The Silly Side of Sherlock Holmes

Nothing evokes the world of Sherlock Holmes like the original illustrations from The Strand Magazine – used here to tell of a strange change in behaviour of the master detective, as seen through the eyes of his long-suffering companion, John Watson, MD, to outrageously silly effect. Failure to laugh could result in prosecution…

With the full consent of the estate of the late, and undeniably great, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (which has very wisely registered the name ‘Sherlock Holmes’ as a trademark), Philip Ardagh – himself a life-long Sherlock Holmes fan – has taken illustrations from issues of The Strand Magazine and welded them together to create The Silly Side of Sherlock Holmes: A Brand New Adventure Using a Bunch of Old Pictures. The title says it all, really. Be prepared for some very silly sleuthing indeed.

In writing The Silly Side of Sherlock Holmes (and The-Not-So-Very-Nice Goings-On at Victoria Lodge before it), Philip Ardagh follows in the grand tradition of E. V. Lucas and George Morrow and their 1911 book What A Life! (based on a heavily doctored Whiteley’s store catalogue), Woody Allen’s What’s Up, Tiger Lily? (an existing Japanese film for which he created a completely new plot and dialogue), and those caption competitions you used to find in the back of Punch.