Picking up the trail with the incredibly influential films of Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, Volume II goes on to explore the antiheroic Sherlock Holmes films of the 1970s, and then the somewhat rocky journey of Holmes into the medium of television (actors Alan Wheatley, Douglas Wilmer, and Peter Cushing all declared their respective TV series as the worst experience of their professional careers). Television finally found its "definitive" Holmes in Jeremy Brett's portrayal for Granada Television, and then the BBC's "Sherlock" had flashed brilliantly across the cultural sky before crashing and burning in spectacular fashion. Still, despite its ignominious end, Benedict Cumberbatch's version of Sherlock Holmes quite literally changed the face of Sherlockian fandom overnight, as studious middle-aged white men now found themselves sharing uneasy ground with a younger, more diverse, and more female audience. Now a full-fledged transmedia phenomenon, Sherlock Holmes can be any gender, ethnicity, or species, and is celebrated in fan fiction and fanvids, as well as conventions that are far more inclusive than Sherlock Holmes societies of the past. Vincent Starrett's poetic notion that Sherlock Holmes is a character "who never lived and so can never die" has never been more true, and the Digital Age promises any number of new versions of Sherlock Holmes to come.

Sherlock Holmes: The Hero With a Thousand Faces ambitiously takes on the task of explaining the continued popularity of Arthur Conan Doyle's famous detective over the course of three centuries. In plays, films, TV shows, and other media, one generation after another has reimagined Holmes as a romantic hero, action hero, gentleman hero, recovering drug addict, weeping social crusader, high-functioning sociopath, and so on. In essence, Sherlock Holmes has become the blank slate upon which we write the heroic formula that best suits our time and place. Volume One looks at the social and cultural environment in which Sherlock Holmes came to fame. Victorian novelists like Anthony Trollope and William Thackeray had pointedly written "novels without a hero," because in their minds any well-ordered and well-mannered society would have no need for heroes or heroic behavior. Unfortunately, this was at odds with a reality in which criminals like Jack the Ripper stalked the streets and people didn't trust the police, who were generally regarded as corrupt and incompetent. Into this gap stepped the world's first consulting detective, an amateur reasoner of some repute by the name of Sherlock Holmes, who shot to fame in the pages of The Strand Magazine in 1891. When Conan Doyle proceeded to kill Holmes off in 1893, it was American playwright, director, and actor William Gillette who brought the character back to life in his 1899 play Sherlock Holmes, creating a sensation on both sides of the Atlantic with his romantic version of Holmes, and cementing his place as the definitive Sherlock Holmes until the late 1930s. By that point, Sherlock Holmes had developed a cult following who facetiously maintained that Holmes was a real person, formed clubs like The Baker Street Irregulars, and introduced the idea of cosplay to the embryonic world of fandom. These well-educated fanboys subsequently became the self-assigned protectors of Sherlock Holmes, anxious that their version of the character not be besmirched or defamed in any way. In spite of this, there was considerable besmirching and defaming to be seen in the early silent films featuring Sherlock Holmes, which effectively turned him into an action hero due to the lack of sound. When sound films took the industry by storm in the late 1920s, there were a numbers of pretenders who reached for the Sherlock Holmes crown, including Clive Brook, Reginald Owen, and Raymond Massey, but it took more than a decade before a new definitive Sherlock Holmes would be crowned in 1939 in the person of Basil Rathbone.

Picking up the trail with the incredibly influential films of Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, Volume II goes on to explore the antiheroic Sherlock Holmes films of the 1970s, and then the somewhat rocky journey of Holmes into the medium of television (actors Alan Wheatley, Douglas Wilmer, and Peter Cushing all declared their respective TV series as the worst experience of their professional careers). Television finally found its "definitive" Holmes in Jeremy Brett's portrayal for Granada Television, and then the BBC's "Sherlock" had flashed brilliantly across the cultural sky before crashing and burning in spectacular fashion. Still, despite its ignominious end, Benedict Cumberbatch's version of Sherlock Holmes quite literally changed the face of Sherlockian fandom overnight, as studious middle-aged white men now found themselves sharing uneasy ground with a younger, more diverse, and more female audience. Now a full-fledged transmedia phenomenon, Sherlock Holmes can be any gender, ethnicity, or species, and is celebrated in fan fiction and fanvids, as well as conventions that are far more inclusive than Sherlock Holmes societies of the past. Vincent Starrett's poetic notion that Sherlock Holmes is a character "who never lived and so can never die" has never been more true, and the Digital Age promises any number of new versions of Sherlock Holmes to come.

