Sherlock Holmes: Music hath charms to soothe a savage mind

Sherlock Holmes plays the violin. References to his playing are limited, but they are abundant enough to give us a picture of a cultured, atypical player who, of course, played a Stradivarius.

As for Holmes’s repertoire, there are no direct references to Holmes playing from a score. However, he does play some of Mendelssohn’s Songs Without Words for Watson’s listening pleasure in A Study in Scarlet. In his review, Watson says: “His powers upon the violin… were very remarkable but as eccentric as all his other accomplishments.”

The only story where Holmes’s violin plays a part in the plot is in The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone. Here Holmes fools his foes by telling them he will play the Barcarolle from Offenbach’s Tales of Hoffmann in an adjoining room. However, he puts on a record of the same piece. The scoundrels fail to notice that the music is a recording, rather than a live performance. This allows the master detective to listen in on their clandestine conversation and unravel the mystery.

Is Holmes a good musician? Here opinions are wide-ranging. While Watson is occasionally annoyed by Holmes’s playing, in The Red-Headed League, Watson is rather complimentary. He says that Holmes is . . . “an enthusiastic musician, being himself not only a very capable performer, but a composer of no ordinary merit.”  

However, we may be missing the mark if we focus solely on Holmes’s musical ability. It seems clear that Holmes uses his violin playing as a “distancing method.” As many scientists, and creative individuals, will tell you, when they encounter a problem whose solution is not immediately apparent, it’s best to focus on something else in order to let your subconscious mind come into play. This would seem to born out by that fact that, shortly after Holmes plays his violin, we find him, once again, on his way to solving the mystery at hand.

While I did not ask Holmes to play for us in any of the five tales I wrote for Sherlock Holmes - The Golden Years, I used his interest in music and the violin to draw him out of a deep depression. In The Maestro of Mysteries, a violin virtuoso, Fritz Kreisler, is brought to Watson’s apartment, where Holmes is staying. Fritz Kreisler was a real person—a contemporary of Holmes and Watson. And, as I attempt to make all my stories historically accurate, Fritz Kreisler had recently played at Wilton’s Music Hall in London near the time my story is dated. In my story, Kreisler plays Dvorak’s Humoreske, which (not coincidently) he played as an encore at his performance at Wilton’s Music Hall.

In The Maestro of Mysteries, Fritz tries to coax Holmes into joining him in Bach’s Concerto for Two Violins. But, Holmes laughs and replies. “In the shadow of such genius it [my violin] would not dare leave its dusty bin.” Kreisler replies: “Genius comes in many forms, Mr. Holmes. It is incumbent upon us to exercise those gifts that we each possess. You, my dear sir, are the maestro of mysteries.”

If you want to read The Maestro of Mysteries, and the other four stories in the Sherlock Holmes- The Golden Years collection, go TO AMAZON.

Unlikely Friends: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Harry Houdini:

It is difficult to reconcile Conan Doyle’s belief in Spiritualism with his rational creation Sherlock Holmes. Sir Arthur, in his later life, became a staunch advocate for Spiritualism. At this same time, Harry Houdini devoted his efforts to unmasking unscrupulous mediums and spirit guides. Ironically, Harry Houdini and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle were great friends. Both Doyle and Houdini are real life characters in the latest historical fiction collection of Sherlock Holmes mysteries: Sherlock Holmes-The Golden Years.

In The Cure that Kills, Houdini meets Holmes and Watson aboard ship as they steam to America in pursuit of the diabolical Ciarán Malastier. As I attempt to have all my stories be historically accurate, it should be noted that Houdini did sail back to America after a triumphant European tour about the time my story is dated.

In another novella, The Kongo Nkisi Spirit Train, Sherlock meets his maker -- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle—at a séance in the Doyle’s Windlesham home. Like Houdini, Holmes subtly unmasks a “mostly fraudulent” medium called Margery—again, a real personality of the time. In this scene from the story, the logical Holmes remarks to Doyle: “Like Diogenes, Sir Arthur, I am, above all, a seeker of truth. And, if it be possible to discover the truth that lies beyond the grave, I myself might expect to find it in deep reflection and lucid prayer, and not around a ill-lit table.”

You can read these tales, and three others, in Sherlock Holmes-The Golden Years—available on AMAZON and all good bookstores.

