 Trade In this Item for up to £0.25
Get an extra £5 when you trade in books worth £10 or more until June 30, 2012. Trade in The Moriarty Papers: The Schemes and Adventures of the Great Nemesis of Sherlock Holmes for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £0.25, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.
|
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
Product Description
Product Description
The infamous Professor James Moriarty is a brooding presence in all of the adventures of celebrated British detective Sherlock Holmes. Yet his actions are described only once in "The Final Problem", when he and Holmes wrestle on the brink of the Reichenbach Falls, and he gets scant mention in five other reports. So who exactly was Moriarty? A power-crazed mathematician, as described by Arthur Conan Doyle? The public face of an underground brotherhood? Or the cocaine-induced Hyde to Holmes' Jekyll? "The Moriarty Papers" hold the key. Assembled after Moriarty's death by his head of Security Operations, Colonel Sebastian Moran, these unique documents confirm Moriarty as the supervillain that Holmes took him for. Indeed, they reveal him to be a criminal mastermind. Read this book and discover the darkest of secrets of Sherlock Holmes's arch rival.
About the Author
Colonel Sebastian Moran (Eton, Oxford, Ist Bangalore Pioneers) was in charge of security for the Moriarty Empire, and personal bodyguard to the Professor. A crack shot, he is also the author of Heavy Game of the Western Himalayas (1881) as well as the seminal Three Months in the Jungle (1884).
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
Well, this little (and it is little !) book looks gorgeous. And then I opened it, only to find a collection of Moriarty's musings regarding his involvement in the life of his arch nemesis Holmes. No great story, just a collection of faux jottings and diagrams. What a disappointment - and what a missed opportunity. I can only surmise that it's been published to coincide with the release of Game of Shadows,but it's probably missed it's mark, as it looks - and reads - like a stocking filler.
Strictly for the die hard Holmes afficiandos only I think.
Strictly for the die hard Holmes afficiandos only I think.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
Hmm...
Professor James Moriarty was a character from Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories, Holmes' arch enemy and described as the "Napoleon of Crime". Holmes claimed to have detected Moriarty's hand behind much of the more significant organised criminal activity in London and indeed England. He's passed into the canon as a sinister and coldly evil criminal mastermind, despite only ever having "appeared" in two of Conan Doyle's Holmes stories (and those being indirect appearances at that). This book purports to expose the true nature of the man, described by his lieutenant, Colonel Sebastian Moran.
I had expected a novel of sorts, and one that stuck reasonably well to Conan Doyle's vision. What arrived was presented more in the way of a scrapbook, with diary entries, sketches, maps, theatre tickets and the like. That in itself would have been no particularly bad thing and the format may provide some amusement, but it does give the book (a small one to be sure) the air of a Christmas stocking novelty (along the lines of those Monty Python annuals or the like) rather than a serious book.
To compound matters, it does rather spoil the well-developed Holmes-Moriarty brand. Now, I'm no Holmes purist (indeed it's been quite a few years since I ploughed through my dog-eared, broken-backed compleat Holmes) but I do believe that Conan Doyles' universe has a moderate degree of sanctity. I have no objection at all to modern attempts to add to the richness of the canon, but they must make an attempt to remain consistent and faithful. To digress slightly, the publicity posters for Guy Richie's recent sequel bear the tagline "Bigger, Better, Funnier" (or something similarly crass). As if Sherlock Holmes is a comedy figure! /That/ concept I cannot bear, and I'm afraid that this book /also/ commits the heinous crime of trying to be funny.
So, instead of the implacable, calculating, ascetic and icily sane evil genius, Moriarty becomes a deluded, obsessive, slightly loopy buffoon with a Napoleon complex AND a persecution complex. His diary entries retcon his shady involvement into ALL of Holmes and Watson's adventures: that was never the case in the original stories and in my opinion the canon is not up for grabs. There are sketches of Moriarty's crime-perpetrating inventions, Wile E Coyote-esque and annotated with rather immature scribbles such as "secret plan pocket - can also carry pipe tobacco" and childishly defaced photos of his Baker Street enemy.
As a result, I can only conclude that it is a rather misguided attempt to ride the wave of Holmes' recent popular resurgance and, while it may appeal to those who have never read Conan Doyle, it cheapens the value of the real Holmes/Moriarty story and I doubt that it will please many "real" Holmes fans.
A /generous/ two stars.
Afterword: Just think. For less than four times the cost, you could own the excellent Granada TV adaptation box-set. It would certainly last a good deal longer than this and Eric Porter makes a diabolically excellent (or excellently diabolical) Moriarty.
Professor James Moriarty was a character from Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories, Holmes' arch enemy and described as the "Napoleon of Crime". Holmes claimed to have detected Moriarty's hand behind much of the more significant organised criminal activity in London and indeed England. He's passed into the canon as a sinister and coldly evil criminal mastermind, despite only ever having "appeared" in two of Conan Doyle's Holmes stories (and those being indirect appearances at that). This book purports to expose the true nature of the man, described by his lieutenant, Colonel Sebastian Moran.
I had expected a novel of sorts, and one that stuck reasonably well to Conan Doyle's vision. What arrived was presented more in the way of a scrapbook, with diary entries, sketches, maps, theatre tickets and the like. That in itself would have been no particularly bad thing and the format may provide some amusement, but it does give the book (a small one to be sure) the air of a Christmas stocking novelty (along the lines of those Monty Python annuals or the like) rather than a serious book.
