Observations by Gaslight: Stories from the World of Sherlock Holmes by Lyndsay Faye

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

Faye uses the now near-standard Sherlockian premise of a box of papers tucked away and newly discovered that contain new tales of the Great Detective.  The twist this time is that, instead of a trove of Watson’s writings, this collection has been written by a number of people who knew Holmes and give their own impressions of the man as they relate their tales.  This has the novelty of presenting several different views of Holmes all under the same cover.  Most of the stories are told by minor characters from the canon: Irene Adler, Wiggins of the Baker Street Irregulars, Mrs. Hudson, etc.

I was very much taken with this collection. The stories have a very strong sense of place, that place being the London of the Victorian era. There’s elegance and grime, fog and chill. The stories are in some ways character studies of their narrators, with Holmes playing a greater or lesser role depending on the individual.  In “The Song of a Want,” for example, a young solicitor named Wiggins looks back on his days eking out a living with his best friend Meggie. Cold, starving, and always in danger, Wiggins meets an extraordinary man who comes to their rescue.  An irate Inspector Lestrade grouses and grumbles but when a young woman entreats his aid to look for her missing sister, he may just have to get a little help from a vexing, know-it-all consulting detective. Of course, a certain Irene Adler makes an appearance as well. . . .

The writing is excellent, and I enjoyed seeing Holmes through the perception of a number of different people, not just the admiring Watson.  I confess some pastiches of Doyle’s work have left me unsatisfied, either being too worshipful or clichéd, but these six stories seemed fresh and alive to me.

Faye has written several historical novels, including a Sherlock Holmes, but also a series set in New York City in the mid-1800s. She is also the author of Jane Steele, a darkly humorous take on Jane Eyre. Faye has been nominated for several awards, including an Edgar.

Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche by Nancy Springer

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

Enola Holmes, the much younger sister of Sherlock and Mycroft, returns for another adventure in Victorian England. Fifteen year old Enola has set up her own business in London, having won grudging respect from her brothers in her previous adventures. Independent, extremely intelligent, and determined, Enola is set to blaze trails for females in a time when restrictions abounded.

As this adventure opens, Enola receives word from Dr. Watson that her brother Sherlock is not doing well. Having no cases at hand, and therefore nothing to occupy his mind he has fallen into depression. When Enola pays him a call, she finds a young woman, Letitia, who is desperate to find news of her twin sister. The sister, Felicity, married the Earl of Dunhench but he has sent word that Felicity is dead. Letitia strongly believes that her sister is alive but in some sort of dire straits.

Soon, both Sherlock and Enola are on the case, each pursuing leads in their own fashion.  Indeed, the game is afoot!

I thoroughly enjoyed the first books in the Enola Holmes series:

The Case of the Missing Marquess

The Case of the Left-Handed Lady

The Case of the Bizarre Bouquets

The Case of the Peculiar Pink Fan

The Case of the Cryptic Crinoline

The Cast of the Gypsy Goodbye

While these are individual cases, there is an overriding story arc concerning Mrs. Holmes, mother of Enola, Sherlock, and Mycroft, that continues through all six volumes. And yes, these are considered either Children's or Young Adult books, but a good book is a good book as far as I'm concerned.

Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche is a self-contained mystery with an introduction by Sherlock who explains the set up: Enola’s past, how she came to be in London, and so forth. It can be read as a standalone if the reader isn’t already familiar with Enola.

The depiction of Victorian society can be eye-opening.  How Enola manages to circumvent (or not!) some of the conventions of the day provides a good bit of the entertainment as far as I am concerned. She’s clever, and her feminine perspectives sometimes provide valuable clues that elude her brother.

All in all, another fine adventure!

(Note: there's another book in the series already out, Enola Holmes and the Elegant Escapade,  and there's another due out in 2023.)

Beloved Poison by E.S. Thomson

Reviewed by Ambrea

It goes without saying Jem Flockhart received an unconventional upbringing growing up in the shadow of St. Saviour’s Infirmary; however, her unusual childhood goes deeper than that.  Raised as a boy and given all the opportunities of a male colleague at the London infirmary, Jem has spent her life under her father’s tutelage as an apothecary and she has watched the everyday happenings—the backstabbing, the bickering, the ambition and personal jealousies that hide beneath a professional façade—of St. Saviour’s.

But when six tiny coffins, each filled with dried flowers and bundles of bloody rags, are uncovered in the infirmary’s old chapel, Jem is catapulted into a new mystery with deadly consequences.   Pitted against an adversary both powerful and ruthless, Jem follows a dangerous and winding path that leads her from the squalor of the alleyways of London and the dissecting tables of St. Saviour’s to the stinking depths of Newgate Prison.  Grim, haunting, and tragic, Beloved Poison by E.S. Thomson is a dark tale that sinks deep into the dark heart of the medical profession.

