Product Description

For over a century, readers have thrilled to the exploits of Sherlock Holmes through the tales narrated by his sidekick and official chronicler, Dr. John Watson. But do Dr. Watson’s tales really tell the true story of the great detective? In this collection of thirteen original tales, each told by a side character in the original canon, ranging from the famous (Irene Adler, Professor James Moriarty, and Mycroft Holmes) to the decidedy minor (Billy the page boy, Wiggins of the Baker Street Irregulars, and both Mrs. Watsons), readers finally get to hear another side of the legend. From what Inspector Lestrade really thought of Holmes to the untold tale of his encounter with Dr. Fu Manchu, from the bitter reminiscences of him by C. Auguste Dupin to the thoughts of his longtime landlady Mrs. Hudson, the totality of the veil of mystery over the legend that is Sherlock Holmes is at last removed. With stories from Barbara Hambly, Cara Black, Peter Tremayne, and Michael Kurland, among others, My Sherlock Holmes is a unique and compelling entry into the literature of the world’s most famous detective.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1257699 in Books
• Published on: 2003-01-21
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 368 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Edgar finalist Kurland (The Great Game) offers an anthology of 13 new, mostly top-drawer Sherlock Holmes stories, all featuring viewpoints other than Dr. Watson's. Richard Lupoff is true to Poe's descriptive, psychological style in "The Case of the Impecunious Chevalier," in which a youthful Holmes goes to Paris to help Auguste Dupin retrieve a rare golden bird icon. In Gary Lovisi's "Mycroft's Great Game," Sherlock's older brother finds himself in an implausible alliance with archfiend Prof. Moriarty while playing an exaggerated game of power politics. In Kurland's own outstanding tale, "Years Ago and in a Different Place," Moriarty defends his reputation against Watson's insinuations by telling of his undergraduate days with Holmes investigating a bizarre campus murder together. Peter Tremayne, Cara Black and Barbara Hambly also contribute worthy adventures.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Purists may balk, but this collection of Sherlock Holmes stories by a diverse group of authors and imitators is extremely entertaining. Rather than adhering strictly to Conan Doyle's narrative style, the featured authors write original tales recounted by characters other than Dr. John Watson. Drawn directly from the original canon, each of these characters brings a new sensibility and adds a new dimension to the Holmes legend. These characters, which include Irene Adler, Dr. Moriarty, Mrs. Hudson, both the first and the second Mrs. Watson, Colonel Sebastian Moran, and Billy the page boy, all view Holmes and his exploits through the prism of their own interests, experiences, and relationships with the great detective. Most Holmes aficionados will welcome this delightful addition to the ever-growing mythology of their immortal fictional hero. Margaret Flanagan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

Customer Reviews

Nice to have other viewpoints than Watson
I enjoyed this book very much, although some of the stories were shakey. I was pleased to note that I have shared magazine space with one author, Michael Mallory, author of the Amelia Watson series which ran in Murderous Intent Magazine, which also published my gallows-humor poem "He Escaped". One often wonders just what others thought of Holmes when Mrs. Hudson is always described as "long-suffering" and Lestrade and Co. as "The best of a bad lot." Then there was Watson's wives, who surely must have been the world's most understanding women. And Irene "The Woman" Adler-Norton: Did she really consider Holmes "The Man" or just another "fool man"? Great stuff, guys and gals! Four Sherlock stars from the Blade. And Mr. Mallory, I really must find me a copy of your book "The Adventures of the Second Mrs. Watson". I read all the ones in my subscription to Murderous Intent with relish!

Don't bother
For want of a new Sherlock Holmes pastiche collection to read, I decided to give this one a try after reading about it in Booklist. The premise sounded interesting; alas, it plays out poorly. Holmes is so far out of character in most of these that it's not even funny. Yes, these stories are supposed to be other characters' views of him, but they could have at least retained some spirit of Doyle's original. Instead many writers take Holmes' character and run with it. For instance, the story involving Irene Adler's relationship with Holmes is not only unoriginal but ridiculous. I hope that there will be a new collection of pastiches, one that vastly outweighs this one in the quality department.

unique accounts of encounters with Holmes
Though it would seem that every Doyle character and anyone of real fame or not the so famous from the late Victorian Era has had a shot at moving aside Watson to provide their Holmes viewpoint. This anthology proves that Dr. Watson has many more bedfellows as thirteen individuals, one to a tale, tells their side of a relationship with Holmes. Each contribution is quite good as the authors do more than just genuflect to the master by relating a thrilling adventure. Thus the Baker St. Irregulars will find MY SHERLOCK HOLMES a clever well-written anthology in which each protagonist or in some cases antagonist provides a unique first person account of an encounter with the sleuth.

Harriet Klausner