Modern Sherlock Holmes Books: Love!

I've recently read two modern-day Sherlock Holmes novels, both of which I enjoyed, but especially The Sherlockian by Graham Moore. I saved The Sherlockian for my London trip back in the fall and it kept me occupied during most of my down time that week. It was quite a page-turner, and I got a surprise at the end that I never saw coming. I love when that happens. I was enjoying it so much that I picked up The House of Silk in a Waterstone's in London and recently finished that. While I wasn't as enthralled with it as I was The Sherlockian, I really enjoyed both of these modern stories with familiar characters.

Two years ago in London I visited the Sherlock Holmes Museum at 221B Baker Street. It was cheesy enough that I enjoyed it but didn't feel the need to go back and see it again this past trip. I did get to meet Dr. Watson on my visit. Though he was certainly no Jude Law, he was a fun character who wanted to be in pictures with all the tourists.

(Photo by Melyssa)

Sherlock Holmes

After watching Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law and Rachel McAdams' recent remake of Sherlock Holmes, and listening to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Adventures of Sherlock Holmes on my iPod before going to London, I had a particular itch to visit 221B Baker Street, where today there is a Sherlock Holmes Museum. This fit in well with visiting the British Library and the Charles Dickens Museum, as there were pretty close to each other in the Bloomsbury and Marylebone sections of London.

It turned out to be what my traveling companion called "the British equivalent of South of the Border." However, it was a fun, if kitschy place to go. I enjoyed it, though I don't feel like I'll need to go again next time I go back to London.

What was really funny to me is that the museum is a recreation of Sherlock Holmes' house, and when you head up the stairs with your tour group, Dr. Watson greets you in the parlour. What threw me off, as I was expecting an in-character speech about, perhaps, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's life in the neighborhood, the popularity of Sherlock Holmes to this day, and any other historical tidbits about Holmes and Watson (Read: I was expecting to LEARN something). So, when Dr. Watson asked if I wanted to pose for a picture with him, I was completely caught off guard, and didn't even think to hand my camera off to someone else. My friend, though, snapped a picture of Dr. Watson and me, which I don't yet have a copy of. Once I do, I'll be sure to upload it. So, Dr. Watson was simply there for photos and not to answer any questions, which made me chuckle.

After the photos, we were free to roam the two or three floors of the home, set up like Doyle describes in the books. The top floor had mannequins depicting many of the short stories I had read, but they freaked me out a bit and I didn't take any pictures of them. I did, however, get this bust of Sherlock Holmes.

If you're planning to go to London and you love Sherlock Holmes, I would recommend going. If you aren't much of a fan, I'd skip this and go to something that you know you'll love. Anyway, I'm glad I did it, and I'm glad that every time I hear Sherlock Holmes from now on, I'll think of the cute little Dr. Watson who still makes me laugh. After I came back from London, PBS came out with a miniseries of Sherlock Holmes which I've heard great things about. I still haven't gone online to watch, but I hope I will soon.

The Criterion

The friendly woman from the Globe recommended that my friend and I see a play at the Criterion Theatre (more about that in a later post) and eat beforehand at the Criterion Restaurant next door. I'm glad we took her word for it on both recommendations. The Criterion Restaurant, located in Picadilly Circus, was beautifully ornate. The food was great, but if it hadn't been I probably wouldn't have even noticed. It's that beautiful. The restaurant, which opened in 1873,  was where Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, while sitting at the bar, came up with the idea for Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. In recent years, Batman: The Dark Knight (seen it) was filmed in part here, and Russell Crowe's A Good Year was also filmed here (haven't seen it yet).

More Information: 
You can see interior photos of the restaurant on its website.
If you're on Twitter, follow them @londoncriterion.
Read a restaurant review.

London

All writing, editing, blogging, networking, freelancing and other professional endeavors came to a halt last week as I visited London for the first time with a friend. I hope you enjoyed Lori's entries during my time off.

As I do with many of my travels, I read and watched related movies ahead of my trip that relate to London in preparation. I soaked up everything I could and read a lot while I was there, so it's no surprise to me that the list of "homework" I've given myself to do now that I'm back in the States is lengthy.

Before I went, I read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, and watched Tim Burton's recent movie version (I recently blogged about that here). I listened to Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens and Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest on my iPod. I watched the Hugh Grant/Emma Thompson/Kate Winslet movie version of Sense and Sensibility. I watched Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law's version of Sherlock Holmes that came out a couple years ago. I watched Great Expectations starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Ethan Hawke (I don't recommend it). I watched PBS' recent productions of Emma and Northanger Abbey. So, as you can see, I went feeling prepared to experience Literary London.

I picked up about 10 books while I was there, found new subjects to read about, got book recommendations from my travel buddy, and listed out additional books and movies I hadn't gotten to before the trip, but that I intend to watch and read now that I'm back.

In the coming weeks I'll be blogging about my trip as it relates to literature, and reporting on my related reading. Keep checking back for more!