Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine, Volume 5

by Marvin Kaye

  It has been hinted that the next series of three adventures will concern Irene Adler, The Hound of the Baskervilles and the encounter at Reichenbach Falls — all, of course, with a 21st-Century twist. “It allows you to see the original stories the way the original reader would have read them,” Moffat explains. “As exciting, cutting-edge, contemporary stories, as opposed to these relics that they’ve become.” If the second series matches or even surpasses the quality of the first, the present-day Sherlock definitely has a future.

  SHERLOCK HOLMES MEETS DRACULA, by Robert Eighteen-Bisang

  An early version of this paper was published in The Sherlock Holmes Journal 29:3 (2009) 94-98 under the title “Dracula by Arthur Conan Doyle.”

  * * * *

  People of all ages in every part of the world know that Sherlock Holmes is a brilliant, eccentric detective while Count Dracula is a vampire from Transylvania. Like Frankenstein’s Monster, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde or H G Wells’s Martians, these characters have become parts of popular culture.

  There is less awareness that their creators — Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) and Bram Stoker (1847-1912) — were friends who collaborated on a variety of projects. Both authors contributed a chapter to the episodic novel The Fate of Fenella, which was serialized in the magazine The Gentlewoman in 1891-1892.* In 1892, Doyle adapted his story “A Straggler of ’15” as a one-act play, which he submitted to the Lyceum. Stoker, who had managed the theatre since 1878, felt that this patriotic melodrama about an old soldier who had been decorated for heroism but fell on hard times when he returned to England was an ideal vehicle for his employer, Henry Irving. He advised the actor, “You must own it — at any price. It is made for you.” After minor changes to the opening act, it opened under the title A Story of Waterloo** at the Prince’s Theatre in Bristol. Many years later, Doyle told his friend how he had decided on his detective’s name. He recalled, “Finally in 1887 I wrote A Study in Scarlet, the first book which featured Sherlock Holmes. I don’t know where I got the name from. I was looking the other day at a piece of paper on which I had scribbled ‘Sherrington Holmes’ and ‘Sherrington Hope’ and all sorts of other combinations. Finally at the bottom of the paper I had written ‘Sherlock Holmes.’”

  [*Doyle wrote chapter 4, “Between Two Fires,” while Stoker penned chapter 8, “Lord Castleton Explains.”]

  [** Eventually shortened to Waterloo.]

  Doyle’s enthusiastic opinion of his friend’s only masterpiece is evident in a letter dated 20 August 1897:

  *

  My Dear Bram Stoker,

  I am sure you will not think it impertinent of me if I write to tell you how much I enjoyed reading Dracula. I think it is the very best story of diablerie which I have read in many years. It is really wonderful how with so much exciting interest over so long a book there is never an anticlimax. It holds you from the very start and grows more engrossing until it is quite painfully vivid. The old professor is most excellent and so are the two girls. I congratulate you with all my heart for having written so fine a book.

  With kindest remembrances to Mrs. Bram Stoker & yourself.

  Yours very truly,

  Conan Doyle*

  [*Doyle’s letter to Stoker — which is in the custodianship of the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center at the University of Texas in Austin — is reprinted here through the courtesy of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s estate. ]

  *

  References to the novel can be found throughout Doyle’s work. Dracula’s estate in Purfleet is called “Carfax.” The use of this name in “The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax” (1911) may be a tribute to the novel. As Donald A. Redmond points out “That Doyle uses the name [‘Carfax’] in a case which hinges upon a coffin containing an un-dead body, as well as the withered corpse of Rose Spender, is an obvious reference back to the tale of the thirsty Count.” Many years later, Pierre Nordan’s biography of Doyle notes that his fantasy about Atlantis, The Maracot Deep (1929), ends when the monster is “…destroyed somewhat in the manner of the vampire in Dracula.”

  “The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire” (1924) has Holmes find references to “Vampires in Hungary” and “Vampires in Transylvania” in his index. After throwing down the book with a snarl of disappointment he exclaims:

  *

  “Rubbish, Watson, rubbish! What have we to do with walking corpses who can only be held in their grave by stakes driven through their hearts? It’s pure lunacy.”

