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I have read that Percy Fawcett was at school with Bertram Fletcher Robinson. Interesting as we know that Robinson was a purveyor of good ideas to Conan Doyle :)

Well, it's about time. Will probably reread it before I listen to this. But glad to see that it's actually coming out. Thank you. It's my favourite novel, you know.

At last! Conan Doyle's greatest work, and one of the greatest books ever written, has its own episode! Many thanks for this early Christmas gift. I am glad you discussed Haggard, but I'm afraid I cannot agree with you when you say that Doyle outdid him. For me, Haggard and Doyle stand side by side as the greatest of adventure writers, along with Kipling and Verne I suppose. Some of H.R.H.'s books are every bit as good as _The Lost World._ Still, it is more or less my favourite book of all time -- as I said, Haggard is the only author who equals Doyle in my estimation, which is a compliment to both writers. As for Ptolemy Higgs, Challenger may not be the only great character he influenced. Higgs is said to go after his critics armed with a whip. Seventy years after the publication of _Queen Sheba's Ring,_ what did another famed archaeologist carry around? While it is true that _The Lost World_ is a late entry in the "Quest Romance" canon, Haggard continued writing such tales until his death. The sixteenth and antepenultimate A.Q. story, _Heu-Heu; or, The Monster_ (1924), has a similar feel to _The Lost World_ as well as similar plot elements in parts, such as a tribe of ape-men at war with a race of men, the latter almost exterminating the former with the aid of the European characters. I wonder if Haggard was returning Doyle's favour of references and in-jokes with this great adventure story! From the Great War onwards, most lost world writers came to be found on the other side of the Atlantic, though the postwar British writers C. Bernard Rutley, Lionel Davidson and Ian Cameron have all been compared to Haggard himself. By the way, it is well known that Haggard and Kipling were very good friends, but I have also heard that Doyle and Haggard were friends too, and that the three men, along with Lord Dunsany, used to meet up and converse. Can you confirm if this is true? How many of Haggard's books is Doyle known to have read, and how many of Doyle's did Haggard read, if any? Also, are you aware of Thomas Kent Miller? He is a writer whose two favourite authors are Rider Haggard and Arthur Machen, and he is a devoted admirer of Sherlock Holmes. Mr. Miller's book _Sherlock Holmes in the Fullness of Time_ collects three crossovers wherein Holmes meets with characters from Haggard (and even Prof. Lidenbrock from Verne). I thought I would end this lengthy comment by recommending a truly excellent documentary about Haggard, "King Romance" -- ruclips.net/video/fMCrtkncvvk/видео.htmlsi=s5DGqEg4Dhre4_q_

Another fabulous podcast, at some point I'll be caught up😠

I read this as a child but never realized it was written by Doyle. An enjoyable discussion.

Ive heard of these photos, its great to have so much detail.

Im so enjoying discovering all these Doyle stories. I thought he only wrote Sherlock!

I heard this read lately and now I'll hear what you two think about it.

This was a wonderful episode, im enjoying this series immensely.

I wont be silent, listen to this podcast!! It will make you smarter.

How is this such an unknown channel? Come on, algorithm, do your stuff!!

Just found this channel today and enjoyed this episode. I will certainly listen to more.

An excellent analysis. The story puts me in mind of E F Benson's story 'Between the Lights' though that was written later.

Weirdly I read this not long after watching one of many Charlton Heston siege films 55 Days at Peking. So now I know all about the Boxer rebellion.

Loving the audiogram!!!

Fascinating video as always! The speculations about Moran working for the Russians, the events of "The Final Problem" being staged, and so on were a highlight. It was also a pleasure to read Wodehouse's "The Prodigal," which you mentioned. Since Kipling's _Kim_ was probably set in the 1890s, one wonders if Holmes encountered Kimball O'Hara in the course of his Asiatic travels. Speaking of crossovers, the author Thomas Kent Miller wrote a fascinating pastiche called "Sherlock Holmes at the Roof of the World," featuring "Sigerson" meeting Holly and Leo from Rider Haggard's "She" series while in Tibet. In view of your comparing "The Adventure of the Empty House" to a ghost story, it is noteworthy that one of Algernon Blackwood's ghost stories from the same era is entitled "The Empty House"!

I've been on a Gothic Doyle kick so this was awesome

amazing what universities get up to these days. I grew up with the radio plays on cassette, so there was no imagery, only the bbc narration.

Very insightful analysis - thank you both. Is the script for the 1968 TV adaptation available to read anywhere? It certainly sounds like the best of the screen adaptations of the story.

Guys, you make me sick with your new-age obsession about human body...100% Conan Doyle had nothing of your crazy ideas in mind. Why hang them on the good old Arthur?

The stories Doyle wrote in the 1920s are rather underappreciated, so it's great to see some of them being talked about! For example, The Case-Book contains some of my favourite Holmes adventures, like The Illustrious Client, The Creeping Man and The Veiled Lodger. Doyle really pushed the elements of the Gothic in these later tales: "looking like some terrible ghost, his head girt with bandages, his face drawn and white, stood Sherlock Holmes," and so on. That kind of thing delights an Arthur Machen or H.P. Lovecraft fan like me. And let's not forget The Maracot Deep and the later Challenger short stories. Those are great fun!

