The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories Part I

by David Marcum

  Additionally, the stories had to be approximately the same length as the original short stories, with no novellas, and no fragments, such as something along the lines of “The Return of the Field Bazaar” or “How Watson Learned Another Trick”. Also, I initially stated that the submitted tales all had to be narrated by Watson. However, there were a few that showed up in my email (t)in-box that stepped away from the Watsonian viewpoint - specifically, a case narrated by Wiggins, a couple by Professor Moriarty, one by a passing acquaintance of Holmes during The Great Hiatus, and two about the Professor told in third person. These provided valuable insight, they were set within the correct Holmesian world, and they were simply too good to miss.

  Another goal that I set was to make use of completely new stories for the collection, in one format or another. With this in mind, I was almost completely successful... but not quite, if you wish to be technical about it. I must admit that, by way of a tiny bit of Watsonian Obfuscation, a few of the items herein have appeared in other locations or in other mediums, although they have never been published in this format before. One story was previously in a rather obscure local publication, and I believe that it is almost completely unknown to the larger audience, and might not be read by a lot of people otherwise. (In fact, with all my pastiche collecting, this was one that I didn’t know about until it was submitted for this anthology.) A couple of the submissions have previously been on the internet for a short time, and two of the submissions are in the form of scripts that were previously used for radio broadcasts in the U.S. and the U.K. This their first appearance as text in book form.

  As a side note, mentioning the scripts reminds me to acknowledge this volume’s unintended but happy association with Imagination Theatre, which broadcasts traditional radio dramas weekly throughout the U.S., and has recently passed 1,000 broadcasts. As part of their rotating line-up, they feature a series of original tales, The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - as of this writing numbering 117 episodes - and they are also in the process of broadcasting adaptations of the original Holmes Canon as The Classic Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Currently, they are close to completing radio dramatizations of all sixty original Holmes stories featuring the same actors as Holmes and Watson throughout, John Patrick Lowrie and Lawrence Albert respectively, and with all adaptations by the same scriptwriter, Matthew J. Elliott. One of the scripts in this collection, never before in print, is by Imagination Theatre founder Jim French. A number of other Imagination Theatre writers besides Mr. French have contributed to this collection, including Matthew Elliott, Matthew Booth, John Hall, Daniel McGachey, Iain McLaughlin and Claire Bartlett, Jeremy Holstein, J.R. Campbell, and me (David Marcum) - that’s a sizeable chunk our authors!

  Part III: With many sincere thanks...

  Throughout the process, everyone that I’ve contacted about writing a story has been more than gracious, either by immediately stepping up and offering to provide one, or - when he or she couldn’t join the party due to other obligations - continuing to offer support in numerous other ways. As the editor, being able to read these new adventures straight out of the Tin Dispatch Box is an experience not to be missed. Having never before tried to put together such a diverse Sherlock Holmes anthology, I must say that the whole thing has quickly become addictive, and I cannot promise not to do another one, although one of this size and scope, which was truly jumping into the deep water and then learning to swim, is unlikely.

  Of all the people I’d like to thank, I must first express my gratitude as a whole to the authors - or “editors”, if you will - of these new adventures from the Great Watsonian Oversoul. You stepped up and provided some really great stories that didn’t previously exist. You also put up with my reminders, nudges, and story suggestions when I had to don my Editing Deerstalker. Along the way, as I was able to read these fine stories, I also met some really nice new people.

  More specifically, I’d like to thank the following:

  My wife Rebecca and my son Dan, who mean everything - and I mean everything! - to me. They constantly put up with my Sherlockian interest, my ever-increasing pastiche collection, and my tendency to wear a deerstalker as my only hat for three-quarters of the year.

  Steve Emecz, publisher extraordinaire and the hardest working man in show-biz. Thanks for the constant support and for always listening!

  Bob Gibson of staunch.com - an amazing graphic artist, who let me keep tinkering with the cover, which became two covers, and then three...

  Joel and Carolyn Senter. Years ago, my family knew to start my birthday and Christmas shopping with Joel and Carolyn’s “Classic Specialties” catalogs. Later, when the original version of my first Holmes book was published, they enthusiastically got behind it and were responsible for selling almost every copy that was sold. They’ve encouraged me at every step, and I’m so glad that they could be a part of this anthology.

  Roger Johnson, who is so gracious when my random emails arrive with Holmesian ideas and questions. Visiting with him and his wife, Jean, during my Holmes Pilgrimage to England in 2013 was a high point of my trip. More recently, he located some wonderful pictures of Holmes and Watson for use in these books. In so many ways, I thank you!

  Bob Byrne, whom I first “met” by emailing him a question about Solar Pons - if you don’t know who Solar Pons is, go find out! - and then we ended up becoming friends.

  Derrick Belanger, who hadn’t specifically channeled Watson before, and is now on his way to becoming one of the best. Thanks for the friendship, the back-and-forth discussions upon occasion, and the support.

  Marcia Wilson, an incredible author and friend who received my first fan letter, long before I ever started thinking about writing anything myself. I’ve always said that, with her complex tales of Lestrade and his associates, she’s found Scotland Yard’s Tin Dispatch Box.