  “But surely,” said I, “the vampire is not necessarily a dead man. A living person might have the habit. I have read, for example, of the old sucking the blood of the young in order to retain their youth.”

  “You are right, Watson. It mentions the legend in one of these references. But are we to give serious attention to such things? This agency stands flat-footed upon the ground, and there it must remain. The world is big enough for us. No ghosts need apply.”

  *

  To date, most scholars and fans have used this passage as a crucifix to ward off any hint of vampires in Holmes’s adventures. For instance, Matthew Bunson’s Encyclopedia Sherlockiana (1984) avers that “The Sussex Vampire” … “was his only encounter with vampires in the Canon, an investigation that proved to be very un-supernatural indeed.”

  Doyle’s admiration of Edgar Allan Poe and his friendship with Robert Louis Stevenson are well documented. Hence, it is not surprising that many of his science fiction, fantasy and horror stories contain supernatural elements. In fact, he described the protagonists of “The Winning Shot” (1893), “John Barrington Cowles” (1884), and “The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire” (1824) as vampires, while the stories “The Captain of the Polestar” (1883), “The American’s Tale” (1888), and “The Parasite” revolve around vampire-like monsters.*

  [* “John Barrington Cowles” and “The Parasite” have been included in a number of vampire anthologies, while Doyle’s Vampire Stories includes nine of his tales that contain traces of vampirism.]

  Since Dracula went out of copyright in 1962, dozens of writers have speculated about what would happen if, in Loren D. Estleman’s words, the “Sleuth” met the “Tooth.” In 1978, Estleman’s novel, Sherlock Holmes vs. Dracula, opens with the discovery of the “battered tin dispatch-box” in which Dr Watson stored the records of a number of unpublished cases. Later that year, the second book in Fred Saberhagen’s long-running Dracula series, The Holmes-Dracula File, told us about the hitherto unacknowledged role Holmes and Watson played in driving Dracula from England. Many years later, David Stuart Davies inserted the Count into his sequel to Holmes’s most famous adventure, The Hound of the Baskervilles. There have also been light-hearted attempts to prove that Professor Van Helsing was, in fact, Sherlock Holmes or that Moriarty was Dracula.

  Despite thousands of studies, stories, comic books and movies about Dracula and Sherlock Holmes, one of the most important parodies in popular literature has never received the recognition it deserves.

  Numerous similarities between Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula (1897) and Arthur Conan Doyle’s tale “The Adventure of the Illustrious Client” (1924) leave no doubt that the story is a rationalized version of the novel. Both tales have the same plot: A wealthy European nobleman comes to London* where he ruins one unfortunate woman and threatens a second woman with a fate worse than death.** Her friends try to wrest her from the villain’s clutches. When all seems lost, they consult an expert with exceptional intellectual and moral qualities — be it Professor Abraham Van Helsing or Sherlock Holmes — who leads them into battle. Their quest is guided by a woman who was “seduced” by the fiend and, consequently, has special knowledge about him. (In Doyle’s rational parody, Kitty Winter’s awareness of the Baron’s “lust diary” replaces Mina Harker’s telepathic link to Count Dracula.) The heroes are forced to plot a new course of action when they learn that the monster has left — or plans to leave — London by ship. After a series of twists and turns that include a confrontation in which one of the prota
gonists escapes through a window, evil is defeated. The champions halt Mina’s transformation into one of Dracula’s “Brides” and convince Violet de Merville to call off her engagement to Baron Gruner. Life returns to normal.

  [*Dracula is commonly associated with Transylvania, but most of the novel takes place in London.]

  [**Kitty Winter warns Violet de Merville, “I am one of a hundred that he has tempted and used and ruined and thrown into the refuse heap, as he will you also. Your refuse heap is more likely to be a grave, and maybe that’s the best.”]

