Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine #6

by Marvin Kaye

  Copyright Information

  Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine #6 (vol. 2, no. 2)

  is copyright © 2011 by Wildside Press LLC.

  www.wildsidemagazines.com

  All rights reserved.

  Our cover this issue is by Rhys Davies

  For more information, see www.rhysspieces.com

  Publisher: John Betancourt

  Editor: Marvin Kaye

  Managing Editor: Karl Wurf

  Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine is published by

  Wildside Press, LLC. Single copies: $10.00 + postage.

  Subscriptions: $29.95 for the next 3 issues in the U.S.A., from:

  Wildside Press LLC, Subscription Dept.

  9710 Traville Gateway Dr., #234; Rockville MD 20850

  Ebook version available from wildsidemagazines.com

  and other major ebook etailers.

  The characters of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle are used here by kind permission of Jonathan Clowes, Ltd., on behalf of Andrea Punket, Administrator of the Conan Doyle Copyrights.

  Cartoon, by Marc Bilgry

  From Watston’s Scrapbook, by Marvin Kaye

  I

  n every issue of Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine, my colleague and coeditor Mr Kaye honours me by reprinting those chronicles I wrote about the investigations undertaken by my dear friend Sherlock Holmes, cases in which I was frequently involved. Now in the preceding number (issue # 5) I noted that Mr Kaye has elected to follow the approximate dating of Holmes’s adventures as proposed by the late scholar William S Baring-Gould. Up till now, I have been glad to agree with this decision because to the best of my imperfect recollection (and my often difficult-to-read handwritten notes), Mr Baring-Gould is generally reliable.

  However, in the current edition of Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine, I have had cause to take polite exception to this dating policy, for the next tale that Mr Baring-Gould would put forth is “The Adventure of the Second Stain.”

  While that business did indeed occur earlier than the year 1904, when I chose to publish it (in admittedly abridged fashion), its opening paragraph states that I had intended it to be the final Holmesian adventure. Because of this, and because it was a case with larger ramifications than most of earlier Baker Street “doings,” I prevailed upon Mr Kaye to delay its appearance in these pages to some time in the future.

  I am gratified that he has seen fit to honour my wishes and to present, instead, that mysterious business of “The Reigate Squires,” which I have ever regarded as one of Holmes’s most amazing performances!

  In this issue, too, is The Book of Tobit, which Ms Carla Coupe faithfully transcribed from my original notes — to Holmes’s considerable surprise (a glance he took at my journal pages elicited his oft-repeated derisive remark about “the awful labours of deciphering crabbèd cuneiform.”) Also offered is an adventure Holmes and I undertook involving “The Curse of Bridges Falls,” but do let me point out that its source is not my own notes, but rather it is the witness of the case’s distaff client.

  Mrs Hudson regrets that she is unable to write her usual column for this issue, but she is away on a sabbatical of sorts. By chance, I happened to run into Inspector Lestrade, now retired, and he has agreed to contribute a few thoughts. Indeed, he has elected to tell about the atrocious conduct of Colonel Upwood which resulted in an imperfectly hushed-up card scandal. Now although Holmes demonstrated his customary keen-sightedness in wrapping it all up, I elected to spare the public the final remark that passed his lips concerning the Nonpareil Club, but Lestrade has decided to share it, and as he is doing us a favour here, I have refrained from editing the Inspector.

  And now let me yield the floor, so to speak, to my co-editor Mr Kaye.

  — John H Watson, MD

  * * * *

  W

  ith this issue of Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine, our inventory of future stories and articles has become slim. We welcome new submissions — which should be sent to me at marvinnkaye@yahoo.com. (Do note the second “n” in the middle of the address. There is at least one other Marvin Kaye “out there,” a Canadian actor, I believe.)

  John Betancourt, publisher and principal of Wildside Press, suggests that we reiterate the type and variety of material we are seeking. While I personally have avoided creating guidelines that I am afraid may discourage potential contributors, below are a few suggestions for fiction and nonfiction suitable for SHMM:

  Sherlock Holmes pastiches. (Please save me time and use UK spellings and punctuation without periods. (E. G., favour, honour, Mr, Mrs, Dr John H Watson)

  Sherlock Holmes parodies.

