Feeling A Bit Beeton

Life lately has been unusual. Odd. Off, if you will. There have been many challenges, but I still want to take care of my loyal readers. Those trials and tribulations have caused me not to have a decent idea for this month's column, but I did come up with something, and it's somewhat timely. It has to do with a piece I wrote 10 years ago for my local Sherlockian club, and it will do just fine here. Let's see what my brain came up with at age 43, shall we?

As most of us know, A Study in Scarlet (STUD) was first released to the world on November 21, 1887. That fact made its usual rounds on Facebook and other media platforms, and Sherlockians, Holmesians, Watsonians, Doyleans, Hudsonians (did I just create a new thing?), and all other of our illustrious ilk rejoiced in the event. Along with that momentous occasion we all thought about a time when a select few of us have held a copy of the original publication in our hands. Beeton's Christmas Annual holds the distinction of being the first magazine to offer Our Heroes to the world, and some of us have seen one in person. Quite exciting. So, I dug out this column. I reference a Beeton book in my collection, so I'll place a photo of it here so you'll know which of the many listed below I'm referring to.

So, on to the original column. I am presenting here unchanged (errors and all) from when it was written and published in September 2014. 

2 Beeton’s, Or Not 2 Beeton’s? In September there is going to be a major gathering of Sherlockians/Holmesians from all over the world. Gillette to Brett IV promises to be one heck of event. One of the things we enjoyed at the last one was looking at some very rare publications at the Lilly Library. Among them was a Beeton’s Christmas Annual. You know, the magazine that contained a little story called A Study in Scarlet. That got me to thinking about the name Beeton’s. I have a Beeton’s book on one of my bookshelves, and I know that their name appeared on other things. I began to wonder how many, so I looked it up. Let me start by saying that these folks put their moniker on a ton of stuff. I compiled a list of what I could find. These are in no specific order. Beeton’s Book of Poultry and Domestic Animals; Bible Dictionary; Historical Romances, Daring Deeds, and Animal Stories; British Biography; Fact, Fiction, History, and Adventure; Book of Jokes and Jests; Famous Voyages, Brigand Adventures, Tales of the Battlefield, Life and Nature; Modern European Celebrities – A Biography; Sixpenny Book of Songs; Guide to the Stock Exchange and Money; Book of Burlesque; Ready Reckoner – A Business and Family Arithmetic; Classical Dictionary; Dictionary of Natural History; Gardening Book; Book of Anecdote, Wit, and Humour; Date-book: A British Chronology; Tales of Perils and Adventures by Sea and Land; Dictionary of Universal Biography; Counting House Book; Dictionary of Commerce; Book of Universal Information; Public Speaker; Handy Book of Games; Domestic Recipe Book Also: Family Etiquette (by S.O. Beeton); The Queen – The Ladies Newspaper (a weekly magazine for women); Mrs. Beeton’s Book of Household Management (this is the one I have); Mrs. Beeton’s Dictionary of Everyday Cookery This is not a complete list, just the ones I could find in a single evening of searching. Some of the above titles are included in a nine-book series called Beeton’s National Reference Books. I have also found a listing of books about letter writing that feature the Beeton name. Seems that if there was a topic, they had a book about it. I should also point out that every title was published by the famous house of Ward, Lock, & Co. Now, one might imagine that there may not have been actual Beetons whose name was applied to these tomes, but there was. Isabella Mary Mayson Beeton was married to Samuel Orchart (S.O.) Beeton, and they really did live in England. Samuel was already a publisher when they married, and in time his wife began to write things for his books. In 1859 her pieces started to be published, and in 1861 they were compiled together for the first time – on Christmas Day, to be exact. Isabella died in 1865 at age 28, exactly one week after the birth of their fourth child. Samuel died in 1877 at age 46. Of their four sons, one died in less than a year, and another died of scarlet fever at just two. Of their remaining two boys, one went on to have a successful career in the Army, then followed in his father’s footsteps becoming a publisher and then a journalist. The other went on to be a surveyor of some note in Newfoundland, and became president of a company called the Anglo Newfoundland Development Company, a paper mill business. The mill was able to supply paper during The Great War for the Daily Mail newspaper, which held the world record for daily circulation. So now, when you hear the name Beeton’s, you’ll have a little bit more info about them.

It's fun for me to go back and re-read some of the things that have came from my proverbial pen. I revel in the fact that my writing style hasn't changed much, and that people like you still enjoy reading it. (Sometimes I get really amazing compliments on it, often followed with questions about why I don't do it professionally. I love those!) (We'll talk more about those things another time.)

Well, there you go. I'm sorry I had to cheat a little on this one, but I think it worked out okay. Hopefully things in my little corner of the world will be back in some semblance of order soon and I can bring you something fresh. I truly hope your holiday season has started off well. I'll see you next month, and as always...thanks for reading.