by Lyndsay Faye
There are a number of admirable Sherlockians who made this collection possible, including my “Good Old Index” Mr. Leslie Klinger, m’colleagues Dr. Ashley Polasek and Timothy Greer (who help keep me sane), and my fellow Baker Street Babes and Adventuresses and Irregulars (many of whom will recognize their names throughout these pages). Many thanks to Josh Getzler, Dan Lazar, and Kerri Kolen, who shared responsibility for pulling my first novel, Dust and Shadow, from the vast unwashed pile of unsolicited manuscripts. After its publication, all sorts of kindly people began allowing me to inflict further adventures of the Great Detective and the Good Doctor on the universe. I’m grateful to the editors of those anthologies, and in particular to Andrew Gulli of The Strand Magazine, for whom I’ve been thrilled to write ten mysteries from 2009 to the present.
As always, I’m endlessly thankful for Erin Malone, Tracy Fisher, Cathryn Summerhayes, and all the folks at William Morris Endeavor who take such meticulous care of me. Thanks to my family, friends, and Sherlockians of all stripes for their ceaseless support, and to my husband, Gabriel, for assuring me that if Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was allowed to entirely fabricate various scientific facts, then I was as well. Using exclusively real science would not have been a suitable tribute to the brilliant writer whose swamp adders and monkey serums have given us such grand scope for debate over the years.
Finally, my most heartfelt thanks to Otto Penzler, and not just for believing in this collection—he has helped my career along in myriad ways, he recommends my work in the most generous terminology, and I’m endlessly honored that one of the most widely read pillars of the mystery community appreciates my writing. I’ll be launching my novels from The Mysterious Bookshop until Manhattan Island is swept away into the sea.
Credits
Versions of the following stories were previously published.
“The Case of Colonel Warburton’s Madness,” Sherlock Holmes in America, copyright © 2009 by Lyndsay Faye. Skyhorse Publishing 2009
“The Adventure of the Magical Menagerie,” copyright © 2015 by Lyndsay Faye. Strand Magazine Volume #45, February–May 2015
“The Adventure of the Vintner’s Codex,” copyright © 2011 by Lyndsay Faye. Strand Magazine Volume #35, October–January (Holiday) 2011–2012
“The Adventure of the Honest Wife,” copyright © 2009 by Lyndsay Faye. Strand Magazine Volume #31, February–May 2010
“The Adventure of the Beggar’s Feast” published as “The Case of the Beggar’s Feast,” copyright © 2009 by Lyndsay Faye. Strand Magazine Volume #29, October–January (Holiday) 2009–2010
“Memoranda upon the Gaskell Blackmailing Dilemma,” copyright © 2013 by Lyndsay Faye. Strand Magazine Volume #41, October–January (Holiday) 2013–2014
“The Lowther Park Mystery,” copyright © 2011 by Lyndsay Faye. Strand Magazine Volume #33, February–May 2011
“An Empty House,” copyright © 2014 by Lyndsay Faye. Out of the Abyss, BSI Manuscript Series, The Baker Street Irregulars, 2014
“The Adventure of the Memento Mori,” copyright © 2012 by Lyndsay Faye. Strand Magazine Volume #37, June–September 2012
“Notes Regarding the Disappearance of Mr. James Phillimore,” copyright © 2014 by Lyndsay Faye. Strand Magazine Volume #44, October–January (Holiday) 2014–2015
“The Adventure of the Willow Basket,” copyright © 2015 by Lyndsay Faye. The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories V. II, MX Publishing 2015
“The Adventure of the Lightless Maiden,” copyright © 2012 by Lyndsay Faye. Strand Magazine Volume #38, November–February (Holiday) 2012–2013
“Notes upon the Diadem Club Affair” published as “Notes upon the Diadem Club Affair, #47,” copyright © 2015 by Lyndsay Faye. Strand Magazine October–January 2015–2016