  Mystery stories — if they are reader-solvable whodunits, so much the better.

  Crime stories of all sorts — while I dislike gratuitous gore and violence, if the plot requires it, it will be considered. Stories with strong sexual themes/content may not be appropriate, but do query; unpleasantries, if tastefully presented, may be acceptable.

  Essentially, if a story would be acceptable to Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, it would probably be suitable for SHMM.

  In addition, an occasional ghost story and other kinds of supernatural fiction are sometimes desirable, in the style of the old London Mystery Magazine.

  Nonfiction — articles about Holmesian subjects, literature, films, TV, are of interest, but always query first since we do have ongoing columnists covering some of these areas. In addition, articles about Nero Wolfe are always quite welcome, as well as other famous literary detectives and authors.

  * * * *

  I

  n addition to the three Holmes adventures already mentioned by Dr. Watson (being American, I am permitted to use a period), this issue offers a selection of articles and four more stories:

  Silent Victim by C. E. Lawrence is a tantalizing excerpt from a new crime novel (and whodunit!) about Lee Campbell, a troubled New York City forensic criminal profiler. Silent Screams, the first in this series of serial killer thrillers, was published in 2009 by Kensington Books, and the third, Silent Kills, with a steampunk background, is being readied for publication. C. E. Lawrence is a pen-name of Carole Buggé, a regular contributor to Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine, and under her own name, author of two excellent Sherlock Holmes novels from St. Martin’s Press: The Star of India, and The Haunting of Torre Abbey, as well as many Holmesian short stories and even a Holmes musical!

  The Bank Job is a wry little crime short-short by Steve Hagood.

  The Little Blue Dog is a hard-edged murder story by SHMM’s regular cartoonist Marc Bilgrey.

  Let Them Eat Cake is one of the few remaining unpublished short stories by the late Jean Paiva, author of the fantasy-crime novels The Lilith Factor and The Last Gamble. Jean died in her mid-40’s; only one of her approximately dozen stories appeared in her lifetime. Her literary agent Donald Maass has arranged for us to publish her stories posthumously. Let Them Eat Cake somewhat stretches our magazine’s boundaries, but it does contain a mystery and a sardonic solution.

  The Rare Mexican Sherlock Holmes Series, by Gary Lovisi

  A

  s aficionados of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson we often hurl our nets wide and deep when seeking interesting and sometimes off-beat items containing our heroes. One of these is the unique and fascinating group of Mexican magazines in the Emocion Y Misterio Sherlock Holmes series published by Editorial Olimpo in Mexico City beginning in 1952.

  This numbered series was published each week (later, every two weeks), in uniform slim 32-page issues, measuring 9” tall and 6.5” wide. Beginning with issue #1, dated September 5, 1952, containing Un Escandalo en Bohemia (I’ll allow you to surmise just what Doyle Holmes story that might be)
, and running to issue #24 in 1953, each issue reprinted one of Doyle’s famed Sherlock Holmes short stories translated into Spanish.

  The Spanish titles are interesting and often intriguing, some of which like the example cited above are obvious to Holmes fans even if you have no knowledge of the Spanish language. Other titles may not be so clear as to their original English title. For instance, issue #6, dated November 30, 1952, features El Hombre Del Labio Leporino (aka, “The Man With The Twisted Lip.”)

  Issue #24, from 1953, includes a back cover ad that lists all issues and titles published up to that point, but also notes that two further issues (#25 and 26) are “en preparacion.” as the Spanish translation informs us. So there may be 26 issues, or more. An extensive Internet search confirmed by my 30 years of collecting Sherlockian items where I have never run across this series leads me to assume they are fairly rare. Certainly they are rare in the US. A Google search showed none available even among Spanish-language websites.

