Michael Dirda’s slim little book praises A. Conan Doyle and explores Doyle’s works: the Sherlock Holmes stories, the Professor Challenger adventures, the supernatural and terror tales, medieval swashbucklers like The White Company, social novels, and Doyle’s considerable memoirs, personal essays, and polemical journalism. Dirda read Doyle’s works for decades and knows the both the fiction and non-fiction better than most critics. Dirda is also a member of the Baker Street Irregulars. On Conan Doyle delights and informs. GRADE: A
So how was THE ADDAMS FAMILY?
“Lame” might be too weak a word to express what we saw on stage last night, Patti. The producers need to go back to the drawing board with THE ADDAMS FAMILY. The cast was talented, but the music was forgettable and the plot was predictable: boy gets psycho-chick, boy loses psycho-chick, boy gets psycho-chick back again.
Bummer.
I will definitely read the Dirda book.
Dirda loves Doyle. ON CONAN DOYLE is first-class writing on the author’s entire work. You’ll really enjoy it, Jeff.
Double bummer.
I just started reading this and it’s great! His discovery of THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES via the Scholastic (probably) book club paperbacks in school matched my own exactly. I bet I had that same edition!
Same here, Jeff. Dirda captures the sense of discovery of the Sherlock Holmes canon for a young kid very accurately.