The Red Circle is Sherlock's home in Washington DC. Now in our eighth decade, we continue to celebrate his immortality and enjoy each other's company. All are welcome to join us and share our interest in all things Sherlockian and Doylean.
Welcome
The Red Circle is Sherlock's home in Washington DC. Now in our eighth decade, we continue to celebrate his immortality and enjoy each other's company. All are welcome to join us and share our interest in all things Sherlockian and Doylean.
Next Meeting
Saturday, December 16, 2023
Alfio's La Trattoria
4515 Willard Avenue, Bethesda
Drinks at noon; lunch at 1:00
Our Speaker
Harrison "Terry" Hunt
Archives
All times US prevailing Eastern
2023
- September 18 and continuing VIRTUAL Sherlock Mondays Philadelphia's Rosenbach Museum & Library presents a weekly series of 90-minute programs covering 27 of the stories (from A Study in Scarlet to “The Empty House”), featuring senior manager of public programs Edward G. Pettit and a rotating group of co-hosts. You can watch live, or view the videos at the Rosenbach’s YouTube channel. Each episode begins at 7:00pm, and a complete list of dates and stories, along with registration information, is here.
- December 16 Red Circle Holiday Lunch Information in Inner Circle at left.
2024
- January 10 - 14 Sherlock Holmes Birthday "Weekend" in New York. Full information and registration form here.
- February 1 - 25 The Victorian Ladies' Detective Collective The play is billed as "Sherlock Holmes meets Arsenic and Old Lace," although neither the great detective nor Abby nor Martha appear in the cast. But there is a brazen 1893 serial killer terrorizing London and two sisters giving chase. The game's afoot at the Washington Stage Guild at Undercroft Theatre, and full info is here.
- February 25 The Polyphonic Motets of Lassus mentioned by Watson in "The Bruce-Partington Plans" will be performed by Chantry at St. Mary Mother of God Church in DC. Information is here.
- April 25 Beekeeper's 30th -- Russell and Holmes Day A full day of Russell and Holmes fun, celebrating 30 years since the publication of Laurie R. King's The Beekeeper's Apprentice. Laurie and guests (inlcuding Peter Blau, of course) will happily wax on during this honey of a day. It all happens at the Bethesda North Marriott on the day before Malice Domestic begins. Register early here. It's likely to sell out.
- April 26 - 28 Malice Domestic The 36th annual gathering of the mildly murderous will convene at the Bethesda North Marriott. Information is here.
For a much more comprehensive list of Sherlockian meetings and events around the United States and beyond, see Ron Fish's
Sherlockian Calendar.
The only known surviving Sherlock Holmes cover art from Classics Illustrated comic books, published by the Gilbertson Company
Peter Cushing portrays Sherlock Holmes in this piece by pop artist David O'Keefe. David is a well known caricaturist who created this image under a commission from Jerry Margolin.
Harrison "Terry" Hunt to speak at December Luncheon. You'll want to add the Red Circle's December 16 holiday luncheon to your plans for the festive season. In addition to holiday fun and games, Terry Hunt will be on hand via Zoom with his presentation, "That Dreadful Chasm -- Alternatives to the Canonical Narrative of the Fateful Day at the Reichenbach Falls." Terry is a retired history museum curator and is invested in the Baker Street Irregulars as "The Something Hunt." It all happens at Alfio's La Trattoria, 4515 Willard Avenue, Bethesda, drinks at noon, lunch at 1:00. Lunch will cost $55, and payment in advance is neither requested nor required, but reservations are necessary. Peter Blau is accepting reservations here, or by phone at 301-229-5669.Screening a Masterpiece Whenever we watch William Gillette as Sherlock Holmes in the 1916 film that was lost until it was found in Paris almost a decade ago, we're transfixed by the remarkable screen presence of this pioneering Sherlockian actor. And when we watch it projected perfectly on the big screen at the American Film Institute's Silver Theatre, enriched by a live score played by Donald Sosin and Joanna Seaton, the package could not be more complete or more enjoyable. Great thanks to the AFI's Todd Hitchcock for scheduling the film on November 4 and for inviting your webmaster to introduce it, which I was very happy to do. The AFI is always looking for good Sherlock to showcase, so watch this space for more news! 11/6/23 AR
