The Solar Pons Companion #7

About this Book I am not writing new Solar Pons stories. My Solar Pons material was authorised and commissioned by Arkham House Publishers, Inc. back in the 1970s, and was written then but, owing to changes at Arkham House, they were never published by that imprint. The tales remained in limbo for something like twenty years before the originals began to be published by Fedogan & Bremer of Minneapolis. All date from the 1970s and early 1980s so perhaps original copyright lines should have been printed together with the new publication dates which would have obviated all misunderstandings. So, the present volume and all the Pons tales from my pen were commissioned and authorised by the then editorial and legal personnel at Arkham House and by the estate of the late August Derleth, who was a great friend of mine and very enthusiastic about my work. Basil Copper CONTENTS The Editor s Note Once A Pons a Time . . . Stephen Jones Foreword . . . Basil Copper In the Footsteps of Sherlock Holmes . . . Basil Copper Plots of the Stories . . . Basil Copper Characters in the Stories . . . Basil Copper The Sayings of Solar Pons . . . Basil Copper Solar Pons Plot and Dialogue Notes . . . Stephen Jones The Adventure of the Northleach Stocks . . . Stephen Jones Painting Pons: Artist Ben Stahl . . . Stephen Jones The Adventure of the Defeated Doctor . . . Basil Copper The Adventure of the Agonised Actor . . . Basil Copper The Adventure of the Persecuted Painter . . . Basil Copper