The Childhood of Sherlock Holmes By
Mona Morstein
First published 2000 by Galde Press, Inc.
Price: $24.95 USD
Reviewed by Charles Prepolec
The wild and wonderful world of pastiches can be a very
repetitive place. We’ve seen it countless times and are now quite familiar with
the standard drill…relative discovers long lost unpublished manuscript of Dr.
John Watson. Now the story can finally be told…blah, blah and most emphatically
blah. Once again we end up wading through an author’s off the mark attempt to
give voice to dear old Watson, and once again we give up in despair when we
discover that yet again we are facing an author who can’t find their own voice,
much less give voice to our old favorite…shaking our collective heads, we vow
to stop reading these shallow imitations. Then, and only rarely so, we find the
one that stands out as being different, charmingly written and best of
all…interesting!
Mona Morstein’s The Childhood of Sherlock Holmes: The
Butler’s Tale is one of those rarities. Yes, there is a long
lost manuscript…but surprise, it’s not a Watson MS. As a matter of fact Watson
is barely mentioned at all in this book, and Holmes? Well, he’s been reported
dead at Reichenbach. The manuscript is actually the work of one Josiah
Cobbett, crime reporter for The Guardian. Cobbett has set himself the
daunting and dangerous task of documenting the elusive childhood of the great
detective. After reaching a dead end with both Watson and brother Mycroft,
Cobbett gets his first break from Wiggins and heads north to the Yorkshire
riding of Wensleydale. There he discovers a village bound to silence by a
strange and curious pact. After some careful legwork in the local pubs he
discovers old Percy Brewster, who was butler to the Holmeses of Hillcroft
House, and he is ready to break the pact and tell his tale. At this point we
leave Cobbett’s quest and instead read the butler’s story of those remarkable
Holmes boys and their family history.
Mona Morstein has my admiration for actually stitching
together a coherent and perfectly acceptable background for the Holmes family
that embraces, without contradicting, the scant clues to be found in the Canon.
She manages to present a fairly believable back-stories that seek to explain
Holmes interest in crime, the violin and chemistry. An attempt, if not wholly
convincing, is made to illuminate the formation of Holmes’ later opinions of
the fairer sex. We are also given a rather good look at brother Mycroft and the
specifics of his relationship with his younger and more outgoing brother. Quite
frankly I found the Mycroft elements far more intriguing than the story of
young Sherlock. The family story is a tragic but gripping read that is told
quite well and utilizes a solidly Victorian vocabulary without seeming too
overdone or labored. Full marks are awarded on the readability scale!
The main difficulty I had with the book has to do with the
remarkably early development of the Holmes boys. Yes, it is safe to assume that
the boys were fast learners and exhibited amazing ability at an early age, but
Morstein goes somewhat too far in this direction. There is almost a
supernatural feel, particularly to Mycroft’s early abilities that unfortunately
just doesn’t ring true. My only other problem has to do with the fully-grown
Mycroft and his vast influence and power. While Mycroft has been called “the
government” I do find it a bit much to see him exercise his powers for such
personal reasons and in such a sinister fashion as presented in this book.
Still, it is but a minor point and didn’t destroy the tone of the novel.
In the end, I wasn’t disappointed with The Childhood of
Sherlock Holmes. Frankly it stands as the best pastiche I’ve read since The
Siam Question and goes one step further for taking on the challenge of
exploring what is essentially new ground. Now all I wonder is if/when we can
expect Mona Morstein to give us her detailed version of what happened with the
youthful Sherlock between the main narrative of the current book and his
arrival on the scene in A Study in Scarlet? I, for one, would enjoy
reading that story…
Jô Soares' 1995 Portuguese language pastiche O Xangô de
Baker Street (released in English as A Samba for Sherlock in 1997) has now been
turned into a feature film by Sky Light Cinema Foto e Art Ltd with distribution
handled by Columbia TriStar Films of Brazil. While the translated pastiche has
generally been panned by English speaking Sherlockians, the author, Jô Soares, and the book itself, are wildly
popular in Brazil. Soares, a celebrated wit and cultural icon in his native
land, even makes a cameo appearance as an Appeals Court Judge in this film
version of his novel. The film was chosen to open the Rio Festival and went into
general release on October 26, 2001 in Brazil.
Cast in the key role of Sherlock Holmes is Portuguese actor
Joaquim de Almeida (possibly best known to North American audiences for his
portrayal of the villain 'Bucho' in the Antonio Banderas vehicle
(Desperado).Anthony O'Donnell is
appearing as Dr. John Watson. Also in the cast is Maria de Medeiros (Pulp
Fiction) as the French diva Sarah Bernhardt. The film was shot over a 12 week
schedule on location in London, Rio De Janeiro and Portugal.
Plot Synopsis:
Set in Rio de Janeiro in 1886, this comedy-thriller begins
with the theft of a Stradivarius violin that has been presented by His Majesty
the Emperor of Brazil to one of his more delectable mistresses--a harmless
crime in itself but one that mystifies the authorities and (far more important)
embarrasses the Emperor. At the suggestion of Sarah Bernhardt, who is on a
triumphant tour through South America, the great Sherlock Holmes is summoned
from London to solve the case. But by the time he arrives, events have taken a
turn for the worse, as a series of grisly murders shocks the city--the victims
all beautiful young women. In each case, the killer leaves his calling card: a
violin string entangled in the woman's pubic hair, the corpse stripped of a
flap of skin.