  All good detective stories offer readers more than one clue. In this case, it is not surprising that there are scattered hints that Baron Gruner is a vampire* and the story is a parody of Dracula.** Descriptions such as: “The mouth… was fixed and rather cruel-looking, with peculiarly sharp white teeth” (from Dracula) and “There was a gleam of teeth from between those cruel lips” (from “The Illustrious Client”) are interchangeable. When Holmes refers to Gruner as “a real aristocrat of crime with a superficial suggestion of afternoon tea and all the cruelty of the grave behind it,” who is he describing? Doyle also describes his foe as a “beastman” with “paws” who emits a “howl of rage.” His Baron does not have supernatural powers but, like the Count, he is a master hypnotist who “collects women.” The fact that “He is said to have the whole sex at his mercy and to have made ample use of the fact” parodies Dracula’s speech in chapter 23 when the vampire turns on his pursuers and taunts them: “Your girls that you all love are mine already. And through them you and others shall yet be mine… .”

  [*In 1978, Brad A. Keefauver pointed out that Gruner can be seen as a vampire. ]

  [**Bill Mason found eighteen points of similarity between Dracula and “The Adventure of the Illustrious Client.”]

  Dracula is an erotic horror novel. In a similar fashion, as Christopher Redmond points out, “The dark side of sex dominates… ‘The Illustrious Client.’” It follows that Violet’s awareness of “… three passages in my fiancé’s life in which he became entangled with designing women” may be an oblique reference to the well-known episode in chapter 3 of the novel where Jonathan Harker is “seduced” by a trio of ghostly vampire women. This scene — which opens with “I was not alone … In the moonlight opposite me were three young women, ladies by their dress and manner” — is the only part of the novel that appears in every important adaptation of Dracula. The story does not contain any vampires per se, but both Violet and the “she-devil” Kitty are “pale” and “white.” Kitty’s remark “What I am, Adelbert Gruner made me” forces the question of what she is and what the Baron made her.

  Sherlock Holmes assumes many of Abraham Van Helsing’s duties. His belief that their forthcoming case “may be a matter of life and death” echoes the Professor’s realization that Lucy’s mysterious, wasting illness “… is no jest, but life and death, perhaps more.” Both men lead the other vampire hunters and plan the campaign against the monster, while both of them refer to their adventure as a “game” in which they must respect their opponent’s intelligence and cunning.

  The names of principal characters provide another layer of evidence:

  > “Adelbert Gruner” contains all but one of the letters in the name “Dracula.” Adelbert furnishes the D, R, A and L; Gruner the U.

  > In the novel, Dracula uses the pseudonym “Count de Ville.” In the story, the family name of the damsel in distress is “de Merville.” If we drop one “e,” de Merville becomes an anagram of “Mr de Ville.” A play on one of the Count’s names could be attributed to happenstance, but imitations of both names cannot be chalked up to coincidence.

  > The Baron is likened to “A purring cat who thinks he sees prospective mice.” Like the Count, his association with lower forms of life such as bats, rats and wolves symbolizes a primitive state of consciousness.

  > In a similar vein, Kitty Winter’s given name serves the same function while branding her as the monster’s progeny. Calling her “Miss W.” may be a nod to Miss Lucy Westenra, who was also the “vampire’s” first victim in England.

  Any overt reference to Transylvania, the Carpathian Mountains, the Borgo Pass or, perhaps, even a castle, could have given the game away too easily. However, Gruner resides in a “large house” which, like Dracula’s castle, is approached by “… a long winding drive.” In conjunction with other clues, Doyle’s curious association of the Splûgen Pass (which runs between Switzerland and Italy) with Prague may be a cipher for the Borgo Pass. His “error” reflects Jonathan Harker’s remark that he “… was not able to light on any map or work giving the exact locality of the Castle Dracula.”

  Another set of clues point to Bram Stoker. Like Dracula, “The Adventure of the Illustrious Client” is presented by an Irishman. Sir James Damery inaugurates Holmes’s and Watson’s adventure by pleading for their help. His “Irish eyes” and “… large, bluff, honest personality” could be a description of Bram Stoker, but Doyle took pains to conceal his bearded friend’s identity by transforming him into a “cleanshaven” aristocratic dandy. Like Stoker, who travelled extensively, Damery is “…a man of the world.” The mention of the “Strand” is another clue in Doyle’s game of hide-and-go-seek, for many of his readers would have known that the Lyceum is located on the northwest corner of the Strand and Wellington Street.

