I love both history and crime, and I have always loved to write, so I ended up writing historical crime fiction.
I have a degree in English from Brunel University, and I have, among other jobs, worked in McDonalds, libraries and the local council.
Project and content management for Contemporary Authors volumes
WORK TITLE: The House at Baker Street
WORK NOTES:
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BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE:
CITY:
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COUNTRY: United Kingdom
NATIONALITY: British
RESEARCHER NOTES:
I love both history and crime, and I have always loved to write, so I ended up writing historical crime fiction.
I have a degree in English from Brunel University, and I have, among other jobs, worked in McDonalds, libraries and the local council.
PERSONAL
Born London, England.
EDUCATION:Graduate of Brunel University.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer and novelist. Works in agency administration; has worked at a McDonald’s fast food store, libraries, and for a local council.
WRITINGS
Books have been optioned for television.
SIDELIGHTS
Michele Birkby wrote her first book for a school project when she was just seven years old. She has continued to write ever since. Birkby never had anything published until she started writing in the crime genre. She first became interested in crime fiction watching old Sherlock Holmes movies starring Basil Rathbone. Then, when she was thirteen years old, she received a collection of Sherlock Holmes short stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. At about the same time, she began watching Jeremy Brett play Holmes on a British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) television series. “He was exactly as I imagined Holmes, and I became utterly fascinated,” Birkby noted in an interview for the Conan Doyle Estate website. Initially attracted by the mental gymnastics that Holmes uses to solve crimes, Birkby went on to note in the Conan Doyle Estate website interview that as she grew older she “was intrigued by his imperfections and faults, and how they made him a better person. The people around him—John Watson, Irene Adler, Moriarty and others—were all such strong, layered characters that I found myself wanting to know more and more about them.”
The House at Baker Street
Birkby’s interest in the other major ongoing characters in the Sherlock Holmes novels and stories led her to write The House at Baker Street, the first book in the “Mrs Hudson and Mary Watson Investigation” series. The novel came about after Birkby read the short story “The Empty House,” which led her to believe that Holmes’s landlord and housekeeper, Mrs. Hudson, was much more than she appeared to be. Birkby had also been interested for some time in Dr. Watson’s wife, Mary Watson. In The House at Baker Street, Martha Hudson and Mary Watson take up their own investigation. Martha has lost both her husband and young child, leading her to take in lodgers. When Holmes showed up looking for a room, Martha sensed that he was quite different from most men, especially since he wanted some place where he could do his chemical experiments and conduct ballistic tests.
Martha saw Holmes as someone she could take care of and who would also bring some excitement into her home. Over the years, Martha is around Holmes enough to pick up some of his investigative abilities. She has also become very close friends with Dr. Watson’s wife, Mary.
As The House at Baker Street begins, Laura Shirley comes to Holmes’s abode at 221B Baker Street with a story about receiving threatening letters in which the author says her husband’s reputation will soon be ruined. Laura is too ashamed to reveal the unsubstantiated rumors to Holmes, so Martha, joined by Mary, takes up the case. It turns out that numerous other women have received similar letters, including Irene Adler, a woman for whom Holmes has long harbored a fascination. Initially, the letter sender is content just to ruin lives until someone is murdered.
“Mrs. Hudson and Mary make an appealing pair, sure to win the hearts of some Holmes fans,” wrote a Publishers Weekly contributor. A Kirkus Reviews contributor remarked: “Appealing characters, gruesome homicides, and a detailed period setting in a blend as balanced as a perfect cup of tea.”
The Women of Baker Street
The next book in the “Mrs Hudson and Mary Watson Investigation” series, The Women of Baker Street, finds Martha Hudson in the hospital after taking ill. It turns out that all the other patients in her ward appear to have things about their pasts that they are hiding. In addition, Martha thinks she may have witnessed a murder, making her suspicious of the high death count that occurs among the people in her ward. Meanwhile, Mary Watson is working on a case in which of number of young boys have gone missing. As the two women conduct their own investigations, there appears to be a connection between them. When someone is murdered in a gruesome fashion in Hyde park, they join forces once again.
“The two intertwining cases turn out to be intensely chilling—to the point where The Women of Baker Street would make a good Halloween story,” wrote Marlene Harris for the Reading Reality website, adding: “The creepy factor is very high, especially when added with the layers of misdirection and manipulation.” An Historical Novel Society website contributor noted: “Birkby has created a fast-paced, entertaining and eminently readable novel.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Kirkus Reviews, September 1, 2017, review of The House at Baker Street.
