Tag Archives: Arthur Conan Doyle

The Indictment Game Is Afoot

By Robin Bates | Published: December 10, 2018

Monday Former federal prosecutor Ken White channeled Sherlock Holmes while explaining the latest revelations concerning Trump and his associates. The expression memorably associated with the great detective first appeared in “The Adventure of Abbey Grange”:  All three briefs show the special counsel and the Southern District closing in on President Trump and his administration. They’re […]

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Trump Drama as Sherlock Mystery

By Robin Bates | Published: February 5, 2018

Trump and the Russian investigation resemble the Sherlock Holmes story “The Five Pips.” But is Trump the secret society doing the killing or the panicked uncle marked out for slaughter?

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McConnell as Moriarty, Trump as Figaro

By Robin Bates | Published: December 11, 2016

Mitch McConnell is proving himself to be a veritable Moriarty in his ability to weave devious plots to get his way. Trump, by contrast, is more a trickster figure a la Figaro or Mac the Knife.

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With Stories We Defeat Our Inner Moriarty

By Robin Bates | Published: January 4, 2016

In the most recent episode of “Sherlock,” Holmes is not only the world’s foremost detective but a skilled literary critic of Doyle’s stories about him.

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Studying the Psychology of the Thriller

By Robin Bates | Published: November 8, 2015

Currently I am mentoring a English-psychology double major as she studies psychological thrillers that feature Antisocial Personality Disorders, such as “Psycho” and “Silence of the Lambs.”

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Updated Sherlock: Game Is Still On

By Robin Bates | Published: February 11, 2014

“Sherlock” plays wonderful variations on the original Sherlock Holmes stories.

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Holmes, Moriarty Grapple on the Fiscal Cliff

By Robin Bates | Published: December 6, 2012

If Obama goes over the fiscal cliff as Sherlock goes over the Reichenbach Falls, then he’ll be all right.

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Bill Belichick as Professor Moriarty

By Robin Bates | Published: December 18, 2010

Sports Saturday The New England Patriots are dominating the National Football League once again, and as an Indianapolis Colts fan I find this development depressing.  Over the past decade the Colts and Patriots have had the game’s fiercest rivalry, and fans of each team routinely root against whichever team is playing the other.  I am […]

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The Magic World of Children’s Lit

By Robin Bates | Published: July 7, 2009

William Kristof, the much traveled Pulitzer Prize winning columnist for the New York Times, wrote recently about the disturbing way that children’s IQ scores often drop over summer vacation. The cause is lack of intellectual stimulation. The problem is more severe with poor than it is with middle class kids. As an antidote, Kristof offered […]

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