The Valley of Fear
The least well-known of Doyle’s four novella-length Holmes stories, join us for this weird and riveting tale of American unions, vanishing jewelry, and Professor Moriarty’s first appearance. The Valley of Fear kicks off a new year for us and for Holmes and Watson. Published between 1914 and 1915, The Valley of Fear is loosely based on a true story. We discuss Moriarty as a master artist, antisemitic space Jews, whether Doyle is actually any good at writing novellas, and what this story might reveal about how much Watson lies.
Our discussion of the story is below — and you can keep reading to find our narration of the tale in six parts.
Further reading:
The Woman Who Stole Vermeer: The True Story of Rose Dugdale and the Russborough House Art Heist, Anthony M. Amore
The Goldfinch, Donna Tartt
Star Trek: Deep Space 9 season 4, episode 15: “Bar Association.”
Justified, particularly season 2
Pride, dir. Matthew Warchus
Other stories mentioned in our discussion: STUD, NAVA, HOUN, SIGN, FINA, EMPT
Part 1 - The Tragedy of Birlstone
“Your thoughts move a bit too quick for me, Mr. Holmes. You leave out a link or two, and I can't get over the gap. What in the whole wide world can be the connection between this dead painting man and the affair at Birlstone?”
Part 1 is narrated by Sarah Kolb. Sarah is a Colorado-based writer, podcaster, and arts marketer, with a passion for unconventional storytelling, detective stories, and rude women. Needless to say, she's the co-host and co-creator of this podcast. Find her on Twitter @misandrywitch.
Part 2: The Scowrers
"The iron and coal valleys of the Vermissa district were no resorts for the leisured or the cultured. Everywhere there were stern signs of the crudest battle of life, the rude work to be done, and the rude, strong workers who did it."
Part 2 is narrated by Dan Heidt. Dan is a songwriter and podcaster from Columbus, Ohio. His podcast, "Flies in the Kitchen" features conversations with creative folx from all genres, in all settings. Dan previously recorded several stories for Librivox, an online audio archive of public domain publications, and when not blabbering into a microphone, he is building SUVs for Honda Manufacturing and enjoying life with his wife and 4 cats. His debut album, 'The View From Up Here', is available on all streaming platforms as well, for your listening pleasure.
Music credit: The songs Violin Concerto in F Minor, RV 297, “Winter”, I. Al. Non Molto by Antonio Vivaldi and “Denmark (Live)” by the Portland Cello Project is featured with an Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).