Once the music had finished, I let myself into his rooms, and placed the tea tray on the table. Mr Holmes sat by the window, in the large, battered leather chair he favoured. His jacket lay on the floor, the waistcoat beside it. At his feet lay various newspapers. I could see they contained a report of the attack on Mr Shirley, various reports of some suicides, including Adam Ballant, and the murder of the Whitechapel Lady.
‘I think I see a pattern I did not see before,’ Sherlock Holmes said softly. ‘A story I was not aware of. People I turned away.’
The flaming red light of the sunset outlined his profile, sharp and unforgiving, a man for whom mountains would move because they felt they must.
‘They needed help,’ I said gently, neither needing nor wanting an explanation. He had found some of the truth. ‘They came to you and . . .’
‘And I said no,’ he added, not turning to look at me. ‘I did not find their problems of sufficient complexity. Or I would not allow them to keep their secrets. Or I could not see the despair behind their seemingly trivial requests. I was wrong,’ he admitted. ‘I am, occasionally. Far more than Watson allows for, or you realize.’
‘You were wrong,’ I agreed. ‘But you will be right next time.’ I had been placing the tea things on the table, and now I took the empty tray. Always unfailingly courteous, he rose to open the door for me.
‘But this time, you were right.’
‘They needed help. They were lost,’ I said to him.
‘And you found them. As you do with lost souls.’
I looked up into shadowed eyes I could not read.
‘Good night, Mrs Hudson. Eggs in the morning, I think,’ he told me.
He walked away to stand before the window, tall and sharp and dark against the glorious turbulent sky.
‘Mrs Hudson,’ he called, as I was almost through the door. I stopped. ‘Will you ever tell me the story of what has happened in the past few days?’
‘Perhaps,’ I said. He did not turn. ‘One day, when we are both very old. But not today.’
‘Why not?’ he asked, turning to me finally.
I thought for a moment, then said to him, ‘Because this was not a Sherlock Holmes story. This was a Mrs Hudson and Mary Watson adventure.’
It turns out writing a book is not quite the solitary occupation I always imagined it would be. I had a lot of help, and thanks are due.
First, my agent, Jane, for taking this book on, and helping me shape and expand and improve this story, and generally looking after me.
My editor, Natasha, who has put an enormous amount of work into this book.
Everyone at Pan Macmillan, who have been so enthusiastic about this book, it quite takes my breath away.
To the Shh . . . girls, just for being lots of fun when I needed to relax, and because all those discussions about books were very useful, and especially Shyama – it’s so good to have another writer to talk to. Only writers understand writers!
Arthur Conan Doyle himself. Without his wonderful stories, I wouldn’t have written this book.
And finally all the librarians and English teachers and booksellers who fostered a love of books in me, encouraged me, and always found the exact book I needed, even when I didn’t know I needed it.
This novel involved a lot of research, and any mistakes are my own, not those of any of the authors below.
There are a number of excellent books on Victorian life. I relied on Judith Flanders’ books The Invention of Murder, The Victorian City and The Victorian House to find out exactly what life was like for a woman in Victorian London. I also found Ruth Goodman’s How To Be a Victorian and Lucy Worsley’s If Walls Could Talk very useful when researching what it took to look after a Victorian home. Henry Mayhew’s London Labour and the London Poor had a lot of fascinating information about life on Victorian London’s streets and John Christopher’s The London of Sherlock Holmes helped me navigate the streets of Holmes’ London (and I’d like to thank the Waterstones shop assistant who, when I asked vaguely for a book about what London was like in Victorian times, pointed me immediately to this title).
Lee Jackson’s website www.victorianlondon.org was utterly invaluable for finding maps and newspaper articles and all kinds of information.
The timeline for the Sherlock Holmes stories is often in dispute. I used the one at www.sherlockpeoria.net/sherlocktimeline.html. It’s very well researched, and fitted my ideas of the timeline.
The Sherlock Holmes exhibition at the Museum of London was fascinating, and gave me a chance to see lots of the typical Holmes items in real life (and a glimpse at an actual manuscript for A Study in Scarlet!).
The online newspaper archive at my local library was very useful. It gave me access to newspapers of the time, including the wonderful advertisements.
And finally – I am indebted to the wonderful stories of Arthur Conan Doyle himself, without whom there’d be no Sherlock Holmes, no Dr Watson, and no Mrs Hudson and Mary Watson to tell stories about.
Have you always wanted to be a writer?
Yes, ever since I was a little girl. I was always making up stories. My teachers used to tell my mother that they saved marking my stories until last, because they were so enjoyable.
Which books have inspired you?
Which ones haven’t! I find something to inspire me in almost everything I read. But, to narrow it down, when it comes to crime fiction, I’m really inspired by Agatha Christie. She had such a great ability to utterly twist a plot unexpectedly, and she wrote really believable and memorable characters. The ABC Murders and Endless Night are my favourites. Both are so atmospheric in different ways, and have her twists and her great characters. I’m also really inspired by my favourite book, Jane Eyre – it was such an unusual book for its time, and written in such difficult circumstances.
