View source for How Watson Learned the Trick by Arthur Conan Doyle

{{infobox1
|title=How Watson Learned the Trick
|author=Arthur Conan Doyle
|reviewer=Sue Magee
|genre=Crime (Historical)
|summary=A delightful curio which will please Holmes enthusiasts and those interested in miniatures.  It's beautifully produced and carefully thought out.
|rating=5
|buy=Maybe
|borrow=No
|pages=24
|publisher=Walker Books
|date=October 2014
|isbn=978-1406345971
|website=
|video=y7YjePpdXVQ
|cover=ACD_Watson
|aznuk=1406345970
|aznus=1406345970
}}
There is at Windsor Castle what is probably the most famous dolls' house in the world and it was a gift from the nation to Queen Mary, wife of George V.  In the library of the dolls' house is a book written especially by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in 1922 and Walker Books have recreated this book - handwritten by ACD - in exquisite detail.  It measures just 38.5mm by 33mm (or 1.9 inches by 1.6inches for those of us who still think in old money) and it's cloth bound.  Queen Mary was a keen collector (just a little too keen on occasions, one remembers) of antiques and miniatures and the gift of the house and its contents must have delighted her.

You can take a trip around the [http://46.236.36.161/queenmarysdollshouse/house.html dolls' house].  One of the pictures shows the library in considerable detail.  Or - you could visit.  There are details [http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/visit/windsorcastle/plan-your-visit here] to help you plan your trip.

The book is centred in a slipcase which also contains a pull-out informative booklet, covering the origins of the house, biographical details of Queen Mary and Princess Marie Louise who asked Sir Edward Lutyens to design and build the dolls' house.  There are pictures of the house and some of the contents - even down to such items as wine bottles and tins from the kitchen.  The library was created by Princess Marie Louise and it presents a cross-section of contemporary literary society.  The house and the contents are priceless.  There's also information about Conan Doyle, Holmes and Watson and a transcript of the story.  This does save handling of the book itself, but I was impressed by quite how sturdy it is.

It would make a beautiful and relatively inexpensive present for anyone who has an interest in Holmes or is a collector of miniatures.  It's perhaps one of the most unusual books which I've come across this year and I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.

We have reviews of larger copies of books by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle [[:Category:Sir Arthur Conan Doyle|here]].

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