Saratoga: At the Rail From “Silver Blaze” to “Shoscombe Old Place”

The Baker Street Irregulars Press has published a third collection of delightful and ground-breaking essays to mark the triennial running of the “Silver Blaze” Race at Saratoga Raceway. The new volume focuses on the two Sherlockian adventures concerned with horseracing: “Silver Blaze” and “Shoscombe Old Place.” But the topics of the book ‘s essays range widely—from art to aphorisms, and anti-Semitism to canines, corpses, and crime.

Candace Lewis examines three of the best-known illustrators of the Sherlock Holmes stories, setting them in the context of the fine arts and commercial arts of the times. Hartley Nathan poses the question, “Does crime pay?” by scrutinizing the profitability of criminal activities in SILV and SHOS. Clifford Goldfarb offers an in-depth account of how a dog that did nothing in the night-time has become a metaphor for nearly everything. Charles Blanksteen weighs the case for Conan Doyle being anti-Semitic using evidence from his writings and activities. Lastly, Roger Donway searches for the original of the racehorse, Shoscombe Prince and discovers remarkable parallels with Conan Doyle’s life.