeling nostalgic* :)