The Baker Street Journal

For Sherlockian scholars, finding the actual historical events behind the Canon is an enjoyable pastime.  However, in the case of The Valley of Fear no such literary detective work is needed.  The events depicted in the novel's flashback are well-documented fact.  And yet, the historical memory of the Molly Maguires is more complicated than the account found in The Valley of Fear.  Competing claims of guilt versus innocence, provocation versus retaliation, and oppression versus terrorism permeate the tale of this secret organization of Irish-Americans in the 1870 mining districts of Pennsylvania.

In 2004, the Baker Street Irregulars mounted its first expedition – to the actual locations where those singular events occurred in order to shed further light on The Valley of Fear.  This companion volume was produced specifically for the expedition and provides a very thorough overview for those who weren't there.

98 pages, trade paperback, October 2004

Table of Contents

Introduction
by Steven T. Doyle

An Expedition to the Vermissa Valley
by Julia Carlson Rosenblatt

The Mollies vs. The Scowrers: Fact and Fiction in The Valley of Fear
by Steven T. Doyle

Bad Company
by David Hammer

The Overthrow of the Molly Maguires: Stories from the Archives of the Pinkerton Detective Agency
by Cleveland Moffett

Vermissa, PA - Inferno, USA
by Pasquale Accardo

It Is an Old Manuscript: The Notes for The Valley of Fear
by Peter Blau

The Strange Case of Birdy Edwards: The First Hardboiled Detective?
by Gary Lovisi

The Ancient Manor House of Birlstone
by Catherine Cooke

A Single Triumph? The Valley of Fear on Film
by Pat Ward

Miss Porlock, I Presume?
by Jon Lellenberg

Selected Bibliography

Contributor Bios

About the BSI Expedition Booklets
The Baker Street Irregulars, the literary society focused on Sherlock Holmes, publishes volumes for special Sherlockian events, including the Silver Blaze horserace (Two Celebrations) and an examination of the American setting for A Study in Scarlet (A Tangled Skein).