How long did it take you to write The House at Baker Street?
From first having the idea to putting the final edits on, about four years.
Why did you decide to write about Mrs Hudson?
I wanted to know more about her. I thought she was an interesting character, and I also thought there should be more older female heroines. There are plenty of female detectives these days, but they’re all young and tough. I wanted to explore a character who wasn’t as young as them, wasn’t tough, or action-orientated. I was also really interested in what it must be like to live with such a bizarre, fascinating, irritating, brilliant character like Sherlock Holmes. It’s got to have some sort of influence, to be taking tea to a man like that every day. She did get caught up in the periphery of some of Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories, like in The Empty House and His Last Bow, so she was definitely not just a housekeeper.
How did you come up with the title of the book?
I didn’t! I’m useless at titles. I believe my editor came up with that one. I love it though. I’m kicking myself I didn’t come up with it.
Who is your favourite character at 221b?
Martha Hudson, of course. But that is since I started to write about her. She has such hidden depths that she (and I) are just beginning to explore. But Sherlock Holmes is, of course, utterly fascinating, and I never tire of reading stories about him. Or of watching new movies or TV shows about him. I own DVDs of about five different versions of Holmes – which of course means five utterly different versions of Mrs Hudson. There are similarities in every version of Holmes, but every version of Mrs Hudson seems to be unique.
Is there a particular place you like to write?
Curled up on the corner of my sofa. My first draft is done in longhand in notebooks, and I lean on the arm of the sofa and write there. Mind you, that does give me backache. When it comes to the other drafts, I type them up on the laptop, and for that I sit on the floor and put the laptop on a little table. I should mention I have a tiny flat with no room for a desk! My dream is to have a huge kitchen table – like Mrs Hudson’s – and lay my work out all over it.
Do you have a routine as a writer?
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br /> I’m still creating one, really. I know it all starts with research, and for months before I start to write I read books and newspaper archives, and visit museums, and visit the settings I want to use. At this time I carry a notebook around with me, and when I have an idea, or find out something interesting or useful, I jot it down in the notebook. When I actually start working, I tend to write in the mornings, and in the afternoon I either carry on researching, or go for a long walk in the park to think about what I’ve written that day, and what I want to write next. Mind you, inspiration can strike at any time, and I could find myself feverishly writing at three a.m. after having a particularly good idea, and then routine goes out the window.
What advice would you give to aspiring authors?
Write the stories you really want to read. Prepare to rewrite over and over again. Don’t keep your work locked away, send it out there for people to read.
How are you going to celebrate publication day?
I hadn’t really thought about that. I’ll probably be wandering around in a daze unable to believe my book is on bookshop shelves.
What would you like readers to take away from The House at Baker Street?
That just because a woman may look ordinary, it doesn’t mean she is. Quiet people can have amazing minds.
Are you writing a new novel at the moment?
Oh yes, I always am! There’s the sequel to The House at Baker Street, which is at the editing stage. Then I’m researching the third one, and thinking about the fourth and fifth one. I’m also making some notes for other books not involving Mrs Hudson – I always have new novels at one stage or another.
1. Why did you decide to read The House at Baker Street?
2. Can you draw any comparisons to the Arthur Conan Doyle books?
3. Did you view the world of Sherlock Holmes in a new way through Mrs Hudson’s eyes?
4. What parallels or differences could you draw between the partnership of Mrs Hudson and Mary Watson and that of Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson?
5. What did you think of the role of women in the novel?
6. Who was your favourite secondary character and why?
7. How would you describe the author’s style of writing?
8. If you could ask the author one question about the novel what would it be?
9. Can you imagine this book as a TV show or film? Who would you cast as Mrs Hudson and Mary Watson?
10. Would you read the next book in this series?
First published 2016 by Pan Books
This electronic edition published 2016 by Pan Books
an imprint of Pan Macmillan
20 New Wharf Road, London N1 9RR
Associated companies throughout the world
www.panmacmillan.com
ISBN 978-1-5098-0720-8
Copyright © Michelle Birkby 2016
Cover Images © Stephen Mulcahey/Arcangel,
Bjanka Kadic/Getty Images & Shutterstock
The right of Michelle Birkby to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
The characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle are hereby used by kind permission of Jonathan Clowes Ltd., on behalf of Arthur Conan Doyle Characters Limited, holders of the Arthur Conan Doyle European Trademarks.
Sherlock Holmes, Mrs Hudson, and are trademarks of the Conan Doyle Estate Ltd.®
Pan Macmillan does not have any control over, or any responsibility for, any author or third party websites referred to in or on this book.
You may not copy, store, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
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