I do not usually read books that take Holmes and Watson out of my comfort zone. I am happy to have Holmes and Watson live at Baker St. and be my dynamic duo with all the best intentions.
But a local Sherlockian that I have met and correspond with has asked me to review his latest book.
So while it seems to take Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson down a path I would never consider, I must admit I am looking forward to reading it..
So, in the next couple of days, be looking for my thoughts on Rob's new book.
The U.K.’s Theatre Royal Bath has announced its lineup for spring 2018. The three-show program includes the world premiere of Sherlock Holmes: The Final Curtain starring Robert Powell as Holmes and Lisa Goddard as Mary Watson.
Completing the season lineup: the world premiere of Harley Granville Barker’s Agnes Colander, edited by Richard Nelson and directed by Trevor Nunn; as well as the U.K. premiere of Samuel D. Hunter’s Off-Broadway hit The Whale, directed by Laurence Boswell.
Kicking off the season in Theatre Royal Bath’s Ustinov Studio will be the newly edited premiere of Barker’s early 20th century play, Agnes Colander. The tale of female independence and ambition will run March 15–April 14, 2018, with casting to be announced at a later date.
The Whale is set to begin performances in the Ustinov April 26 for a run through May 26. Artistic director of the Ustinov, Boswell, directs the engagement, a co-production with Ben Limberg, Joel Stillerman, and Empire Street Productions.
Rounding out the season will be the theatre’s mainstage production of Sherlock Holmes: The Final Curtain. Written by Simon Reade after Arthur Conan Doyle and directed by David Grindley, the thriller sees the retired detective faced with a new mystery to solve: the possibility that his arch nemesis is really alive.
The world premiere will be presented by Theatre Royal Bath Productions and Kenny Wax, with performances scheduled for April 25–May 5.
Manchester, NH – Sherlock Holmes fans unite: Belanger Books LLC and Arkham House Publishers Inc. recently launched a Kickstarter campaign to publish the first new Solar Pons story collection in over 20 years.
“It is with great pleasure & excitement to announce this news; The Derleth Solar Pons character will be coming back to life in the 21st Century!” said Danielle Hackett and Damon Derleth, co-owners of Arkham House Publishers Inc., in a joint statement. “We are pleased to be working on this project with Belanger Books and look forward to this release and future projects together.”
The story collection is titled The Papers of Solar Pons: New Adventures of the Sherlock Holmes of Praed Street and features new stories by bestselling author David Marcum. Marcum is most known for his Sherlock Holmes fiction (The Papers of Sherlock Holmes) as well as collections he’s edited such as The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes stories, currently on Volume VIII. “I first read a Solar Pons story at age eight, two years before I discovered Sherlock Holmes, and I credit the enjoyment of that Pons story with giving me an appreciation for that type of adventure,” said Mr. Marcum.
Solar Pons was created by August Derleth in the 1920s as a continuation of the Sherlock Holmes canon. Derleth, who famously created Arkham House Publishing to preserve the writings of his friend, author HP Lovecraft, had corresponded with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, asking whether Doyle would be providing any new Holmes adventures. When Doyle said no, Derleth determined to write some himself. However, instead of writing more Holmes tales, Derleth came up with Solar Pons, a detective very similar to Holmes, and Dr. Lyndon Parker, his Dr. Watson. Eventually, between the 1920’s and his death in 1971, Derleth wrote over seventy Pons tales, set in that period between the end of World War I and 1939. “The Pons stories clearly take place in Holmes’s world, as the Great Detective himself is referenced by Pons and Parker on several occasions,” explained Marcum.
The Papers of Solar Pons: New Adventures of the Sherlock Holmes of Praed Street contains 12 new Pons adventures, ranging from the early 1920s to the late 1930s – the range of time described in the original Pontine Canon. Additionally, one of the tales contains a flashback to one of Pons’s early cases, soon after he set up his London practice. “And as something extra, the book also contains a Holmes story that I wrote a few years ago, explaining the origin of Solar Pons,” said Mr. Marcum.
