December 14 Theatre Party – There's Still Time to Join Us!   The Red Circle will gather at Arena Stage’s Kreeger Theatre on December 14 for the 2:00 pm performance of Ken Ludwig’s thrilling adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile. You’ll want to be on board the cruise ship as Hercule Poirot becomes entangled in a web of Egyptian deceit and desire. This world premiere production is our own Ken Ludwig’s second Christie adaptation, and claims its place next to his three Sherlockian plays and his numerous award-winning comedies. After the performance we’ve arranged for a talk-back with Ken Ludwig and possibly some cast members.

 

Even though the Red Circle's two blocks of discounted tickets were claimed quickly, seats are still available directly from the Arena Stage boxoffice here. Arena Stage is located at 1101 6th Street in Southwest Washington, and the nearest Metro station is Waterfront on the Green Line. Uber or Lyft may be a good option for some.

 

We are waiting to find out whether the Arena Café will be open after the talk-back for more socializing, but in any event there are plenty of excellent restaurants along the newly-developed Southwest waterfront for a post-show dinner. So plan to join the Red Circle and playwright Ken Ludwig as Poirot springs into action to unmask a killer who could strike again at any moment!

 

  The Red Circle met twice in September, both times at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington. We had an opportunity to look back at the manuscript of The Valley of Fear, and forward to Nicholas Meyer's new novel, Sherlock Holmes and the Telegram from Hell. Peter Blau tells us about both events here.

 

What a Lovely Thing a Rose Is  Tom Boswell is one of the best baseball writers we’ve ever had. For decades his regular column in The Washington Post was in the same league as the work of the legendary Sherlockian Red Smith. Boswell still files the occasional column, and his latest marks the passing of Pete Rose. He muses over the yin and yang between one of the greatest baseball players ever and the gambling habit that will forever keep him out of the Hall of Fame. It’s no surprise that Boswell concludes the column this way: “Arthur Conan Doyle once had his character Sherlock Holmes quote Flaubert: ‘The man is nothing. The work is everything.’ If Pete Rose is lucky, perhaps the future will choose to view him through that prism.” Indeed. 10/2/24 AR

 

Two New Sherlockian Pastiches  The Red Circle’s own Michael Dirda is a Pulitzer Prize-winning book critic and columnist for The Washington Post, and it’s always especially fun when he writes about one of his favorite subjects, Sherlock Holmes. Mike's August 31 essay examines two new entries in the world of Holmesian pastiches, Nicholas Meyer’s Sherlock Holmes and the Telegram from Hell, and John Lawrence’s The Affair at Mayerling Lodge. Fair warning: after you read Mike’s column you’ll want to read both books! See the column here.  9/2/24 AR

 

Gomorrah by any other names  The television series Gomorrah, broadcast by Sky Italia in 2014 and 2016, is again available on Max, formerly known as HBO. The series is a fictionalized account of today’s crime syndicate in Naples. The title is a pun on the syndicate’s real name, the Camorra, which is well known to those who are aware that the manuscript of “The Red Circle” accurately identifies the organization as “Camorra.” However, when the story was published the name was changed to “Carbonari.” There are subtitles in English, of course; when the series aired in Italy it was subtitled in Italian, because the dialogue is in the Neapolitan dialect rather than in proper Italian. Fair warning: the series is not for the faint-hearted. 8/19/24 PEB

 

  The Red Circle’s June 22 meeting featured Burt Wolder’s fine presentation, “Arthur Conan Doyle: Adventurous Life, Enduring Memories.” Read Carla Coupe’s Meeting Notes here.

 

"The Red Circle" under the magnifying glass  A low bow to Alexander E. Braun, who is publishing detailed inquiries into the Canonical adventures on the Hounds of the Internet website. He's kindly made his fine paper on our namesake story available to us, and you're welcome to read and/or download it here. It's an essential reference work.  8/4/24 AR

 

Holmes manuscript brings record price at auction  June 26 saw five Sherlockian lots go under the hammer at Sotheby’s. The star of the show was the manuscript of the second Holmes novel, The Sign of Four, which sold for $960,000, making it the most valuable Sherlockian item ever sold at auction. Next up was the breathtaking original Sidney Paget illustration called “The Death of Sherlock Holmes,” which was an accurate title for the work when it was created. It shows Holmes and Moriarty grappling on the path above the Falls of Reichenbach just before the tumble into the abyss. Perhaps the most well known of Paget’s Sherlockian illustrations, it sold for $384,000, about 10% above the top end of the pre-auction estimate. Two of the other items brought good prices, and bidding on one didn’t reach the reserve. Detailed information about the auction is in Peter Blau's Scuttlebutt here. 7/8/24 AR STOP PRESS  We now learn, and it comes as no surprise, that the purchaser of both The Sign of the Four Manuscript and the Paget "Death of Sherlock Holmes" is one of the foremost collectors of Sherlockiana in the world, friend of The Red Circle and of all Sherlockians, Glen Miranker. It is gratifying to know that these items are now part of Glen's breathtaking holdings, where they will no doubt claim considerable pride of place. Congratulations Glen! When Glen visited the Red Circle in March of 2023, he talked to us about "Why Glen Miranker Collects." If you weren't at that meeting, or even if you were, this would be a great time to look at the video of his talk. You can watch it here. 7/28/24 AR

 

Video now available of Curtis Armstrong's presentation of "The "B" List"  The Red Circle's March 16 meeting featured a delightful presentation by the BSI's "actor and a rare one," aka Curtis Armstrong. Curtis guided us on a tour of the Canon's lesser villains, punctuated by irony, smiles and guffaws. Thanks to Matt Hall, it was all recorded, and you can watch it just by clicking the screen at the right.

And you can read Carla Coupe's Meeting Notes here. 

 

Red Circle Pins Available  The pin has been proudly worn all over the Sherlockian world, from Rockville to the Reichenbach, so Red Circle members (which includes everyone who's ever been to a meeting) will treasure having their own. The price is $14.95 each, which includes shipping anywhere. Send an email to Tom Fahres to order.

 

Scuttlebutt: One Fixed Point in a Changing Age  Our own Peter E. Blau's monthly Scuttlebutt from the Spermaceti Press has endured for more than 50 years, and has a permanent home right here on our website. It's the most remarkable collection of Sherlockian news and notes anywhere, and your webmaster recommends a monthly visit. The very latest edition is available now, as are past numbers. It's just a click away--use the "Scuttlebutt" button at the top of the page.