Basil of Baker Street (1) (The Great Mouse Detective)

Product Description

Named one of “13 Detective Book Series You Obsessed over as a Kid” by Buzzfeed.com and the inspiration for a hit Disney film, the masterful Great Mouse Detective series is now available to a whole new generation of readers!

Basil—the famous sleuth of mousedom—lives in the cellar of Sherlock Holmes’s house. A devoted admirer of the great detective, he has learned his craft by listening at the feet of Holmes himself. But will it be enough to help Basil solve his most baffling mystery yet?

The Mystery of the Missing Twins is one of the strangest cases in Basil’s career. With only a few crumbs of clues with which to find answers, how is he ever going to figure out where Angela and Agatha are being kept—and, of course, who mouse-napped them! Will Basil’s mouse sleuthing skills be up to the task of finding the twins before it’s too late?

From the Back Cover

Basil–famous sleuth of mousedom–lived in the cellar of Sherlock Holmes’ house. A devoted admirer of the great detective, he had learned his craft by listening at the feet of Holmes himself. The Mystery of the Missing Twins was one of the strangest cases in Basil’s career. He had only a few crumbs of clues with which to find solutions to such baffling questions as: Who had masterminded the plot? Where were the twins, Angela and Agatha, being kept?

About the Author

Eve Titus (1905–2002) wrote many books for children during her long career, including the Basil of Baker Street books and the Anatole series.

Paul Galdone (1907–1986) illustrated hundreds of children’s books, including the Basil of Baker Street series and the Anatole books, which received Caldecott Honors. He was posthumously awarded the 1996 Kerlan Award for his contribution to children’s literature.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Basil of Baker Street

1
BASIL, THE SUPER SLEUTH
THE MYSTERY OF THE MISSING twins could never have been solved by an ordinary detective.

But Basil, of course, was far from ordinary. Even before the kidnappers’ note came, his keen mind had deduced what the criminals really wanted.

“Mark my words,” he told me, “the disappearance of Angela and Agatha is only the beginning. The criminals plan to strike at all of us!”

He was quite right. But there was a long and dangerous road to be traveled before the pieces of the puzzle fell into place.

Who masterminded the plot? What was the motive behind it? How were the twins lured away?

And Basil—what sort of sleuth was he?

To make these matters clear, I shall tell you something of his amazing career as a detective, and then relate the events leading up to the crime.

The place is London, in the year 1885. . . .

Pray allow me to introduce myself. I am Dr. David Q. Dawson, Basil’s close friend and associate.

Basil was as famous a detective in our world as was Mr. Sherlock Holmes in the world of people.

This came about because he studied at the feet of Mr. Holmes himself, visiting him regularly in his rooms at Baker Street, Number 221B.

I usually went along. We would scurry up to the sitting room shared by Sherlock and Dr. John H. Watson. Well-hidden, we would then listen closely as Mr. Holmes told his friend exactly how he solved his cases.

Thus Basil learned the scientific side of sleuthing from the best teacher of them all.

Mr. Holmes was tall and thin, with sharp, piercing eyes. And if ever a mouse may be said to resemble a man, then Basil was the mouse!

He even dressed like his hero, thanks to a clever little tailor who copied Sherlock’s wardrobe almost exactly.

But the long trips to Baker Street, in all sorts of weather, were tiring and often risky. We braved many a blizzard to reach our goal.

One evening, leaving by way of the cellar, Basil stopped so suddenly that I almost bumped into him.

“Observe, my dear doctor,” he remarked, pointing with his walking stick. “Observe how clean and spacious is this cellar. What a far cry from our crowded, dingy dwellings in the Eas