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The Devil and Sherlock Holmes

Kindle cover
Author	David Grann
Language	English
Genre	Non-fiction
Publisher	Doubleday
Publication date	2010
Publication place	United States
Published in English	March 9, 2010
Media type	Print (hardcover)
Pages	350 pp
ISBN	978-0-385-51792-8
LC Class	PN4874.G672A25 2010
Preceded by	The Lost City of Z
Followed by	Killers of the Flower Moon

The Devil and Sherlock Holmes: Tales of Murder, Madness, and Obsession (2010) is a collection of 12 articles (essays) by American journalist David Grann.

Essays

The essays were previously published between 2000 and 2009 in The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, The New Republic and The Atlantic, and have been "updated and revised". The stories are about real-life mysteries, a "mosaic of ambition, deception, passion, and folly."

Four of the stories have been filmed or optioned, and five of the stories have been collected in other "best" anthology volumes. It is Grann's second book, after The Lost City of Z (2009) published the previous year, and his first collected anthology of essays.

Critical response

In The New York Times, Sam Roberts called the book "riveting." Writing in Entertainment Weekly, critic Keith Staskiewicz gave the collection a grade of A: "This collection of David Grann's nonfiction, much of it from The New Yorker, is by turns horrifying, hilarious, and outlandish... These straightforward tales grip you as unrelentingly as the suckered appendages of the giant squid Grann attempts to track down in 'The Squid Hunter.' You might feel that some of the pieces skirt credibility, but remember, as Holmes himself once said, "Life is infinitely stranger than anything which the mind of man could invent."

Editions

• Grann, David. The Devil and Sherlock Holmes: Tales of Murder, Madness, and Obsession. March 9, 2010. Doubleday. ISBN 978-0-385-51792-8 (hardcover, first edition).

Contents

Notes

1. "Deception And 'The Devil And Sherlock Holmes'", NPR, Talk of the Nation, March 9, 2010.
2. The Devil and Sherlock Holmes, back-cover blurb, first edition.
3. See references in chart in this article.
4. Roberts, Sam (April 4, 2010). "Tales of Obsessions and Battles That Shaped the City". The New York Times.
5. Staskiewicz, Keith (March 10, 2010). "The Devil and Sherlock Holmes". Entertainment Weekly.
6. Part 1 motto: "Any truth is better than indefinite doubt." (Sherlock Holmes in "The Adventure of the Yellow Face")
7. Grann, David (December 13, 2004). "Mysterious Circumstances: The strange death of a Sherlock Holmes fanatic". The New Yorker. Retrieved February 25, 2011.
8. Grann, David (September 7, 2009). "Trial by Fire: Did Texas execute an innocent man?". The New Yorker. Retrieved February 25, 2011.
9. McClintock, Pamela (February 25, 2019). "Edward Zwick's 'Trial by Fire' Lands Early Summer Release Date From Roadside". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
10. Grann, David (August 11–18, 2008). "The Chameleon: The many lives of Frédéric Bourdin". The New Yorker. Retrieved February 25, 2011.
11. Grann, David (February 11–18, 2008). "True Crime: A postmodern murder mystery". The New Yorker. Retrieved February 25, 2011.
12. Grann, David (January 13, 2002). "Which Way Did He Run?". The New York Times Magazine. Retrieved February 25, 2011.
13. Part 2 motto: "A strange enigma is man!" (Sherlock Holmes in "The Sign of the Four")
14. Grann, David (May 24, 2004). "The Squid Hunter: Can Steve O'Shea capture the sea's most elusive creature". The New Yorker. Retrieved February 25, 2011.
15. Grann, David (September 1, 2003). "City of Water: Can an intricate and antiquated maze of tunnels continue to sustain New York?". The New Yorker. Retrieved February 25, 2011.
16. Dave McNary (February 15, 2010). "Mastromauro finds Identity". Variety. Archived from the original on December 16, 2012.
17. Grann, David (January 27, 2003). "The Old Man and the Gun: Forrest Tucker had a long career robbing banks, and he wasn't willing to retire". The New Yorker. Retrieved February 25, 2011.
18. Grann, David (September 12, 2005). "Stealing Time: What makes Rickey Henderson run?". The New Yorker. Retrieved February 25, 2011.
19. Part 3 motto: "All that was monstrous and inconceivably wicked in the universe." (Dr. Watson in "The Adventure of the Devil's Foot")
20. Grann, David (February 16–23, 2004). "The Brand: How the Aryan Brotherhood became the most murderous prison gang in America". The New Yorker. Retrieved February 25, 2011.
21. Grann, David (July 10, 2000). "Crimetown USA: The city that fell in love with the mob". The New Republic. Retrieved February 25, 2011.
22. Clint Willis. Wise Guys: Stories of Mobsters from Jersey to Vegas, 2003. pg.221
23. Grann, David (June 2001). "Giving "The Devil" His Due". The Atlantic. Retrieved February 25, 2011.

External links

• "Deception And 'The Devil And Sherlock Holmes'", NPR, Talk of the Nation, March 9, 2010.
• "David Grann on murder, madness and writing for The New Yorker", interview in Nieman Storyboard, April 5, 2010.

• 2010 non-fiction books
• Non-fiction books about crime
• Essay collections
• Doubleday (publisher) books