"Micah Clarke" on "All of Doyle"
with the Bimetallic Question
September 13, 2023 — Next Tuesday, September 19, at 7:00 p.m. (Eastern Time), the Bimetallic Question will hold its next virtual "All of Doyle" meeting. They (which can include you!) will discuss ACD's 1889 book, "Micah Clarke." "This novel represents an important milestone in Doyle's career," notes discussion leader Edith Pounden, "as it was his first real literary success, without which we might not know either Doyle or Holmes today." To request a Zoom link, email the Bimetallic Question at info@bimetallicquestion.org.
221Bookfair
September 30, Reading, PA
September 1, 2023 — When you descend into the basement of Joann and Denny Dobry's home in Reading, Pennsylvania, you enter 221B Baker Street as it was when Sherlock Holmes and John Watson lived there, with all the right sights, sounds, furnishings, and accessories. You can sit at the breakfast table, or in front of the fireplace, and easily imagine you are a client waiting for Holmes to emerge from an adjacent room. Or you can explore that adjacent room yourself, and perhaps discover the secret entrance into the other wonder of the Dobrys' basement: the vast subterranean warehouse filled with thousands of Doylean and Sherlockian books, periodicals, and ephemera of every sort, all for sale at bargain prices, with all proceeds going to the BSI Trust. (Don't worry, if you don't find the secret entrance, you can use the other, more conventional, passage into the warehouse.) This 221B is a must-see for all enthusiasts, and the warehouse is a must-shop. And the best time to visit is coming up. On September 30, the Dobrys will be hosting an all-day ("from 10:00 am until everyone is gone," says Denny) book fair and open house. We hope to see you there! For more information, email Denny at dendobry@ptd.net.
"A Common Newsletter" Is in the Mail …
with Some Humorous Handwriting
August 14, 2023 — Volume 3, number 2 of our newsletter has entered the postal system. So, sometime in the next few weeks it will arrive on the doorsteps of subscribers around the world. Readers will receive news of the forthcoming issue of our other periodical (or is it an occasional?), The New Pink 'Un (for a look at an old issue click here). Other features and news include the location of The Lost World (according to ChatGPT), page 5 of the "Blue John Gap" manuscript from Margie Deck and Nancy Holder's Blue John Gap Project (accompanied by the first few paragraphs of a "double" essay by Rafe McGregor), a Doylean animal reconstructed out of a single bone on Doings of Doyle, and more. In due course an electronic edition will be available for free right here.
The Terror Is Back:
"my extraordinary experience of yesterday"
Ausgut 8, 2023 — Margie Deck and Nancy Holder have returned with more commentary on ACD's "The Terror of Blue John Gap" for us. Page 5 of their project is now online — with a facsimile (and transcription) of that page of ACD's autograph manuscript, accompanied by Margie and Nancy's own commentary ("Auditory Hallucinations: '...blurring the boundaries between the supernatural and natural'") and new essays by Rafe McGregor ("Dr Doyle’s Doubles") and S.T. Joshi ("Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: Dabbling in the Weird"). Read and wonder ... and worry!
"All of Doyle"
with the Bimetallic Question
June 27, 2023 — On Tuesday, July 11 at 7:00 p.m. (Eastern Time), the Bimetallic Question will hold its next virtual "All of Doyle" meeting. They (which can include you!) will discuss four of Doyle's stories connected to the practice of medicine: The Case of Lady Sannox (1893), The Third Generation (1894), The Surgeon Talks (1894), and The Curse of Eve (1894). Attendees will also be treated to a presentation by Dr. Marilynne McKay (BSI, Violet de Merville). Dr. McKay's recent writing on Doylean medicine includes "The Scarlet Thread of Venery: What Killed Jefferson Hope?" in Stimulating Medicine (BSI Press 2022) -- about the subliminal appearance of syphilis symptoms in Doyle's writing. To request a Zoom link, email the Bimetallic Question at info@bimetallicquestion.org.
