Clutches of a Fiend.
A Facsimile of the Original Manuscript of
“The Adventure of the Illustrious Client”
by Arthur Conan Doyle
with Annotations and Commentary.
Edited, with an Introduction, by
Steven T. Doyle, BSI.
In “The Illustrious Client,” we go into the sometimes violent and vulgar aspects of the post-Victorian/Edwardian era. With the introduction of a murderous sexual predator, it is no longer 1895.
Clutches of a Fiend is a volume in the BSI Manuscript Series. It includes a high-quality full-color reproduction of Conan Doyle’s original manuscript along with a meticulous transcription and annotations. Besides a detailed account of the manuscript’s history, the illuminating essays cover such matters as chronology, legal implications, sex and violence on screen, psychoanalysis and hypnosis, and using gaslighting to control the public’s perception.
Featuring a truly modern villain, danger will be your companion as you explore the depths of this dark and twisted tale.
192 pages, 10″ x 7″ hardcover, December 2023
With the manuscript reproduction in color
plus 21 color & 16 b/w illustrations
Clutches of a Fiend
$44.95 plus shipping
(or visit our mail order page)
Table of Contents for Clutches of a Fiend
General Editor’s Preface to the Series
by Andrew G. Fusco
Editor’s Introduction – Welcome to the Modern World: “The Illustrious Client”
by Steven T. Doyle
A Tale from the Dark Side
by Bill Mason
Manuscript Facsimile of “The Adventure of the Illustrious Client”
with Transcription and Annotations by Phillip Bergem
Illuminating “The Illustrious Client”: Its History and Manuscript
by Randall Stock
“The Day When My Narrative Begins”: The Chronology of “The Illustrious Client”
by Mike McSwiggin
Delicate Matters, Indeed: Legal Issues In “The Illustrious Client”
by Ira Brad Matetsky
Sex & Violence and … Sherlock Holmes? “The Illustrious Client” on the Screen”
by Pat Ward
The Re-Education of Violet de Merville
by Monica M. Schmidt
“Souls I Have Ruined”: The “Lust Diary” of Adelbert Gruner
by Leslie S. Klinger
Gaslighting by Gaslight: Sherlock Holmes Spins the News
by Alan Rettig
The Usual Suspects: Contributors
Learn More
Audio Interview with the editor (podcast at I Hear of Sherlock)
Other BSI Manuscript Series books
BSI Press / Books overview page
About the Series
The Baker Street Irregulars, the literary society focused on Sherlock Holmes, in cooperation with leading libraries and private collectors, publishes The Manuscript Series to bring to the public facsimile editions of manuscripts and other documents relating to Sherlock Holmes and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, with insightful commentary by talented Sherlockian and Doylean writers.
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