Sherlock Holmes on Stage

Following in the footsteps of Conan Doyle, I have chosen a two-act play to be my next contribution to the ever-expanding canon (I’m currently wrapping up my novel Irregular Lives - coming out in the fall.). As is my style and custom, this new project has begun with research. It would not be surprising, then, to learn that my research began with the one Sherlock Holmes play that Doyle is credited with--entitled: Sherlock Holmes.

I italicized “credited” since this play is more the work of actor William Gillette than Conan Doyle. American theatrical producer Charles Frohman attempted to buy the rights from Conan Doyle. While Doyle did not relinquish the rights, it did inspire him to write a five-act play featuring Holmes and Professor Moriarty. As you can imagine, a five-act play would have been tedious, and likely too elaborate to produce on tour. Frohman’s feedback to Doyle included an observation that actor William Gillette would make an ideal Holmes. Doyle followed up on Frohman’s suggestion, and in the end, Gillette wrote what amounted to a new two-act play.

Holmesian fans would quickly recognized dialogue from the play that was lifted straight from several of Doyle’s stories: A Scandal in Bohemia, The Final Problem and A Study in Scarlet.

The plot is a rather “plain vanilla Holmes tale” in which Holmes is pitted against Moriarty. It involves helping a beautiful, young woman who seeks to revenge on a royal personage who wronged her in a love affair (think A Scandal in Bohemia). Her sister, who died of a broken heart had keep letters and photos of a nobleman who now wants them back. Moriarty and his gang, seeing a great opportunity for blackmail, attempt to steal the incriminating evidence from the young woman. 

The play opened in New York City on November of 1899, and ran there for 260 performances across the U.S.  It then moved to London's Lyceum Theatre in September 1901 where is ran for nearly 200 performances in various theaters in the UK. Thereafter, it was revived, from time to time, by William Gillette over the next decade.

It is well known by Holmes aficionados that, in the entire 60-story canon, Holmes never says: "Elementary, my dear Watson,” however, it does appear in this play. This would explain the persistence and popularity of what some might say is the most famous of Holmes’s lines. It was also Gillette who introduced the famous curved meerschaum pipe.

The two-act comedy Sherlock Holmes is a quick read -- thank heaven. If I had to rate it today, I would give it only two or three stars. From a plot standpoint, it does not measure up to most of Doyle’s stories, and the dialogue is flat and predicable. All that aside, it was the ending that caught me off-guard. Holmes, having only seen the young heroin on two occasions (scenes) before the last scene, declares his love to her in Watson’s company. The finals curtain falls with Holmes kissing his new love “on the mouth.”

There are other Sherlock Holmes plays out there, and I will undoubtedly read all of them. But at this early stage, I can only say that the Doyle-Gillette play has inspired me to dive, wholeheartedly, into my new project with the hope that I might do a better job of bringing Sherlock Holmes to the stage.

The irregulars: The Untold Story

Within the 60 Holmes in the original canon, the urban army known at the Baker Street irregulars appear only three times: In two novels, A Study In Scarlet and The Sign of the Four, and later in The Adventure of the Crooked Man.

In these stories, the irregulars were led by an 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. It was clear that there were many boys within the irregulars, and possible a girl, but none of the others were distinguished in Doyle’s writing. As an emerging Holmes scholar, it seemed likely to me that the irregulars played a larger role in Holmes’s investigations, and is life -- particularly as Holmes aged. In my next book: Irregular Lives: The Untold Story of Sherlock Holmes’s Urban Army, I explore the singular adventures that Holmes and the irregulars shared over several decades.

You will, of course, find Wiggans, but also the other, previously unnamed members to street Arabs like Ugly, Snape, Archie, Kate, Ruck, and Tessa -- Wiggans’s little sister. This book will wrap a series of vignettes in a larger tale that unfolds just after WWI, when Holmes is 65 years old.

Irregular Lives: The Untold Story of Sherlock Holmes’s Urban Army not only makes for some exciting mysteries and adventures, but also gives the reader a peak at what was called “Darkest England”-- the one million desperately poor residents of London in 1919. These retched people comprised 15 percent of the city’s population. Ironically, today London’s poor represent an even greater portion of the population. Not much progress in one hundred years.

My hope is that this newest book will be out in the fall. In the meanwhile, if you haven’t already done so, you might check out Sherlock Holmes the Golden Years – on AMAZON where you can get a peak at some of the irregulars who will reappear in my new book. BTW: Sherlock Holmes the Golden Years is now available as a wonderful new audiobook!

Whose portrays the best Sherlock Holmes?

Sherlock Holmes - The Golden Years is now available as an audiobook. A great new voice talent, Richard Di Britannia, produces one of the best “Holmes voices” I have ever heard. But, more than this, Richard’s dramatic range, and versatility, breathes new life into the five-part saga that boasts over seventy characters.

