It's a great time to be Sherlock Holmes. In addition to a hit TV series, movie franchise and the recent book by Anthony Horowitz, House of Silk (the first Holmes novel approved by the Arthur Conan Doyle Estate in the past 125 years), a new exhibit on Sherlock Holmes just opened at the Museum of London. Holmes pastiche short stories have long been popular, such as the Poisoned Pen Press anthology, A Study In Sherlock: Stories Inspired by the Holmes Canon, edited by Laurie R. King and Leslie S. Klinger.An earlier anthology of Holmes pastiches from 1987 was also authorized by the Conan Doyle estate, a centennial edition marking the 100th year since the appearance of Holmes in print. Titled The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, editors Martin H. Greenberg and Carol-Lynn Rössel Waugh collected new stories by John Lutz, Stuart Kaminsky, Gary Alan Ruse, Ed Hoch, Jon L. Breen, Micharl Harrison, Barry Jones, Joyce Harrison, Loren D. Estleman, Michael Gilbert, Dorothy B. Hughes, Peter Lovesey, Lillian de la Torre, Edward Wellen and Stephen King.
Stories that capture the time period and style well are Barry Jones' "The Shadows on the Lawn" and Stuart Kaminsky's "The Final Toast," in which you get double Holmes, as the sleuth plays a Holmes lookalike in a plot of revenge. The more faithful to the actual Holmes canon are by Dorothy B. Hughes and Stephen King. The "muffin" of Hughes' story "Sherlock Holmes and the Muffin" refers to one of Mrs. Hudson's poor and illiterate girls who ends up helping Holmes solve a diamond robbery. "The Doctor's Case" by King is a brilliant locked-room mystery which is the only story Watson solved before Holmes did.
And if you're wondering how to go about writing your own Holmes-inspired story, Anthony Horowitz offers up "Ten Rules for Writing a Sherlock Holmes Novel."
I liked these pastiches when I read them years ago. I think there's a sequel to this collection.
Posted by: George Kelley | October 17, 2014 at 10:19 AM
Check out "In the Company of Sherlock Holmes" from Pegasus Books November 15!
Posted by: Leslie S. Klinger | October 17, 2014 at 02:11 PM
George, I believe Martin H. Greenberg, Jon L. Lellenberg, and Carol-Lynn Rossel Waugh, and Daniel Stashower (in various combos) have edited a few of these, including "The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes," "Murder in Baker Street," and "Sherlock Holmes In America." I've read two of three and need to look for the others!
Posted by: BV Lawson | October 17, 2014 at 05:25 PM
Thanks for the update, Leslie! I'm looking forward to that one, too. Here's the link for interested readers:
http://pegasusbooks.com/books/in-the-company-of-sherlock-holmes-hardcover
Posted by: BV Lawson | October 17, 2014 at 05:27 PM