A Duet with an Occasional Chorus (ACD Journal vol. 1 No. 3)
A Duet with an Occasional Chorus [Vol. 1 No. 3] is an article written by David Stuart Davies published in the A.C.D. - The Journal of The Arthur Conan Doyle Society (Vol. 1 No. 3, september 1990).
This article argues that most of Arthur Conan Doyle's non-Holmes fiction had become unavailable in print by 1990, which unfairly narrowed modern readers' view of his work. It calls on publishers to reissue novels and story collections such as The White Company, Rodney Stone, Micah Clarke, and the Brigadier Gerard books.
Article
It has often been observed, not least in the pages of this Journal, that most readers reach the rich world of Arthur Conan Doyle's fiction by way of the Sherlock Holmes route. After exhausting the Baker Street tales, the reader goes in search of further wizardry from the same pen. Unfortunately, in 1990, entry into this exciting world is severely restricted. It is strangely ironic that, at a time when there is a burgeoning interest in A.C.D. as a storyteller of great power, the only works currently in print (in Britain, at least) are those of Sherlock Holmes and Professor Challenger.
Long time admirers of A.C.D., those who have been hooked for many years may, to some extent, enjoy the search in those cosy, cramped second-hand bookshops for an early edition of The White Company or Rodney Stone, but think how nice it would be to pick up a spanking new paperback edition from the shelves of the local W. H. Smith. The disgraceful fact that only Holmes and Challenger books are now available in modern editions is a depressing state of affairs which has serious ramifications. What happens when those new to Conan Doyle, the potential enthusiasts of tomorrow, having devoured the Holmes and Challenger adventures, go to the shelves for more stories by the same author? They will find nothing there! They will then assume that either there is nothing else to read or at least there is nothing worth publishing for a modern audience. This, we know, is patently untrue, but the insulting implication remains.
When one considers the amount of trash that is spewed out of publishing houses today in the name of modern fiction, it angers me to consider that, for example, none of the Brigadier Gerard books is now in print.
Even John Murray, the main publisher of Conan Doyle's works for many years, has thrown in the towel. Surely, the time is ripe for some enterprising publisher to pick up the A.C.D. catalogue and set about producing new, modern editions. If there is room on the shelf of my local bookshop for Attack of the Killer Crabs, surely there is also room for a new copy of Micah Clarke. There must be some publisher out there with enough integrity and foresight to grasp the nettle and put Conan Doyle back where he belongs on the bookshelf.
David Stuart Davies
- Article courtesy Christopher Roden, founder of The Arthur Conan Doyle Society (1989-2003).
