Far from essential, the appeal of these 'uncollected' pieces of Sherlock Holmes miscellany is evidenced in an innocuous statement by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle on page 271: "… in '91, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes began to appear in the Strand Magazine. The public having shown them some favour I was persuaded to continue them…" That's it: we always want more Sherlock Holmes.

There are, alas, no unearthed gems in this book – compiled in 1983 by Richard Lancelyn Green – no 'lost works' waiting to be revealed. No apocrypha to shake the foundations of the canon. Green's introduction is, at nearly 150 pages, the largest piece; the second largest is Doyle's conversion of 'The Speckled Band' (from Adventures) into play form, entitled 'The Stonor Case'. Everything else is small fare: book prefaces from early editions and extracts from Doyle's autobiography where he talks about Holmes, newspaper interviews and speeches and short parodies. 'The Field Bazaar' is an amusing self-parody by Doyle, whilst 'The Adventure of the Two Collaborators', by Doyle's friend J. M. Barrie (author of Peter Pan) is genuinely charming. A short fluff piece in which Doyle ranks his twelve favourite Holmes stories will appeal to fans.

As I said, this is far from essential, but somehow my interest in the great detective was rekindled regardless. Sherlock Holmes just has that indefinable essence. We always want more. ( )

a pastiche of works related to the illustrious detective and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, his creator. The preface and introduction is a biography of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle by Richard Lancelyn Green. From his roots as a medical student to his heyday as a bestselling author, it is a complete guide to the life of Doyle. Green goes on to describe in no small detail every major phase of Doyle’s work on Sherlock Holmes.