When I picked up Beloved Poison, I read the blurb on the back of the book written by Janet Ellis, author of The Butcher’s Hook.  It state simply:

“Beloved Poison is a marvelous, vivid book with a thoughtful, engaging protagonist at its center—and a fascinating story to tell.  It’s immaculately researched and breathtakingly dark.  Elain Thomson’s descriptive powers are so great that I was surprised to see twenty-first century London rather than the grimy, smelly St. Saviour’s around when I—eventually—looked up from its pages.”

As I read this, I felt a familiar jolt of recognition that told me this would be a good book—no, a great book.  And I wasn’t disappointed.

Richly atmospheric, as the book jacket promises, Beloved Poison is a wonderfully descriptive novel that plumbs the darkest depths of Victorian London.  It sheds light on a horrifyingly brutal series of murders that will rock the residents of St. Saviour’s to the core, tearing back the veil on the social conditions of the poor and highlighting the grim realities of 19^th century medical science.  Secrets, lies, and murder will abound.  It’s all very horrible.

And yet I enjoyed it.  I enjoyed it very much.

Jem is one of the more intriguing characters I’ve had the chance to meet.  She’s daughter to St. Saviour’s apothecary, but she’s been raised as his son—and no one, except a very few who may have their suspicions, knows of her identity.  She keeps her hair cut short, she walks and speaks as a man might, she wears clothes as a man would wear.  She’s been given a startling taste of independence and, yet, she knows she would be condemned for her, what society would term, “abnormal behavior.”  She’s deeply conflicted.

Furthermore, she’s a thoughtful and insightful narrator.  She’s complex, she’s intelligent, and she’s unique for her ability to understand the minds of both women and men—as she has lived as both in her lifetime.  She’s absolutely fascinating, and I was eager to learn more about her.  Although Jem’s investigation takes center stage, I found myself just as curious about her and her world as the identity of the killers.

Jem, like the coffins she discovers in the old chapel, is a puzzle.  She’s complicated, yes, but I liked that Jem had so many layers to her character.  I liked that she was so continuously conflicted by her identity and her struggles as she straddled the world of both men and women.  As I read, I discovered she must keep her gender a secret:  she hides behind her marvelously dark birthmark and a caustic wit, she masks any touch of femininity in her character, she learns to act as a man might and treat others as a man would.  She grapples daily with her own doubts and fears, facing the somber reality of Victorian social expectations and her unconventional upbringing.  She’s often left wondering whether she’s been ruined for her “unnatural habits”—or has she been given an unexpected taste of independence, a unique identity that allows her to perceive the world in a completely different light?

I loved it.  I grew to love her and her story and, truthfully, I couldn’t wait to read more.  I devoured E.S. Thomsons’ novel within a couple of days and, after discovering a sequel is in the works (titled Dark Asylum), I’m extremely excited to read more.

However, I will note something about Beloved Poison:  it’s extremely violent and very graphic.  As a reader, you will encounter gore, sexual abuse and exploitation, as well as confront a callous disregard for human life.  Not to mention, the general uncleanliness practiced by medical professionals of the day.  For example, it’s incredibly distressing to read about a man having his leg amputated without any anesthetic or hearing, in detail, about a necropsy.  Or, and here’s a familiar scene, watching a man inject himself with syphilis.

Something similar happened in The Anatomist’s Apprentice by Tessa Harris and you’d think I’d be used to it by now.  But, no, it’s no less jarring in Beloved Poison.

A Wallflower Christmas by Lisa Kleypas

Reviewed by Christy

American Rafe Bowman has arrived in Queen Victoria’s London just in time for Christmas and his arranged courtship of Lady Natalie Blandford. Rafe’s sisters may be known to Kleypas fans as the protagonists of the previous Wallflower novels in which they look for love. In A Wallflower Christmas they are the ones trying to do the matchmaking, however. While Natalie is seemingly the perfect match for Rafe – proper, beautiful, and of good standing – his eye is drawn more to Natalie’s chaperone Hannah.

I had no knowledge of the Wallflowers series when I picked this up but it can be read as a standalone. This novel is short but not all that sweet. I was originally looking for a simple historical fiction Christmas novel, the main focus on the Christmas part, and this seemed to fit the bill. But the holiday season is not much more than a backdrop. The real focus is Rafe and his confounding feelings toward Hannah. Rafe seems to be your typical alpha male romantic interest (aka a jerk). Maybe I would’ve enjoyed the “bad boy” angle when I was younger but now it was not appealing in the least. Of course, like in any good romance, the rough exterior eventually melts away so our leading man can win the girl.  Hannah was fine, I guess, but not super exciting as a protagonist.

Although it was a quick, somewhat entertaining read I’m not sure if I’m inclined to peruse the rest of the series. Hannah and Rafe’s love story was of an instant variety, and their personalities seemed to just be romance stereotypes with no real dimension: a womanizing rake whose heart and defenses thaw when he meets an angelic girl who can finally change him. None of which would be too terribly awful if they threw some more Christmas in there – which is why I picked up the book in the first place. So to sum it up, it’s not horrible. There are certainly worse ways to spend your time. But there are also plenty of cozier and better Christmas books to settle in with on a cold night.