Worldwide Doyle at Portsmouth Library:
Zoom In — June 26 & 28, July 3 & 4
June 22, 2023 — It is time for the Portsmouth Library's annual Doylean lecture series! This year, the Library is hosting four presentations, all free and open to the public, all on Zoom. You can register for any and all right now:
• Monday, June 26 at 7pm (UK)/2pm (US Eastern Time):“Arthur Conan Doyle and the Adventure of the Gaiola Malediction”
by Mark Jones & Ross Davies.
• Wednesday, June 28 at 7pm (UK)/2pm (US Eastern Time):
“Portsmouth's Conan Doyle Collection”
by Michael Gunton.
• Monday, July 3 at 7pm (UK)/2pm (US Eastern Time):
“Arthur Conan Doyle’s Supernatural Stories”
by Bryan Woods.
• Tuesday, July 4 at 7pm (UK)/2pm (US Eastern Time):
“Sidney Paget's Visions of Sherlock Holmes”
by Dr. Christopher Pittard.
"A Common Newsletter" Is in the Mail …
with a Challenging Confection
May 28, 2023 — Volume 3, number 1 of our newsletter entered the postal system late last night. Soon, after pausing in a post box for a couple of days during the holiday weekend, it will travel to members around the world. Readers will receive news of the second annual Doylean Honors ceremony and the first running of the Wessex Cup, along with an announcement of next year’s festivities at Otto Penzler’s The Mysterious Bookshop. Other features and news include page 4 of the "Blue John Gap" manuscript (accompanied by a Lovecraftian essay from Margie Deck and Nancy Holder's Blue John Gap Project), praise for bimetallic Doylean questioning, an early Parisian Doylean moment in The New Yorker, and more. In due course an electronic edition will be available for free right here.
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The Terror Is Back:
This Time We Can Hear It
May 18, 2023 — Margie Deck and Nancy Holder have returned with more commentary on ACD's "The Terror of Blue John Gap" for us. Page 4 of their project is now online — with a facsimile (and transcription) of that page of ACD's autograph manuscript, accompanied by Margie and Nancy's own commentary ("'A most remarkable experience': Hearing is believing") and new essays by Peter Cannon ("The Beast in the Cave: A Lovecraftian Conan Doyle Tale") and Matthew D. Hall ("How would Sherlock Holmes approach this case?"). In addition, there are new papers on Page D by Dean Wilkinson ("Doyle’s Tales of Terror and Mystery: Writer Dean Wilkinson picks his 4 favourite 'Conandoylic' horror stories for your distressingly dire delight") and on Page 3 by Rich Krisciunas ("Sheep Stealers"). Read and tremble!
"All of Doyle"
with the Bimetallic Question
May 5, 2023 — On Tuesday, May 9 at 7:00 p.m. (Eastern Time), the Bimetallic Question will hold its next virtual "All of Doyle" meeting. They (which can include you!) will discuss Doyle's spooky novella, The Mystery of Cloomber. The story is available in print and, of course, online at the Arthur Conan Doyle Encyclopedia. To request a Zoom link for the meeting, email the Bimetallic Question at info@bimetallicquestion.org. Doors will open at 6:45 p.m.
"All of Doyle"
with the Bimetallic Question
March 21, 2023 — On Tuesday, March 28 at 7:00 p.m. (Eastern Time), the Bimetallic Question will hold its next virtual "All of Doyle" meeting. They (which can include you!) will discuss three of Doyle's sporting tales: The Croxley Master, The Story of Spedegue's Dropper, and The King of the Foxes. Attendees will also be treated to presentations by Philip Ehrensaft on Doyle's role as an early adopter of football before it became "the world's sport," and by Mark Alberstat, BSI ("Halifax"), co-editor of Canadian Holmes, and all-around Doylean sports and athletics scholar. To request a Zoom link, email the Bimetallic Question at info@bimetallicquestion.org.
