Review: A collection of stories and plays that are as close to belonging to The Canon as can be. One of those rare ‘must-haves’ for your Holmes library.
Sherlockians like to hold the Canon in the same esteem that Christians hold the Bible. So it should come as no surprise that there are some works by Doyle that are comparable to apocrypha. The term refers to early Christian writings not included in the Bible.
Jack Tracy, author of the popular Encyclopedia Sherlockiana, collected some authentic and near-authentic Holmes works that are not part of the Canon. Few books made up of Holmes fiction can justifiably sit on your bookshelf next to Doyle’s short stories and novels about the wisest and finest man Dr. Watson ever knew. This book is one of that rare number. No one who has looked at Tracy’s Encyclopedia can doubt his Sherlockian scholarship. He utilizes his vast knowledge in an efficient and readable way in The Published Apocrypha. Each section begins with info about the writings that follow. Interesting and “must knowâ€? details set the stage for the pieces themselves... In short, The Published Apocrypha is almost The Canon and should be nestled close to Baring-Gould’s or Klinger’s Annotated versions of the stories on your Sherlockian (or Holmesian) bookshelf. I thoroughly enjoy my copy.
Reviewed by: Bob Byrne, July 2003