“This is Christmas, Sherlock. ‘Tis the season of miracles.”
“Right you are, Miss Belle.” And he took her in his arms and spun her around once for good measure. “Right you are.”
A Case Solved to the Satisfaction of All
Thank you for reading this novel! An honest review is much appreciated on Amazon. The number of reviews for a book determines its visibility on Amazon, enabling the author to continue writing for a living.
Also by Suzette Hollingsworth
published by Bookstrand:
THE PARADOX: The Soldier and the Mystic
THE SERENADE: The Prince and the Siren
THE CONSPIRACY: The Cartoonist and the Contessa
SHERLOCK HOLMES & The Dance of the Tiger
To be released in 2016:
Sherlock Holmes & The Chocolate Menace
Acknowledgements
Naturally, first and foremost, I must acknowledge Arthur Conan Doyle, who created the captivating characters of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson, who are so real in our minds that many consider them as historical figures rather than as fictional characters. To Doyle’s vision of Holmes and Watson I have attempted to remain true.
I sincerely thank the community of authors who offer workshops, have judged in contests, and who have a presence on writer’s loops especially the Beaumonde chapter of RWA for their incredible insight and research assistance. No one becomes an author overnight, and the assistance and inspiration these talented authors/marvelous people provide is invaluable and critical. In particular, Delilah Marvelle (too nice for words!), Delle Jacobs (also delightful!), Emma Wildes, Charlotte Carter, Jo Beverly, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Amanda Quick, Leslie Carroll, Nancy Mayer, Allison Lane, Vicky Dreiling, and many others who have helped me over the years (knowingly or unknowingly!), giving generously of their time and encouragement.
I have had the assistance of some incredible editors as well, all of whom inspired and encouraged me, and who thankfully told me the truth. Editors extraordinaire all: Tina Winograd, Callie Burdette, Caroline Tolley, and Karinya Funsett-Topping of The Editorial Department.
And to those persons who have believed in me when I had a great deal to learn (and even now when I still do!): my husband Clint Hollingsworth, my BFF Charlsie Sterry DDS, dearest and truest friends and mentors Susan Bartroff (also a great editor!) Donna Weiss, Harvey Gover, and Gloria Stookey; my mom Mary Denison; and readers and friends Rena K, Anamaree O, and Rex G.
And, of course, to all true friends everywhere who keep our dreams alive when they falter in our hearts. Thank you, Michelle Berry, for the angel that you gave me to watch over me and for the angel that you are.
Dreams are more real than reality itself, they're closer to the self.
--GAO XINGJIAN, Dialogue and Rebuttal
Author’s Notes
There actually was a Princess Jelena Petrović-Njegoš of Montenegro who actually did marry Crown Prince Victor Emmanuel III. They were never intended for each other and it was a case of love at first sight. Many of the events described in the novel actually did happen: Princess Jelena was a reputed beauty who incited a duel after a ball in St. Petersburg, she did have a shy Madonna-like countenance, she was a master of the hunt raised in tribal conditions, and she did accept Catholicism in a boat in the waters between Italy and Montenegro against her mother’s wishes. The only thing in the book which she didn’t do was race through London with a rifle, but indications are that she would have had the need arisen.
In actuality, Princess Jelena of Montenegro, Queen of Italy, was born Jan. 8, 1873 (d. Nov 28, 1952), married Prince Victor Emmanuel of Italy Oct. 24, 1896 (at twenty-three years of age), so I am taking a few years liberty: Elena would only have been nine years of age in 1882. I am writing several novels with historical figures, and I thought it most important to be true to Arthur Conan Doyle’s representation of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson’s ages while insuring that all figures were actually alive during the dates in question. In addition, King Nikola, although he ruled Montenegro from 1860 when his Uncle Danilo was assassinated, was referred to as Prince Nikola during the time of this novel.
January 6, 1854: Sherlock Holmes’ birthday.
Mycroft 7 years older
John H. Watson's birthday on July 7, 1852
1.5 years older than Holmes
Mirabella’s birthday: Nov. 7, 1863
“Amadeo I (Italian Amedeo, sometimes anglicized as Amadeus) (30 May 1845 – 18 January 1890) was the only King of Spain from the House of Savoy. He was the second son of King Vittorio Emanuele II of Italy and was known for most of his life as the Duke of Aosta, but reigned briefly as King of Spain from 1870 to 1873.
Granted the hereditary title Duke of Aosta in the year of his birth, he founded the Aosta branch of Italy's royal House of Savoy, which is junior in agnatic descent to the branch descended from King Umberto I that reigned in Italy until 1900, but senior to the branch of the Dukes of Genoa.”
--Wikipedia
The University of London in 1878 was the first university to admit women and University College London laid claim to be the first institution to run co-educational lessons.
http://www.london.ac.uk/history.html
University of London
Senate House
Malet Street
London
WC1E 7HU
In 1878 London became the first university in the UK to admit women to its degrees. In 1880, four women passed the BA examination and in 1881 two women obtained a BSc.
In 1900-1, there were 296 women students at Cambridge and 239 at Oxford. Women did not become full members of the university in Oxford until 1919 and in Cambridge until 1948.
