Sherlock Holmes: The Hidden Years
Page 47
Michael Kurland (“Reichenbach”) The author of over thirty novels and a melange of short stories, articles, and other stuff, Michael Kurland gave up his career in the theater and took up writing when the horse died. His stories are set in epochs and locations from ancient Rome to the far future; anyplace the reader won’t spot anachronisms too easily. His works have been nominated for two Edgars and an American Book award, and have appeared in many languages, sometimes three or four on the same page. They are believed to be fragments of one great opus, a study of the untermensch. Kurland has written four novels and a cluster of short stories about Professor James Moriarty. More can be learned at his Web site: michaelkurland.com.
Carole Bugge (“The Strange Case of the Voodoo Priestess”) Playwright, author, and teacher, Carole Bugge has enriched us with the variety of her accomplishments. Her plays have been performed at The Players Club, The Van Dam Street Playhouse, Manhattan Punchline, and Playwrights Horizons in New York City. And, as everyone knows, if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere. Her mystery novels include The Star of India and The Haunting of Torre Abbey.
Gary Lovisi (“The Adventure of the Missing Detective”) A recognized Holmes aficionado and knowledgeable person, Gary Lovisi has written several previous Holmes pastiches, including “The Loss of the British Bark Sophy Anderson,” and “Mycroft’s Great Game.” He is the author of the reference bibliography Sherlock Holmes: The Great Detective in Paperback, and the editor of Paperback Parade, the leading publication on collectible paperbacks in the world. As a publisher this many-faceted gentleman has published Holmes pastiches by several authors, as well as a variety of nonfiction Sherlockiana.
Lovisi will welcome, or at least tolerate, comments addressed to him at his Web site: www.gryphonbooks.com.
Michael Collins (Dennis Lynds) (“Cross of Gold”) In 1967 Dennis Lynds wrote the first Dan Fortune detective novel using the nom de machine à écrire of Michael Collins. At the time he was also Mark Sadler, John Crowe, William Arden, and Carl Dekker. There are now twenty Dan Fortune books, the latest being Fortune’s World, a short-story collection. He has won many awards, including an Edgar and two Edgar nominations, and collected many honors, including Private Eye Writers of America’s Lifetime Achievement Award and a Special Commendation from the West German Arbeitsgemeinschaft Kriminalliteratur.
Richard Lupoff (“God of the Naked Unicorn”) This final story is set in the world of Richard Lupoff’s alter ego, Ova Hamlet. For, as the French put it so well, Ova Hamlet est un pseudonyme de Richard Lupoff. Ova is the master of parody as “God of the Naked Unicorn” proves beyond any possible probable shadow of doubt.
Lupoff has dwelt in the world of Sherlock Holmes before, in such stories as “The Case of the Doctor Who Had No Business,” “The Adventure of the Boulevard Assassin,” and “The Adventure of the Ghooric Sign.” Lupoff’s story “The Incident of the Impecunious Chevalier,” which appeared in a previous Holmsian anthology, My Sherlock Holmes, was selected for reprint in the Best American Mystery Stories 2004. And we are all proud of him.
Notes
1 You have to admit that this is the first time you’ve seen the names Einstein and Pontius Pilate within one paragraph of each other. Pretty impressive, eh?
SHERLOCK HOLMES: THE HIDDEN YEARS. Copyright © 2004 by Michael Kurland. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
“The Beast of Guangming Peak” copyright © 2004 by Michael Mallory. “Water from the Moon” copyright © 2004 by Carolyn Wheat. “Mr. Sigerson” copyright © 2004 by Peter Beagle. “The Mystery of Dr. Thorvald Sigerson” copyright © 2004 by Linda Robertson. “The Case of the Lugubrious Manservant” copyright © 2004 by Rhys Bowen. “The Bughouse Caper” copyright © 2004 by Bill Pronzini. “Reichenbach” copyright © 2004 by Michael Kurland. “The Strange Case of the Voodoo Priestess” copyright © 2004 by Carole Bugge. “The Adventure of the Missing Detective” copyright © 2004 by Gary Lovisi. “Cross of Gold” copyright © 2004 by Dennis Lynds. “God of the Naked Unicorn” (first appeared in Fantastic magazine, August 1976) copyright © 1976 by Richard Lupoff.
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eISBN 9781466826137
First eBook Edition : June 2012
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Sherlock Holmes—The hidden years / edited by Michael Kurland.
p. cm.
Contents: The case of the lugubrious manservant / by Rhys Bowen—Reichenback / by Michael Kurland—God of the naked unicorn / by Richard Lupoff—Mr. Sigerson / by Peter Beagle—The Beast of Guangming Peak / by Michael Mallory—Water from the moon / by Carolyn Wheat—The adventure of the missing detective / by Gary Lovisi—The mystery of Dr. Thorvald Sigerson / by Linda Robertson—The bughouse caper / by Bill Pronzini—The strange case of the voodoo priestess / by Carole Bugge—Cross of gold / by Michael Collins.
ISBN 0-312-31513-9 (he)
ISBN 0-312-35156-9 (pbk)
EAN 978-0-312-35156-4
PR1309.H55S47 2004
813’.087208351—dc22
2004046802