  Emocion Y Misterio Sherlock Holmes is actually comprised of two series. The first series contains issues #1 to #20. The second series begins with issue #21 and runs to #24 (or perhaps #26, or later). Perhaps they published the first 20 issues, waited to see how they sold, then published more issues? I am not sure if any issues appeared after #24.

  However, the truly magical thing about these lovely little Holmes publications for collectors and fans is the gorgeous cover art. Each issue features a bright, full-color painting showing a key scene from the story with most of them showing Holmes and Watson — using the glorious and iconic images of Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce. These are fun cover illustrations with some images seemingly taken directly from Rathbone and Bruce just as they appeared in the classic Universal films of the 1940s. None of this cover art is credited but a barely identifiable signature is visible on some of the covers and appears to be “Mfoms Estuo” (or something similar), later shortened to simply “MF.” Who this mysterious artist might be, I can not say but he did some very nice renditions of Rathbone and Bruce as our stalwart heroes.

  Some of the covers are just stunning. The one for “A Scandal in Bohemia” shows the Rathbone Holmes and the Bruce Watson with a guest in their Baker Street sitting room. We see Holmes seated behind a table piled with papers, with his pipe in hand, while across from him Watson is drinking a cup of tea as they listen to their visitor relate the facts of his case. It’s a nice and iconic scene.

  Other covers offer up images just as interesting. On issue #7, Aventura Del Carbunclo Azul (aka “The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle“) we see Holmes and Watson shown with Inspector Lestrade (which uses the image of Dennis Hoey, the actor who played the Scotland Yard detective in many of the Universal films).

  Issue #14, El Rostro Amarillo from March 20, 1953, (aka “The Yellow Face”), we see that classic Basil Rathbone profile on the cover that works so well depicting the Great Detective we all know and love.

  In issue #24, La Casa Vacia (aka “The Adventure of the Empty House”) we see Holmes and Watson apprehending Professor Moriarty’s chief henchman, Colonel Sebastian Moran (the image of Moran is that of actor Alan Mowbray, who played him in the 1946 Universal film, Terror by Night).

  While the foreign language aspect of this series may make it a bit off-trail for some Holmes buffs, it is a truly lovely and rare series featuring vibrant cover art. It also ties-in nicely with the classic Universal Sherlock Holmes films. For those reasons alone, this series should be treasured and enjoyed. It offers us a glorious collection of rare Sherlock Holmes cover images never seen by most fans and collectors who love everything Holmes and Watson. These surely are publicados fantasticos!

  * * * *

  H

  ere are the 24 published editions and two others. How many of the original Doyle titles can you identify?

  1. Un escandalo en Bohemia, Sept. 5, 1952

  2. La Liga de las Pelirrojos

  3. Las Cinco pepitas de Naranja

  4. El Misterio del Valle de Boscombe

  5. Un Caso de indentidad

  6. El hombre del labio Leporino

  7. Aventura del carbunclo azul

  8. Aventura de la banda atigeniero

  9. Aventura del pulgar del ingeniero

  10. Aventura del noble soltero

  11. Aventura de la diadema de berilos

  12. Aventura de las Hayas Cobrizas

  13. “Silver Blaze”

  14. El rostro Amarillo

  15. El corredor de valores

  16. El “Gloria Scott”

  17. El ritual de las Musgrave

  18. El Enigma de Reigate

  19. El lisiado

  20. El paciente

  21. El intérprete griego

  22. El pacto naval

  23. El problema final

  24. La casa vacia

  “En Preparacion”

  25. La Aventura del constructor de Norwood

  26. La aventura de los munecos bailarines

  I would like to thank friend and book collector Bruce Edwards for turning me onto these fascinating books.

  * * * *

  GARY LOVISI is a Mystery Writers of America Edgar-nominated author for his Sherlock Holmes pastiche, “The Adventure of the Missing Detective.” He is an avid Sherlockian, as well as book collector, editor and publisher of Gryphon Books. His most recent Holmes stories in this magazine were “A Study in Evil” in issue #2 and “Sherlock Holmes — Stymied!” in issue #5. He is now working on a new Holmes novel. To find out more about him or his work, visit his web site at www.gryphonbooks.com.

