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From Holmes to Sherlock: The Story of the Men and Women Who Created an Icon by Mattias Boström
kathinka_is_reading's review against another edition
4.0
Veldig spennende å lese om historien fra Holmes til Sherlock, herlig nerdete :-) Noen småfeil i språket (eller oversettelsen fra svensk til norsk?) underveis.
uncommonlybound's review
3.0
Read for Overdrive's Professional Book Nerds 2020 Reading Challenge, Task #5: Read two books on the same subject, one fiction & one non-fiction (paired with [b:The Hound of the Baskervilles|8921|The Hound of the Baskervilles (Sherlock Holmes, #5)|Arthur Conan Doyle|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1355929358l/8921._SY75_.jpg|3311984] by [a:Arthur Conan Doyle|2448|Arthur Conan Doyle|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1495008883p2/2448.jpg])
tpanik's review
5.0
With over 100 chapters, this book is a commitment, and well worth the effort, as the meticulous research weaves a saga more complicated than the Holmes stories themselves! From inception to BBC reboot, this book covers the copyright scandals, family dramas, and perpetual appeal of the detective that everyone thinks they know so well.
herzleid's review against another edition
2.0
The bits about the actual books & Doyle's biography are very enjoyable, but at 40% my interest waned and I skipped large portions until the end. I wanted to know things about Sherlock Holmes. Not whom A.C. Doyle's sons married ...
booksandkittie's review
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
readingjohanna's review against another edition
5.0
Älskar den här boken så mycket. Tror allt man kan vilja veta om Arthur Conan Doyle och Sherlock Holmes finns i den. Vill just nu verkligen läsa originalberättelserna och sen de äldre tv-serierna/filmerna
booksuperpower's review
4.0
From Holmes to Sherlock: The Story of the Men and Women Who Created an Icon by Mattias Boström ( Michael Gallagher-translator)- is a 2017 Mysterious Press publication.
An extensive look at the many incarnations of Sherlock Holmes- from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s conception of the master detective- to his transformation into a major, enduring, and popular franchise!
This book is an almost encyclopedic exploration of the Sherlock Holmes enterprise. To be honest, it never really occurred to me to describe Sherlock Holmes as a ‘brand’, or franchise-but over a century after the public was first introduced to the observant detective, he has become a very profitable Icon.
In fact, Sherlock Holmes has been adapted more than any other fictional character. Ronald B. De Waal’s four-volume ‘Universal Sherlock Holmes, lists 25,000 Holmes related products and adaptations- however, the number is probably much higher than that.
This book takes readers on a fascinating journey, beginning with how Sir Arthur Conan Doyle first got the idea for the great detective, to how Holmes & Watson not only survived, but flourished, for over a hundred years, to bring us the mega-popular modern movie and television adaptations we enjoy today.
While I think I probably knew more about Doyle than his famous detective, I have enjoyed the original Sherlock Holmes stories over the years, although I have not read them all. I’ve seen various film adaptations, new and old, as well a television series here and there. I have a beautiful volume of the complete stories of Sherlock Holmes I was gifted for Christmas one year, and it is prominently featured on my bookshelf.
But, that’s about as far as my devotion to Holmes and Watson goes. I’ve always been entertained by the series and find it enjoyable, and I certainly respect the massive influence this detective series has had on crime fiction overall.
However, I am simply not cut out to limit myself to the concentrated study of one character, or series. However, I am glad there are purists out there who have, and I’m happy that many others took the classic versions and embellished them to keep the great detective alive and relevant over the years.
The author did a great job with the organization of this book. The presentation is very impressive, especially when one considers the magnitude of information and material the author had to comb through and research.
In the same way the popularity of the franchise waxed and waned over the years, there are spots in this book that are not as exciting. It also felt overwhelming at times, and occasionally I was tempted to skip ahead to more interesting material.
Despite the occasional lull, this is an incredible look at how the Sherlock series has been marketed and monetized, and how the fascination with Sherlock Holmes grew from small private club enthusiasts, to such wide mainstream popularity, becoming a pop culture fixture.
As of today, there are comic strips, graphic novels, animated series, internet, computer and video games, magazines, children’s books, radio, television, and movie adaptations, as well as countless pastiches.
It’s really mind-boggling when you think about it. Even aficionados will find in this comprehensive history of Sherlock Holmes, an incredible, exhaustive amount of information, all in one place, which might be helpful for reference purposes.
Overall, I am far more impressed with the Sherlock Holmes legend now, and of course, this book has put me in the mood to read more Sherlock Holmes classic stories, and to explore some of the many pastiches out there.
Despite the intimidating heft of this book, it is one that all fans of Sherlock Holmes should at least browse through, whether you consider yourself a Sherlockian or more of a casual admirer.
Also, fans of history, pop-culture and crime fiction will find many interesting facts and trivia in this book. It is certainly an educational read, and for the most part was pretty entertaining as well. I had a lot of fun Googling names and information about the Baker Street irregulars and the biography written about Doyle by John Dickson Carr, as well as the legal battles for public domain status. I'm also very interested in the mashups, which sound like a lot of good campy fun!!
