Sherlock Holmes in Context Editor Sam Naidu Rhodes University Grahamstown, South Africa
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Crime Files Series Editor Clive Bloom Professor Emeritus Middlesex University London United Kingdom Since its invention in the nineteenth century, detective fiction has never been more popular. In novels, short stories, films, radio, television and now in computer games, private detectives and psychopaths, poisoners and overworked cops, tommy gun gangsters and cocaine criminals are the very stuff of modern imagination, and their creators one mainstay of popular consciousness. Crime Files is a ground-breaking series offering scholars, students and discerning readers a comprehensive set of guides to the world of crime and detective fiction. Every aspect of crime writing, detective fiction, gangster movie, true-crime exposé, police procedural and post-colonial investigation is explored through clear and informative texts offering comprehensive coverage and theoretical sophistication. More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/14927 Sam Naidu Editor Sherlock Holmes in Context Editor Sam Naidu Rhodes University Grahamstown, South Africa Crime Files ISBN 978-1-137-55594-6 ISBN 978-1-137-55595-3 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/978-1-137-55595-3 Library of Congress Control Number: 2017931563 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2017 The author(s) has/have asserted their right(s) to be identified as the author(s) of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institu- tional affiliations. Cover illustration: © aristotoo/ Getty Images Printed on acid-free paper This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Macmillan Publishers Ltd. The registered company address is: The Campus, 4 Crinan Street, London, N1 9XW, United Kingdom ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First, the editor wishes to thank the delegates of the Sherlock Holmes: Past and Present conference held at University College London, June 20–22, 2013, for the role they played in instigating the creation of this book. A book such as this cannot be produced without the collaborative efforts of various scholars in the field who give so generously of their time and expertise. The editor wishes to thank the following reviewers: Janice Allan; Jamie Bernthal; Clare Clarke; Christine Ferguson; Agnieszka Jasnowska; Beth Le Roux; Dave McLaughlin; Christopher Pittard; Antonija Primorac; Steve Rothman; and Megan Van Der Nest. Also, I am grateful to the editors and publishers at Palgrave Macmillan, April James, Peter Cary, Paula Kennedy, and Tomas Rene for their expert guidance throughout this project. A very special thanks to Theo and Gemma, for their meticulous, tireless, and skilled efforts. And finally, this book would not have been possible without the efforts of Tom Ue, who is a committed and passionate Sherlockian scholar. v CONTENTS Introduction 1 Sam Naidu “All that Matters is the Work”: Text and Adaptation in Sherlock 7 Ann McClellan Clients Who Disappear and Colleagues Who Cannot Compete: Female Characters in the BBC’s Sherlock 39 Benedick Turner “I, Too, Mourn the Loss”: Mrs. Hudson and the Absence of Sherlock Holmes 61 Charlotte Beyer The Trickster, Remixed: Sherlock Holmes as Master of Disguise 83 Benjamin Poore Holmes and his Boswell in Cosplay and Roleplay 101 Lynn Duffy A “Horrific Breakdown of Reason”: Holmes and the Postcolonial Anti-Detective Novel, Lost Ground 115 Sam Naidu vii viii CONTENTS Sherlock Holmes and the Fiction of Agency 133 Martin Wagner The Savage Subtext of The Hound of the Baskervilles 149 David Grylls Holmes into Challenger: The Dark Investigator 167 Douglas Kerr Modernizing Holmes: Location and Bringing Sherlock into the Twenty-First Century 187 Emily Garside Index 201 LIST OF FIGURES Fig. 1 “Season One Credits (‘A Study in Pink’).” BBC, 2010. Author’s screenshot 10 Fig. 2 “Based on the Works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (‘A Scandal in Belgravia’).” BBC, 2012. Author’s screenshot 11 Fig. 3a, b PBS “His Last Vow” credits (“His Last Vow”). PBS, 2014. Author’s screenshots 13 Fig. 4 Newspaper clip (“The Reichenbach Fall”; emphasis added). BBC, 2012. Author’s screenshot 14 Fig. 5a, b Moriarty in “The Reichenbach Fall” and The Woman in Green. BBC, 2012; Universal Studios, 1989. Author’s screenshots 16 Fig. 6 “The Geek Interpreter.” (“A Scandal in Belgravia”). BBC, 2012. Author’s screenshots 18 Fig. 7 “The Speckled Blonde.” (“A Scandal in Belgravia”). BBC, 2012. Author’s screenshots 19 Fig. 8 What next for the Reichenbach hero? (“The Reichenbach Fall”). BBC, 2012. Author’s screenshot 20 Fig. 9 “The Reichenbach Fall” Title (“The Reichenbach Fall”). BBC, 2012. Author’s screenshot 20 Fig. 10 Hound (“The Hounds of Baskerville”). BBC, 2012. Author’s screenshot 21 Fig. 11 H.O.U.N.D. (“The Hounds of Baskerville”). BBC, 2012. Author’s screenshot 22 Fig. 12a, b Hound project (“The Hounds of Baskerville”). BBC, 2012. Author’s screenshots 23 ix x LIST OF FIGURES Fig. 13 Press conference “wrong” (“A Study in Pink”). BBC, 2010. Author’s screenshot 25 Fig. 14 “You know where to find me. SH” (“A Study in Pink”). BBC, 2010. Author’s screenshot 26 Fig. 15a, b Bruce-Partington plans text (“The Great Game”). BBC, 2012. Author’s screenshots 27 Fig. 16 Lauriston Gardens (“A Study in Pink”). BBC, 2010. Author’s screenshot 28 Fig. 17 Baker Street. Come at once text (“A Study in Pink”). BBC, 2010. Author’s screenshot 30 Fig. 18 If inconventient, come anyway (“A Study in Pink”). BBC, 2010. Author’s screenshot 30 Fig. 19 Till the next time, Mr. Holmes (“A Scandal in Belgravia”). BBC, 2012. Author’s screenshots 31 Fig. 20 “Let’s Have Dinner” (“A Scandal in Belgravia”). BBC, 2012. Author’s screenshot 32 Fig. 24 Dubercelle, The Devil upon Two Sticks. 1726. Le Diable boiteux. By Alain-René Lesage. Vol. 1. Paris: Veuve Pierre Ribou 1726, 25. (Copied from Meglin 1994: 265; Meglin takes the image from a 1779 edition of the novel [Paris: Chez Musier], but the engraving appeared first in 1726) 137 Fig. 25 Final scene of They Might Be Giants: Justin Playfair (George C. Scott) and Mildred Watson (Joanne Woodward) awaiting Moriarty’s arrival. Universal, 1971. Author’s screenshot 143.