Reviews for The rivals of Sherlock Holmes: early detective stories

The average rating for The rivals of Sherlock Holmes: early detective stories based on 2 reviews is 5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2008-04-26 00:00:00 Steve molsfsaff The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes is a collection of Victorian and Edwardian crime and detective stories edited by Hugh Greene (brother of Graham Greene). There was a TV series also, back in the 70s. It's interesting that very few of these stories are straight imitations of Sherlock Holmes. It's also interesting that quite a few stories end without justice having been done, and in some cases the detective is the biggest villain of all! Some of these stories have the kind of moral ambiguity and atmosphere of corruption that is usually associated with the later American hard-boiled school of detective fiction. I loved the two stories by Arthur Morrison, The Case of Laker, Absconded and The Affair of 'The Avalanche Bicycle and Tyre Co. Ltd'. Clifford Ashdown's The Assyrian Rejuvenator is another highly entertaining little story involving patent medicines and miracle cures. There are two female writers represented in this collection, and their stories are exceptionally good. L. T. Meade's Madame Sara is very much in the "incredibly exotic ways to murder people" mode, but very entertaining. There are two stories by Baroness Orczy (better known as the creator of The Scarlet Pimpernel). The Woman in the Big Hat is interesting as a very early example of a story featuring a female detective. The Mysterious Death on the Underground Railway is even more interesting, partly for the oblique way in which the tale is told and partly because the Old Man in the Corner is such an odd detective - he's a student of crime whose interest in crime seems to be confined to working out how crimes were carried out. He seems to have no interest in actually helping the police catch the criminal! For sheer outrageousness you can't go past William le Queux, with his wonderfully overheated and breathless and extremely paranoid story of diabolical plots against the British Empire being hatched by foreign agents, of whom there seem to have been thousands. R. Austin Freeman's The Moabite Cipher is the most Holmesian of the stories, and his detective Dr Thorndyke is the most Holmesian of the detectives. Overall the quality of these stories is extremely high - Holmes had some very worthy rivals!

Review # 2 was written on 2019-09-18 00:00:00 Lim Steven A nice little sampler of detective fiction from the late Victorian and Edwardian eras, this one lives up to the title superbly. A handful of once-famous authors featured here reveal the scope of the genre, from gender-twist Holmesian characters to those of dubious morals who don't mind using crime-solving as a way to make some quick cash. Max Pemberton's THE RIPENING RUBIES kicks things off with a high society ball and the hunt for a notorious jewel thief, culminating in an effective set piece quite remarkably. Next up is Arthur Morrison's THE CASE OF LAKER, ABSCONDED, which introduces insurance investigator Martin Hewitt in a tight and engaging little case. Morrison returns for THE AFFAIR OF THE 'AVALANCHE BICYCLE AND TYRE CO., LTD' featuring the unscrupulous Doddington, although this is something of a minor story, although worth a look because it's so different. THE DUCHESS OF WILTSHIRE'S DIAMONDS sees Guy Boothby showcasing another loose-moralled character, and despite the intricacy of the plot I found it a rather minor effort, although still fun. But the anthology starts to get really interesting with the presence no lo less than three excellent tales from the prolific R. Austin Freeman, the first two written under his Clifford Ashdown pseudonym. THE ASSYRIAN REJUVENATOR sees Romney Pringle as another unscrupulous fellow, with the important point that he's intensely likeable with it; the story is a joy to read as a result. Pringle returns for THE SUBMARINE BOAT, and it's an adventure even more enjoyable than the one previous. THE MOABITE CIPHER is an adventure for the scientifically-minded Dr Thorndyke, and it's another near-perfect story that makes me eager to read more from this author. MADAME SARA, by L.T. Meade and Robert Eustace, is my favourite story featured here. It's the introduction to a six-part story series released as THE SORCERESS OF THE STRAND, and it features no less than two thoughtful, intrepid heroes and a very well-written master villainness. THE SECRET OF THE FOX HUNTER is a typical story from spy-minded William Le Queux, and very clever at tying together big, international plots with localised murder mystery action. Baroness Orczy features twice here; THE MYSTERIOUS DEATH ON THE UNDERGROUND RAILWAY is a fun little puzzle for the Old Man in the Corner, while THE WOMAN IN THE BIG HAT sees Lady Molly handling a straightforward case. The last two stories are very novel: William Hope Hodgson's THE HORSE OF THE INVISIBLE sees psychic sleuth Carnacki tangling with a powerful apparition in an action-packed narrative, while Ernest Bramah's THE GAME PLAYED IN THE DARK sees blind detective Max Carrados tackling a gang of international criminals. The best thing about all this? The anthology was so popular - a television series even followed - that Greene edited a number of sequels, and I'll be sure to check them out.