Unless you’ve been living under a rock these past seven-odd months, you might have heard something about a little show on the CBS network called “Elementary.”
Holmes lived under a type of rock for awhile, so you’re in good company.
And if you have heard about “Elementary,” you no doubt know that in their efforts to differentiate their 21st century Holmes from that of BBC’s “Sherlock,” the show’s producers decided to set their stories in New York City. In the U.S. Good canonical devotees as you are, you’re also aware that, buried under myriad discussions of Watson’s gender is the fact that Holmes-in-America is really nothing new. In fact, we know that Holmes spent quite some time in Chicago as a spy, calling himself “Altamont.” Baring-Gould’s biography claims that he also spent 1879-1880 in the States as well, as an actor in the Sasanoff Shakespeare Company. If you read much Sherlockian fiction, you’ve seen Holmes spend a tremendous amount of time hopping back and forth across the Atlantic (with and without Watson, occasionally on the Titanic), solving crimes in NYC, Nevada mining camps, Florida, Minnesota, the Yukon, San Francisco, and just about everywhere in between. “Holmes in America” is a very popular trope in pastiche, and has inspired several collections, one of which can be yours!
Show our audience what they can win, John….
Sherlock Holmes: The American Years (NY: Minotaur, 2010) was compiled by Michael Kurland (who’s done a couple of these, as well as authored a series featuring Moriarty) and features familiar authors such as Gary Lovisi, Carole Buggé, and Steve Hockensmith, among others. Curious? Answer the following question to be entered in the drawing:
What tragedies and crimes did the Blue Carbuncle inspire?
As always, send your answer via blog comment, Twitter DM, or Face Book PM. Hope your weekend is going well, and you’re looking forward to the New Year!
Day 6 Winner!
Congratulations to Jacquelyn Applegate, who knew that Holmes decorated his chemistry set in lieu of a Christmas tree in Granada’s version of “The Cardboard Box.”
The Well-Read Sherlockian 
“It’s a bonny thing,” said he. “Just see how it glints and sparkles. Of course it is a nucleus and focus of crime. Every good stone is. They are the devil’s pet baits. In the larger and older jewels every facet may stand for a bloody deed. This stone is not yet twenty years old. It was found in the banks of the Amoy River in Southern China, and is remarkable in having every characteristic of the carbuncle, save that it is blue in shade, instead of ruby red. In spite of its youth, it has already a sinister history. There have been two murders, a vitriol-throwing, a suicide, and several robberies brought about for the sake of this forty-grain weight of crystallized charcoal. Who would think that so pretty a toy would be a purveyor to the gallows and the prison? I’ll lock it up in my strong-box now, and drop a line to the Countess to say that we have it.” In an a-ma-zing coincidence, debate on “Elementary” among the Sherlockian faithful has also resulted in two murders, a vitriol-throwing (in actuality a cream-pie throwing), a suicide, several robberies, and a lot of name-calling. Such in-fighting has not been seen since the “Sherlock Holmes’ Smarter Brother” riots of the mid-70’s. Ah, academia. As I do love books, and do not have “SH:The American Years”, please do place my name in contention. 12thNG.07 is the true Devil’s pet bait.
“There have been two murders, a vitriol-throwing, a suicide, and several robberies brought about for the sake of this forty-grain weight of crystallized charcoal.” (BLUE)