Dick Riley's novels and plays include collaboration on the best-selling Black Sunday (with Thomas Harris), Rite of Expiation, and the drama Middleman Out. He lives in White Plains, New York. Pam McAllister is the author of ten books, including three others in Continuum's Bedside, Bathtub &Armchair Companion series which she co-authored with Dick Riley, on Shakespeare (2001), Sherlock Holmes (1999), and Agatha Christie (1979). Her other books include Death Defying: Dismantling the Execution Machinery in 21st Century U.S.A. (Continuum, 2003) about ending capital punishment and two books about women's use of nonviolent action for social justice. In 1982, she edited the groundbreaking anthology Reweaving the Web of Life: Feminism and Nonviolence (New Society Publishers), which the Village Voice called "one of the most important books you'll ever read." She currently writes a column for The Progressive Christian magazine.
One key element of a classic is the fact that it keeps being
discovered with wonderment by new readers. Generations of mystery
mavens first encountered the genre in written or dramatic form in
the person of Sherlock Holmes, so this new celebration of Arthur
Conan Doyle's canon should have appeal. The authors, who compiled a
similar companion to Agatha Christie's work (1986), supply capsule
descriptions of each tale; each includes data on first publication,
a precis of the "principal predicament," a notable quote, and
comments on the story's "notable feature" and "oddities and
discrepancies." But this Holmes companion includes more:
information about Doyle, Victorian England (and Holmes' London),
the British empire, British government (remember Mycroft?), British
peerage, British money, the stories' illustrators, actors who've
portrayed Holmes and Watson, Sherlock Holmes societies around the
world, and a half dozen other helpful subjects. Not an essential
acquisition, but likely to circulate where Holmes remains a
favorite fictional detective.--Sanford Lakoff "Booklist "
"The ideal gift for Christie addicts." Publishers Weekly
"The ideal gift for Christie addicts."--Publishers Weekly
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