  Cartoon by Andrew Toos

  Remembering Edward D. Hoch and his Sherlock Holmes Stories, by Len Moffatt

  T

  he Sherlock Holmes Stories of Edward D. Hoch (Gryphon Books, 2008) — Ed died just before this book went to press. His all too brief Introduction tells of how he first read the Holmes canon when he was ten years old and became a fan for life. The twelve excellent pastiches in this collection are reprinted from various anthologies and I enjoyed reading them again.

  The first story, “The Most Dangerous Man” is told in the third person. The next ten are as by Dr. Watson, and the last one is as by Sherlock himself. With the exception of the first one, which is dated in 1890, the stories are printed in chronological order, ranging from 1883 to 1912. And what intriguing titles some of them have, such as “The Return of the Speckled Band,” “The Adventure of Vittoria, the Circus Belle and “A Scandal in Montreal.”

  I read Ed’s Holmes stories at a meeting of The Blustering Gales of the South West, a local scion society of the Baker Street Irregulars, My wife June was Ed Hoch’s bibliographer from 1991 to the time of his death. He and his wife Patricia became good friends of ours and we will never forget him as a human being and as an amazing short story writer.

  Ed was our Guest of Honor at the 1991 BoucherCon (aka World Mystery Convention) that June and I chaired in 1991. That was when she took over compiling his bibliography from Mike Nevins who was doing it the hard way with a typewriter and carbon paper. He wasn’t using a pc then but one hopes he has long since converted.

  Ed was among the authors who gave their support to the early BoucherCons, which June and I and our late friend Bruce Pelz started in 1970. We hoped they would grow and managed to get them moving from city to city (the first three being in the LA area) but had no idea that they would grow into a world convention. We called it the Anthony Boucher Memorial Mystery Convention to honor his memory and were encouraged to do more by the favorable reaction to the first one. Ed didn’t attend that one but came out here for the second. He and Pat attended most of them. Honoring him at the 22nd one in 1991 was an honor long past due. I think the problem is that most convention committees pick famous novelists to honor and tend to ignore short story writers. As Sherlock’s alleged son Nero Wolfe would say: Pfui!

  Ed developed a number of series characters over the years but the one that probably owes the most to his long-time interest in Holmes is his Dr. Sam
Hawthorne series. Dr. Sam is a doctor in a small New England town who gets involved in solving “impossible crimes” while aiding the local Sheriff. For example, a horse and buggy enter a covered bridge and disappear. Like Sherlock, Dr. Sam observes what others only see and solves the mystery in 16 pages of superior plotting and short story writing.

  The dating of the events in the Dr. Sam Hawthorne series starts in March 1922 and ends on October 1944. They all appeared in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine from 1962 to 2009. Many of them were reprinted in two collections from Crippen & Landru: Diagnosis: Impossible in 1996 and More Impossible Things in 2006.

  * * * *

  Leonard J. Moffatt was a prolific Holmesian writer and poet who died November 30, 2010. The above appreciation of Ed Hoch was Len’s final contribution to Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine and appears courtesy of his wife June. — MK

  Screen of the Crime, by Lenny Picker

  Baker Street On A Budget,

  or How To Make A Decent Traditional Sherlock Holmes

  Film For Only $3,500

  Sherlockians could be forgiven for fearing that the 2009 Guy Ritchie movie Sherlock Holmes, the first (relatively) straight portrayal of the Master on the big screen in over two decades, might presage video presentations of their beloved characters for which the world is not yet prepared. After all, even movies that are just anticipated to be box office smashes before their release inspire cheaper knockoffs featuring the same themes and protagonists. (I write this in the spring of 2011, not long after making the less-than-agonizing moral decision not to spend a Saturday night watching the Syfy Channel’s Almighty Thor, which, not coincidentally, aired a day after Kenneth Branagh’s interpretation of the comic book divine super-hero opened.