The Magic Door newsletter and the Edinburgh Editions

I recently became a Friend of the Arthur Conan Doyle Collection at Toronto Public Library (see http://www.acdfriends.org). This group works with the library to promote the collections and fundraise to support and enlarge the collection (there's a nice summary at https://www.arthur-conan-doyle.com/index.php?title=Friends_of_the_Arthur_Conan_Doyle_Collection). 

The Friends send out a newsletter called "The Magic Door" three times a year. It's short (eight pages) with some nice articles highlighting holdings in the collection or new books being released. Along with the general merit of supporting such a cause, the newsletter certainly is worth the price of admission.

In the latest issue (Autumn 2023, Volume 3 Issue 3) there's an article highlighting the relatively new Edinburgh Edition of the Works of Arthur Conan Doyle, published by Edinburgh University Press. A selected volumes of ACD's works are being edited, with introductory essays to each volume, and some other features. Text is standardized by comparison of multiple published editions.

Each hardcover volume is in a handsome mauve (?) dust-jacket with identical illustrations fo ACD against a silhouetted Edinburgh University (where ACD studied). To date, three volumes have been published:

• Memories and Adventures
• Round the Red Lamp
• The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes

These are 'scholarly editions', and in the world of academia the word 'scholarly' is also code for 'very expensive'. In my world of science, authors usually produce content without being paid, resulting in a volume that can cost $200-400. The Edinburgh Editions are not quite so costly, but one could probably purchase a first edition of some of the less-in-demand volumes for the price of an Edinburgh Edition. I state this not to be negative, but to provide context for how these volumes become expensive.

These volumes will likely be largely purchased by academic libraries and very committed Doylean and Sherlockian collectors. I have purchased Memories and Adventures, and hope to be able to continue adding the volumes to my collection. I'm partly optimistic that prices will drop - certainly the first three volumes have been published at consecutively lower prices.

Certainly many books published by ACD will not receive the Edinburgh treatment. While both fiction and non-fiction books are included, the books on spiritualism are not included, which includes ACD's 'travel books' such as 'Wanderings of a Spiritualist'. More information about the series can be found at https://edinburghuniversitypress.com/series-the-edinburgh-edition-of-the-works-of-arthur-conan-doyle/ .