Other Sherlock Holmes connections include a story where Pons is called upon to investigate the theft of Watson’s Tin Disptach Box from Cox & Co., and another where Pons and Parker revisit the site of one of the Holmesian Canon’s murders. And then there is the murder that occurs in the lab at Barts, where Holmes and Watson first met so many years before. “I very much appreciate the Derleth Estate for allowing me to bring these stories to the public, and hopefully to generate some new interest in one of the greatest detectives of all time, Solar Pons,” said Mr. Marcum.
Derrick Belanger, co-owner of Belanger Books, LLC hopes that Mr. Marcum’s book will be the first of many new Pons adventures. “Our goal is to publish yearly anthologies of new Solar Pons stories as creating new editions of the original August Derleth Solar Pons books. The character is beloved by many mystery fans who have been wanting more tales of the detective for decades,” said Mr. Belanger. “We will reach out to authors for contributions and release a call for story submissions in the near future.”
The Papers of Solar Pons: New Adventures of the Sherlock Holmes of Praed Street will be released by December, 2017 if fully funded via Kickstarter. The Kickstarter campaign rewards include hardcover, paperback, and e-book versions of Marcum’s Solar Pons book. Backers may also get an autographed hardcover edition of the book, signed by David Marcum as well as other backing levels that include additional Sherlock Holmes books published by Belanger Books. For updates as the project progresses, please visit New Solar Pons Book, Sherlock Holmes of Praed Street Returns on Kickstarter.
The biggest name in Sherlock Holmes fandom is without a doubt, NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. After dazzling hardcore Sherlock fans and newcomers alike in 2015 with his novel Mycroft Holmes, Abdul-Jabbar has returned to chronicling the adventures of Sherlock’s older brother with the new steampunk graphic novel adventure; Mycroft Holmes and the Apocalypse Handbook.
Inverse got in touch with Abdul-Jabbar to find out how he approached his new Mycroft story but discovered a slew of other stunning facts along the way. The NBA All-Star’s insights about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s detective adventures are mind-blowing and sincere. Here’s which Holmesian techniques Abdul-Jabbar used to win on the basketball court, how he switched to writing for a visual medium, and why he thinks a future Sherlock could be transgender.
What was the single biggest change challenge in switching from prose to graphic novel?
The novel’s narrative—from language to setting to characterization—is an extension of Conan Doyle’s Holmesian world. But the graphic novel’s narrative is the opposite. Like the BBC’s Sherlock, I chose to embrace the spirit of Conan Doyle’s characters but be more adventurous with my approach. In the graphic novel, Mycroft is a roguish very reluctant hero more interested in gambling and womanizing than saving the world. The setting moves from Victorian England to the Wild West to Washington, D.C. There are steampunk weapons, lots of humor, and appearances by Queen Victoria and Jesse James. And Sherlock.
Why do you think Mycroft works as an action hero? Does he work BETTER as an action hero than Sherlock?
The Mycroft of my graphic novel is a dynamic action hero because he is in desperate need of redemption. He has a secret past with his younger brother Sherlock that has affected him. He also feels disconnected from the world around him because his enormous intellect makes people so painfully predictable. Going off on an Indiana Jones-type adventure is an opportunity to find meaning and surprise in life.
I’ve read that you used Sherlock Holmes stories as inspiration when you played for the NBA? Is that true? What other aspects of life do the Sherlock Holmes stories impact? In other words, is there a lot of wisdom that is applicable to other settings?
It’s true that the Holmes stories inspired me to be much more observant about opponents so I can gain an advantage over them during games. I even had my own Baker Street Irregulars. [Sherlock's secret urchin informants, first seen in 'A Study in Scarlet.']
I started paying special attention to the conversations among the ball boys and other staffers. When I overheard a couple ball boys joking about how Bob Lanierand his coach would smoke in the locker room at halftime, I decided to run Bob up and down the court as fast as I could the second half.
More important though, the Holmes stories are about the triumph of reason and logic over superstition and mob mentality, which is the basis for modern civilization. That struggle between reason and group-think is the major social issue in our country. To me, logic is the key to saving humanity from its self-destructiveness.
Would you ever consider bringing Mycroft into a more contemporary setting?
I would be interested in modernizing it for a movie or TV series.
Are you considering doing more pastiches connected to Sherlock Holmes characters?
I’m focused on Mycroft for now. But I never know when I might decide to do something different in the Holmesian universe.
