After Doyle, I must acknowledge the help and inspiration I found in the works of W. S. Baring-Gould, whose Holmesian chronology I freely accept and whose theories I continue to find charming and provocative.
Probably the foremost living authority on Sherlock Holmes and his world is Mr. Michael Harrison, whose books on the subject I have pored over to advantage, and whom I had the great privilege of meeting. In addition to the use of his books, Mr. Harrison generously allowed me to pick his brain by offering to inspect the manuscript itself and tell me when I was going either astray or too far, two predilections of mine. He made innumerable comments and suggestions, all of great assistance in achieving literary and historical authenticity, and most of which I adopted without hesitation. Where my book remains inaccurate, the blame must fall not upon Mr. Harrison but on my own stubborn insistence on some point or other. Also, I am indebted to Mr. Michael Holroyd for drawing my attention to several crucial questions in the text After these four gentlemen, a host of friends and critics crowd the list, some of them Sherlockian enthusiasts, others merely literate. In no particular order I extend my thanks to Craig Fisher, Michael and Constance Pressman, Bob Bookman, Leni Kreitman, Brooke Hopper, Ulu Grossbard, Michael Scheff, Jon Brauer, and Miss Julie Leff, who put up with a great deal of nonsense. My father, of course, has put up with it much longer, and he deserves thanks here, too.
In addition to those who provided literary assistance, I wish to thank Herb Ross, my collaborator on the film version of The Seven-Per-Cent Solution, who managed to keep my interest in things Holmesian alive for many months longer than I thought possible; my lawyers, Tom Pollock, Andy Rigrod, and Jake Bloom, whose contributions to the book are not to be underestimated; and my editor, Juris Jurjevics, who is such a good audience.
PRAISE FOR THE WEST END HORROR
“Beguiling and convincing entertainment, an audacious novelty that should set members of the Baker Street Irregulars and even less fanatical collectors of Holmes to dancing.”
—San Francisco Chronicle
“I hope Nicholas Meyer never stops writing Sherlock Holmes pastiches because he does it so much better than anyone else. . . .”
—The New Republic
“Ingenious and persuasive.”
—Philadelphia Inquirer
BY NICHOLAS MEYER
IN NORTON PAPERBACK
The Seven-Per-Cent Solution
The West End Horror
March 1895. London. A month of strange happenings in the West End. First there is the bizarre murder of theater critic Jonathan McCarthy. Then the lawsuit against the Marquess of Queensberry for libel; the public is scandalized. Next, the ingenue at the Savoy is discovered with her throat slashed. And a police surgeon disappears, taking two corpses with him.
Some of the theater district’s most fashionable and creative luminaries have been involved: a penniless stage critic and writer named Bernard Shaw; Ellen Terry, the gifted and beautiful actress; a suspicious box office clerk named Bram Stoker; an aging matinee idol, Henry Irving; an unscrupulous publisher calling himself Frank Harris; and a controversial wit by the name of Oscar Wilde.
Scotland Yard is mystified by what appear to be unrelated cases, but to Sherlock Holmes the matter is elementary: a maniac is on the loose. His name is Jack.
The use of the character “Sherlock Holmes” and other characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is with permission of Baskervilles Investments Ltd.
A condensed version of The West End Horror originally appeared in Playboy magazine.
Copyright © 1976 by Nicholas Meyer
All rights reserved
First published as a Norton paperback 1994
ISBN: 978-0-393-31153-2
ISBN: 978-0-393-35154-5 (e-book)
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The West End Horror Page 16