 receives his Doylean Honors award for Excellence in the Performing Arts from the ACD Society's Monica Schmidt in The Mysterious Bookshop 2023-1-5 photo by Louise Krull.jpeg)
Moving Pictures of Doylean Honors
and Wessex Cup
February 5, 2023 — Go to the Doings of Doyle YouTube channel to see (and hear) just-released recordings of the 2023 Doylean Honors ceremony and the first running of the Wessex Cup, both of which were held at Otto Penzler's The Mysterious Bookshop on January 5, 2023. These films were produced by Mark Jones under extraordinarily difficult technical conditions, which makes some features (for example, the slow-motion close-ups of the end of each race) even more impressive. We have still pictures as well, including (above) one of David MacGregor receiving his Doylean Honors award for Excellence in the Performing Arts from selection committee chair Monica Schmidt (photo by Louise Krull) and another (below) of Wessex Cup champion Derrick Belanger receiving the Wessex Cup from equine outfitter extraordinaire Peggy MacFarlane (photo by Christopher Zordan).
 receives the Wessex Cup from the ACD Society's Peggy MacFarlane in The Mysterious Bookshop 2023-1-5 photo by Christopher Zordan.jpeg.JPG)
2023 Membership Card
by Regina Stinson
January 17, 2023 — When you join the ACD Society for 2023 (look to your left for instructions), you will receive an unorthodox and excellent membership card. It is a bit taller than a conventional card, and it is perforated. These features will enable you to wear with pride (as Gerard surely did) and amusement (as ACD surely intended) the handsome medal Napoleon presented to Brigadier Gerard (as brilliantly interpreted by Regina Stinson), along with a few suitably Napoleonic words: "You will see ... that Brigadier Gerard has the special medal of honour, for I believe that if he has the thickest head he has also the stoutest heart in my army." Emperor Napoleon, speaking the last lines in The Medal of Brigadier Gerard (The Strand Magazine, December 1894). Cards will be mailed to current members later this week.
The Envelope, Please . . .
January 5, 2023 — It is with pleasure, pride, and great respect that we announce our 2023 Doylean Honorees.
For Lifetime Service:
For excellence in the "Fiction and Poetry" category:
• Margie Deck for "Whitney’s Reflection" in Steel True, Blade Straight (Belanger Books)
• Paul Hiscock for “The Ascent” in Steel True, Blade Straight (Belanger Books)
• David Marcum for “The Unintended Offenses” in Steel True, Blade Straight (Belanger Books)
For excellence in the "Performing and Visual Arts" category:
• Jessie Amaolo for Virtual Tour of A Study in Sherlock & His Creator (Toronto Public Library)
• David MacGregor for Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Ghost in the Machine (Purple Rose Theater Company)
• Frank Cho for illustrations in Bonnie MacBird’s What Child is This?: A Sherlock Holmes Christmas Adventure (HarperCollins)
For excellence in the "Scholarly Writing" category:
• Shrabani Basu her book, The Mystery of the Parsee Lawyer: Arthur Conan Doyle, George Edalji and the Case of the Foreigner in the English Village (Bloomsbury)
• Richard Fallon for “Rediscovering Lost Worlds: Arthur Conan Doyle and the Modern Romance of Palaeontology” in his book Reimagining Dinosaurs in Late Victorian and Edwardian Literature (Cambridge University Press)
• Brian McCuskey for “Theory and Preaching, 1887-1930” in his book, How Sherlock Pulled the Trick: Spiritualism and the Pseudoscientific Method (Penn State University Press)
Congratulations to all! Look for a special Doings of Doyle podcast about the Doylean Honors. Coming soon.
Welcome to the Second Annual
Doylean Honors Ceremony
January 4, 2023 — Please join us tomorrow (Thursday, January 5, at 11:15 a.m. ET) either in person at The Mysterious Bookshop (58 Warren Street, NYC) or online at Doings of Doyle (register for free here) to celebrate excellence in Doylean Fiction and Poetry, Performing and Visual Arts, and Scholarly Writing, and to salute the Lifetime Service of one extraordinary Doylean — and to witness the first running (or rolling) of the Wessex Cup. See you at the Bookshop or online for the second annual Doylean Honors!
