Sherlock Holmes Pastiches You Have to Read

As a break from the Doctor Who reviews that have been consuming my blog this month like a great big soul-eating sun (sorry, that'll be the last Who reference, this post, I promise), I thought you might all like a bit of Holmes. Following on from my Sherlock Holmes Stories You Have to Read post I wrote last year, here is a sequel of sorts - a list of a few of the best Sherlock Holmes mysteries based on the canon of Arthur Conan Doyle and the wonderful characters he created. Although it is up to the author what bits of the canon he or she wishes to keep or change in their piece, I think many miss the core of the original stories and so become something too different or, alternatively, some are just poor copies of Conan Doyle's stories. However, those below, I think, get a good balance between the new and the old to make proper, good Sherlock Holmes stories. Now, I hope you all have your magnifying glasses ready as we delve into the thick fog of Holmes pastiches...

                                     Young Sherlock Holmes

Written by: Andrew Lang
What's it about: This series of young adult novels follows a teenage Sherlock Holmes as he uncovers impossible mysteries that take him around the world and to the heart of dark conspiracies. Very much inspired by Charlie Higson's Young Bond novels, these books are fun, not-too-demanding adventure stories that aim to shed some light on how Sherlock became the enigmatic, difficult individual we are all familiar with. There's no Dr Watson, Baker Street and very little London, but Sherlock is joined on his globe-trotting cases by his tutor in deduction Amycus Crowe and his daughter, Virginia (who Sherlock has feelings for), his violin teacher Rufus Stone and his roguish vagabond friend, Matty. The series is also great for villains with each one featuring a Bond-like supervillain with a madcap ambitious scheme and an odd physical attribute e.g the second novel's Duke Baltazar keeps leeches on his face due to a blood disorder. You can learn more about the series here.
If you enjoyed this: Author Andrew Lang has also written other Holmes pastiches including a Doctor Who novel, All-Consuming Fire, in which the Time Lord and the Great Detective finally meet! Yes, I know, I lied about that last Doctor Who reference thing.

                                                      A Study in Emerald


Written by: Neil Gaiman
What's it about: In this award-winning short story, Gaiman is not only dipping his toe into Sherlock Holmes but is also pastiching HP Lovecraft as the tale sees Baker Street's finest investigating a murder of a member of the royal family - who, in this parallel universe, are the big, green monsters, the Great Old Ones from Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos. The melding of these two very different fictional worlds works well at the author's skilled hand as Gaiman creates something that feels quite unique. There's also fun to be had with the adverts inserted into the story that hint at other famous literary figures being in this world too (anyone fancy some Victor's Vitae that wakes up dead limbs?). Have a read of the story here and then maybe play the board game!
If you enjoyed this: Neil Gaiman has also written a more traditional Holmes mystery, 'the Case of Death and Honey' which tries to answer just why Holmes decides to retire and become a beekeeper, as Dr Watson informs us in one of Conan Doyle's stories.


                                  Moriarty: The Hound of the D'urbervilles


Written by: Kim Newman
What's it about: This collection of short stories acts as an antithesis to Conan Doyle's works and the majority of Holmes pastiches as it follows the misadventures of  Professor Moriarty and his right-hand man, Colonel Moran, as they build their criminal empire. Each story is a parody of a Conan Doyle original e.g. 'A Shambles in Belgravia' (sounds familiar, eh? These were written before Sherlock) sees Irene Adler seek the help of Moriarty while the rousing finale 'The Problem of the Final Adventure' shows the iconic meeting at the Reichenbach Falls from the other side. Apart from spoofing the common elements of Holmes stories, Newman also enjoys crossovers with other fictional worlds such as in the title story which, as you might have guessed, welds the supernatural mystery of Hound of the Baskervilles with Thomas Hardy's classic novel. I imagine that was one of those times when the title came first.
If you enjoyed this: Kim Newman has also written a series of short stories based on the Diogenes Club, Mycroft Holmes' favourite place from the canon, as a secret organisation that deals with weird and unnatural events.

