At the July meeting, we discussed four stories that appear in different versions of the Apocrypha of the Sherlockian Canon, "The Field Bazaar," "How Watson Learned the Trick," "The Man with the Watches," and "The Lost Special." And the end of our meeting, we took a vote of all of the members present to decide how we felt about each story, should it be considered part of the canonical stories or is just a tale that has similarities to other Sherlockian pieces, but ultimately doesn't belong?
Up first was "The Field Bazaar." By a vote of 11-2, we overwhelmingly agreed that this should be considered Canon. It has Holmes and Watson. It is familiar to the Baker Street scenes that open so many adventures in the Canon. And it gives substance to Watson, giving the reader information on his university days.
The Field Bazaar: Canonical
"How Watson Learned the Trick" came next. Another version of a Baker Street opener, but some members felt that while the last story was true to the feel of canonical adventures, this piece strayed too far into parody territory. Others noted this scene from the Granada series which was similar to "How Watson Learned the Trick." Ultimately, the vote was 10-3 in favor of including it.
How Watson Learned the Trick: Canonical
Our next story to discuss was "The Man With the Watches." Most of us felt that the letter to the press "over the signature of a well-known criminal investigator" did not ring true to Sherlock Holmes, although some did feel like it could have been Lestrade. With the largest margin of all of the votes of 11-1, we said this tale was apocryphal.
The Man With the Watches: Apocryphal
And finally was "The Lost Special." Most agreed that this was a good mystery, but again the letter that bore "the signature of an amateur of some celebrity at that date" was everyone's sticking point. When it was argued that "one of the acutest brains in England" who "had the command of a band of workers who were trustworthy and intelligent" could be Professor Moriarty, discussion heated up. Ultimately, most couldn't get past Holmes writing an incorrect letter to a newspaper about the crime. Even if this was a Moriarty story, we voted 9-3 that it wasn't a Sherlock Holmes story.
The Lost Special: Apocryphal
Will "The Field Bazaar" and "How Watson Learned the Trick" ever be part of the published Canon that you can buy at your local bookstore? The Arthur Conan Doyle Encyclopedia lists the Canon as having 62 stories that include these two and Ross Davies's chapter in Canonical Cornerstones he refers to these as "The Two True Tales" of the Apocrypha. And now that 13 members of The Parallel Case of St. Louis have weighed in, I'm sure it's just a matter of time....
