by David Marcum
Sherlock Holmes:
Before Baker Street
Edited by David Marcum
With Illustrations by
Sidney Paget
© David Marcum 2017
David Marcum has asserted his rights under the Copyright, Design and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the editor of this work.
First published in 2017 by Belanger Books
CONTENTS
Editor’s Introduction: Before Baker Street by David Marcum
Foreword by Steven Rothman
The Adventure of the Bloody Roses by Jayantika Ganguly
The Vingt-un Confession by Derrick Belanger
The Adventure of the Gloria Scott by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The Adventure of the Dead Ringer by Robert Perret
The Devil of the Deverills by S. F. Bennett
The Painting in the Parlour by David Marcum
The Incident of the Absent Thieves by Arthur Hall
Mr. Chen’s Lesson, by Derrick Belanger
The Adventure of the Amateur Emigrant by Daniel D. Victor
The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
A Day at the Races by Mark Mower
The Strange Case of the Necropolis Railway by Geri Schear
APPENDIX
Sources:
Afterword by Derrick Belanger
About the Contributors
COPYRIGHT INFORMATION
All of the contributions in this collection are copyrighted by the authors listed below. Grateful acknowledgement is given to the authors and/or their agents for the kind permission to use their work within these volumes.
“The Vingt-un Confession” and “Mr. Chen’s Lesson” and “Afterword” ©2017 by Derrick Belanger. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.
“The Devil of the Deverills” ©2016 by S.F. Bennett. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.
“The Adventure of the Gloria Scott” and “The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. First published in 1892 and 1893 respectively. In the Public Domain.
“The Incident of the Absent Thieves” ©2016 by Arthur Hall. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.
“The Adventure of the Bloody Roses” ©2017 by Jayantika Ganguly. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.
“Editor’s Introduction: Before Baker Street” and “The Painting in the Parlour” ©2016, 2017 by David Marcum. All Rights Reserved. First publication original to this collection. “No. 24 Montague Street” originally appeared in a slightly different form in The Baker Street Journal, (Vol. 66, No. 2, Summer 2016). Printed by permission of the author.
“A Day at the Races” ©2016 by Mark Mower. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.
“The Adventure of the Dead Ringer” ©2016 by Robert Perret. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.
“Foreword” ©2017 by Steven Rothman. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.
“The Strange Case of the Necropolis Railway” ©2016 by Geri Schear. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.
“The Affair of the Aluminium Crutch” ©2016 by S. Subramanian. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.
“The Adventure of the Amateur Emigrant” ©2016 by Daniel D. Victor. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.
Editor’s Introduction: Before Baker Street
by David Marcum
All around the world, a person can see a deerstalker hat and immediately think of Sherlock Holmes. While it’s been argued that no such hat specifically appeared in the original stories – the closest reference was the mention of an ear-flapped traveling cap in “Silver Blaze” – there are other indicators that this was Holmes’s hat, despite arguments to the contrary. The various illustrations by Sidney Paget that were included with the originally published stories in The Strand magazine show a variety of Holmesian headgear, but the regular inclusion of the beloved deerstalker cannot be ignored. (One might argue that the Paget illustrations carry an extra level of legitimacy and verification, since Watson and his Literary Agent, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, would have certainly had to approve them at the time, and having both known Holmes, they would have been able to certify what was authentic and what wasn’t.)
After the deerstalker, there are other things that suggest the Great Detective. There is the pipe – often sadly represented as a Calabash, which was never used in The Canon. (It was added by William Gillette, as the apocryphal tale goes, so that it could be better seen by the audience during his phenomenally successful Holmes play.) Then there is the famous phrase, also never actually uttered in just that exact way in the Canon, and again credited to Gillette, “Elementary, my dear Watson.” The list goes on – behaviors, such as Holmes’s rapid-fire deductions and enthusiastic (to the point of ruining his health) investigations; hansom cabs and pea-souper fogs, and other aspects of London life in the late Victorian era; the always satisfying presentation of Our Hero and his friend and Boswell as they venture forth to discover the truth and to make things right; and of course the vision of that great mind contemplating a terribly knotty three-pipe problem until at last – after minutes or hours or even days of intense concentration – a light gleams from the detective’s eyes as the internal storm passes, and he lifts his head to state with great mastery, “Now I understand.”
Along with all of these other things, there is something else that is immediately associated with Sherlock Holmes. It’s not an object, such as a hat or a pipe. It’s not an action, such as a series of brilliant revelations to unmask a criminal. No, it is a place…
221b Baker Street
Just the mention of that address is enough to suggest mystery and adventure and heroism. Over many years, this humble London location was the destination of so many people – clients and policemen, the rich and the poor, those needing help and those with a secret. This famed residence is known all over the world, for it’s the one most associated with the legendary Sherlock Holmes. But there was a time before Holmes moved to Baker Street in early January 1881, before his fame had grown, and when he was still learning his craft and struggling to create his unique profession – the first of its kind – a Consulting Detective.
