^{The Norbury}Chronicle

e-newsletter of the Holmesian Studies SIG of American Mensa

since ’88, Baker Street Irregulars scion since ‘95

"Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed." (Mark 4:22)

Issue XXXIX                                                                        Fall '13

Sig News

W e have lost one member and gained one since last issue, so Ronald Laboe takes over Alek Matthew Kristola's scionym “One Who Throws Reserve to the Wind” (33:C).

Not So Elementary

W e did not have great expectations of the modernized "Elementary" version of Holmes what with its female Dr. Watson, but it

Into the Needle's Eye

L en Bailey's novel, Sherlock Holmes and the Needle's Eye is better explained by its subtitle, "The World's Greatest Detective Tackles the Bible's Ultimate Mysteries". It doesn't, of course, cover all of the Bible's mysteries, but it does come up with plausible solutions to ten of them. Presumably -- or hopefully -- there will be many more such mysteries coming.

D iane Lawrence pleads in her review, "Please write more in this genre." Pamela Jane Sutton comments, "The words 'riveting' and 'Bible study guide' have never been used in the same sentence, until now. This is a must read!"

N ancy Famolari wrote, "I enjoyed each one, although some, like "The Hanging Man" were particularly well done. The Biblical puzzles are all fascinating. The author has done a considerable amount of research and all his facts seem to be accurate."

B ob Hostetler puts it a bit less enthusiastically, and with different favorites, "As can be expected, some were more convincing than others and some were highly speculative -- especially for the world's first and greatest consulting detective. My personal favorites were the chapters on the raising of Lazarus and the woman caught in adultery."

"D on't be fooled like me," Kenneth G. Campbell III warns, "These are mysteries, not contradictions. I thought this would be an apologetics book, but to my surprise Holmes and Watson gets assigned to go back in time to find answers to interesting and helpful Bible questions."

B ailey, a history major from Trinity College, pits Holmes's hyperrationalism against Dr. Watson's simple faith, all the time using Bibical and historical references, both Victorian and Biblical. By the end the reader is perhaps a bit more convinced that the truth, and the Truth, can be reached via either. Mrs. Hudson, their landlady, even takes part in a couple of the adventures.

"I n truth, Holmes and Watson are the halves of one man, any man, sliced down the middle into a head-half and a heart-half." Baily explains. "Every person harbors rebellion toward God: we want to go our own way, to act in accordance with our wisdom and reasoning. But every person possesses a faith part, no matter how small: we want to believe that God (the real God) is a Father in Whose arms we find forgiveness and in Whose arms we can rest. This is the real beauty of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson: They represent every man."

A mber Godman says, "Having just read an original Sherlock Holmes, I picked up this new version with much skepticism. However, within the first few paragraphs I was not disappointed ... I was intrigued by the author's use of very familiar stories from Sunday school and the nuances of mystery that they held."

A fter Holmes constructs a time machine from Moriarty's design, a mysterious client poses unsolved mysteries to solve using it. Sometimes it makes them mere observers of the past, other times they take an active role in the events. Why the machine behaves the way it does is an on-going mystery itself.

I t is more than just a mystery novel or a series of mystery stories however. Bailey also provides Investigative Study Questions to help the reader ponder these mysteries and connect them to their own lives. It is a Bible Study Guide like none other.

T he Needle's Eye refers to the time machine that takes Holmes and Watson to Giloh in Judea to discover why Ahithophel hung himself. Finding out involves investigating both his and David's families, and quite a lot of political intrigue in 2 Samuel. This investigation uncovers envy, jealosy, revenge, lust, despair in the royal family.

T hey go back to answer the question of why young David chose five stones when confronting Goliath. Could it be his faith in the Lord was weak? Did it have to do with the scared Penteuch? They wonder with the disciples why Jesus waited to visit the dying Lazarus.

T he reader is invited to ponder "Why does God delay answering prayer? Why does He seem to always answer them in the most unexpected ways? Or is all hitory just 'co-incidence' and 'chance'?"

A nother mystery lies in what Jesus wrote in the sand when the woman caught in adultery was accused. They could not see for the crowd. Watson proposes that Jesus wrote the Pharisees past sins, but Holmes disposes of that hypothesis. Watson, as usual, however does inintentionally lead Holmes to the most logical solution by scutinizing in Mark, John and Philipians.

T he investigation of Matthew 23:25, leads to unexpected discoveries about all of the prophets from Abel to Jesus Himself. Investigating the Temptation in the Desert, Holmes is led on the trail of the Devil himself. The quest is "just when was the 'more opportune time' for the last temptation? It proves not to involve Mary Magdalen.

T hey follow Paul in his travels to learn why he went where he did. They are confronted by the Romans more than once and by the London police as well. They reconcile Luke and Matthew's geneologies by tying it into a previous mystery. They sort out the confusing variety of Herods and find out why when Jesus was born when He was.

A t the Battle of Jericho and again back in London, Mrs. Watson proves herself more that merely a good cook and a long-suffering landlady. She also adds much of the comic relief in a very tense situation.

T his book may even encourage the reader to read some of the reference books Bailey lists. These include Thirty Days in the Land with Jesus by Charles H. Dyer, Matters and Customs in the Bible by Victor H. Matthews and The Annotatd Sherlock Holmes by William S. Baring-Gould. It might even encourage someone as apparently irreligious as Sherlock Holmes to read the Bible.

M ary Lavers, for example, wrote, "I may not be a Christian, but the Sherlockian in me LOVED [her emphasis] it!

How Many ...

W e have been updating our list of Sherlock Holmes stories after coming upon completely erroneous answers on the internet to the question "How many Sherlock Holmes stories are there?" My list is up to 1195. I have tried to eliminate stories that have merely been retitled, though some deserve retitling because they have been so changed. Some Are very much changed, as for example different screenplay interpretations based on the same story with the same title.

W e would appreciate any contributions you have to or comments on you have to our case list..