4 stars
An extensive look at the many incarnations of Sherlock Holmes- from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s conception of the master detective- to his transformation into a major, enduring, and popular franchise!
This book is an almost encyclopedic exploration of the Sherlock Holmes enterprise. To be honest, it never really occurred to me to describe Sherlock Holmes as a ‘brand’, or franchise-but over a century after the public was first introduced to the observant detective, he has become a very profitable Icon.
In fact, Sherlock Holmes has been adapted more than any other fictional character. Ronald B. De Waal’s four-volume ‘Universal Sherlock Holmes, lists 25,000 Holmes related products and adaptations- however, the number is probably much higher than that.
This book takes readers on a fascinating journey, beginning with how Sir Arthur Conan Doyle first got the idea for the great detective, to how Holmes & Watson not only survived, but flourished, for over a hundred years, to bring us the mega-popular modern movie and television adaptations we enjoy today.
While I think I probably knew more about Doyle than his famous detective, I have enjoyed the original Sherlock Holmes stories over the years, although I have not read them all. I’ve seen various film adaptations, new and old, as well a television series here and there. I have a beautiful volume of the complete stories of Sherlock Holmes I was gifted for Christmas one year, and it is prominently featured on my bookshelf.
But, that’s about as far as my devotion to Holmes and Watson goes. I’ve always been entertained by the series and find it enjoyable, and I certainly respect the massive influence this detective series has had on crime fiction overall.
However, I am simply not cut out to limit myself to the concentrated study of one character, or series. However, I am glad there are purists out there who have, and I’m happy that many others took the classic versions and embellished them to keep the great detective alive and relevant over the years.
The author did a great job with the organization of this book. The presentation is very impressive, especially when one considers the magnitude of information and material the author had to comb through and research.
In the same way the popularity of the franchise waxed and waned over the years, there are spots in this book that are not as exciting. It also felt overwhelming at times, and occasionally I was tempted to skip ahead to more interesting material.
Despite the occasional lull, this is an incredible look at how the Sherlock series has been marketed and monetized, and how the fascination with Sherlock Holmes grew from small private club enthusiasts, to such wide mainstream popularity, becoming a pop culture fixture.
As of today, there are comic strips, graphic novels, animated series, internet, computer and video games, magazines, children’s books, radio, television, and movie adaptations, as well as countless pastiches.
It’s really mind-boggling when you think about it. Even aficionados will find in this comprehensive history of Sherlock Holmes, an incredible, exhaustive amount of information, all in one place, which might be helpful for reference purposes.
Overall, I am far more impressed with the Sherlock Holmes legend now, and of course, this book has put me in the mood to read more Sherlock Holmes classic stories, and to explore some of the many pastiches out there.
Despite the intimidating heft of this book, it is one that all fans of Sherlock Holmes should at least browse through, whether you consider yourself a Sherlockian or more of a casual admirer.
Also, fans of history, pop-culture and crime fiction will find many interesting facts and trivia in this book. It is certainly an educational read, and for the most part was pretty entertaining as well. I had a lot of fun Googling names and information about the Baker Street irregulars and the biography written about Doyle by John Dickson Carr, as well as the legal battles for public domain status. I'm also very interested in the mashups, which sound like a lot of good campy fun!!
4 stars
nika_7490's review against another edition
4.0
Das Lesen dieses Buchs hat mir wirklich viel Freude bereitet. Nachdem ich meine Oberstufenschüler zu Sherlockianern bekehren konnte, war es wunderbar noch mehr über den genialen Detektiv zu erfahren.
Das Buch hat ein paar Längen, sodass ich eine Weile gebraucht habe es zu lesen. Aber ich habe noch einige Anregungen gefunden mich weiter mit Sherlock zu beschäftigen, was ich absolut tun werde :)
Das Buch hat ein paar Längen, sodass ich eine Weile gebraucht habe es zu lesen. Aber ich habe noch einige Anregungen gefunden mich weiter mit Sherlock zu beschäftigen, was ich absolut tun werde :)
efbeckett's review
Tried my damnedest, but gave up around the half-way mark. The subject matter is very interesting to me, but I can't stand this kind of non-fiction writing that presents long-ago events the writer was not privy to as if it were a novel. I don't like that kind of thing at its best, but when it's written as it is here, where these passages are rarely anything more significant than someone arriving at a dinner party or looking at a landscape, it is nothing more than a distraction from the actual content: it drives me right out of the book rather than drawing me in (though the latter is what I assume it's intended to do). Especially galling to devote so much space to that nonsense when it won't even provide some basic details, such as the name of the tantrum-prone director of the first Rathbone/Bruce film or that film's romantic leads who got top billing over Holmes & Watson (Sidney Lanfield, Richard Greene, Wendy Barrie - I shouldn't have to pull up IMDb to do the author's work for him, especially in a 500 page tome that's already overlong). I'm not interested enough in Robert Downey Jr or Benedict Cumberbatch to subject myself to another 250-odd pages.