Ira Brad Matetsky to speak at June 7 luncheon   We’re very pleased that attorney, Sherlockian and bon vivant Ira Matetsky, BSI, ASH will speak at The Red Circle's spring luncheon. Even though Ira is a proud denizen of The Big Apple, he’ll be sharing insights on “Sherlock Holmes and Washington.” Ira has practiced law in New York since 1987, so naturally one of his Sherlockian specialties is legal issues in the Canon. He also examines the publication and bibliographical history of the Canon, Canonical manuscripts, and Doylean and Sherlockian poetry. His writing has appeared in The Baker Street Journal, eight books from the BSI Press, and many other publications. A longtime member of the Red Circle, Ira also holds membership in the Sons of the Copper Beeches, the Sherlockians of Baltimore and the Six Napoleons, and is a frequent presenter at Sherlockian meetings and conferences. Ira’s literary interests extend beyond Holmes to his chairmanship of The Wolfe Pack, the literary society for the Nero Wolfe stories written by another BSI member, Rex Stout. Ira was also the longest serving member of the English Wikipedia Arbitration Committee.

 

We’ll be meeting at Alfio’s La Trattoria, 4515 Willard Avenue in Chevy Chase, drinks at noon and lunch at 1:00. The cost is $55, tax and tip included, cash or check. Free valet parking is available and the nearest Metro stop is Friendship Heights. All are welcome, so please reserve your place now by e-mailing Peter Blau here, or calling him at 301-229-5669.

 

  The Red Circle's March 8 meeting featured an excellent talk by writer, critic and podcaster Ollivia Rutigliano, BSI, who drew interesting parallels between Charles Dickens and Arthur Conan Doyle. You're invited to read the meeting notes here.

 

I Hear of Red Circles Everywhere  From Peter Blau's notes comes a reminder of Le Cercle Rouge [The Red Circle], a 1970 French film directed by Jean-Pierre Melville, starring Alain Delon, Gian Maria Volonté, Yves Montand, and André Bourvil. "A prime example of Gallic gangster fatalism. . .the cast is a rogues' gallery of greats." It's non-Sherlockian except for the title, and it's just been restored in high definition 4K. The AFI Silver Theatre in Silver Spring has scheduled six performances of Le Cercle Rouge between March 28 and April 3. The schedule and tickets are available here. The trailer is imposing, and you can watch it here.

 

Malice Domestic awards feature Sherlockian nominees   The nominees have been selected for Malice Domestic 37's April 25-27 confab at the Bethesda Marriott, and two Sherlockian titles are up for possible recognition. They include Elizabeth Crowens's Hounds of the Hollywood Baskervilles (a lost--if not shaggy--dog story), and James Ponti's The Sherlock Society (a spy thriller for the younger set). The full list of nominees is here, and registration information is here. The doings will also feature a play by Hal Glatzer, and a tribute to our late and beloved Red Circle member Tom O'Day.

 

 

Author! Author!  It was a grand day out for the Red Circle at Arena Stage on December 14, where we enjoyed a performance of Agatha Christie's iconic Death on the Nile, adapted for the stage by our Sherlockian friend Ken Ludwig. After the curtain calls, Ken joined Peter Blau on the stage of this world premiere production to take some questions from the Red Circle passengers who came along for the cruise. Read Carla Coupe's Meeting Notes here. 12/16/24 AR

 

Saturday with Sherlock Holmes Video Available   Saturday, November 16 marked the 45th annual edition of A Saturday with Sherlock Holmes at the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore. The topic this year was Conan Doyle, and the lineup of speakers featured some of the area's brightest Sherlockian lights, including the Red Circle's Carla Coupe, Matt Hall, Dan Stashower and Peter Blau. The entire program is available online here, and is highly recommended! 11/25/24 AR

 

  The Red Circle met twice in September, both times at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington. We had an opportunity to look back at the manuscript of The Valley of Fear, and forward to Nicholas Meyer's new novel, Sherlock Holmes and the Telegram from Hell. Peter Blau tells us about both events here.

