Good old index

by Thomas Wynne Ross

Good Old Index is a fascinating collection of information, hitherto unavailable, about the Great Detective and his creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. For example, the Index lists the astonishing variety of weapons employed in the stories - life-preservers (black-jacks), chairs, poison gas, and an arsenal of knives and pistols. Readers can study Holmes's garb, and the Index facilitates the evaluation of the character of Dr. Watson. It also provides abundant material for an assessment of Doyle's writing habits. He was one of the greatest story-tellers in English, but could be pompous and circumloquacious, as when he calls a sawed-off shotgun a truncated fowling-piece! The author has included thousands of Sherlockian facts into alphabetically arranged categories that allow the reader to dip into the book and find what he wants instantly. This volume fills a unique void in the literature on Doyle and his famous detective.