Marvellous stuff as usual chaps, another fascinating background discussion on a short story that I’ve not read for at least 20 years, which, as is now the norm after listening to one of these podcasts, sent me down a few Doylean rabbit holes! Thanks especially for the historical and political background… fascinating and well presented… I really also enjoyed the exploration of the religious subtext but you perhaps missed mentioning the fact that the final scene could also be read as analogous to The Last Supper! So is there perhaps further religious/Christian symbolism in the use of caviare - fish served with bread - both part of the LS menu? I also noted ‘hot eggs’ and a ‘boiling kettle’ in the text whilst we’re on the supper subject!!!! You do mention ACD being both subtle and clever in this story but does that cleverness run deeper? And was it just chance that you put this episode up at Easter? “"I was strapped to a stake with thorns in my eyelids to keep them open…” I’m no religious expert but looking through the story it appears to be loaded with more religious subtext than you mentioned… here’s a few additional examples to those above… “It was a joyous and noisy party, therefore, which met at the SUPPER-table, when the three bottles of Lachryma Christi were uncorked and the famous pot of caviare was finally opened…” Note I’ve highlighted the Last Supper reference but interesting choice of wine surely… Lachryma Christi! Literally Christ’s tears - and there’s an interesting myth as origin to that… Add to that… “…Why, Professor," said he, "I have seen you more excited on the morning when you brought back Lepidus Mercerensis in your collecting box." I think the ‘Lepidus Mercerensis’ is a fictional butterfly but just think why did ACD choose that if it ties in with religion - well insect specimens are pinned just like Christ on the cross but also, Lepidus was a Roman general I believe, but not only that - look up Mercerensis - Crataegus mercerensis is a species of hawthorn - stretching a point maybe but crown of thorns!!! Found this online as well… ‘The supposition that the tree was the source of Jesus's crown of thorns doubtless gave rise around 1911 to the tradition among the French peasantry that it utters groans and cries on Good Friday, and probably also to the old popular superstition in Great Britain and Ireland that ill-luck attended the uprooting of hawthorns.’ It’s also interesting to speculate on ACD’s choice of name for the one survivor to ‘rise’ again from all the poisonous action around her! Jessie Patterson! The meaning of the name Jessie is suggestive too… To behold; the Lord exists! And Pater - son! Hmmm! God / Jesus maybe? And finally on the not-so-serious front, here’s the other Doylean rabbit hole I fell down after reading the story… The word Boxer suggested to my mind Conan Doyle and sport… and his other sports interests around the time of his writing this story - I thought of billiards… Where you POT spherical objects of different colours - in fact if they were minuscule then they’d be akin to the shape of Caviare! Ended up doing a web search and weirdly came across a website with a billiards result against a Mr A McNicoll which I can’t see in Brian Pugh’s Chronology as well as a reprint of an article on ACD and billiards from the Daily Chronicle which again, I can’t find in Brian’s book or elsewhere? I might be wrong but my rabbit hole digging amused me and I thought it might do similar for you - anyhow check them both out at: www.eaba.co.uk/?p=5896

One of his best stories, in my opinion.

Another fabulous discussion chaps - thank you so much, your exploration of this "forgotten gem" of a book proved to be the usual blitz of facts, comparative analysis and thought provoking, inspiring surmise regarding ACD's sources and inspiration for this particular story, the conversation about the (too) young soldiers' POV up to and including the Battle of Waterloo was excellent and it was great to hear the contemporary review praise for the book too... I hope some date in the future to purchase a copy of The Annotated Great Shadow by Chapman and Jones :-) Indeed - yes, really - you should ;-)

Thanks to the ‘Three of Them’ 😜 for this brilliant wide ranging discussion, what a lovely man Cliff sounds - I for one can’t wait to get an updated and expanded edition of his ‘The Great Shadow’ tome… and wow, what a fascinating observation on ACD and architecture - should make a great article but hopefully Cliff’ll keep on going back to it and it’ll turn into a full book! Great point regarding why the Gerard and the Holmes stories work for the reader from their written story telling perspective and yes indeed, totally shows up ACD’s widely varied talents as a short story writer… also enjoyed the discussion on collecting books and artefacts… hopefully there’ll be a Cliff interview part 2 sometime in the future 🤩

Just caught up with this episode - thank you once more for such a fact filled exploration of a wonderful story, much to wonder at and as always, you leave a trail of further reading to follow that is fascinating. Couple of things sprung to mind whilst listening, firstly, have you subsequently seen or acquired a copy of the daily Strand newspaper? This was thrilling to hear about as I’d never realised that had been published… secondly, one comparison and point of interest is the proximity of this story to that of The Lost World just a couple of years on… surely the idea of Professor Challenger could have been developed from that of Dr Leon Sterndale - both larger than life famous explorers! And come to think of it, ACD produced his own mock up character photos for the LW novel which surely reflect the same idea which you mention of that aforementioned rare Strand newspaper carrying the scenes of crime photos, which, as you say could be ACD’s holiday snaps… again this further brings to mind dry plates on a wet moor and ties in with Spirit ‘Photography manipulation’! And lastly, the Beatles segueing into a clip of Jeremy Brett crying ‘John’!!! Honestly that’s music genius!!! More so than another John - Lennon! Or maybe you’ve invented a new musical genre we can call Lennon Sterndale! I’ll get me coat!