Publishers Weekly, August 14, 2017, review of The House at Baker Street, p. 52.
ONLINE
Conan Doyle Estate Website, https://conandoyleestate.com/ (October 18, 2017), Jon Lellenburg, “An Interview with Michelle Birkby.”
Crime Review, http://crimereview.co.uk/ (August 19, 2017), John Cleal, review of The Women of Baker Street.
Female First, http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/ (February 9, 2017), Michelle Birkby, “Ten Things I Want My Readers To Know About Me By Michelle Birkby.”
Frost, https://www.frostmagazine.com/ (March 3, 2016), Frances Colville, review of The House at Baker Street.
Historia, http://www.historiamag.com/ (February 8, 2017), Michelle Birkby, “Desert Island Books: Michelle Birkby.”
Historical Novel Society, https://historicalnovelsociety.org/ (June 9, 2018), review of The Women of Baker Street.
John H. Watson Society Website, http://www.johnhwatsonsociety.com/ (December 20, 2016), review of The House at Baker Street.
Reading Reality, https://www.readingreality.net/ (October 23, 2017), Marlene Harris, review of The House at Baker Street; (October 27, 2017), Marlene Harris, review of The Women of Baker Street.
Shots, http://www.shotsmag.co.uk/ (June 9, 2018), Victoria Goodbody, review of The Women of Baker Street.
Tattooed Mummy’s Randoms, http://www.tattooedmummy.co.uk/ (May 24, 2017), “Wordy Wednesday with Author Michelle Birkby,” author interview.
Michelle Birkby
Michelle Birkby has always loved crime stories, and read her first Sherlock Holmes book when she was thirteen. She was given a beautiful collection of all the short stories and has been hooked with the wonderful, gas-lit, atmospheric world of crime and adventure ever since. A few years ago Michelle was re-reading The Empty House and a blurred figure in the background suddenly came into focus. It became clear to her that Mrs Hudson was much more than a housekeeper to 221b and she'd always been fascinated by Mary Watson's character. So she set about giving the women of Baker Street a voice and adventures of their own . . . The House at Baker Street is the first book in the exciting Mrs Hudson and Mary Watson Investigations.
24.5.17
Wordy Wednesday with author Michelle Birkby
This week on Wordy Wednesday an interview with Michelle Birkby, who writes historical crime fiction, focusing on women.
So of course I asked her why and she said:
I love history, and crime, and think there aren't enough female detectives - or villains for that matter - out there, so I wrote some. I'm currently writing the Mrs Hudson and Mary Watson Investigations, which starts in The House At Baker Street and continues in The Women of Baker Street.
Mrs Hudson is, of course, Sherlock Holmes' housekeeper and Mary Watson is Dr Watson's wife. In The House at the Baker Street they take on a case Sherlock Holmes rejects, dealing with a blackmailer and it becomes far more dark and dangerous then they could imagine. In The Women of Baker Street, Mrs Hudson finds herself in hospital, and sets about investigating mysterious deaths there, as Mary investigates the disappearance of street boys. They soon find the two cases are linked.
Intriguing indeed! and now, knowing more about Michelle's books, we must move on to the probing questions you all know and love, don't worry, she is asked the biscuit question...but first
Do you have another job or are you a full time author? If you do something else (international spy?) what is it and do you like it?
I was surprised as anyone when I woke up the day after my first book was published and found I wasn't immediately as rich as J.K. Rowling! So, until that happens, I do agency admin work. It means I get to work in lots of different places, doing lots of different things, meeting lots of different people. It can be fun, and it can also be awful. I would prefer to write full time.
Why did you start writing?
I've always written, ever since I was a child. My head is just full of stories that I had to get out. It wasn't enough just to tell the stories to myself, I wanted everyone to read them.
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Do you have any pets?
No pets now.I did have a Russian Dwarf hamster called Boris once. He kept biting people and was very bad-tempered, so suppose pets do become like their owners. (I don't actually bite...)
Who is your favourite author? Do they influence your writing or are they a total break from the sort of thing you write?
Just one favourite author? No, I need two. I love Charlotte Bronte - all that dark passion and angry, independent heroines. And I love Agatha Christie. She writes perfect crime stories. They totally influence my writing. Would Jane Eyre stand for this? Could Miss Marple solve this?
Which book(s) are you reading at the moment?
