virtues. If he could ever be persuaded that he isn't half as good as he thinks he is, if he would learn the art of sitting still and using a blue pencil, he might become twice as good as he thinks he is – which would about rank him with Homer." Derleth good-humoredly reprinted the criticism along with a photograph of himself sans sweater, on the back cover of his 1948 country journal: Village Daybook. A lighter side to the Sac Prairie Saga is a series of quasi-autobiographical short stories known as the "Gus Elker Stories", amusing tales of country life that Peter Ruber, Derleth's last editor, said were "...models of construction and...fused with some of the most memorable characters in American literature." Most were written between 1934 and the late 1940s, though the last, "Tail of the Dog", was published in 1959 and won the Scholastic Magazine short story award for the year. The series was collected and republished in Country Matters in 1996. Walden West, published in 1961, is considered by many Derleth's finest work. This prose meditation is built out of the same fundamental material as the series of Sac Prairie journals, but is organized around three themes: "the persistence of memory...the sounds and odors of the country...and Thoreau's observation that the 'mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.'" A blend of nature writing, philosophic musings, and careful observation of the people and place of "Sac Prairie." Of this work, George Vukelich, author of "North Country Notebook", writes: "Derleth's Walden West is...the equal of Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg,Ohio, Thornton Wilder's Our Town, and Edgar Lee Masters' Spoon River Anthology." This was followed eight years later by Return to Walden West, a work of similar quality, but with a more noticeable environmentalist edge to the writing, notes critic Norbert Blei. A close literary relative of the Sac Prairie Saga was Derleth's Wisconsin Saga, which comprises several historical novels. Detective and mystery fiction Detective fiction represented another substantial body of Derleth's work. Most notable among this work was a series of 70 stories in affectionate pastiche of Sherlock Holmes, whose creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, he admired greatly. The stories feature a Holmes-styled British detective named Solar Pons, of 7B Praed Street in London. These included one published novel as well (Mr. Fairlie's Final Journey). The series was greatly admired by such notable writers and critics of mystery and
{
        "QUESTION: Who did Derleth write a series of 70 stories in affectionate pastiche of?
        ANSWER: Derleth wrote a series of 70 stories in affectionate pastiche of Sherlock Holmes.
        SEPARATOR
        
        QUESTION: What is the name of the character in these stories who is styled after Sherlock Holmes?
        ANSWER: In these stories, the character styled after Sherlock Holmes is named Solar Pons. He is a British detective living at 7B Praed Street in London.
        SEPARATOR
        
        QUESTION: Which book by Derleth is considered his finest work?
        ANSWER: Walden West is considered by many to be Derleth's finest work.
        SEPARATOR
        
        QUESTION: What are the three main themes of Derleth's Walden West?
        ANSWER: The three main themes of Derleth's Walden West are "the persistence of memory," "the sounds and odors of the country," and "Thoreau's observation that the 'mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.'"
        SEPARATOR
        
        QUESTION: What is the title of the collection containing the Gus Elker Stories?
        ANSWER: The collection containing the Gus Elker Stories is called Country Matters.
        SEPARATOR
        
        QUESTION: When was the first Gus Elker Story published?
        ANSWER: The first Gus Elker Story was published in 1934.
        SEPARATOR
        
        QUESTION: What is the full form of "SEP"?
        ANSWER: There seems to be no direct meaning for "SEP" in the given text. However, it appears to be used here as a separator between different question-answer pairs.
        SEPARATOR
        
        QUESTION: Can you tell me about the "Wisconsin Saga" by Derleth?
        ANSWER: The "Wisconsin Saga" is a series of historical novels by Derleth. They focus on various aspects of history related to Wisconsin.
        SEPARATOR
        
        QUESTION: How long did it take for Derleth to finish the Gus Elker Stories?
        ANSWER: The exact duration of time it took for Derleth to finish the Gus Elker Stories cannot be determined from the given text. We only know that most of them were written between 1934 and the late 1940s, with the last one being published in 1959.
        SEPARATOR
     }