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Super Gift Pack: 25h Anniversary Issue, Truman Capote issue and the Sherlock Holmes Calendar
25th Anniversary Issue: Raymond Chandler’s “Requiem”, PLUS Alexander McCall Smith, Jeffery Deaver, Chuck Palahniuk & Bob Odenkirk
Our special holiday issues features a poem by none other than the dean of hard-boiled noir, Raymond Chandler. Written around 1955, “Requiem” shows the softer, sensitive side of the man who gave us the ever brusque, wise-cracking PI Philip Marlowe. Fans of Chandler will enjoy Judith Freeman’s excellent biography of Chandler, The Long Embrace (2007) which also features this poem as well as wonderful insight into Chandler’s private life. Joining Chandler this issue are a number of modern-day writers who need no introduction. In “Mr. Slope, he fall,” Alexander McCall Smith turns the English country-house mystery on its head when a party of backstabbing academics gathers for a weekend in the Scottish Highlands. In “The Usual Suspect,” Jeffery Deaver blends existential dread with humor as he plays on the latest paranoia concerning the power of artificial intelligence. Turning to pastiche, Mike Adamson sends Holmes and Watson on foot into the mean streets of East London in “King of the Rats.” And bringing it home, John Floyd, a Strand stalwart ever since Issue 2, strikes a karmic chord in his perfect getaway tale “The Florida Blues.”
This issue will be a tough act to follow when it comes to interviews. Here we are lucky to feature conversations with three great talents. Bob Odenkirk has mastered all kinds of mediums, from sketch-comedy (think cult-classic Mr. Show) to dramatic acting (Better Call Saul, Breaking Bad) to memoir (Comedy, Comedy, Comedy, Drama). Last month, he and his daughter Erin—a painter and illustrator—joined me for a thoughtful, wide-ranging discussion about the importance of the written word, art, and what it was like to collaborate on Zilot and Other Important Rhymes, recently released by Little, Brown and Company. Also, on the heels of a new book—Not Forever, But For Now, published by Simon and Schuster—Chuck Palahniuk of Fight Club fame dropped in for a chat, offering some of the real-life inspirations for his debut novel and other minimalist postmodern masterpieces.
For more back issues with works by literary legends follow this link!
Unpublished Truman Capote Story
Truman Capote’s unpublished, complete, lost short story “Another Day in Paradise” has now been published for the first time ever here in The Strand. The story remained unpublished until it was found handwritten in the pages of a red and gold scrolled Florentine notebook. It has, like so much of Capote’s other works, some autobiographical elements, as well as Capote’s signature style—evocative descriptions, wry humor, and all too human characters. While Capote will forever be associated with his 1958 novella Breakfast at Tiffany’s, made more famous by the 1961 film starring Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard, and his 1966 true-crime novel In Cold Blood, it was short stories that were the author’s first love and enduring passion. And once again, here is an unforgettable story from the quintessential mid-century American author.
Also in this issue, the incomparable, always unique, and ever-prolific Joyce Carol Oates returns to The Strand with “The Chair of Tranquility,” a haunting tale that feels simultaneously classic and contemporary. John M. Floyd, speeds us to more modern times with an AI-inspired caper involving a couple of teenagers and a captivating car in “Liz and Drew and Mary Lou.” And what would an issue of The Strand be without a Sherlock Holmes yarn? Derrick Belanger, has Holmes taking a back seat this time, allowing Watson to try his hand at detecting in “Dr. Watson Takes the Case.” Headlining this issue’s interview is Martin Cruz Smith, the legendary creator of the Arkady Renko series. In this insightful interview with Strand managing editor Andrew Gulli, Cruz Smith shares his perspective on writing, his career in journalism, and the state of affairs in Eastern Europe. As usual, The Strand’s team of expert book reviewers has the scoop on the latest offerings from the mystery world.
In addition featuring this unpublished short story by Truman Capote, we’ve featured scores of unpublished works by legendary authors including Shirley Jackson, Ernest Hemingway, Raymond Chandler, H.G. Wells, Agatha Christie, Dashiell Hammett, Tennessee Williams, Louisa May Alcott, John Steinbeck, and Ray Bradbury.
Sherlock Holmes Calendar 2024
A Strand exclusive, Sherlock Holmes Calendar 2024 is in stock, and for years has been our bestselling gift item.
Our calendar is printed on glossy, heavy cover stock with trivia related to Sherlock Holmes and Arthur Conan Doyle. We’ve never produced the same Sherlock Holmes calendar twice, which is why our customers have been purchasing our calendars for decades.
Sherlock Holmes Calendar 2024 has a treat in store for fans of the art of illustrator Sidney Paget who brought Holmes to life in hundreds of illustrations for the original Strand Magazine. We also have several Sherlock Holmes themes, The Return of Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock Holmes on Celluloid, “The Adventure of the Norwood Builder,” Holidays in Baker Street, and Sherlock Holmes in the Meiringen Falls and much more!
The front cover “Holidays in Baker Street” was painted by Danny Smith and we have three other paintings that were commissioned by the Strand featuring Sherlock Holmes and Watson. Our quotes and trivia section looks at everything from the day that Sherlock Holmes was born to the publication dates of several short stories and novels from the cannon.
Our Sherlock Holmes Calendar 2024 is full color, 11×17 on glossy paper. A collector’s item that will last for years. Sherlock Holmes Calendar 2024 is a Strand Magazine exclusive. Our calendar is printed on heavy card stock and will last as collector’s items for many years to come! Also, the calendar is coil bound which means that it’ll open smoothly and will never ever tear.
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