Monday, February 4, 2013

The Complete Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle


SYNOPSIS:  Dr. John Watson chronicles the adventures of his roommate-turned-friend Sherlock Holmes, as he solves "unsolvable" mysteries and gets to the bottom of puzzling crimes.

AUNT SHARON'S TAKE:  There are many, many works in this volume, spanning decades of the author's life.  As a result, I got the feeling at times that the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was tired of writing about Sherlock Holmes, and put less thought and effort into some stories than others.  Also, some of his viewpoints, although widely accepted at the time, are controversial, and even offensive today.  For example, his treatment of Mormons in A Study in Scarlet, and his racial slurs and opinions evidenced in several of his works, could definitely cause offense.  However, even avoiding these stories, there are still plenty of entertaining and puzzling mysteries to choose from.  The mysteries, at least, are just as intriguing today as they were in Doyle's time.  As far as content goes, there is the bigoted content, as well as plenty of violence (as in any mystery), so I would recommend this for older readers.

RATING:  PG13 for Violence and some controversial/offensive viewpoints

AUDIENCE:  Young Adults and Adults

STARS:  3 1/2


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