The Crusades by Thomas Asbridge. I've read about this era in historical fiction so many times, I wanted to read a non-fiction book about it. Les Parisennes by Anne Sebba, another non-fiction book, this time about the women of Paris during World War Two. I just finished Die of Shame by Mark Billingham, which was really good, and I'm just about to start The Shadow Queen by Anne O'Brien. She's one of my favourite historical fiction authors and this one, about Joan of Kent, looks really good.
I can never stick to one book at a time.
Which three cities would you most like to visit and why?
Paris, again! I've been to Paris so many times, but I'm always happy to go again. I love wandering around Montmartre.
Venice. It's beautiful, and it's disappearing.
Rome. All that history! I've read all the Mary Beard and Tom Holland books about it and now I want to see it.
Tell us about the character that you've written that you like the most - no spoilers!
I'm tempted to say Mary Watson, as I like her ability to just charge straight into any situation. But I think it's Mrs Hudson. She's quiet and still and stands in the background and everyone ignores her. However she sees and hears everything, and she's clever, and when the moment is right, she steps into the limelight and is magnificent. I always cheer when she does that.
What is your favourite biscuit?
Bourbons. I like to pull them apart and eat that cream then the biscuit. I am aware that this makes a monster in some people's eyes!
In the film of your life who would play you?
Olivia Colman! Because I just think she's wonderful, and she's so good at playing those characters everyone underestimates, and seems so ordinary and clumsy, but have brilliant moments. And she got to act with David Tennant and Tom Hiddleston. Lucky woman.
If you could genetically cross an animal and a vegetable, what would you pick and why? I like the idea of asparagus and a giraffe...tender neck
A tomato and a small dog. So you'd end up with something small and round and furry and eminently cuddleworthy, and also bright red, my favourite colour.
Grab a copy of The House at Baker Street here
and a copy of The Women of Baker Street here
And find Michelle on Facebook here
AN INTERVIEW WITH MICHELLE BIRKBY
The Conan Doyle Estate are proud to be working with talented creatives who craft a new legacy from Arthur Conan Doyle's works. Michelle Birkby is no exception, with her bestsellers The House at Baker Street and The Women of Baker Street. To celebrate our work, broadening the appeal of Conan Doyle to many new audiences we catch up with Michelle to give us her unique perspective on Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock, human nature, feminism, crime, Myanna Buring and of course Mrs Hudson! Questions by Jon Lellenburg.
Tell us about your original discovery of Sherlock Holmes, and what Conan Doyle's stories have meant to you.
The very first contact with Sherlock Holmes I remember is the Basil Rathbone movies when I was about ten - he made quite an impression! Then when I was 13 I was given a collection of the Holmes short stories - with the Sidney Paget illustrations - and I read them all at just about the same time Jeremy Brett started playing him on TV. He was exactly as I imagined Holmes, and I became utterly fascinated.
The stories have always been very important to me. I return to them time and time again, looking for different things. My father died before I got the book, and I suppose at first I was looking for a strong male figure. But I became fascinated by the way Holmes used his mind to solve problems, unlike any of the other male heroes I read about. As I got older, I was intrigued by his imperfections and faults, and how they made him a better person. The people around him - John Watson, Irene Adler, Moriarty and others - were all such strong, layered characters that I found myself wanting to know more and more about them. Conan Doyle had built up such a complete, interesting world that I found it was very easy to get involved in it, and forget the world around me.
Do you have a favourite Sherlock Holmes story? Why that one?
That's really difficult; I can't pick one out. I love Scandal in Bohemia and Copper Beeches, both for the same reason: fascinating female characters. I loved that Irene had beat Holmes and changed his opinion of women. I like the Red-Headed League for the sheer bizarreness of the crime, and the wonderful villain. The Three Garridebs is one of my favourites, for that glimpse of the great heart behind the great brain. Stories like The Speckled Band and Adventure of the Devil's Foot I enjoy because they are so sinister and creepy and I do love a good ghost story. Hound of the Baskervilles is basically a classic Gothic horror story with added Holmes. I find it really difficult to pick just one.
What in particular prompted you to think of Mrs. Hudson as more than a housekeeper at 221B Baker Street?
It was while I was reading The Empty House once more and I reached the part where Holmes says that Mrs Hudson is moving the wax head in the window. I've read this quite a lot of times before, but this time I suddenly stopped and thought 'she's doing WHAT?' Dr Watson is being kept out of that room: it's dangerous to be in there. If Colonel Moran sees anyone move in that room he will shoot them - and he's a big game hunter. He's used to spotting prey. But Mrs Hudson - a middle-aged woman in a bustle - is crawling around on her hands and knees moving the bust every fifteen minutes. It's implied Mrs Hudson is actually in the room when Moran starts shooting - she hands Holmes the bullet, rather coolly remarking that it has spoilt Holmes' wax head. This all seemed very unusual for a housekeeper, even one that charges a very high rent. And it's obvious that Holmes expected that she'd be able to do it - he compliments her, saying she carried it out very well.
