Curious Incidents: Being a Collection of the Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

Review 1: Lin Carter coined the word ‘anamundism’ for the geographical equivalent of an anachronism. There’s rather a lot of both, I’m afraid, in Curious Incidents: Being a Collection of the Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, edited by J R Campbell & Charles Prepolec. The six stories, all by different authors, are clever and frequently puzzling in the right way. G M Kelly’s ‘A Slaying in Suburbia’ is well written, and offers an ingenious new twist on the Sebastian Moran conundrum: how does an air rifle become a deadly firearm? ‘The Adventure of the Lodger’s Secret’ by Kristin Vichich, clearly inspired by ‘The Red Circle’ and ‘The Veiled Lodger’, is neat and humane, though Holmes and Watson’s attitude strikes me as appropriate to the 1990s rather than the 1890s. ‘The Case of Vamberry the Wine Merchant’ by James R Stefanie and ‘The First Mate’s Jacket’ by J R Campbell both show a lack of understanding of Victorian English mores and procedures, though the plots are clever enough to make me wish I could have had a hand in writing them. (Anyone who orders a pint of bitters in a British pub is in for a shock, as it’s the stuff that gives pink gin its flavour and colour. The beer that’s evidently meant is called bitter, to distinguish it from the sweeter mild.) Bob Byrne’s story ‘The Adventure of the Tired Captain’ takes an actual puzzle that was presented to Arthur Conan Doyle, introduces William Gillette, and has the two men brazenly adopt the rôles of Holmes and Watson. It’s a nice conceit, let down only by some clumsy writing. The best story in this collection is Peter Wood’s ‘The Case of Lady Sannox’, which retells one of Conan Doyle’s most horrifying short stories as a Holmes investigation. It’s neat, very well written,, thoroughly gripping, and faithful to the original story and to the Canon. But having listened spellbound for an hour or more while Peter Wood told me tales of his childhood home, the Isle of Man, I expected nothing less. Curious Incidents is a mixed bag, made coherent by an evident love for Holmes, Watson and Conan Doyle, and by some splendid illustrations from the inspired pen of Philip Cornell.

Reviewed by: Roger Johnson, [District Messenger 223, 2002]

Review 2: One of the editors describes this publication as a journal, and I suspect that more will be issued if sufficient material is received. As the title suggests, this is a collection of pastiches, of which there are six. The best, in my opinion, is A Slaying in Suburbi’, by Gerry Kelly, whose work has already been mentioned in The Torr. (The journal of The Poor Folk Upon the Moors) The story concerns the alleged murder by shooting by one man of his neighbour over a trifling domestic dispute. The accused protests his innocence, Holmes is called to investigate, and is soon interviewing another neighbour, who also owns a gun, although it is only an air rifle. A tale of espionage, assassination and a criminal genius to rival Professor Moriarty ensues, brilliantly solved by Sherlock Holmes.

The Case of Vamberry, the Wine Merchant, by James R. Stefanie, is the author’s version of the case which was referred to by Holmes in The Musgrave Ritual. Mr. Vamberry has disappeared, but Holmes soon discovers his fate, which is not totally unexpected. The reason behind it is rather more ingenious, involving smuggling and politics.

The Adventure of the Lodger’s Secret, by Kristin Vichich, begins with undertones of The Veiled Lodger and The Red Circle, but a completely different story to either unfolds. A rather sordid tale (his words) is unravelled by Holmes, who discovers that the lodger’s secret is indeed a strange one.

The next story, The First Mate’s Jacket, is by J.R. Campbell, one of the book’s editors. A ship has sunk off Falmouth, the only survivors being a Mrs. Stanstead, whose husband was lost with the ship, and the first mate. An enquiry is held, but as there seems to have been no crime or negligence involved, it is adjourned. But Holmes, who happens to be in the town on another case, is not convinced, and decides to investigate. He discovers that the true facts are completely different from the evidence given at the enquiry, but I must not reveal the ending, which is quite unexpected.

If the title of Peter H. Wood’s pastiche, The Case of Lady Sannox, sounds familiar, it is because Conan Doyle wrote a short, non-Holmesian, story with the same title, although it is not attributed here. It would help if you were to read this first. Suffice it to say that the author picks up the story where Doyle left off, with Holmes first investigating what happened in this tragic and gruesome case, and why, then going on to became involved in the aftermath and its no less tragic ending.

The final story, The Adventure of the Tired Captain, by Bob Byrne, is unusual in that the main characters are Arthur Conan Doyle and the actor William Gillette. They decide to assist the police in discovering what has become of an army officer who checked into a London hotel and then vanished. In the guise of Holmes and Watson they present themselves at the local police station and proceed to explain their theory to the sceptical inspector who is in charge. Needless to say, they are eventually proved right. If, again, the title seems familiar to you, that is because it was referred to as one of the untold cases in ‘The Naval Treaty’. Also, the explanation to a similar, true case was given by Conan Doyle in 1929, and is well documented in several books, including Richard Lancelyn Green’s The Uncollected Sherlock Holmes

The excellent illustrations are by Phil Cornell, who will be known to many as the Expedition Artist of The Sydney Passengers.

There are, unfortunately, a number of typographical and other errors in the book, which is rather surprising given that one of the authors is also joint editor.

Reviewed by: Eric Monahan, [2002]