More about the remarkable Princess Elena, Queen of Italy:
From a New York Times article at the time:
http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=FA0E11FC3B5D12738DDDAB0994D0405B808CF1D3
“Elena has a delicate, dreamy beauty and finely chiseled features . . . most frequently an expression of languor and seeming lack of initiative. Nothing could afford a greater contrast than her presence, half wistful, half abstracted, beside the vivacious and brilliant Queen Margherita, who summons her, as it were, from moment to moment, to smile, to speak, to wake to more responsiveness toward her surroundings. Elena’s unassertive air also contrasts with the commanding grace and stronger physiognomy of her mother, the Princess Milena.
If the new Queen has seemed sometimes listless and not inexhaustible at ordinary social functions, those who have seen her on the hunting field can testify to her transformation. Her dark eyes then glow with unsuspected enthusiasm. She loves a spirited horse and hard-won quarry. Firm in her saddle, she dashes across country, following the hounds with special ardor when big game is the prize of the day. None are more fearless or more sure of aim. Like her brother Danilo, she inherits a passion for the chase from a long line of hunting ancestors.
The hunting and fighting tastes of the Petrovicz family are directly parallel with those of the Savoyard Dynasty. The Savoy Princes, holding their mountain-guarded domain against powerful neighbors through ages of valiant resistance, suggest a poetic affinity with the unhumbled Montenegrins who have driven back Turkish hordes and baffled Turkish pretension until the Black Mountain Country is accorded a place among the nations. . . . much grumbling over the Montenegrin marriage. . . an alliance too modest for the House of Savoy . . . Prince Victor Emmanuel’s first meeting with Elena at Venice and his immediate determination to make her his wife. They met again in St. Petersburg, and he became more enamored than ever. In a few months the marriage was arranged, and the eager lover had found his way to Cettinje, to see his bride and sign the marriage contract.
. . . brilliant costumes, tunics of white and gold, red embroidered vests, green jackets and gay plaid sashes, the crimson kapas and shining scabbards of the chiefs, the jingling coins on the red caps of the maidens, combined to make a kaleidoscopic spectacle of semi-Oriental aspect and charm, which
reached a climax when a great vat of wine was opened . . .more artificial life and pomp of royal circumstance awaiting her a few years later.
. . . detect a shade of melancholy on her face . . .she is thought to resemble the Byzantine Madonnas of ancient icons . . . slenderness of figure . . .” Greek and Serbian ancestry.
. . . modest dignified bearing won general admiration.”
From “The Mad Monarchist”
http://madmonarchist.blogspot.com/2011/04/consort-profile-elena-of-montenegro.html
“The couple had met in Venice where the Prince of Montenegro mentioned that the Prince of Naples was looking for a wife, however it was in Russia that the paths of the two later crossed and where it had first been thought that the princess might have found an Orthodox husband. In 1888 the Tsarevich invited her to a ball at St Petersburg and some began to whisper that it might have been her rather than Alix of Hesse who would one day become Tsarina. However, at the ball she was rather too popular on the dance floor and sparked a fight that led to a duel between Prince Arsen of Serbia and Baron Carl Gustav von Mannerheim of Finland (who was wounded). This left a rather bad impression on the Russian court, nonetheless it was at the later coronation of Tsar Nicholas II that she met the Prince of Naples and the two were immediately love struck. The formidable Queen Margherita was more concerned with the diversity of the royal bloodline (fearing too many cousins being married) and so warmly encouraged the match.
The two were married on October 24, 1896 and in 1900, after the assassination of King Umberto I, her husband became King Victor Emmanuel III and she became Queen consort of Italy. In 1901 she gave the King his first child, a daughter, followed by another in 1902, a son and heir in 1904 and two more daughters in 1907 and 1914. The King and Queen had a very happy marriage, the couple were very devoted to each other and the King would bring his wife roses from the garden every morning he collected himself. She was not totally without her detractors in Italy but she devoted herself to her new country, her people and her family. If there is one word to describe Queen Elena it is charitable. Almost her entire royal allowance, as soon as it was given, would be distributed by her amongst the poor. She was so generous in fact that the King could look quite stingy by comparison, something which was not lost on the Italian monarch. By nature a practical and frugal man he remarked once that if he were not so careful about his money the Queen would reduce them to poverty by giving it all away to the poor.”
Author Bio
Suzette Hollingsworth grew up in Wyoming and Texas, went to school in Tennessee (Sewanee), lived in Europe two summers, and now resides in beautiful Washington State with her cartoonist/author husband Clint, six cats, and a dachshund named Tinkerbelle.
She collaborates on an autobiographical web-comic with her husband, Clint Hollingsworth, which has readers in sixty countries, www.startingfromscratchcomic.com. Visit her website at www.suzettehollingsworth.com. You can contact her at [email protected]. If you enjoyed this book, please write an honest review and post it on Amazon, which is a great help to the author in allowing her to continue writing books.
Suzette's writing style combines wit with elegance and can be described as "A Jane Austen and Robert Downey Jr. meet on the African Queen type of Historical Romance".
Her goal in writing historical fiction is that you, the reader, will engage in a magical journey and time travel through her books. She is very excited about her current Sherlock Holmes series in which Mrs. Hudson’s niece is a potential love interest amidst this Victorian mystery. Sherlock Holmes is a great, fun hero to write because he is liked from the get-go despite being pompous and insufferable (or perhaps because of it!), something which might result in an unsympathetic hero in another narrative. The series draws on the imagery surrounding the beloved Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson (in particular, Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law), incorporates the witty banter into the relationship between Sherlock and Mirabella, and lends itself well to Steam punk, blending the “Age of Invention” with something old-fashioned, elegant, and slower-paced.
Enjoy. The game is afoot.
Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Sword Princess Page 25