Audible, who publishes the audiobook has selected a sample. And, while not the most action-backed sample segment, it does offer the opportunity to hear Richard’s marvelous voice:

This story sample comes from the third story in the collection, The Maestro of Mysteries. It describes a meeting between Holmes and Miss Irene Adler that eventually leads to her joining in the chase for the diabolical Ciarán Malastier who haunts all five stories.

Sherlock Holmes - The Golden Years audiobook is available on AMAZON.

Sherlock Holmes and the Suffragettes

Sherlock Holmes’s relationship with the ladies has always been a point of curiosity for fans. He has always shown respect for certain feminine weaknesses and, at the same time he was slow to embrace female strengths.  His lifestyle and work enabled him to walk this line. However, in Sherlock Holmes - The Golden Years, he could not help but confront some formidable ladies in the streets, as the suffrage movement was in full swing in 1913.  With a major election cycle underway in the United States, I thought a post about women’s suffrage was appropriate -- particularly as the women’s vote will be so critical in the coming presidential election.

While the women’s suffrage movement in the United Kingdom began about 1872, with the formation of the National Society for Women’s Suffrage, it didn’t make the daily headlines until the early 1900’s when the movement became more militant and violent.

WWI caused a temporary halt to suffrage activity and, in 1918, the Representation of the Peoples Act granted women limited voting rights. However, it wasn’t until 1928 when all women in Britain gained full voting rights. Women in the U.S. gained the right to vote eight years earlier, in 1920.

One of the key figures in Britain’s suffrage movement was Emmeline Pankhurst, who is one of several infamous historical characters that can be found in Sherlock Holmes-The Golden Years.

In the Curse of the Black Feather, Holmes and Watson meet Emmeline Pankhurst at a party where Watson has the dubious honour of escorting her to dinner.  Holmes, however, had a much more fascinating dinner partner that evening – Irene Adler, “the woman” who mysteriously reappears his life and haunts him in all five of the stories in this 345-page collection.

In Sherlock Holmes-The Golden Years the reader gets all the mystery and magic of Holmes at his best, interesting real-life historical characters, and a rich and highly accurate historical background, all of which adds great depth to the stories. Available at AMAZON as soft cover, Kindle and audiobook.

Would that Holmes could take the mystery out of the U.S. Presidential Election.

A New Voice for Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes - The Golden Years will soon be available as an audiobook. A great new voice talent, Richard Di Britannia, has brought his amazing skills to bear. He not only produces one of the best “Holmes voices” I have ever heard, but shows his range and versatility as he interprets over 70 characters in the book.

Below is a sample taken from the first story in the collection -- A Bonnie Bag of Bones:

In this saga, the infamous duo is led on a not-so-merry chase into the mythical mountains of Scotland, and ultimately to the “the woman” who is tangled within a mystery that has haunted Holmes for a quarter century.

In the clip below, Watson has just arrived at Holmes’s retirement cottage in Sussex Downs after receiving a terse telegram from Holmes that chided him for a recent mythological story he published about a creature call the Grey Man of Ben Macdhui.

CLICK on the screen above to hear Richard Di Britiannia interpretation of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson in a post-retirement conversation.

As soon as the 10-1/2 hour audiobook is out, information and links will be posted. If you are interested in a hard copy version of this collection of stories, you can buy it on AMAZON and most other bookstores.

Sherlock Conversations Interview with Author of Sherlock Holmes- The Golden Years (Me!)

Sherlock Conversations, the great new blog that covers the world of Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, just posted an interview I did with Don Smith - the blogs author.

Don asked some great questions that really helped me to focus on what makes Sherlock Holmes - The Golden Years so unique. One example:

QUESTION: You are going in a unique direction with your books. As opposed to him in his 90s or him younger, you are putting him middle aged. So is Sherlock in his 60s and 70s here?

KIM KRISCO: In Sherlock Holmes–The Golden Years, Holmes is just turning 60. By today’s standards, he was not that old, but life expectancy one hundred years ago was about 55 years. One of the things we all love about Sherlock Holmes is that, in a constantly changing world, he is one unchanging constant. However, being human, we know that Holmes likely changed, in small and big ways, after sixty years of life experience. As a writer, it was an interesting challenge to explore how the world’s greatest detective may have grown and evolved as he matured. Keeping the personality and wit we all love in mind, I think I did a fair job of capturing Holmes’s changes.

Check out Sherlock Conversations and the rest of the interview . . . and buy it on Amazon and other great bookstores.

PLEASE Give Me Your Opinion

I had a goal to have, at least fifty reviews of Sherlock Holmes - The Golden Years by my birthday (just a few days away now). I am very pleased with the reviews I have received, but they total only 39. I know, from the sales, that there are hundreds of people who have purchased my book (Thank You), but have not posted a review.

PLEASE - if you have read my book, please take a few minutes to give your review on Amazon.