An interesting series of Sherlock Holmes pastiches is the “Secret Adventures” series by author, editor, and publisher Gary Lovisi. It was published by Ramble House in three volumes: The Secret Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (2007), More Secret Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (2011), and The Secret Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: Book Three (2016).
The idea is that these contain “secret adventures” that, for various reasons, could not be revealed at the time. Most of the stories are reprints but have often been revised, so even if you have read the originals, it’s worth getting these collections. All have introductions by Lovisi.
The only complaint I have is that I wish they had given the books a more consistent cover style. The first volume also has a mapback cover, which isn’t repeated in the others.
The Secret Adventures of Sherlock Holmes contains three stories, as well as an afterword by Richard A. Lupoff. In the first, an actress approaches Holmes for help, as she is being threatened by an unknown party. Holmes feels this is tied to a horrible event involving a lost ship, from which her father was the only survivor, and a cursed gem. Will the full story be revealed, and what will we learn from this?
The next story tells the real events behind Holmes’ disappearance and reappearance. It is told by Mycroft Holmes, who informs us of the truth behind it all.
And the final story in the collection is set after the confrontation between Holmes and Moriarty at Reichenbach Falls and tells of Holmes’ adventure after that. However, to say any more would give away too much about the story.
More Secret Adventures of Sherlock Holmes has three stories, all reprinted, but with revisions and added historical notes. Two of the stories here were seriously edited before publication, and here we get their full versions for the U.S. market.
The first story has Holmes being brought in to help with a ghastly murder a week after it occurred. A woman has been brutally murdered, stabbed in her sleep, and her children have been smothered to death. Her husband, whom she often argued with, is missing and is the only suspect. But he is not to be found. So Holmes must somehow solve the murder, including finding the husband.
The next is a very short story. Holmes is accused of murder and, worse, admits to it. Watson knows he couldn’t have done it and works to prove it. Is this the end of Holmes’ career?
And in the final story, we get an explanation of why Holmes retired when he did. Along the way, he relates an adventure he had in America before meeting Watson. It was when he was engaged by Dr. Joseph Bell, a real person whom Arthur Conan Doyle knew and on whom he based Sherlock Holmes. What was this adventure they had, and how did it affect Holmes’ career?
The Secret Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: Book Three has five stories, most of them reprinted. These are arranged chronologically, and each has a short historical context note at the end.
The first tells the real story of one of Holmes’ earlier cases that was referenced incorrectly as “Ricoletti of the Club-Foot.”
Holmes’ 50th birthday is approaching, and Watson wants to hold a birthday party for him. However, things don’t go as he expects.
In the third story, we learn that Watson plays golf. Who knew? I didn’t. This leads to Holmes helping solve a golf-related mystery at St. Andrews, and then Holmes and Watson play a round of golf.
Our next story is set in 1911 and finds Holmes helping solve an art theft at the Louvre, which really happened that year. Does he succeed?
And finally, we get a story that teams up Professor Challenger with Holmes and Watson as they look into a mystery involving the Titanic, which sank the year before. And what is that mystery? Read and find out.
These are a great trio of Holmes pastiche collections. If you haven’t already, check out Lovisi’s collection of nonfiction writings on Holmes: A Sherlock Holmes Notebook: A Cornucopia of Sherlockania, which is from Stark House Press.
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