  Denis O. Smith, who was at the top of my pastiche wish list. I’m so glad that I was able to track him down, and I’ve really enjoyed the ongoing e-discussions we’ve had along the way since then.

  Lyndsay Faye, who said yes the very first day that I invited her to submit a story, and who also educated me about contracts.

  Bert Coules, for his advice and contributions, and for helping put together the Holmes and Watson that I hear in my head, Clive Merrison and Michael Williams.

  Carole Nelson Douglas, who - among many things - gave me some invaluable advice about foreign editions.

  Les Klinger, who spent part of a Sunday afternoon in a cross-country phone call, giving me some really valuable advice.

  Otto Penzler, who helped me several times when I pestered him for advice, and who wisely told me that “editing anthologies isn’t quite as easy as drawing up a wish list and signing up stories”.

  Chris Redmond, who jumped in early, and for all that he does, and just for having that incredible website, sherlockian.net.

  Kim Krisco, whom I met (by email) along the way, and was a never-ending source of encouragement.

  Tim Symonds, also an email friend with a lot of great ideas and support. I look forward to catching up with you at Birling Gap someday.

  John Hall, whose books - both pastiches and scholarship - I’ve enjoyed for years.

  Andy Lane - Thanks for the clever back-and-forth emails. I’m sorry I couldn’t make it to New York when you were over here. I’ll catch you next time!

  James Lovegrove, who corresponded with me way-back-when about the true location of Holmes’s retirement villa on the Sussex Downs. (You know where I mean.) I’m very jealous of where you live.

  Steven Rothman, editor of The Baker Street Journal, for always responding so nicely whenever one of my emails drops in from out of the blue.

  Matthew Elliott, for all that he’s done, and also for helping with the description of what he’s accomplishing at Imagination Theatre.

  Maxim Jakubowski, who introduced me to a
great new set of people.

  Mark Gagen, who gave me permission to use that absolutely perfect picture of Holmes on the back cover.

  And last but certainly not least, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: Author, doctor, adventurer, and the Founder of the Feast. Present in spirit, and honored by all of us here.

  This collection has been a labor of love by both the participants and myself. Everyone did their sincerest best to produce an anthology that truly represents why Holmes and Watson have been so popular for so long. This is just another tiny piece of the Great Holmes Tapestry, which will continue to grow and grow, for there can never be enough stories about the man whom Watson described as “the best and wisest... whom I have ever known.”

  David Marcum, August 7th, 2015

  163rd Birthday of Dr. John H. Watson

  Questions or comments may be addressed to David Marcum at thepapersofsherlockholmes@gmail.com

  Study and Natural Talent

  by Roger Johnson

  Greenhough Smith, editor of The Strand Magazine, hailed Arthur Conan Doyle as “the greatest natural storyteller of his age”. Over a century on, Conan Doyle’s genius keeps us reading, and, because many of us feel that sixty adventures of Sherlock Holmes just aren’t enough, we write as well. The original tales are exciting and often ingenious; they’re intelligent without being patronising, and they’re never pretentious. The characters of Holmes and Watson - the apparently contrary forces that actually complement each other like Yin and Yang - stimulate our imaginations. Surely every devotee believes that the world needs more stories of Sherlock Holmes, and as, barring a true miracle, there’ll be no more from his creator’s fondly wielded Parker Duofold pen, we should provide at least one or two ourselves. We know the originals inside-out, or we think we do; we have a grand idea for a plot, and the style seems to be - well - elementary. How hard can it be?

  In fact it’s a sight harder than most of us think. Believe me: I know! To set a story convincingly in late Victorian or Edwardian London can require a fair deal of research just to avoid simple anachronisms and similar errors of fact. There are aspects of personality that may need careful attention - not just Holmes and Watson, but other established characters such as Messrs Lestrade and Gregson, and Mrs. Hudson (who really was the landlady at 221B, and not the housekeeper). Vocabulary and speech-patterns are important...

  Some will say, of course, that it’s impossible to replicate the Doyle-Watson style. Nevertheless, there are writers who have come acceptably close to the real thing. Edgar W. Smith declared that The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes by Adrian Conan Doyle and John Dickson Carr should be re-titled Sherlock Holmes Exploited, but it is actually a remarkably good collection. Nicholas Meyer, L. B. Greenwood, Barrie Roberts, and Michael Hardwick are other names that come to mind, of authors who have, as Holmes himself said in a different context, applied both study and natural talent to the writing of new Sherlock Holmes adventures. For the current monumental collection, conceived and published for the benefit of the house that saw the rebirth of the great detective, David Marcum has coaxed stories from the best of today’s generation of Holmesian chroniclers. Some of the contributors are famous, and some perhaps are destined for fame, but all of them bring intelligence, knowledge, understanding and deep affection to the task - and we are the gainers.