Picking up the trail with the incredibly influential films of Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, Volume II goes on to explore the antiheroic Sherlock Holmes films of the 1970s, and then the somewhat rocky journey of Holmes into the medium of television (actors Alan Wheatley, Douglas Wilmer, and Peter Cushing all declared their respective TV series as the worst experience of their professional careers). Television finally found its "definitive" Holmes in Jeremy Brett's portrayal for Granada Television, and then the BBC's "Sherlock" had flashed brilliantly across the cultural sky before crashing and burning in spectacular fashion. Still, despite its ignominious end, Benedict Cumberbatch's version of Sherlock Holmes quite literally changed the face of Sherlockian fandom overnight, as studious middle-aged white men now found themselves sharing uneasy ground with a younger, more diverse, and more female audience. Now a full-fledged transmedia phenomenon, Sherlock Holmes can be any gender, ethnicity, or species, and is celebrated in fan fiction and fanvids, as well as conventions that are far more inclusive than Sherlock Holmes societies of the past. Vincent Starrett's poetic notion that Sherlock Holmes is a character "who never lived and so can never die" has never been more true, and the Digital Age promises any number of new versions of Sherlock Holmes to come.

The Rosewater Insurrection continues the award-winning science fiction trilogy by one of science fiction's most engaging voices. All is quiet in the city of Rosewater as it expands on the back of the gargantuan alien Wormwood. Those who know the truth of the invasion keep the secret. The government agent Aminat, the lover of the retired sensitive Kaaro, is at the forefront of the cold, silent conflict. She must capture a woman who is the key to the survival of the human race. But Aminat is stymied by the machinations of the Mayor of Rosewater and the emergence of an old enemy of Wormwood. Innovative and genre-bending, Tade Thompson's ambitious Afrofuturist series is perfect for fans of Jeff Vandermeer, N. K. Jemisin, and Ann Leckie. Praise for The Wormwood Trilogy: "Smart. Gripping. Fabulous!" —Ann Leckie, award winning-author of Ancillary Justice "Mesmerising. There are echoes of Neuromancer and Arrival in here, but this astonishing debut is beholden to no one." —M. R. Carey, bestselling author of The Girl with All the Gifts "A magnificent tour de force, skillfully written and full of original and disturbing ideas." —Adrian Tchaikovsky, Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning author of Children of Time The Wormwood Trilogy Rosewater The Rosewater Insurrection The Rosewater Redemption

Fans of Sherlock Holmes will delight to investigate Victorian England, a world where crimes large and small abound and where dark corners and well-lit drawing rooms alike hide villainy. Through the enduring eye of Sherlock Holmes, noted historian Jeremy Black traces how Holmes and his milieu evolved in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s books and how Holmes continues to resonate today. Black explores the context of Doyle’s ideas and stories and why they struck such a chord with readers in London, and ultimately the world. He portrays a complex man with eclectic interests, from soccer to spiritualism, from cricket to divorce law reform. Standing twice for Parliament, Doyle was a committed meritocrat whose political experiences and values were expressed through his writings. Reading the Holmes stories through the lens of Doyle’s multifaceted career, Black throws fresh light on the values expressed in them and how Holmes would have been perceived at the time. He traces the imperial strand in the Holmes stories and Doyle's treatment of America and Europe. Drawing on a masterful knowledge both of Doyle’s era and his writings, this entertaining and wide-ranging book uses the Holmes stories to bring Victorian England to vibrant life, a world where crimes large and small abound and where dark corners and well-lit drawing rooms alike hide villainy. Holmes was a hero and an inspiration for many a character who redefined the idea of detection and the detective, a private man of great public importance. Here is his story.