To compound matters, it does rather spoil the well-developed Holmes-Moriarty brand. Now, I'm no Holmes purist (indeed it's been quite a few years since I ploughed through my dog-eared, broken-backed compleat Holmes) but I do believe that Conan Doyles' universe has a moderate degree of sanctity. I have no objection at all to modern attempts to add to the richness of the canon, but they must make an attempt to remain consistent and faithful. To digress slightly, the publicity posters for Guy Richie's recent sequel bear the tagline "Bigger, Better, Funnier" (or something similarly crass). As if Sherlock Holmes is a comedy figure! /That/ concept I cannot bear, and I'm afraid that this book /also/ commits the heinous crime of trying to be funny.
So, instead of the implacable, calculating, ascetic and icily sane evil genius, Moriarty becomes a deluded, obsessive, slightly loopy buffoon with a Napoleon complex AND a persecution complex. His diary entries retcon his shady involvement into ALL of Holmes and Watson's adventures: that was never the case in the original stories and in my opinion the canon is not up for grabs. There are sketches of Moriarty's crime-perpetrating inventions, Wile E Coyote-esque and annotated with rather immature scribbles such as "secret plan pocket - can also carry pipe tobacco" and childishly defaced photos of his Baker Street enemy.
As a result, I can only conclude that it is a rather misguided attempt to ride the wave of Holmes' recent popular resurgance and, while it may appeal to those who have never read Conan Doyle, it cheapens the value of the real Holmes/Moriarty story and I doubt that it will please many "real" Holmes fans.
A /generous/ two stars.
Afterword: Just think. For less than four times the cost, you could own the excellent Granada TV adaptation box-set. It would certainly last a good deal longer than this and Eric Porter makes a diabolically excellent (or excellently diabolical) Moriarty.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
I liked the idea of a James Moriarty manifesto, being a fan of Sir Arthuur Conan Doyle stories and what we have here is a small, neat hardback book printed to look like old, faded papers telling the other side of the time of Sherlock Holmes.
Unfortunately, what we have is something that shows that most of the Sherlock Holmes investigations were of Moriarty's design and that Holmes only seemed to thwart these evil plans by accident.
I liked the included map and the idea of the 'found' pages, but the faux hand-written script is difficult to read. The book is also interspaced with odd drawings and clippings, that reminded me more of one of The Goodies annuals (or Monty Pythons, as another reviews has stated), than the mind of a criminal genius.
I think this book is a missed opportunity and should only be considered a curio for the die hard Holmes fan.
Unfortunately, what we have is something that shows that most of the Sherlock Holmes investigations were of Moriarty's design and that Holmes only seemed to thwart these evil plans by accident.
I liked the included map and the idea of the 'found' pages, but the faux hand-written script is difficult to read. The book is also interspaced with odd drawings and clippings, that reminded me more of one of The Goodies annuals (or Monty Pythons, as another reviews has stated), than the mind of a criminal genius.
I think this book is a missed opportunity and should only be considered a curio for the die hard Holmes fan.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Cleverly and beautifully done
I wouldn't call myself a diehard Holmesian(?), but I have always enjoyed the stories, and spurred on, like many, by the recent BBC adaptations, (And not the abtsmal movies by the... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Graeme Stewart
Not what I expected
I bought this book thinking it would be a proper novel - or at least short stories - tellikng the story of Moriarty as told from the viewpoint of his second in command, Colonel... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Mr. Christopher Lancaster
Stocking-filler material
Yes, it's a shameless cash-in on the recent upsurge in the popularity of the Holmes stories. Still, this little effort is still amusing for a few minutes. Read more
Published 2 months ago by S. Lindgren
A Strange Side Step For Holmes Continuity.
I'm a lifelong fan of Sherlock Holmes, not just the canonical stories by Conan-Doyle but also the expanded universe adventures. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Scott
One for the fans
This is a lovely little book, with the emphasis on both lovely and little. It is a slim volume and about the same size as a Kindle, ironic because this is one of those books that... Read more
Published 3 months ago by A. Skudder
The Moriarty Papers
This small, perhaps slight, book is meant to be a riposte to the well documented stories concerning the consulting detective, Sherlock Holmes. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Robert Archer
I like this book
I feel I am going to wnjoy reading this. It has started well with the end papers evoking the late 19th Century Professor Moriaty promises to be an interesting character. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Long Tall Sally
Whoever would have thought it...?
This is a rather silly but very enjoyable little book, presented as Col. Moran's scrapbook of items regarding his employer, Moriarty. Read more
Published 4 months ago by downkiddie
An thoughtful addition to the Holmes catalogue...
At first glance this could just be dismissed as a cynical 'cash-in' to co-incide with the release of the latest addition to the Ritchie catalogue of Sherlock Holmes Movies and the... Read more
Published 4 months ago by John
This game's not quite a foot. More like a toe.
Col. Sebastian Moran - late of Mer Majesty's 1st Bangalore Pioneers - has been a popular figure recently: Appearing in the Game of Shadows film, Kim Newman's excellent Hound of the... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Call Me Sparky
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