What is your favorite original Sherlock Holmes story?
I have a lot of favorites. As much as I like the stories, I prefer the novels because it means spending more time with Watson and Holmes. I especially like The Hound of the Baskervilles because it appears to be horror story without rational explanation until Holmes applies his expertise. For me, the story is a metaphor for much of the irrationality that people use to explain what they don’t want to examine closely.
What is your favorite adaptation?
I loved the Basil Rathbone movies when I was a kid. His terse dialogue and fiercely intense expression made the stories so suspenseful. The BBC’s Sherlock is brilliant in every way. Innovative plots, clever characterization, witty dialogue—and still making us care deeply about Holmes and Watson’s relationship. Recently, I read a mystery novel IQ by Joe Ide that features a Sherlock-type sleuth who is a black kid from the streets of South Central Los Angeles. I loved his take on the classic story.
Sherlock's appearance in the new graphic novel
What do you think Sherlock Holmes will look like in the 22nd century?
The idea of a character who is the epitome of rational thinking with an insatiable hunger for knowledge, but who needs a friendship in order not to lose his humanity will always be around. It doesn’t matter what race, gender, or nationality the new Sherlocks are. Perhaps the next one will be transgender or an alien or an android. It doesn’t matter as long as we don’t lose the essence of what Holmes represents.
This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
Mycroft Holmes and the Apocalypse Handbook, written by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Raymond Obstfeld with art from Joshua Cassara, Luis Guerrero, and Simon Bowland is out today from Titan Comics.
Photos via Titan Books, Getty Images / Slaven Vlasic Source
The novelist and NBA legend says the detective could be "an alien" or 'transgender.'
Benedict Cumberbatch Supports Female Sherlock Holmes
Benedict Cumberbatch is open to having a female Sherlock Holmes in the future. The British actor, who has played the contemporary version of the iconic character for four seasons now in the hit BBC TV series Sherlock, has made it clear that he has no problem whatsoever with the thought that a gender switch might be executed for the fan-favorite detective in the future.
Coming off of the huge announcement that long-running British series Doctor Who has tapped Jodie Whittaker to take over Peter Capaldi’s spot as the next reincarnation of the eponymous Time Lord, discussions about gender-swapping popular roles in mainstream media have become more frequent than ever. After years of campaigns for a female time-traveling doctor, the Broadchurch star was finally announced to be the Thirteenth regeneration of the character. Admittedly, not everyone was very receptive to the change, with some questioning the decision made by the BBC. Cumberbatch, however, is among those who are thrilled to see Whittaker’s take on such a pop culture icon.
Speaking to Varietywhile promoting his upcoming drama The Child In Time (which is the first venture from his new production company, SunnyMarch), the Oscars-nominated actor leapt to Doctor Who‘s casting shake-up’s defense and expressed his excitement to see Whittaker’s version of the Doctor:
“It’s an alien. Why can’t it be a woman, why can’t it be any gender? It doesn’t matter to me. I don’t speak as someone who has the right as a fan to have an incredibly strong opinion. I just speak as someone who wants to see Jodie Whittaker’s performance as the Doctor. I think she’s an extraordinary actress and we’re lucky, culturally, to have got her to agree to do it, let alone any debate ensuing about whether it’s right or wrong.”
Given his approval of a female Doctor, Cumberbatch was then asked about his thoughts of possibly also having a female version of his sassy detective role, Sherlock Holmes. Similar to his thoughts on Doctor Who, Cumberbatch does not see any problem with having a female Sherlock Holmes appear on either the small and/or big screen in the future. “Why not? I don’t care. ‘Sherlockina’ is coming to you soon,” he said.
While Cumberbatch does have a point regarding Doctor Who‘s gender swap, it might be a bit more complicated to do a similar change with Sherlock. The eponymous Time Lord’s regeneration every few years (or seasons, with regard to the show itself) provides the series with an opportunity to easily execute the lead modification without having to get into the nitty-gritty of what happened to the other iterations of the character and how come the new one is suddenly female after a slew of men playing the role. Sherlock’s various incantations, on the other hand, are all rather independent of one another. As such, should a female Holmes eventually makes her debut on the big and/or small screen, it would presumably be a separate entity from Cumberbatch’s version.