In the Jeremy Brett version, Holmes says 'she is becoming indispensable' (and by the way, the relationship between the Rosalie Williams Mrs Hudson and Jeremy Brett Holmes has been a great influence to me - exasperated fondness on her side, and friendship, admiration, need and occasional bad temper on his).
So I went back and looked again at Mrs Hudson. She is always in the background, always there, but bits of her come out occasionally, like the moment in The Naval Treaty when she serves him curry for breakfast - I'm convinced that this is last night's meal that he didn't come home for. She must have to deal with all sorts of visitors at all hours of the day and night, as well as a tenant who shoots her wall, carries out noxious chemical experiments and charges out of the house at 5 am, no doubt expecting breakfast before he leaves, and she just copes with all it. I think she must be a remarkable woman to manage all that.
And I do believe she is the Martha in His Last Bow. (Martha, in the Bible, was a housekeeper, after all, and how many trustworthy, reliable, middle-aged women does Holmes know?) This is a woman who very calmly goes undercover into the home of a German spy for weeks, and not only is not caught, but is never once suspected, not even as she passes information onto Holmes - and she even thinks kindly of the German.
Given all these snippets of information, I became fascinated by her - strong and kind and patient and clever and brave.
You reportedly think of yourself as both an historical novelist and a crime writer. How do you see the two relating to each other, and strike a balance between them?
Crimes stir up human nature and bring the worst - and best - of people to the surface. When a crime is committed, it's like someone has taken a stick and stirred up a stream bed so all the mud and stones float up to the surface, and crime does the same to the stories people would rather not talk about. History tends to be told by the people in charge, who present it as they want it to be seen. However, a crime reveals abuse and dangers and hidden tales and relationships that would normally get neatly swept under the carpet. Would anyone talk about prostitution in Victorian London if they didn't investigate the Ripper murders? Or the position of abused wives and abortions if not discussing Florence Bravo? Or baby farms if not talking about Amelia Dyer?
Talking about a crime means talking about how women, the poor and the oppressed were treated - and how they fought back. It means looking at attitudes to differences in race and sexuality, and how people coped with these. It means looking at the way people behaved and why they behaved like this. It also means looking at what people did to cover up things we wouldn't be bothered by today.
Conan Doyle used his own stories to expose forced marriage and racism and the way women were controlled and the secret workings of government all under the cover of telling a good story. I don't know if he was addressing these deliberately, or just thought it would be exciting and interesting, but you can't tell a crime tale without digging beneath the surface.
I think telling a crime story allows me to talk about the lesser known aspects of history.
Conan Doyle preferred to think of himself as an historical novelist, but was regarded principally as a detective-story writer, and was never very happy about it. Do you sympathize with him, or think he made too much of a fuss about it?
I do feel sorry for him, he thought he was one thing but we all saw him as another! I have read his historical novels, and they're enjoyable, but lack the genius of the Holmes stories. He was a brilliant detective story writer and created characters we still love, and perhaps he'd be happy that something he created was still popular. Although, he'd probably ask rather wistfully why no-one was making a film of Brigadier Gerard.
Your novels have been called a feminist take on Baker Street. Do you see them that way?
Yes! I'm very proud to be called a feminist, and I am definitely writing to bring forward the roles of women in these stories.
Conan Doyle's own mother was something of a feminist for her time, and argued against her son's initial desire to kill off Sherlock Holmes so he could concentrate on other writing. Would she have championed your approach, do you think?
I hope so. She was a formidable woman. I think she is the reason there are so many strong, independent women in the Holmes stories - women like Violet Hunter, who does the majority of the investigating in The Copper Beeches, and resists (despite Watson's romantic daydreams) falling under the spell of Holmes to forge her own career. I like to think she'd approve of Mrs Hudson and Mary Watson coming out of the kitchen and insisting on living their own lives with their own voices.
You've written some Mrs. Hudson short stories in addition to the two novels so far. Do you intend to bring out a collection of Mrs. Hudson short stories? How do they compare to the novels, and what appeals to you about the short-story format?