Doylean Honors and Wessex Cup at
The Mysterious Bookshop, and Online
January 4, 2023 — Join us tomorrow for the second annual Doylean Honors ceremony and the first running of the Wessex Cup at Otto Penzler's The Mysterious Bookshop. If you cannot be there in person, join us online here for the Doings of Doyle streaming broadcast. Pictured above: Practice pony posing in the winner's circle on our Wessex Cup track. Click on the picture for a bird's-eye view of the whole track, with the pony on the left crossing the finish line.
Wessex Cup Bracket Is Set
December 19, 2022 — The field for our inaugural Wessex Cup is complete. So, a bracket for the races can be set. Here it is. You know what to do now. And on January 5, starting at 11:15 a.m., you will be able to follow the action in person — if you attend the Doylean Honors ceremony at Otto Penzler's The Mysterious Bookshop — or online — if you register here for the Doings of Doyle streaming broadcast of the proceedings.
"A Common Newsletter" Is in the Mail:
“Who is this British writer and physician?" Asks "The Times"
December 14, 2022 — The third issue of the second year of our newsletter is en route to members worldwide (and has, we've heard, already arrived in some places). It points to some ancient history of ACD's Bignall Wood country estate, and to an amusing quiz question in "The Times" of London. There's another page from Margie Deck and Nancy Holder's "Blue John Gap" Project (with an essay by Tamar Zeffren), a reminder that our annual Doylean Honors ceremony at Otto Penzler's The Mysterious Bookshop — including our inaugural Wessex Cup — is just around the next bend of the calendar, on January 5, and, of course, more. Soon an electronic edition will be available for free right here.
The Return (Yet Again) of the Terror:
4 New Papers and MS Page 3 from the "Blue John Gap" Project
December 11, 2022 — Margie Deck and Nancy Holder have another batch of fascinating commentary on ACD's "The Terror of Blue John Gap" for us. Page 3 of their project is now online — with a facsimile (and transcription) of that page of ACD's autograph manuscript, accompanied by Margie and Nancy's own commentary ("'Strange how superstitious these countrymen are!': 19th Century Superstition in Derbyshire") and new essays by Tamar Zeffren ("Damning with Faint Praise: Dr. Hardcastle’s Impressions of Armitage") and John P. Knud-Hansen ("The Terror of Tuberculosis"). In addition, there are new papers on Page B by Jennifer L. Behrens ("Timeline of 'Terror': Provenance of the 'Blue John Gap' Autograph Manuscript") and on Page 1 by Robert S. Katz ("Imagination in the Infirmary"). Read and relish!
Wessex Cup Stables for Sale
November 24, 2022 — We have completed construction and population of 16 stables for our first running of The Wessex Cup. The Cup will be run in tandem with our second annual Doylean Honors ceremony on January 5 at Otto Penzler’s The Mysterious Bookshop, starting at 11:15 a.m. ACD Society members get first dibs on Wessex Cup stable purchases until November 30. Interested? You can see a stable, and possibly buy one, here.
A Lagniappe Issue of
"A Common Newsletter"
November 7, 2022 — Sometime soon, members will receive a small extra issue of our Society's periodical. It is mostly an appreciation — partly by ACD, partly by the Society — of Sir Nigel, and slightly a reminder that sometime soon would be a good time to renew your membership.
Questions? Comments? Ideas?
Please email us at acdsocy@gmail.com.
By the way, if you want to support the ACD Society more generously, please feel free to send a larger Paypal or check to the Green Bag (the organization that is collecting our dues and paying our bills now and will for the foreseeable future be covering the difference between dues coming in and expenses going out). It is a 501(c)(3) and will gladly send a receipt.
Thank you for reading!
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