Holmes (and Dr. Watson, of course) are immediately off on
the track of the killer, but although Sherlock succeeds in coining the term
"serial killer," his celebrated powers of deduction don't get him
very far with the case itself: overcome by the charm of the tropics, some
spectacular digestive difficulties, and the strong appeal of a pretty young
actress--at thirty-two, he's not exactly a sexual virtuoso--Sherlock finds
himself in a thicker fog than he ever encountered back home in London.
And in dark counterpoint to Holmes's questionable
ratiocinations and the novel's brilliantly re-created texture of
nineteenth-century literary, social, and low-life Rio, is the chilling yet
hypnotic voice of the killer himself, a monster of intelligence, evil, and ever-spreading
fame. . .
(Note: Synopsis refers to the novel)
Cast
and Crew:
Sherlock Holmes: Joaquim de Almeida
Dr. Watson: Anthony O'Donnell
Sarah Bernhardt: Maria de Medeiros
Inspector Mello Pimenta: Marco Nanini
Baroness Maria Luísa: Cláudia Abreu
Emperor Pedro II of Brazil: Cláudio Marzo
Dr. Saraiva: Emiliano Queiroz
Esperidiana: Letícia Sabatella
Appeals Court Judge: Jô Soares
Marquis of Salles: Marcello Antony
Miguel: Caco Ciocler
Director: Miguel Faria Jr.
Producer: Tino Navarro
Writers: Miguel Faria Jr. and Patrícia Melo based on the
novel by Jô Soares
Cinematography: Lauro Escorel
Production Designer: Marcos Flaksman
Music: Edu Lobo
Review:
2001 saw the very successful theatrical
release of O Xangô de Baker Street in South America. The film has now
been given a gorgeous Region 4 DVD (NTSC) release with English subtitles
making it accessible to English language speakers with region free or
multi-region DVD players. (note: this DVD will NOT play on standard North
American or European DVD players. You must have multi-region capability to play
this disc!)
If you thought Sherlock: Case of Evil was “out there” wait’ll you get a
load of this beauty! Sure the Canonical Holmes is nowhere to be found in O
Xangô de Baker Street, based as it is on the pastiche/parody novel by Jo
Soares (released in English as A Samba for Sherlock), but the film has
bags of quirky charm. While most Sherlockians (myself included) have firmly
placed the book on their least favorite pastiche list (I am being kind in that
description), the film, while still remarkably faithful to the novel, is a
surprisingly fun romp placing Holmes on the trail of a serial killer (a phrase
that Holmes coins in the film) in 1886 Rio de Janeiro. The transition from
printed word to screen appears to have mellowed the most objectionable elements
of the novel for me, which is to say that I find it easier to deal with the
sexually naïve Holmes fumbling through foreplay on screen than having to read
graphic textual depictions. One is also not encumbered by awkward dialogue that
suffered in the translation from Portuguese to English. Sure Holmes still
exhibits some bizarre behaviour after being introduced to cannabis by his new
lady-love, suffers from explosive digestive issues and engages in more than one
sexually charged encounter, but it all has a light nudge-nudge-wink-wink feel
in the hands of director Miguel Faria Jr.
Now don’t get me wrong, this is not some sort of Sherlockian sex/dope comedy,
as a string of grisly murders ala Jack the Ripper are at the heart of the
mystery and are all presented on-screen in their full ghastly glory, but the film
reflects a different cultural sensibility than one would find in a North
American release and manages to maintain a remarkable balance between black
humor, toilet humor and murder mystery thriller. So, if explosive bowel
movements, nudity, and a dope-smoking Holmes offends, steer clear of this
one. However, if you can get beyond the obvious physical silliness and
toilet humor, you’ll find a fairly engaging mystery and a beautifully shot film
with some very pleasing moments.
The cast makes marvelous work of the uneven script. Maria De Madeiros (Pulp
Fiction, Henry and June) sets the stage with her delightful Sarah
Bernhardt. Holmes as played by Joaquim de Almeida (Desperado,24)
is a bit of a pompous ass at times, who inexplicably has Holmes displaying a
remarkable clumsiness. While it is a relatively straight performance (as
straight as this material allows), Almeida does tend to let tongue drift to
cheek from time to time. While chronic clumsiness and unbelievably wrong
deductions are the hallmark of the characterization, I still found this Holmes
more to my liking than many other recent screen incarnations. Watson, as played
by Anthony O’Donnell however, is comic foil from start to finish, particularly
during his demonic possession (?!?) sequence. While neither Almeida nor
O’Donnell look particularly like the characters they are playing, there is a
good deal of warm affection for their characters in their respective
portrayals, which makes up for a lot. The supporting cast give top-notch
performances across the board, with no one missing a beat, but the stand-out
performance comes from Marco Nannini as the much set upon and highly
sympathetic Inspector Mello Pimento. As in the novel, this character could
effectively have carried the plot through without an appearance by Holmes, but
their mutual respect for each other works well on screen and Pimento serves as
more of a partner in the investigations than the typical Lestrade figure
normally would.
In a welcome move, the characters of Holmes and Watson always speak English to
one another, so their dialogue is not subtitled, but all non-English speakers
are effectively sub-titled throughout. This approach really brings home the
cosmopolitan feel of the Rio de Janeiro setting. Speaking of which, the location
footage is gorgeous and perfectly evokes the period and exotic setting,
possibly making this one of the most beautiful Holmes films ever produced.
The DVD is loaded with extras like interviews and behind the scenes sequences,
but unfortunately these are not subtitled and only available with the Portuguese
language track. Hopefully, a North American release will be forthcoming at some
point as this film deserves to be seen by a wider audience.
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