The Baker Street Irregulars: Alive and Well

The Baker Street irregulars are a gang of street Arabs whom Holmes employs from time to time to aid in his investigations. This back-street brigade serves to gather information, find missing people, track individuals, deliver communications, etc.

This urban army appears in the first Sherlock Holmes story, A Study In Scarlet. They also have their own chapter in a subsequent novel, The Sign of the Four. They reappear some years later in The Adventure of the Crooked Man.

In the early stories, the irregulars are led by an older boy called Wiggins, whom Holmes paid a shilling per day (plus expenses), with a guinea prize (worth one pound and one shilling) for a vital clue. Of course, the irregulars are often included in various movies, television programs, and Sherlock Holmes pastiches. Indeed, they play a prominent role in several of the stories in my new collection – Sherlock Holmes – The Golden Years. However, as my stories take place nearly twenty years after their last appearance, the the irregulars in my stories are led by a sixteen-year old boy named Archie, who has a tag-along little brother names Benjie.

As a writer, I find the irregulars fascinating. They create a poignant counterpoint to the richer society that is the focus of most of Doyle’s stories. Also, kids are just fun to write. They inject energy into a story. Having alleged this, you will not be surprised to learn that am planning to have the irregulars play a prominent role in most of my future stories. Indeed, I recently submitted a story called Blood Brothers for a new anthology of Sherlock Holmes stories being created to support the The Undershaw Trust’s efforts to save the Doyle home in Surrey, UK. This collection of about fifty original stories will debut sometime this fall – being published by MX Publishing in London.

I will alert you again when this fantastic anthology, which is edited by David Marcum, will be available. It is definitely one book you will want to have in your collection. Meanwhile, if you haven’t already done so, check our Sherlock Holmes the Golden Years – available ON AMAZON and most every on-line and main street book store.

The “Spiritual-side” to Doyle

One cannot help but wonder how could Conan Doyle, a medical man steeped in empirical reasoning at Edinburgh University, and the creator of a highly rational detective, had come to become a staunch advocate of Spiritualism. Ironically, one of Doyle’s closet friends was Harry Houdini, who relished unmasking unscrupulous mediums and spirit guides. These seeming contradictions are explore within several of the stories in the new Sherlock Holmes collection Sherlock Holmes – The Golden Years.

 And, in a rare blend of fiction and non-fiction, one of the stories features Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and his second wife Jean hosting a séance at his home at Windlesham. Holmes and Watson are in attendance. In a poignant scene from the story, the rational Holmes remarks to Doyle: “Like Diogenes, Sir Arthur, I am, above all, a seeker of truth. And, if it be possible to discover the truth that lies beyond the grave, I myself might expect to find it in deep reflection and lucid prayer, and not around a ill-lit table.” However, this séance merely sets the stage for a truly singular adventure that has Holmes and Watson unraveling a mystery secreted within the jungles of the Dark Continent entitled – The Kongo Nkisi Spirit Train.

All five historically accurate stories have captivating plot-lines that put the legendary detective’s remarkable deductive powers to the test as Holmes and Watson tangle with life-and-death situations. Clearly, some of Holmes’s and Watson’s most remarkable and dangerous adventures still await them . . . and you.

You can buy Sherlock Holmes – The Golden Years at:

Amazon

Barnes & Nobles

Behind the pages look at Sherlock Holmes – The Golden Years

Holmesian author Derrick Belanger has been conducting a wonderful series of author interviews with writers of Sherlock Holmes pastiches. So, I was pleased when Derrick asked for an interview to learn more about what lay “behind the pages” of Sherlock Holmes – The Golden Years. You can find the interview at: I Hear ofSherlock Everywhere

  Also, check out some of Derrick’s books – including A Study in Terror, and his fun series for kids featuring the MacDougal Twins with Sherlock Holmes.

One thing that may have sparked Derrick’s recent interest may be that Sherlock Holmes – The Golden Years has “gone global” in that it has been picked up by Jaico Publishing in India. So, in addition to buying it ON AMAZON, you can find it in India.

Holmes and Watson in Africa!

Many Sherlock Holmes tales begin with a person knocking on the door and presenting the dynamic duo a mystery. Such is the case of the Kongo Nkisi Spirit Train – the fifth and last story in the new collection of pastiches entitled: Sherlock Holmes- The Golden Years.

