As the newest Sherlock Holmes novel works its way though the
publishing process toward publication in November, I’ll post some previews from
the book -- introducing you to some of the irregulars featured in the Irregular Lives: The Untold Story of
Sherlock Holmes and the Baker Street Irregulars.
This week,
I’ll preview Wiggins, the only
irregular mentioned, by name, in the Doyle canon. Despite this, we did not know
much about him. So, let me introduce you.
Irregular Lives tells
the story of how Holmes met Wiggins, and the other irregulars. You may not have
known that they met in the midst of the largest jewel robbery in London. Wiggins
meets Holmes as he dips into his pockets. It’s exciting tale. Here’s a scene for
that story:
Holmes made his way, in a casual
stroll, until he came to a stall selling leather goods set along the edge of
the street. He began fingering a collection of belts hanging from the top of
the stall. As he reached his arms upwards, his coat opened up, throwing both
pockets behind him. Within moments the lad had closed the space between them
and dipped both hands, simultaneously, into Holmes’s pockets.
Suddenly, Holmes swung around and
gripped the lad’s hands—which were now holding a handkerchief and an inkwell.
“It’s a fair cop, sir,” the lad
exclaimed in surrender.
Then, just as quickly, the boy
swung a huge kick toward Holmes’s right leg, grazing his shin and rending his
trousers.
“It seems you’re no better with
your feet than you are with your hands,” Holmes remarked.
The lad smiled. But, the boy’s
smile twisted into a look of confusion as he stared at his right hand. “Blimey!
An inkwell. What’s all this then?”
“Not much value there,” Holmes
said. “And, you might also note that the handkerchief has a hole it.”
“I made a right pig’s ear of it,
di’n I, mister?”
I hope that you will follow this blog in the coming weeks as
I introduce Snape, Ugly, Archie, Kate, and Benjie. And, while these sneak
previews are fun, they are not a substitute for reading (or listening to) the
entire adventure. I’ll let you know the moment it hits the bookstores in
November.
No comments:
Post a Comment