 

What a Lovely Thing a Rose Is  Tom Boswell is one of the best baseball writers we’ve ever had. For decades his regular column in The Washington Post was in the same league as the work of the legendary Sherlockian Red Smith. Boswell still files the occasional column, and his latest marks the passing of Pete Rose. He muses over the yin and yang between one of the greatest baseball players ever and the gambling habit that will forever keep him out of the Hall of Fame. It’s no surprise that Boswell concludes the column this way: “Arthur Conan Doyle once had his character Sherlock Holmes quote Flaubert: ‘The man is nothing. The work is everything.’ If Pete Rose is lucky, perhaps the future will choose to view him through that prism.” Indeed. 10/2/24 AR

 

Two New Sherlockian Pastiches  The Red Circle’s own Michael Dirda is a Pulitzer Prize-winning book critic and columnist for The Washington Post, and it’s always especially fun when he writes about one of his favorite subjects, Sherlock Holmes. Mike's August 31 essay examines two new entries in the world of Holmesian pastiches, Nicholas Meyer’s Sherlock Holmes and the Telegram from Hell, and John Lawrence’s The Affair at Mayerling Lodge. Fair warning: after you read Mike’s column you’ll want to read both books! See the column here.  9/2/24 AR

 

Gomorrah by any other names  The television series Gomorrah, broadcast by Sky Italia in 2014 and 2016, is again available on Max, formerly known as HBO. The series is a fictionalized account of today’s crime syndicate in Naples. The title is a pun on the syndicate’s real name, the Camorra, which is well known to those who are aware that the manuscript of “The Red Circle” accurately identifies the organization as “Camorra.” However, when the story was published the name was changed to “Carbonari.” There are subtitles in English, of course; when the series aired in Italy it was subtitled in Italian, because the dialogue is in the Neapolitan dialect rather than in proper Italian. Fair warning: the series is not for the faint-hearted. 8/19/24 PEB

 

  The Red Circle’s June 22 meeting featured Burt Wolder’s fine presentation, “Arthur Conan Doyle: Adventurous Life, Enduring Memories.” Read Carla Coupe’s Meeting Notes here.

 

"The Red Circle" under the magnifying glass  A low bow to Alexander E. Braun, who is publishing detailed inquiries into the Canonical adventures on the Hounds of the Internet website. He's kindly made his fine paper on our namesake story available to us, and you're welcome to read and/or download it here. It's an essential reference work.  8/4/24 AR

 

Holmes manuscript brings record price at auction  June 26 saw five Sherlockian lots go under the hammer at Sotheby’s. The star of the show was the manuscript of the second Holmes novel, The Sign of Four, which sold for $960,000, making it the most valuable Sherlockian item ever sold at auction. Next up was the breathtaking original Sidney Paget illustration called “The Death of Sherlock Holmes,” which was an accurate title for the work when it was created. It shows Holmes and Moriarty grappling on the path above the Falls of Reichenbach just before the tumble into the abyss. Perhaps the most well known of Paget’s Sherlockian illustrations, it sold for $384,000, about 10% above the top end of the pre-auction estimate. Two of the other items brought good prices, and bidding on one didn’t reach the reserve. Detailed information about the auction is in Peter Blau's Scuttlebutt here. 7/8/24 AR STOP PRESS  We now learn, and it comes as no surprise, that the purchaser of both The Sign of the Four Manuscript and the Paget "Death of Sherlock Holmes" is one of the foremost collectors of Sherlockiana in the world, friend of The Red Circle and of all Sherlockians, Glen Miranker. It is gratifying to know that these items are now part of Glen's breathtaking holdings, where they will no doubt claim considerable pride of place. Congratulations Glen! When Glen visited the Red Circle in March of 2023, he talked to us about "Why Glen Miranker Collects." If you weren't at that meeting, or even if you were, this would be a great time to look at the video of his talk. You can watch it here. 7/28/24 AR

 

Video now available of Curtis Armstrong's presentation of "The "B" List"  The Red Circle's March 16 meeting featured a delightful presentation by the BSI's "actor and a rare one," aka Curtis Armstrong. Curtis guided us on a tour of the Canon's lesser villains, punctuated by irony, smiles and guffaws. Thanks to Matt Hall, it was all recorded, and you can watch it just by clicking the screen at the right.

And you can read Carla Coupe's Meeting Notes here. 

 

 

Scuttlebutt: One Fixed Point in a Changing Age  Our own Peter E. Blau's monthly Scuttlebutt from the Spermaceti Press has endured for more than 50 years, and has a permanent home right here on our website. It's the most remarkable collection of Sherlockian news and notes anywhere, and your webmaster recommends a monthly visit. The very latest edition is available now, as are past numbers. It's just a click away--use the "Scuttlebutt" button at the top of the page.