Sherlock Holmes: The Hero with a Thousand Faces - Volume 2

By: David MacGregor

Narrated by: J.T. McDaniel

Length: 8 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

Picking up the trail with the incredibly influential films of Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, Volume II goes on to explore the antiheroic Sherlock Holmes films of the 1970s, and then the somewhat rocky journey of Holmes into the medium of television (actors Alan Wheatley, Douglas Wilmer, and Peter Cushing all declared their respective TV series as the worst experience of their professional careers).

Television finally found its "definitive" Holmes in Jeremy Brett's portrayal for Granada Television, and then the BBC's "Sherlock" had flashed brilliantly across the cultural sky before crashing and burning in spectacular fashion.

Still, despite its ignominious end, Benedict Cumberbatch's version of Sherlock Holmes quite literally changed the face of Sherlockian fandom overnight, as studious middle-aged white men now found themselves sharing uneasy ground with a younger, more diverse, and more female audience.

Now a full-fledged transmedia phenomenon, Sherlock Holmes can be any gender, ethnicity, or species, and is celebrated in fan fiction and fanvids, as well as conventions that are far more inclusive than Sherlock Holmes societies of the past.

Vincent Starrett's poetic notion that Sherlock Holmes is a character "who never lived and so can never die" has never been more true, and the Digital Age promises any number of new versions of Sherlock Holmes to come.

©2021 David MacGregor (P)2021 MX Publishing

Comprehensive

The 2nd Volume by David MacGregor covers the Sherlock Holmes - Watson portrayals from Rathbone and Bruce through Sherlock, Elementary, and Enola Holmes and everything in between. It was very interesting and a great resource. I was introduced to Holmes with the Jeremy Brett (iconic to me) portrayal and have seen most everything since. This has inspired me to try and find a few other movies. The narration by JT McDaniel is excellent. I received a free audiobook code for my honest review.

Simply put, excellent

In this second volume the author tackles Rathbone and Nigel Bruce's films (which I hate with a passion as hot as thousand suns!) and the short term TV shows that popped up from time to time with mixed luck; the glorious and gorgeous Jeremy Brett's version in Granada TV (yes, my favourite one, why would you ask? :P ), BBC Sherlock; Elementary, Miss Sherlock... yes, we are, now, up to date. At least, as much as up to date as you can be in the subject of Sherlock Holmes and media :P

This book is a veritable source to everything Sherlock Holmes related, it's informative, entertaining, and written with passion. You can feel the author's love for his subject and that makes it even easier to read.

Essential for every single person who loves Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. No, seriously, go and read it; you'll agree with me :D

Another source

A great source of video and movies info for Sherlock Homes with their strengths and oddities.