Complementing the Season As the holidays approach, we're again happy to recommend Randall Stock's extremely useful "Best of Sherlock Holmes" selections. Whether you're looking for a gift for your favorite Sherlockian, a newbee, or even yourself, this is the place to find the gems. 10/20/23 AR
The Show Must Go On A throng of Red Circle stalwarts was on hand at the Arts Barn in Gaithersburg for the September 30 performance of R. Hamilton Wright’s play Sherlock Holmes and the American Problem. Even so, the meeting of the Red Circle, scheduled to coincide with the performance, was cancelled at the last minute. Peter Blau was under the weather (nothing serious) and was unable to attend. Upon learning this, Carla Coupe and your webmaster made a dramatic decision just before the house lights dimmed: we formally cancelled the Red Circle meeting, thereby preserving Peter’s record of never having missed one since he reconstituted our merry band more than a half century ago. Despite our decree, the Kentlands Community Players proceeded with the performance, and all in attendance were very glad they did, agreeing unanimously that both the play and the performance were very enjoyable indeed. After the curtain calls, the evening concluded with a lively talkback among the cast, director Vanessa Markowitz and the enthusiastic audience. 10/2/23 AR
"Operation Sting" remembered. Peter Blau is not the only Red Circle veteran who remembers the mid-70s law enforcement operation that resulted in more than 100 arrests of theives who fenced their plunder to FBI and DC police officers posing as wise guys of the Italian mob. FBI agent Bob Lill and DC lieutenant Bob Arscott adopted comical (not to say offensive) "noms de sting" like Rico Rigatone and Angelo Lasagna to front the operation. Later, Arscott was a featured speaker at Bouchercon at the National Press Club, with many from the Red Circle participaing in the festivities. A humorous four-minute video from WETA details the operation. Watch it here. 9/20/23 AR
The Red Circle met on June 24, and the meeting notes are available here. Video of the meeting will be posted shortly. Watch this space.
The Red Circle Redux Some of us--like Peter Blau--remember the days when movie theaters used multi-part serials to encourage customers to come back every week, and one of them was Daredevils of the Red Circle, a 12-part serial released by Republic Pictures in 1939. It's not at all Sherlockian, but there's a mad killer involved and of course it has a very nice title! If you don't mind spoilers you can read all about it here and watch it on YouTube here. 4/10/23 PBRare (but not stuffy) Books Rebecca Romney and Brian Cassidy are rare book sellers here in the Washington area. They're the proprietors of Type Punch Matrix in Silver Spring, and Rebecca has been the rare book guru on TV's Pawn Stars since 2011. Both Rebecca and Brian are Sherlockians and Red Circle members. Washingtonian magazine has just published a very nice article about the duo and their book emporium. It's a delightful read. Punch it up here. 2/7/23 AR
A "Red Circle" Compendium A lasting Sherlockian legacy of the COVID plague is The Legion of Zoom, an amalgamation of Sherlockians who have participated in more sciontific Zoom meetings than ought to be permissible under international humanitarian law. The Legion, via sparklug Steve Mason, is providing its members cannily curated compendiums of canonical chronicles, and has graciously allowed us to share with you the edition devoted to “The Red Circle.” It’s great fun to see “our” story’s story, with characters, plot points, publication history, artwork and more wrapped in a handsome package. Have a look for yourself, and enjoy! 2/6/23 AR
The Red Circle meets Artificial Intelligence With all the commotion about artificial intelligence lately, your webmaster decided to see what the now-famous online guru called ChatGPT has to say about us. On one hand, it's amazing that it got some things right; on the other, well, maybe it needs a little work. See for yourself. ChatGPT's "term paper" is available for you to peruse. Click here to share the fun. 2/3/23 AR
Red Circle Pins Available The pin has been proudly worn all over the Sherlockian world, from Rockville to the Reichenbach, so Red Circle members (which includes everyone who's ever been to a meeting) will treasure having their own. The price is $14.95 each, which includes shipping anywhere. Send an email to Tom Fahres to order. 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.
- Be an Inner Circle Contributor We welcome submissions from all quarters for this page. Please direct materials to the webmaster, alan@redcircledc.org
- For earlier, archived items from The Inner Circle, click here.
