Sherlock Holmes: Mysteries of the Victorian Era

Review: This is a collection of five cases, written up by Dr. Watson without benefit of his notes, which had been lost. There is no particular theme to the stories and they represent varied plots and they are placed at various times. One is set in June of 1890 and others at some time before Watson's marriage, while one takes place at a time when Watson is in active practice but unmarried.

The first tale is The Adventure of the Project, which has a scientific theme and presents a bizarre method of murder. Unfortunately, the method wouldn't work because the author doesn't understand the physical nature of his murder weapon. I'll leave the details unexplained for those who wish to read the stories, but be assured, the weapon could not behave as described nor could it be used as in the story, without several undescribed side effects.

The second tale, The adventure of the Pinson Manor, is another odd crime because of the cultural juxtapositions. Linking the Canary Islands, which were known since Roman times, with voodoo and other native practices is odd. The native population (Guanches, possibly related to Basques) was almost wiped out in the 15th century and its remnants lost among the Spanish settlers. The only connections the islands have with African voodoo is propinquity (they lie about 70 miles of the northwest coast) and occasional pirate raids by moors. The chemical so familiar to Holmes is just being investigated by modern chemists 100 years later.

Tale number three, The Adventure of the Quiet Storm, is a fairly conventional Sherlockian mystery, solved in the traditional fashion. The only defect is the occasional use of language not appropriate to the times which jars concentration. Otherwise, this was a pleasant mystery and a diverting tale.

The fourth tale, The Adventure of the Englander Diamond, is a neat little mystery, but is not quite as well-explained as it might be. The deductions are shown, but there are a few, minor discontinuities; for example, the hiding place of the diamond is not well explained and the opening telegram seems improbable. Surely a Prime Minister would have messengers at hand and would not communicate important matters by public telegraph.

The final tale, The Adventure of Jackthorn Circle, is an exercise in popular myth that doesn't belong in a Sherlockian collection. The setting is not supported in the Canon, the actions of the client are not suited to the tale and the result of the mystery is not suited to Holmes.

On the whole, this collection was disappointing. My initial reaction was colored by my surprise at the solution to the first mystery and my disbelief of that solution. The other tales do not present that kind of error and some are fairly interesting. However, the confused cultural setting in the "Pinson Manor" detracted from the story's readability, and the solution of Jackthorn Circle was a disappointment, leaving two satisfactory stories out of five.

Reviewed by: Philip K. Jones, March 2004