On a lovely summer morning in 1913, Leander Starr Jameson was ushered into the parlour of Watson’s London flat. What brought him there was an African mystery involving the Cape to Cairo Railway project. As Jameson put it:

“The Cape to Cairo Railway has faced, and overcome, many obstacles over the last fifteen years—swamps, impenetrable jungle, the ravages of the white ants and termites, encounters with lions, elephants and other beasts, disease and unfriendly natives, to name a few. All of these have been overcome . . . until now.”

      I (Watson) leaned forward in my chair. “What has put a stop to the progress now, Mr. Jameson?”

      “The Kongo Nkisi. A native spirit-god.”

That was the start of one of Sherlock Holmes’s greatest adventures – one that took Watson and him into the heart of the Dark Continent, and a confrontation with “the spiritless people.”

Leander Starr Jameson, also call "Doctor Jim” or "Lanner," was a British colonial politician and doctor. He created a successful medical practice in London, but his health broke down. Soon after, Jameson went out to South Africa and settled down in Kimberley. It was there he met Cecil Rhodes who, with some help from Jameson, formed the British South Africa Company, and began the monumental Cape to Cairo Railway project – the goal being to bisect Africa, north to south, with 5,700 miles of rail track.

Jameson returned to London in his later years and became of the most liked and beloved persons in Britain at the time. Indeed, Rudyard Kipling wrote the poem If with Leander Starr Jameson in mind. Jameson’s alluring personality is apparent as he guides Holmes and Watson into the jungle and, unknowingly, into the lair of the Kongo Nkisi spirit.

This tale is a fitting end to the five-part series of stories written in the style and voice of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. If you’re seeking more authentic Sherlock Holmes stories – check out Sherlock Holmes – The Golden Years.  You can find it ON AMAZON and all on-line and main-street bookstores.

Always “the women”

“To Sherlock Holmes she is always the woman.  I have seldom heard him mention her under any other name.  In his eyes she eclipses and predominates the whole of her sex.”

Irene Adler has remained a central character in the Holmes canon despite the fact that she appeared in only one Sherlock Holmes story – A Scandal in Bohemia. She is mentioned, in passing, in only three other stories. Nonetheless, she continues to capture the interest and imagination of Sherlock Holmes fans new and old. This may be because she is only one of four people, and the only women, to have ever outwitted the sleuth of Baker Street. But more likely, it is because she represents an elusive love interest for the stoical Sherlock Holmes.

Holmes's seeming lack of interest in romance seems to be too tempting for writers, as well as film and television dramatists. Irene Adler has been portrayed as everything from vamp to Holmes’s arch-villain. I have yet to see a characterization of Irene Adler on the silver screen that echoes with the character Doyle created.

Fortunately, as a writer of Holmes pastiches, I am able to explore and address the Holmes–Adler relationship in the manner I felt it deserved.  I wanted Irene Adler to show up in Holmes’s life in a exciting, believable and satisfying manner.

In Sherlock Holmes – The Golden Years, Irene Adler is reprised – and not simply as a character in the background. Her presence and spirit find their way into all five of the tales in my book – although not always in a way you might suppose. I endeavored to remain true the Irene Adler Doyle created. Likewise, I wanted Holmes to be true to himself. Nonetheless, my treatment of Irene Adler Norton, and her relationship with Sherlock Holmes, has become one of the most controversial aspects witin my collection.

I am pleased that Sherlockian scholar Philip K. Jones, as heartily endorsed my book, and my stories have received a nod from the Sherlock Holmes Society of London. A quick glance at on-line bookstores reveal that my book has garnered a majority of 5-star reviews.  However, as is to be expected, there are a few readers who find it difficult to believe that Holmes’s relationship with Irene Adler could be anything beyond Platonic, collegial, and distant.

If you are an avid fan, you know that Holmes has a wonderful heart. Sherlock Holmes – The Golden Years gives him an opportunity to reveal a, hereto hidden, part of his inner-life.  I wish I could share details, but anything more would be a “spoiler” for my readers. If you are curious, you may wish to pick up a copy – or download one.

The book Sherlock Holmes – The Golden Years is AVAILABLE ON AMAZON and most on-line and main-street bookstores.