"So it came to pass that one Michaelmas this Hugo, with five or six of his idle and wicked companions, stole down upon the farm and carried off the maiden . . . standing over Hugo, and plucking at his throat, there stood a foul thing, a great, black beast, shaped like a hound, yet larger than any hound that ever mortal eye has rested upon."
Let us remember, albeit with fear and loathing, Hugo Baskerville and his wicked companions during this season of Michaelmas.

Thanks Much!
First of all, we really want you to know that we were sincerely and deeply touched at the number of you who sent good wishes and queries about our well-being subsequent to our informing you of the unprecedented wind storm here in Cincinnati. We are happy to report that we are, personally, uninjured and we suffered no significant property damage. Unfortunately, we cannot say the same for many of our neighbors. Three people were killed and there is extensive damage to property from falling trees and limbs; the major cause of the power outage. Many large trees were broken or actually uprooted. We were told via the local news that a few thousand people are still without power in the greater Cincinnati area today, nine days after the storm. The post storm weather was blessedly mild, so we weren't uncomfortable from the lack of heat or air conditioning. Most of the grocery stores and gas stations were without power and closed, so folks needing fuel or things like food for babies, diapers, or ice were in for some pretty uncomfortable times. As you could tell from our previous communication, we were able to get into a neighborhood which had power returned relatively early so we could buy gasoline and access the internet. The only problem now is the huge backlog of email which accumulated on our server during the blackout. We are working on it, but it will take us another day or two to catch up. We do appreciate your understanding and patience.
Again, thanks so much for your words of encouragement and your concern for our well-being,
Carolyn and Joel.

Sherlock Holmes: Mostly Parodies
by
Dr. Tracy J. Revels

Dr. Revels has been teaching at Wofford College since 1991 and was recently named Chair of the History Department. In addition to her academic credits, Dr. Revels is a long time member of Greenville, SC's scion, the Survivors of the Gloria Scott. As such, she has been a regular contributor to that scion's newsletter, "The Gaslight Gazette" with her clever and well written short contributions to the Sherlockian literature. We have been nagging her for years to publish her work via a vehicle that would allow her a larger readership; in her characteristic modesty, she was reluctant to do so. Finally, through our urging, combined with that of David Milner, editor of "The Gaslight Gazette," Dr. Revels finally consented to providing a manuscript. Because this is our first attempt at a publication via CafePress, we fear that our inexperience delayed publication for another several months. Nonetheless, the book is now here and contains over two-dozen of Dr. Revels literary creations, which she says are, "mostly parodies," hence, the title of the book (there are a couple of her works which we think qualify as pastiches, though). Dr. Revels draws on her extensive knowledge of the Sherlockian Canon, and her remarkable wit to create really funny, but entirely plausible, Sherlockian anecdotes; it is a rare time that we read another piece of her handiwork and don't find ourselves actually in tears from laughing! We have been able to pull Dr. Revel's work together in this single volume through the facilities of our on-demand printer partner, CafePress - without CafePress, we fear that it would have been much more difficult to bring this book to you. Dr. Revels' book is for all among us who enjoy the Sherlockian hobby, it is a pleasure to find such a combination of erudition and lightheartedness in one book; we do recommend it to your attention.
Please CLICK HERE!

Each year, Cincinnati's Xavier University sponsors a series of musical presentations entitled The Xavier Swing and Jazz series. This year one of Xavier's special fund raising attractions was held at Cincinnati's elegant Kenwood Country Club (above) featuring Ken Peplowski on clarinet with a program of traditional Benny Goodman numbers. Even though, due to illness, there had to be some last minute personnel changes in the band, members of the Sherlock Holmes and all that Jazz Society who could not attend this performance really missed an outstanding musical experience.

The 2008 gathering of the Sherlock Holmes and all that Jazz Society ended with a gala celebration at the Dee Felice Cafe located on Main Street in downtown Covington, KY (just across the river from Cincinnati). On your left, above, is a photo of the late Dee Felice posing behind the etched glass entranceway to his cafe. Dee, who was a legendary jazz and swing drummer on the local music scene, established his cafe in 1984. On your right is the "New" Sleep Cat Jazz Band, starring Bill Gemmer on trombone, whose music the attending members of SHAATJ enjoyed both during, and after,one of the great New Orleans style dinners for which the restaurant is famous.

Plans are already underway for the 2009 meeting of SHAATJ. The anticipated venue will be St. Louis - a city famous for its active jazz community and galaxy of extremely talented musicians. Contact us if you would like to be kept apprised of the 2009 SHAATJ plans.

We apologize for an oversight in last month's E-Times. We did call to your attention the fact that Sally and Robert Sugarman, and their scion, "The Baker Street Breakfast Club," will host their second Bennington, VT Sherlockian gathering from June 24 to June 27, 2010 (please note the year is 2010). I think that we did also mention that there are worse places to be in June than the mountains of southern Vermont, so why don't you plan to attend? Please see our "Events" page for further information as it unfolds.We hope to see you all there. What we forgot to mention is that the summer issue of the prestigious Baker Street Journal contains Ms. Sugarman's article "Sherlock Holmes and the Children", an essay in which she discusses Sherlock Holmes pastiches written for young readers. The BSJ website can be reached at www.bakerstreetjournal.com.

