The Winter 2015 issue is now out.

You can download the book reviews here:    I Am an Omnivorous Reader

And here is a summary of the contents:

EDITORIAL: “THE THREE MASSIVE MANUSCRIPT VOLUMES”

More than 60 authors have contributed freely to The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories, a handsome three-volume anthology, edited by David Marcum and published by MX, to support the regeneration of Undershaw, Arthur Conan Doyle’s  house at Hindhead.

EDITORIAL NOTES

On the 20th anniversary of Jeremy Brett’s death a bench was dedicated in his memory.

Temporary public sculptures this year included a Sherlock Holmes dragon in Norwich and a Shear-lock Holmes sheep in Bristol.

A Baker Street pillar box was adorned with a plaque commemorating “50 Years of Special Stamps” – specifically the 1993 Sherlock Holmes set.

Our members Helen Dorey and Marcus Geisser were married in May: it was the Holmesian wedding of the year.

We welcome a new Sherlock Holmes Society, The Retired Beekeepers of Sussex.

There was a special concert in this year’s BBC Proms season — Sherlock Holmes: a Musical Mind.

The Criterion Restaurant, where Watson met Stamford, closed in August [it has since reopened under new ownership].

At the Sherlock Holmes pub in September some of us were privileged to meet Mr Bunta Inoue, who creates and operates the stars of a current Japanese TV series, Sherlock Holmes (Puppet Entertainment).

Sue Collier, a good friend to the Society during her 16 years as manager, has left the Sherlock Holmes pub; we shall miss her.

In October, the Theatre Royal in Ramsbottom staged Bert Coules’s own adaptation of two of his Sherlock Holmes radio plays.

In 2016 our friendly rival The Baker Street Journal will be 70 years old.

Paul H Tubb provides a Holmesian cartoon.

SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE LONDON UNDERGROUND by Guy Marriott

A new and convincing theory about Arthur Cadogan West’s posthumous journey in “The Bruce-Partington Plans”.

PROFESSOR JAMES MORIARTY: DID HE REALLY EXIST? by Nishant Kumar

Or was he a fiction, created by Sherlock Holmes himself?

THE OPERATIC ROLES OF IRENE ADLER by Robert J Bousquet

Some think that, as a contralto, Mlle Adler’s repertoire might be limited. In fact her choice of roles was diverse and remarkably rich.

WHO WAS CONAN DOYLE? by Nick Dunn-Meynell

Was he, in fact, a double agent?

THE SAGA OF HOMER SHERWOOD by John Lockwood

A 1903 melodrama, The Child Slaves of New York, takes inspiration from both Sherlock Holmes and Oliver Twist.

“MR HOLMES” reviewed by Russell Merritt

The Adjunct Professor of Film & Media at Berkeley enjoys the new Sherlock Holmes film.

WILLIAM GILLETTE AT THE BFI LONDON FILM FESTIVAL by Lisa Burscheidt

A Baker Street Babe enjoys the newly restored old Sherlock Holmes film.

WOMEN OF “SHERLOCK” by Rakshita Patel

In September, the Radio Times Festival included a panel discussion, featuring the three female leads of the BBC TV series Sherlock.

“A CAPITAL RETURN” – The London Weekend, 14th-17th May 2015, by Roger Johnson

On Thursday the 14th, the formal business of the AGM preceded Eliminate the Impossible, our own adaptation of the famous radio game show The Unbelievable Truth.

On Friday, a tour of Broadcasting House, the heart of the BBC, was followed by a fascinating talk about Holmes on radio, given by Bert Coules.

The speakers at UCL on Saturday convinced most of us that Dr Watson studied for his MD at University College Hospital.

Sunday’s event was a treasure hunt, hosted by Antony Richards, and based on A Sherlock Holmes Monopoly: An Unofficial Guide and Outdoor Activity by JP Sperati.

“I WAS OVER IN TUNBRIDGE WELLS”  – The Study Weekend, 11th-13th September 2015, by Valerie Schreiner

At the Spa Hotel in Tunbridge Wells, members were treated to 16 illuminating lectures on the various professions that feature in the canon.

“THE SPORTING INTEREST OF THE ADVENTURE” – The Victorian Cricket Match, 21st June 2015, by Nicholas Utechin

In short, the Sherlock Holmes Society XI beat the P G Wodehouse Society’s team!

TRANSACTIONS by Valerie Schreiner

The Richard Lancelyn Green Memorial Lecture was “Evolution by Gaslight: What Sherlock Holmes and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Knew About Human Origins”, delivered by Dr John McNabb, senior lecturer in Palaeolithic Archaeology at the University of Southampton.

“IT SEEMS TO ME…” by Auberon Redfearn

“A Crisis of Identity”: Holmes and Watson have descended from Cloud 221 to inspect last year’s Holmes Exhibition.

“IT IS WITH A HEAVY HEART” – Obituaries, by Roger Johnson

We mourn the loss of the dramatist Brian Clemens; the actors Richard Johnson, Sir Christopher Lee, Ron Moody, Patrick Macnee, Roger Rees, George Cole and Keith Michell; the composer and songwriter Raymond Jessel; and the racing commentator Sir Peter O’Sullevan.

SOME OBSERVATIONS by Nick Dunn-Meynell

Holmes and Watson examine a portrait in the National Gallery.

Can the Holmes stories convey messages from the spirit world?

Was Holmes’s decision to retire in 1903 connected with the arrest of George Edalji?

The misdating of “Wisteria Lodge” to 1902 is a mystery, but the solution is simple.

“I AM AN OMNIVOROUS READER”

Book reviews by David Stuart Davies, Kathryn Davies, Jonathan Hopson,Audrey Jones, David Jones, Carrie Parris, Nicholas Utechin and Roger Johnson

WIGMORE STREET POSTBAG

Letters to The Sherlock Holmes Journal.

“THERE CAN BE NO QUESTION AS TO THE AUTHORSHIP”

Contributors to this issue of The Sherlock Holmes Journal.

“OVERRUN BY OYSTERS” by Julie Cohen

Our resident cartoonist strikes again!