  The task of converting a novel into a story forces the adapter to omit, abridge or combine important characters and sub-plots. However, Doyle’s diligent study of the original work allowed him to drop countless hints about important people, places and events in Dracula. For example, five tongue-in-cheek allusions to the first page of the novel are present in the story: Both tales open on the 3rd of the month in an unspecified year in the past.* The first paragraph of Dracula mentions “Vienna” while Gruner is introduced as “… the Austrian murderer.” “Turkish rule” is lampooned by a “Turkish bath” then “The Hotel Royale” in Klausenburgh is transformed into the “Café Royal” on Regent Street in London. Eventually, Harker’s research in the British Museum is reworked as Watson’s trip to the London Library in St. James’ Square.

  [*Raymond McNally and Radu Florescu’s “discovery” of Bram Stoker’s Notes led to the discovery that the novel is set in 1893.]

  In the first chapter of the novel Harker’s landlady warns him not to go to Dracula’s castle: “Must you go? Oh! Young Herr, must you go?” Twenty-seven years later, Watson begs Holmes: “Must you interfere?” Like all mythic heroes, Harker and Holmes ignore these warnings.

  Later, as Harker nears the castle, mysterious “blue flames” alert the Count to the location of buried treasure. In “The Adventure of the Illustrious Client,” the Baron is also a treasure hunter who collects egg-shell pottery from the Ming dynasty. Holmes’s attempt to distract him with “a delicate little saucer of the most beautiful deep-blue colour” strikes a discordant note. In both tales, the color blue is associated with treasure yet, as the director of the Victoria and Albert Museum, Sir Eric Maclaglan, informs us “… there is no Ming pottery of a ‘deep-blue colour.’”

  In the novel, Dracula’s voyage to England aboard the Demeter re-awakens the primitive fear that the dead may arise from their graves to overthrow the kingdom of the living. During the voyage, the vampire emerges from his coffin in the cargo hold, feeds on hapless members of the crew, then tosses their bodies overboard. After mentioning that Baron Gruner had met Violet de Merville on a Mediterranean yachting voyage, Doyle adds “…the promoters hardly realized the Baron’s true character until it was too late.” Given the fate of the Demeter’s crew, this comment is tinged with irony.

  Kitty’s “leprous mark” evokes the scar on Mina’s forehead that links her to Dracula and attests to her transformation into a creature of the night. Her cry, “Unclean! Unclean! Even the Almighty shuns my polluted flesh!” is the nadir of the novel. Like many of his contemporaries, Doyle may have seen the ultimate horror of the novel as the vampire’s threat to turn prim, proper
Victorian virgins into un-dead whores. In contrast, Mina’s compassion for Dracula in chapter 23* is voiced by Violet: “If his [Gruner’s] noble nature has ever for an instant fallen, it may be that I have been specially sent to raise it to its true and lofty level.”

  [* “That poor soul who has wrought all this misery is the saddest case of all. Just think what will be his joy when he, too, is destroyed in his worser [sic] part that his better part may have spiritual immortality.” — Mina Harker.]

  Dracula’s final death is initiated by the sentence “But, on the instant, came the sweep and flash of Jonathan’s great knife.” In “The Adventure of the Illustrious Client,” Gruner’s downfall is preceded by “And then! It was done in an instant … ” as Kitty throws vitriol at the Baron’s face. The dissolution of the Baron’s once-handsome features can be seen as an ingenious parody of Dracula’s final death when: “… the [vampire’s] whole body crumbled into dust and passed from our sight.”

  In a letter to John Gore, Doyle claimed: “If I were to choose the six best Holmes stories I should certainly include ‘The Adventure of the Illustrious Client.’” We don’t know why he never identified this story as a parody of Dracula. “The Illustrious Client” contains the sentence: “There was a curious secretive streak in the man which led to many dramatic effects, but left even his closest friend guessing as to what his exact plans might be.” This quote may be a confession that describes the author rather than his immortal detective. The simplest explanation may be that it is a token of his appreciation for his friend’s singular masterpiece, but this is not the only possibility. In 1922, Bram’s widow, Florence, launched a lawsuit against F. W. Murnau and Prana Pictures for their unauthorized adaptation of Dracula. She succeeded in having every known copy of the film Nosferatu destroyed and continued to defend her rights to her major source of income for the rest of her life.