To the casual reader, it’s easy to think of Holmes as someone who sits perpetually in Baker Street, waiting for a client to call. They see him as some fully formed being, forgetting that like all great men, he wasn’t always the final version that is so familiar around the world. Before Holmes was The Sage of Baker Street, he was a young man with a definite idea of what he wanted to do with his life, and that involved a great deal of preparation.
Sherlock Holmes first met Dr. Watson on January 1st, 1881, in the chemical laboratory at Barts Hospital. They were in their late twenties – one a recently returned wounded veteran of the Battle of Maiwand, and the other a most unique individual who had already been laboring for several years to create his own profession, learning everything that he could along the way in order to better prepare himself.
This earlier period of Holmes’s life, when he was honing the skills that would make him the first and best of his kind, has been well explored over the years as various “editors” have found manuscripts detail
ing these pre-1881 adventures. My own collection, as well as my ongoing Chronology of both The Canon and additional narratives, has nearly two-hundred stories that take place before Holmes and Watson met one another on New Year’s Day, 1881. These tales range from the 1840’s, revealing exactly how Holmes’s parents met, courted, and married, to stories and novels that relate Holmes’s younger days, showing his complicated relationship with older brother Mycroft.
Later “editors” have tackled thse years when Holmes was solving mysteries while growing up, before deciding “officially” to become a Consulting Detective (as related in “The Gloria Scott”, contained in this volume.) Holmes’s years at University – but which one? – have been chronicled as well. Then, as Holmes explains in “The Musgrave Ritual” (also a pre-1881 adventure that is in this collection,) he settled in Montague Street, beside the British Museum, where he opened his doors to those in need and with a problem or puzzle.
One of the most profound and influential biographers of Holmes’s background was noted Sherlockian William S. Baring-Gould. Through his work, as related in Sherlock Holmes of Baker Street, a great deal of Holmes’s early life has been established and formalized, ranging from his date of birth – January 6th, 1854 – to his family relations – father Siger, mother Violet, brothers Sherrinford and Mycroft – and his early upbringing in both the family home in North Riding, Yorkshire, as well as various other locations in England and the Continent.
Baring-Gould also documented other parts of Holmes’s early life, including his journey to the United States from late 1879 to mid-1880 as part of the Sasanoff Shakespearian Company, where he added acting and disguise to his other already impressive skills.
But Baring-Gould wasn’t the only one who has done important research in establishing Holmes’s pre-1881 activities. Michael Harrison proved that Holmes’s residence in Montague Street was specifically located at No. 24. (See the Appendix to this volume, “No. 24 Montague Street: A Neglected Stop on the Sherlockian Pilgrimage”, for further information about this address.)
I was able to visit No. 24 Montague Street during my first Holmes Pilgrimage in 2013, and very fortunate to actually stay there on both my second and third Pilgrimages in 2015 and 2016. I lodged in what I believe to be Holmes’s old room, the results of which will be revealed on some future date. I’ve had several conversations with both the owners of the hotel which now occupies the site, as well as the Bedford Estate, owners of the property, and they are fully aware of the building’s connection to Holmes, and they encourage it – something to keep in mind if one is planning one’s own Holmes Pilgrimage.
In addition to the important contributions by Baring-Gould and Harrison, other narratives of Holmes’s life before January 1st, 1881 can be found in the following volumes, which is only a fraction of what is available, with a bit of digging and luck:
GENERAL INFORMATION
Sherlock Holmes of Baker Street – William S. Baring-Gould
I, Sherlock Holmes - Michael Harrison
YOUNG SHERLOCK HOLMES
Andrew Lane’s Young Sherlock Holmes tales: Death Cloud, Red Leech, Black Ice, Fire Storm, Snake Bite, Knife Edge, Stone Cold, and Night Break, and the short story Young Sherlock Holmes: Bedlam;
Young Sherlock: The Mystery of the Manor House, a 1982 television mini-series. The related book, Young Sherlock: The Manor House Mystery, along with a sequel, Young Sherlock: The Adventure at Ferryman’s Creek, was produced by Gerald Frow;
Young Sherlock Holmes, a 1985 film, along with the accompanying book by Alan Arnold;
“The Tale of the First Adventure”, The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories – Part IV: 2016 Annual – Derrick Belanger;
The Crack in the Lens – Darlene Cypser;
The Singular Adventure of Charles Goodfoote – Thomas F. Hanratty;
(Numerous others, including Fan Fictions);
UNIVERSITY YEARS
The Consulting Detective Trilogy – Darlene Cypser;
The Master Sleuth on the trail of Edwin Drood – Robert F. Fleissner;
Absolute Discretion – Grant Eustace;
Sherlock Holmes: The Adventure of the Deadly Illusion – Ron Brackin;