We'd like to take this opportunity to remind you, again, that Robert Sugarman is the proprietor of Mountainside Press, publisher of Stephen Seitz's Sherlock Holmes and the Plague of Dracula. Bob will also be the publisher of Henry Zecher's long anticipated biography of William Gillette, The Masque of Sherlock Holmes, the Extraordinary Life of William Gillette. Henry's book is still in press, but we do have a few copies of
Sherlock Holmes and the Plague of Dracula in stock here. Our reviewer said, "This is not just another 'Sherlock Holmes vs. Dracula' yarn, but an unusually good read."
Please Click Here.

On Saturday September 13 we attended the regular meeting of The Agra Treasurers at Bravos restaurant in Centerville, OH (a southern suburb of Dayton). There were several notable events associated with the meeting. First, the customary quiz - this one on 3GAR - was authored and mailed in by Jonathan Edwards from Japan! Another event of note was that our own Carolyn Senter had the best score and won a copy of Who's Who in British History: Victorian Britain 1851-1901. One of the things she forgot about was the tradition that the winner of each quiz is obligated to write the quiz for the next meeting. Although we have no evidence, we suspect that this custom has led more than a few Sherlockians to "throw" a quiz from time to time. The next meeting of The Agra Treasurers will be on November 8, again at Bravos (2770 Miamisburg Centerville Rd., Centerville, OH ). The assigned canonical case upon which the quiz will be based is "His Last Bow." Last, but by no means least, Marcy Mahle announced the birth of her new grandson, Jason Michael!

The latest Sherlockian pastiche from Breese Books!
This is a dandy! Actually, three novels in one cover!
Please Click Here

BTW, we have been informed that Antony Richards, the new owner and publisher of Breese Books, has been elevated to the exalted rank of The Earl of Redonda. We are informed that, upon opening any conversation with him that we should address him as "My lord," subsequent to that initial greeting, a mere "sir" will suffice. Congratulations, my lord, on having been granted such a lofty nobel status ;-)

The collection was originally assembled by Mr. Anthony Smith-Masters in England and originally recorded on magnetic tape. With the absolutely indispensable assistance of our Sherlockian friends Sandra Wolf, Kay Sturm, John Roach, and Roger Johnson we can now bring you this musical collection on a modern compact disk. This collection includes selections from Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky, Brahms, Offenbach, and J. Strauss, among the works of other well-known composers, with selections ranging from rousing to serene. Everyone who has heard this CD has been struck by its remarkable audio quality. The Favourite Music of Sherlock Holmes provides a most pleasant listening experience. Please Click Here for more information about this singular recording.

Calendar News!!

This is what the cover of the new Sherlockian calendar for 2009 will look like. We think it is terrific! Thanks for your patience; we sincerely hope to have the calendar assembled and uploaded to CafePress early next month. As soon as it is ready, we will send out a special notice to everyonel

Links to product pages on this site

We hope you don't mind our risking commiting the sin of pride by reminding you of the fact that, Professor Gerald Stratton, the fellow who gave you the great Sherlockian calendar for 2008, and will give you the even greater 2009 version, is also a recognized artist outside the Sherlockian world. Professor Stratton will open a show of his work at Rader Gallery, here in Cincinnati, at 1600 Main St. on October 5. The show will continue for the remainder of the month of October. We offer samples of his creative work below.

Speaking of Professor Jerry Stratton, here are his Sherlockian print creations. If you are looking for decorator items for that favorite Sherlockian area in your home, we do recommend these to your attention. These are the sorts of things that will get that "Wow!" reaction from your Sherlockian friends. You can reach full descriptions by clicking each of the graphics above.

We think we have created some really classy sweatshirts (if a garment as casual as a sweatshirt can ever be called "classy"). Those nippy autumn evenings are upon us again and you could be a standout at your next scion or society meeting in one of these original Sherlockian sweatshirts.
Won't you please take a look?
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The game of Cricket is a mystery to most Americans, but that doesn't mean that we "Colonials" can't find this Sherlock Holmes pastiche just as fascinating as will our friends in countries in which Cricket is frequently played as a major sport. "Sherlock Holmes: A Death at the Cricket" takes Mr. Holmes and Dr. Watson to the country as the guest of an English gentleman - one of the featured pieces of entertainment for the weekend guests is a Cricket match. The match distracts the spectators from more sinister activities - that is, all the guests except Sherlock Holmes!

"Sherlock Holmes: A Death at the Cricket" is an original pastiche by Eddie Maguire presented to you as an audio recording on CD.

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We stell have a few more copies of the very popular
The Quintessential Sherlock Holmes
in stock.
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Reichenbach Falls Poster
Please click here.

We also have just a few copies of
Voices from the Strangers' Room,
back in stock, too.
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We recently got this note from Steve Fisher, one of our Sherlockian friends in the UK. Steve was good enough to send us a copy of these coveted autographs affixed to our Reichenbach Falls Poster.
"Hi: A couple of years ago I purchased your Reichenbach falls print and after much trial and effort I managed to get it signed in person by both Edward Hardwicke and David Burke. I am now going to have it professionally mounted and framed. I would be happy to scan a shot of it to you if it is of interest. I now have over 40 signed photographs from the Granada series. Regards Steve Fisher (UK)"
Congratulations, Steve, you have a great collectors' item - thanks so very much for sharing it with us.

New pastiches on our site this month. Please
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Links to product pages on this site

The Quintessential Sherlock Holmes
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By special arrangement with the author, we are pleased to have a new stock of many of David Hammer's books in house.
Please Click Here to view the list of Mr. Hammer's books