Tag Archives: Sherlock Holmes

The Literary Life in Dorothy L. Sayers’ Murder Mystery, Whose Body? (1923)

Posted on October 21, 2022 by Brenton Dickieson

Dorothy L. Sayers has fallen into my life–and I into hers–because of my gloriously irresponsible definition of the Inklings. With a lifelong interest in J.R.R. Tolkien, and a growing curiosity about C.S. Lewis, I was thrilled to discover an entire … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged Agatha Christie, BBC, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, Dorothy L. Sayers, g k chesterton, George MacDonald, J.R.R. Tolkien, Lord Peter Wimsey, Sherlock Holmes, The Inklings, The Man Born to be King, The Mind of the Maker, Whose Body? | 25 Comments

An Essential Reading List from C.S. Lewis: An Experiment on An Experiment in Criticism (Throwback Thursday)

Posted on August 13, 2020 by Brenton Dickieson

At A Pilgrim in Narnia we have an occasional feature called “Throwback Thursday.” This is where I find a blog post from the past–raiding either my own blog-hoard or someone else’s–and throw it back out into the digital world. … Continue reading →

Posted in News & Links, Original Research, Throwback Thursdays | Tagged An Experiment in Criticism, books, C.S. Lewis, canon, Deconstructionism, George R.R. Martin, literary criticism, literary history, Margaret Atwood, Marilynne Robinson, Narnia, Reader Response Criticism, Reading, Sherlock Holmes, The Western Canon, writing | 45 Comments

A Room of His Own: A Literary-Cultural Study of Victorian Clubland by Barbara J. Black (Goodreads Review)

Posted on November 15, 2018 by Brenton Dickieson

A Room of His Own: A Literary-Cultural Study of Victorian Clubland by Barbara J. Black My rating: 4 of 5 stars There is a lot about the Victorian age that I am either missing or that has been warped in … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged A Room of His Own, A Room of One's Own, Clubland, London, Sherlock Holmes, The Bloomsbury Set, the Detection Club, The Inklings, the Mutual Admiration Society, the Paris Expats, Victorian Era, Virginia Woolf | 87 Comments

C.S. Lewis’ Christmas Sermon for Pagans (Friday Feature)

Posted on December 22, 2017 by Brenton Dickieson

I have spoken often enough of literary Providence: from time to time the book we really need falls from the shelf, lands in our mailbox, or gets handed to us by a friend (or enemy) at the very best time. … Continue reading →

Posted in Feature Friday, Lewis Biography, Memorable Quotes, News & Links, Original Research | Tagged archival research, archive, C.S. Lewis, Christmas, Christmas Sermon for Pagans, research, Sherlock Holmes, That Hideous Strength, The Abolition of Man, The Strand Magazine | 25 Comments

George Watson’s Provocative Comments on C.S. Lewis as Literary Critic

Posted on February 22, 2017 by Brenton Dickieson

One of the advantages of finding new libraries is that the librarian’s skill of book-buying is more art than science. The librarians I know, despite their adept use of analytics, have as much curator or architect in them as they … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged An Experiment in Criticism, C.S. Lewis, Douglas Adams, English Literature in the Sixteenth Century, F.R. Leavis, g k chesterton, George Watson, Inklings, Jacques Derrida, Joy Davidman, librarians, literary criticism, myth, Narnia, Postmodernism, Reader Response Criticism, Reading, Roland Barthes, Samuel Johnson, Sherlock Holmes, Socratic Club, Studies in Words, The Allegory of Love, The Discarded Image, The Personal Heresy, Till We Have Faces, William Empson | 28 Comments

What Would Jesus Do on Election Day?

Posted on November 8, 2016 by Brenton Dickieson

I think the question was meant sardonically. Or maybe the questioner already had an obvious answer to “What Would Jesus Do on Election Day?” For some, anyway, the answer is obvious: Jesus would vote for party A or candidate B … Continue reading →

Posted in Thoughtful Essays | Tagged Benedict Cumberbatch, Bible, Election 2016, Jesus, Left Behind, Mind Palace, Nicolas Cage, Political Theology, Politics, Sherlock Holmes, Theology of Culture, WWJD | 10 Comments

What if Journalism Was Like This? “The Whitby Storm” in Dracula

Posted on September 12, 2016 by Brenton Dickieson

I don’t know what we’ll end up having faith in, when it’s all said and done. Our collapse of faith in religion, democratic government, education, the university, the police force, the justice system, and many community leaders has come slowly … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged Bram Stoker, Dracula, epistolary fiction, fantasy, journalism, Mythgard Academy, Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire | 17 Comments

An Essential Reading List from C.S. Lewis: An Experiment on An Experiment in Criticism

Posted on August 4, 2016 by Brenton Dickieson

On A Pilgrim in Narnia we have been playing with lists of the key books to read–what we might call a “canon.” We’ve thought about the key books of Western literature (here and here), thought about the problems of this discussion, … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged An Experiment in Criticism, books, C.S. Lewis, canon, Deconstructionism, literary criticism, literary history, Narnia, Reader Response Criticism, Reading, Sherlock Holmes, The Western Canon, writing | 87 Comments

That Time C.S. Lewis Made Fun of Benedict Cumberbatch

Posted on May 18, 2015 by Brenton Dickieson

Well, not quite. Benedict Cumberbatch had the audacity to be born 15 years after C.S. Lewis died. But Lewis would have mocked him, and mocked him hard, had he the chance. After the death of Charles Williams, Lewis was gathering a … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged Benedict Cumberbatch, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, Dorothy L. Sayers, J.R.R. Tolkien, literature, Sherlock Holmes, The Hobbit | 40 Comments

The Fictional Universe of Narnia

Posted on August 4, 2014 by Brenton Dickieson

I am editing a paper Mythcon in August in Norton, MA. I am quite excited to be presenting some of my work on The Screwtape Letters and the Ransom Cycle. It is an unusual audience, a mix of scholars and … Continue reading →