                                    The House of Silk

Written By: Anthony Horowitz
What's it about: Definitely the closest in style to Conan Doyle on this list is Horowitz' mystery novel, which, thanks to support from the Conan Doyle estate, was billed as the first new Sherlock Holmes novel in nearly a hundred years. It sees an elderly Dr Watson give us one last tale involving his dear friend that had been 'too shocking to reveal until now' - a case involving an impossible murder, ghosts from the past and secret societies. Yes, all the usual Holmes trappings are in check. There are appearances from Mrs Hudson, Lestrade, the Baker Street Irregulars and, without giving anything away, there might be a cameo by a certain criminal mastermind. Thanks to this and Horowitz' track record as a crime fiction writer, the novel feels wonderfully familiar but also gives us a winding, puzzlebox mystery that you have to stay on your toes to keep up with.
If you enjoyed this: At the moment this is Anthony Horowitz' only foray into the Holmes world however there is talk of him doing a follow-up novel. In the mean time, if all this talk of Holmes pastiche has got you in the mood, you can read my own efforts at creating an authentic Conan Doyle mystery - with the beginnings of the adventures of The Melting Man and The Whistling Room being here on the blog. I'd love to hear what you thought of them.

The Adventure of Sherlock's Home

For the entirety of my time as a Holmesian I've been hiding a dark secret that I've been ashamed to announce; I've never been to the 'real' 221B Baker Street. Thankfully, that was finally rectified this weekend.  

I was at first amazed by the huge queue stretched along Baker Street outside. It's great to see so many enthusiastic fellow Holmes fans, adorned in deerstalkers (something I will one day come to own) and grabbing photos with the man dressed as a Victorian policeman outside. 

Inside 221B fits that weird feeling you get when you step onto a television set or meet someone famous, like you can't quite fit seeing them/it in reality rather than on the telly. Holmes' and Watson's study on the first floor felt very familiar, from Watson's writing desk, Holmes' knife stuck in the mantelpiece to the pair's chairs by the fire (yes, I know they weren’t real). My favourite bit was probably looking out of the windows of this Mock-Victorian room, from which Holmes looks out of regularly in the stories, to see modern shops and cars going past. And, although I know that it’s a museum and so that's the point in it, it’s nice to have this piece of Late-Victorian London preserved in the modern-day city. 

Also fun was Holmes’ bedroom (all right, he’s not real, just indulge me) which had an assortment of familiar items like Irene Adler’s photograph and also some less known ones…

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I don’t remember a wooden tortoise at Holmes’ bedside mentioned in any of the stories…

Famously, the museum still receives letters addressed to the Great Detective, several interesting ones of which are on show; here's my favourite one.

On the second floor the museum has a selection of waxworks of characters from the canon including this bunch:

Dr Grimesby Roylott, of The Speckled Band, frozen in his chair after a fatal bite from his own murder weapon, the Swamp Adder Snake.

That master blackmailer Charles Augustus Milverton looking rather terrified (find out why by…going to the museum).

The Napoleon of Crime himself, Professor James Moriarty is probably my favourite of these, looking exactly like the one from Sidney Paget’s wonderful illustrations. In a nice idea, his piercing gaze is directly staring at…

Holmes and Watson themselves (plus mad old Lady Carfax)! Not sure the Dr Watson waxwork really fits my mind’s eye version of the character; Watson should look stouter and somewhat puffier, this waxwork just looks lost and foolish (yes, it’s a waxwork of a fictional character but just let me run with it). And a blonde Holmes? What next, a female Watson! Oh right, ahem…

Overall, the experience was just a nice reminder of how, after over a hundred years since his conception, Sherlock Holmes is still just as popular as ever.

You might be thinking I got a little to into all this but probably not as much as the non-Holmesian I was on the visit with who really did not understand my repeated cries of 'look how cool this stuff is.' Hopefully, though, there’s some Holmesians out there who understand the thrill of stepping up those 17 steps (yeah, I counted) and visiting the home of Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson (they’re pretty much real, ok?).

Funnily enough, after we left Baker Street myself and my companions had our own adventure as we became separated on the Tube, accidentally getting different trains. I'm afraid I won't be telling you the tale now as that's a story for which the blogging world is not yet prepared...