Really enjoyed this episode - much to dissect and much to amuse, although I’m slightly disappointed I wasn’t listening in my pants and munching on a bag of my fave flavour* of crisps whilst listening 😂 Weirdly enough, I was only pondering this morning about the year of 1893 when so much happened in ACD’s life connected to loss, be it his joining the SPR who dealt with the dead, his wife’s TB diagnosis and it’s at-that-time expected end of life outcome, his father dying, Holmes dying in the Memoirs, his uncle passing etc… so interesting to hear it brought up in this episode… so thanks again for such a fascinating and stimulating discussion… *brussels sprout

Playing catch up so just got round to listening to this podcast… once again, a brilliantly researched discussion around one of ACD’s best short stories… I think you should run with the ‘Desert Island Doyle’ remark and ask any future interviewee their 10 Doyle books they’d take with them!!! One question has always intrigued me about this story and that is why did CD choose the number 249? In the past I recall falling down a research rabbit hole with regard to ‘Angel Numbers’ and their ancient meanings but that led to ‘Darkness’ all around!!! See what I did there! Lol 😂

Wowzers… another fantastically researched discussion - thoroughly enjoyed the listen… and boy! throw me across a pack-horse but that dastardly historical fact-nugget about Charles Augustus Murray is the bestest bit of great research of all - surely that’s the most Holmesian sounding name ever!!! However! Did you fully research whether the names Crosse or Blackwell appeared elsewhere in any other Doylean fiction? Missed opportunity if not 😂Or maybe that would be too much of a pea-souper research wise!!!!

D’Odd and D’oyle - love it 😍 First name beginning with an Ar too! This is the most (suitably) fun episode 😍 the Rentaghost reference is an hilarious and joyous Xmas present thanks… you continue to delight with some excellent and outré Doylean observations… 👌

Thanks for another fascinating discussion - really enjoyed the talk around the complexity of ACD’s character especially… I picked up a copy of the Ken Cooper book a few months back but have only skim read it but I think I’ll give it my full attention next - my wallet isn’t thanking you however, just ordered Something of Themselves and Talking to the Dead… and I must re-read Crime of the Congo too… so yes please make that one of your future podcasts 🙏

Loved this episode thanks… would like to add that alongside the ACD society and The Northern Musgraves the other society to spring up from the upsurge of interest in SH via Jeremy Brett’s Granada TV portrayal who most definitely considered the study of ACD to be essential to gaining a richer and more satisfying understanding of the SH stories was the Franco Midland Hardware Company who published a significant amount of Doylean articles and research… The Journals that the ACD Society published certainly pay off revisiting… and you are most certainly right in recommending Owen Dudley Edwards’ Quest book… and indeed totally agree that he was a real pioneer in bringing the author to the fore… I’m going to have to re-watch Lucy Worsley’s TV series for the more interesting analysis you mentioned as initially I found it infuriating… and thanks for sending me down the rabbit hole of Charlie Watts’ collection and the others - I have bright green eyes now!!! Brilliant stuff chaps 😍

This is my favourite of Doyle’s supernatural tales….I had a professor in Berlin who was so enamored with this Doyle short story, that he spent most of an entire semester analyzing it….

Very interesting. I’m such a Doyle fan, learning the background of his stories/personal life is fascinating….(Btw, this youngish woman prefers her male protagonists to possess a jot of “toxic masculinity” :)

Lap…

The similarities to Lovecraft are interesting. At the end of "At the Mountains of Madness", while his main characters are flying in an aeroplane to escape creatures similar to Doyle's, Lovecraft briefly mentions "such gaseous wraiths as rash flyers have barely lived to whisper of after unexplainable falls." Could this be a direct nod to "The Horror of the Heights"?

Thanks to this video I've gone and read Hyne's "The Lizard", Curtis' "The Monster of Lake LaMetrie" and Bulwer's "The Coming Race". I thank you for bringing these great stories to my attention - it's a shame they're so obscure! And of course "The Terror of Blue John Gap" is a wonderful story.

The aeronaut, one Joyce-Armstrong Was determined he wasn't wrong About the weird creatures With abnormal features To whom the high skies belong

Sir Conan Doyle was quite appalled That his hero was such an oddball So he brought him over From the white cliffs of Dover And sent him down Reichenbach Falls

Very insightful

A very funny story :)

Good One. Cheers.

I loved this episode

Bravo gentlemen! I adored your appreciative and insightful discussion of this story. Subscribed and look forward to listening to to you other collaborations

An enormous Doyle collection. Thank you.

Loving the customized audiogram!!!