Young Sherlock Holmes (books) explained
Young Sherlock Holmes is a series of young adult thriller novels by British author Andrew Lane featuring Arthur Conan Doyle's detective Sherlock Holmes as a teenager in the 1860s and 70s that is faced with numerous mysteries, crimes and adventures throughout the series.
Books in the series
So far there have been eight books released in the series, with the eighth book released in September 2015.
- Death Cloud (June 2010): Fourteen-year-old Sherlock Holmes is sent to live with his Aunt and Uncle in Hampshire and teams up with Matty Arnatt to investigate two mysterious deaths which appear to be somehow related to a black cloud which Sherlock Holmes has to solve.
- Red Leech, retitled Rebel Fire for the American market, (November 2010): A few months after the events of the first novel, Holmes investigates the possibility that John Wilkes Booth is alive and well, and living in England. The investigation takes Sherlock to America with his tutor, Amyus Crowe.
- Black Ice (June 2011): Mycroft invites Sherlock and his tutor to London for a visit, but when they arrive at the Diogenes Club they find Mycroft with a dagger in his hand and a dead body on the floor. The adventure takes them from the depths of the London sewers to the frozen Russian landscapes.
- Fire Storm (November 2011): Fourteen-year-old Sherlock has come up against some challenges in his time, but what confronts him now is completely baffling. His tutor, Crowe, and Crowe's daughter, Virginia, have vanished. Their house looks as if nobody has ever lived there.
- Snake Bite (September 27, 2012): Sherlock finds himself facing another mystery after being kidnapped and taken to China on a ship named as the Gloria Scott.
- Knife Edge (October 2013): Takes place in Ireland. Following the events of the last book Sherlock returns home to find himself stuck in the middle of a kidnapping.
- Stone Cold (September 2014): Following his last adventure, Sherlock Holmes has been sent to live in Oxford to focus on his education but something strange is happening in the university pathology labs.
- Night Break (September 2015): Sherlock's mother has died, his father has gone missing in India and his sister is acting strangely. The Holmes family seems to be falling apart, and not even brother Mycroft can keep it together. A mysterious disappearance leads them to Egypt and the Suez Canal.
Background
Based on the success of Charlie Higson's bestselling Young Bond series, the estate of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle authorised a series of books detailing the life of the teenage Sherlock Holmes'.[1] [2]
One of Andrew Lane's key aims is to explain some of the complexities of Holmes' character, who is scientific and analytical on the one hand, and artistic and moody on the other. Two new characters introduced in this series, his two tutors, Amyus Crowe and Rufus Stone, will help shed light on the formation of the two sides of his character evident in later life.[2]
Lane also wanted to ensure that his stories jibed with the original Doyle stories as it bothered him that Watson was presented as a young friend of Holmes in Young Sherlock Holmes which contradicts the events of A Study in Scarlet.[3]
Lane's initial proposal provided ideas for potential plots for entries in the series;[2]
Reception
Chicago Tribune gave Death Cloud a positive review stating:
Graham Moore, author of The Sherlockian,[4] reviewed Death Cloud for The New York Times and stated:
Adaptation
A streaming series adaptation entitled Young Sherlock is in production for Prime Video, with Guy Ritchie directing, and Hero Fiennes Tiffin starring as Holmes.[5]
Matthew Parkhill is to serve as showrunner with Peter Harness, Kt Roberts, and Steve Thompson on the writing team. Filming is to take place in Cardiff, Wales.[6]
See also
External links
Notes and References
- News: Alison Flood . "Macmillan reveals adventures of young Sherlock Holmes": 18 March 2009 . The Guardian . March 18, 2009. 2010-12-17 . London.
- Web site: Young Sherlock Holmes Official Site: Andy Lane's Original Proposal for the series . https://web.archive.org/web/20120307234455/http://www.youngsherlock.com/behind-the-scenes/original-ideaproposal/. 7 March 2012. Youngsherlock.com . 2010-12-17.
- Web site: Blezard. Paul. Elementary, my dear boy: An investigation into Sherlock Holmes' early years. https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220507/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/elementary-my-dear-boy-an-investigation-into-sherlock-holmes-early-years-1995791.html . 2022-05-07 . subscription . live. The Independent. 13 June 2010. 29 January 2019.
- News: Janet Maslin . A Sherlock Holmes Tale That's Hardly Elementary . . December 15, 2010 . March 16, 2011 .
- Web site: Methven . Nicola . 2024-04-03 . Guy Ritchie to make TV drama about young Sherlock Holmes with Harry Potter star . 2024-04-28 . The Mirror . en.
- Web site: Vardhan . Harsh . 2024-05-02 . Guy Ritchie’s Prime Video Series ‘Young Sherlock’ Starts Filming in Cardiff in July . The Cinemaholic . en.