When the Song of the Angels is Stilled – Sherry Croyle;
A Bee-Keeper’s Diary (Fan-fiction Novel) – Lee Whitman Quick;
An Unconventional Proposal (A Fan-Fiction Novel, with the initial version as by silvertongue04, and a substantially revised version as by adlersdaughter)
(Numerous others, including Fan Fictions);
MONTAGUE STREET
S.R. Bennett – The Secret Diary of Mycroft Holmes (originally a Fan-Fiction series, and now recently revised and published as a real book), and the following Fan-Fiction Novels, all giving more valuable information about Holmes’s Montague Street days: The Particular Problem of Postern Prison, The Abominable Affair of the Charming Chiromancer, The Mystery of the Tankerville Leopard, The Curious Case of the Prestidigitator’s Python, and The Malicious Malingering of Inspector Lestrade;
“The Gower Street Murder” in Sherlock Holmes – Tangled Skeins – David Marcum;
“The Adventure of the Murdered Spinster”, The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories – Part VI: 2016 Annual – Bob Byrne;
Sherlock Holmes in Montague Street – Arthur Morrison, edited by David Marcum (Twenty-five adventures, previously published as Martin Hewitt stories, now revealed to be early Holmes investigations);
Without My Boswell – Hugh Ashton;
Death on a Pale Horse – Donald Thomas;
Sherlock Holmes Uncovered – The Spider Web – Steven Ehrman;
The Bird and the Buddha – Sherry Croyle;
Sherlock Holmes and the Lufton Lady – Marlene R. Aig;
The Stalwart Companions – H. Paul Jeffers;
Sherlock Holmes: The American Years – Edited by Michael Kurland (Ten of the short stories are pre-1881);
The Elementary Cases of Sherlock Holmes – Ian Charnock (Six of the short stories are set prior to January 1881, most in Montague Street);
(Numerous others, including Fan Fictions);
In addition to pre-Baker Street information about Holmes, one can find further details about Watson’s before-1881 adventures in:
The Isle of Devils – Craig Janacek;
The Private Life of Dr. Watson – Michael Hardwick;
Watson’s Afghan Adventure – Kieran McMullen;
Doctor Watson’s War – Patrick Mercer;
On Afghanistan’s Plains – Pompey (Fan-Fiction Novel);
(Numerous others, including Fan Fictions);
. . . and about Mycroft Holmes (with some appearances by his brother Sherlock) in:
Enter The Lion – Michael P. Hodel and Sean M. Wright;
The Dorking Gap Affair and The Monstrous Regiment – Glen Petrie;
Mycroft Holmes – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar;
(Numerous others, including Fan Fictions);
In Holmes Away From Home, a collection dealing with Our Hero’s adventures while traveling the world during The Great Hiatus from 1891 to 1894, I asked “do we need more stories about a period which has already been addressed?” As I affirmed in that introduction, We do! Mostly because there can never be enough traditional Sherlock Holmes adventures, and also because there are many gaps that still need to be filled throughout his life – including that wonderful period from his birth to the first meeting with his Boswell and friend, Dr. John H. Watson.
This collection serves that purpose with great satisfaction. We see Holmes as a boy, solving one of his first cases while also observing Mycroft managing a tense affair. We find Holmes setting up his first consulting practice, as described in “The Musgrave Ritual”:
When I first came up to London I had rooms in Montague Street, just round the corner from the British Museum, and there I waited, filling in my too abundant leisure time by studying all those branches of science which might make me more efficient. Now and again cases came in my way
. . . .
Finally, included in this volume are the aforementioned Musgrave affair and “The Gloria Scott”, the only two Canonical cases that are set in those early Holmesian days before Holmes moved that famous residence, 221b Baker Street.
Often at the start of a new Holmes adventure, the reader is invited to return to that Baker Street residence. But this time, let us journey a bit further, back to those earlier days Before Baker Street…
With Thanks . . . .
As always, I want to thank my wife Rebecca and son, Dan, for literally everything, including being so supportive through all of this Holmesian activity.
Next, big thanks to Derrick and Brian Belanger for letting me once again edit a new Holmes collection. Additional thanks go to Derrick for digging into the Dispatch Box and finding another story as a reward to the diligent and generous Kickstarter participants who so handily helped us past one of our goals.
Also, many thanks (in alphabetical order) to that wonderful group that is always so supportive: Bob Byrne, Steve Emecz, Roger Johnson, Mark Mower, Denis Smith, Tom Turley, Dan Victor, and Marcia Wilson. Finally, I’m so grateful to the authors who have contributed to this book for once again pulling such great tales out of Watson’s Tin Dispatch Box, and to Steve Rothman for writing such an insightful Foreword.
I first read most of these stories in the summer of 2016 – many of them began to appear in my in-box at about the same time as those in a previous collection, Holmes Away From Home – and that’s a long time for me to be hoarding such wonderful glimpses of Sherlock Holmes Before Baker Street. Now it’s time for all of you to enjoy them too!