  Roger Johnson, BSI, ASH

  Editor: The Sherlock Holmes Journal

  August 2015

  Foreword

  by Leslie S. Klinger

  The urge to write new stories about Sherlock Holmes is not new. The first parody appeared in November 1891, after only a handful of Watson’s tales had been published in the Strand Magazine. The public was fascinated by Holmes and wanted more. Parodies, an exaggerated version of a writer’s style, written with humorous intent are exempt from the copyright laws, and so the author of the genuine Sherlock Holmes stories said nothing when these appeared. Pastiche, however, a reproduction of a writer’s style without humorous intent, has long been restricted, as it should be, by the copyright laws granting the original author the right to control the use of his or her own characters.

  Klinger v. Conan Doyle Estate Limited did not make new law. It merely recognized what the Estate had tried so hard to deny, that many of the elements of the characters of Sherlock Holmes, Doctor Watson, and their milieu, including not least the character names, had passed into the “public domain” throughout the world. This book celebrates the possibilities of that freedom, as creators tell their own stories about the beloved characters. Some may find it ironic that the celebration is dedicated to preserving the memory of Arthur Conan Doyle, whose heirs so bitterly fought the loss of their control of the characters. But, in the words of John Le Carre, “No one writes of Holmes and Watson without love.”

  Leslie S. Klinger, BSI

  August 2015

  Undershaw: An Ongoing Legacy for Sherlock Holmes

  by Steve Emecz

  The authors involved in this anthology are donating their royalties toward the restoration of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s former home, Undershaw. This building was initially in terrible disrepair, and was saved from destruction by the Undershaw Preservation Trust (Patron: Mark Gatiss). Today, the building has been bought by Stepping Stones (a school for children with learning difficulties), and is being restored to its former glory.

  Undershaw is where Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote many of the Sherlock Holmes stories, including The Hound of The Baskervilles. It’s where Conan Doyle brought Sherlock Holmes back to life. This project will contribute to specific projects at the house, such as the restoration of Doyle’s study, and will be opened up to fans outside term time.

  You can find out more information about the new Stepping Stones school at www.steppingstones.org.uk

  Sherlock Holmes (1854-1957) was born in Yorkshire, England, on 6 January, 1854. In the mid-1870’s, he moved to 24 Montague Street, London, where he established himself as the world’s first Consulting Detective. After meeting Dr. John H. Watson in early 1881, he and Watson moved to rooms at 221b Baker Street, where his reputation as the world’s greatest detective grew for several decades. He was presumed to have died battling noted criminal Professor James Moriarty on 4 May, 1891, but he returned to London on 5 April, 1894, resuming his consulting practice in Baker Street. Retiring to the Sussex coast near Beachy Head in October 1903, he continued to be involved in various private and government investigations while giving the impression of being a reclusive apiarist. He was very involved in the events encompassing World War I, and to a lesser degree those of World War II. He passed away peacefully upon the cliffs above his Sussex home on his 103rd birthday, 6 January, 1957.

  Dr. John Hamish Watson (1852-1929) was born in Stranraer, Scotland on 7 August, 1852. In 1878, he took his Doctor of Medicine Degree from the University of London, and later joined the army as a surgeon. Wounded at the Battle of Maiwand in Afghanistan (27 July, 1880), he returned to London late that same year. On New Year’s Day, 1881, he was introduced to Sherlock Holmes in the chemical laboratory at Barts. Agreeing to share rooms with Holmes in Baker Street, Watson became invaluable to Holmes’s consulting detective practice. Watson was married and widowed three times, and from the late 1880’s onward, in addition to his participation in Holmes’s investigations and his medical practice, he chronicled Holmes’s adventures, with the assistance of his literary agent, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, in a series of popular narratives, most of which were first published in The Strand magazine. Watson’s later years were spent preparing a vast number of his notes of Holmes’s cases for future publication. Following a final important investigation with Holmes, Watson contracted pneumonia and passed away on 24 July, 1929.

  Part I: 1881-1889

  In 1874, while visiting the home of a University friend (see “The Gloria Scott”), Sherlock Holmes realized that his life’s calling was to become a Consulting Detective. Moving to Montague Str
eet in London, he commenced his career. A few years later, John H. Watson received his Doctor of Medicine degree and eventually joined the Army. After being wounded at the Battle of Maiwand, he returned to England, where he was introduced to Sherlock Holmes on New Year’s Day, 1881. They agreed to take rooms at 221b Baker Street. Within months, Watson was assisting Holmes on his various investigations. In the mid-1880’s, Watson married his first wife, about whom only limited facts are available. Although now wed, Watson often found time to assist in his friend’s adventures. Following the death of his first wife in late 1887, Watson returned to 221b, where he lived until his second marriage to more well-known Mary Watson (née Morstan) in mid-1889. This volume covers this earlier period from soon after Holmes and Watson’s first meeting through the early months of Watson’s second marriage. During this time, Holmes was building his practice, and Watson did not publish any narratives of Holmes’s cases until late 1887. Thus, Holmes was still somewhat unknown at this point. It was during this interval that the two first became friends, and then “brothers, not in blood, but in bond.”[1]

  1 From the film Sherlock Holmes (2009)