Sherlock Holmes Collections - June 2022 Volume 26 Number 2

Aug 27, 2026

June 2022 issue 26, number 2 of the Friends of the Sherlock Holmes Collections spotlights the book Rafferty’s Last Case through a virtual conversation between author Larry Millett and curator Tim Johnson, including background on the “Sherlock Holmes in Minnesota” series and plans for additional Rafferty novellas. The issue also offers a “Years Ago” feature examining Arthur Conan Doyle’s poetry collections and specific works tied to publishing, introspection, and themes such as fate and Ypres.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages8

Reading Time20 min

AccessFree to download

Rafferty’s Last Case

From the President

Musings

An Update from the Collections

Powering curiosity, discovery, and connection

Remembrances

100 Years Ago

50 Years Ago

“Your merits should be publicly recognized”(STUD)

June 2022 Volume 26 Number 2 Sherlock Holmes C O L L E C T I O N S C o n t e n t s Rafferty's Last Case 1 100 Years Ago 2 50 Years Ago 3 From the President 4 Musings 4 An Update from the Collections 5 Powering curiosity, discovery, and connection 8 Remembrances 8 “Your merits should be publicly recognized”(STUD) Rafferty’s Last Case O n Thursday evening, April 21, SubText Books in Saint Paul hosted a virtual event featuring author Larry Millett and curator Tim Johnson in a conversation about Rafferty’s Last Case, the final volume in Millett’s “Sherlock Holmes in Minnesota”series. The series, now published by the University of Minnesota Press, began with the appearance of Sherlock Holmes and the Red Demon in 1996 and continued through seven other novels and two short stories (“The Mystery of the Jeweled Cross” and “The Brewer’s Son.”) The evening included a question-and-answer session with the virtual audience in a well-attended event featuring visitors from around the country. Special thanks go to Heather Skinner, Publicist and Assistant Marketing Manager at the University of Minnesota Press, and Sarah Cassavant, Event Coordinator at SubText Books for organizing this special evening and launch for Rafferty’s Last Case. What follows is an excerpt from a transcription of the evening’s recording, prepared and edited for clarity by Tim Johnson, which gives you a flavor of the conversation. We hope you enjoy this little snippet from the event and get a sense of how much Larry and Tim delight in each other’s company. (We edited out the laughter.) Over the years, they’ve done several events together, including a sold-out appearance for The Friends of the University of Minnesota Libraries and another at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Larry contributed some of his early manuscripts to the Collections and consulted with library assistant Jamie Hubbs ashe began researching and writing his first novel, Sherlock Holmes and the Red Demon. He also has presented at our Triennial Conference and Norwegian Explorer events. We are currently talking to Larry about acquiring additional papers from his Holmes in Minnesota series. Rest assured that we haven’t heard the last from Shadwell Rafferty. During the conversation, Larry revealed that he’s working on three shorter novellas featuring the adventures of Rafferty before his encounter with Mr. Holmes. We look forward to reading them! * * * * * * * TIM JOHNSON: Thanks for joining us this evening and celebrating this very special book that Larry has done, Rafferty’s Last Case. So, I’m going to dive right in, Larry, with you and… Rafferty. Where does that idea for this this remarkable person come from? Continued on page 6 Friends of the Sherlock Holmes Collections 1 Y E A R S A G O Among the many books from the collection of Dr. Philip Hench that are held in the Sherlock Holmes Collections is one that was inscribed by the author. The Poems of Arthur Conan Doyle—Collected Edition was published by John Murray in 1922. The inscription on the title page states “You will note different stages of development ending in the purely psychic ‘Fate’A Conan Doyle Jan 9/27 .” It has the original white dust jacket, dark blue cloth over boardsand an inserted bookmark advertising John Murray books by A. Conan Doyle including Four Volumes of Verse. This book has much to tell us about Conan Doyle the poet and publishing during the last decade of his life. Conan Doyle’s novel The White Company (1891) contains “The Song of the Bow” in Chapter VI. The poem was set to music composed by J.M. Capel in 1892. It opened Conan Doyle’s first book of poetry, The Songs of Action (1898), published by Smith, Elder & Co. and containing 28 poems. According to Daniel Stashower in Teller of Tales (1999), most of Conan Doyle’s poems were narrative ballads of fighting men and sporting events. One exception was “The Inner Room,” a deeply personal and highly introspective effor

FAQs

What is covered in the Rafferty’s Last Case feature?

A virtual event conversation between Larry Millett and Tim Johnson discusses Rafferty’s Last Case and provides context for Millett’s “Sherlock Holmes in Minnesota” series, including audience Q&A and editing notes for an excerpted transcription.

What background does the issue provide about the “Sherlock Holmes in Minnesota” series?

It traces the series’ start in 1996 with Sherlock Holmes and the Red Demon and notes that it expanded through seven novels and two short stories, with Rafferty’s Last Case as the final volume.

What does the “100 Years Ago” section focus on?

It examines books and poems connected to Arthur Conan Doyle, including his collected editions of poetry and how specific poems relate to psychic belief and themes such as fate and Ypres.

Aug 27, 2026

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