I do have other short stories in mind; I just haven't had time to write them yet. It took me a while to grasp the skill of a short story: it's so totally different from a book. If a book is a painting - one of those large Frith ones - a short story is just one tiny, intricate detail. It gives me a chance to explore aspects of 221b I wouldn't have time or reason to do in a book. I'd love to bring out a collection.
Your first novel takes place in the spring of 1889, and the second that autumn. Conan Doyle's "The Final Problem," with the death of Sherlock Holmes, took place in 1891, and when Holmes returned to life in "The Empty House," it was 1893, and Dr. Watson was now a widower, moving back into Baker Street. How will this affect your series?
It was a very deliberate choice to set my books at that time - I don't want to say too much, for fear of spoilers! But as the events of The Final Problem draw closer, the stories of Mrs Hudson and Sherlock Holmes become intertwined, so their separate cases end up having a massive effect on each other. I'm having so much fun writing these books, and the interaction between Sherlock, John, Mrs Hudson and Mary as I weave my story around Conan Doyle's. It's safe to say that the events of The Final Problem and afterwards are a huge event for Mrs Hudson and Mary - not just as onlookers, but as participants. There, I hope that's tempting without giving too much away!
Your novels seem to have considerable motion picture or television potential. What's the likely future of that?
I know the TV rights have been optioned and there are talks going on, and a script has been written. That's as much as I can say right now.
Who's your favourite movie/tv Sherlock Holmes? Are there specific actresses today you'd like to see play Mrs. Hudson and Mary Morstan Watson?
I think Jeremy Brett is my favourite, although I do have a sneaky fondness for Basil Rathbone's Holmes. I really enjoy Johnny Lee Miller's vulnerable Holmes, too, and I love the Holmes/Watson relationship in the BBC Sherlock and Guy Ritchie's films. And I love the relationship between Holmes and Mrs Hudson in the BBC Sherlock - Una Stubbs is wonderful.
As for my Mrs Hudson, it's difficult to say. Most people suggest Olivia Colman - who is, of course, always wonderful. Alison Steadman has been suggested, I think Finty Williams would be good, but everyone seems to have different ideas of what Mrs Hudson looks like. I want whoever plays her to not be glamorous. As for Mary, I think Myanna Buring would be perfect.
The Conan Doyle Estate Source.
Published: 18th October 2017
Ten Things I Want My Readers To Know About Me By Michelle Birkby
9 February 2017
I love history. Especially women’s history. I love finding out all those stories behind all those facts we were taught at school. History can be unbelievably exciting, and then there are moments that sound just like our own lives. When I was researching the Mrs Hudson and Mary Watson books I read a lot of court reports and articles about Victorian women, who I’d always been told were meek, mild, easily frightened, angels in the home. It turned out they were anything but, and I read these wonderful stories of real women standing up for their rights, doing amazing things, running their own business and doing some very bad things too. I love making discoveries like that.
Michelle Birkby
Michelle Birkby
I’m a terrible cook. I’m also an awful housekeeper. I’ll write a line about Mrs Hudson being disapproving because someone hasn’t cleaned their front door step that day, and I’ll look up to see I haven’t vacuumed in a week. And I’m not going to vacuum now either. As for the cooking – I had to get some of that from Mrs Beeton, some of it from the Victorian episode of Great British Bake Off, and lots of it from my best friend, who loves history and cooking. She’s very useful.
I have Ulcerative Colitis. This is an inflammatory bowel disease. I was diagnosed about five years ago, and didn’t respond to medication, so in the end I had to have my colon removed and replaced with an internal J Pouch. I’m fairly healthy now, but being diagnosed with a chronic illness meant I had rethink my entire life. I decided I didn’t want to go on the way I was going, merely dreaming of what I wanted to do. I had to go out and do it, so I started to write The House at Baker Street.
I’m addicted to soap operas. Not all of them. At the moment it’s Eastenders, Neighbours and The Archers. I love getting totally caught up in the story, and following these characters lives day by day. And when soap is good, it is really really good, such as Helen Archer’s trial, or the Albert Square bus crash. I love those moments.
I belong to a book group. A friend of mine set this up, and once a month we read a book that one of us has chosen, and discuss it, and then drink quite a lot of wine. It’s lots of fun, and really interesting, and I’ve ended up reading lots of books I wouldn’t normally read. I think my favourite discoveries from this were Love Nina by Nina Stibbe and Lady’s Maid by Margaret Foster.
I am fascinated by the Brontes. I love their books. I’ve read them all over and over again. I am fascinated how three sisters growing up miles from any literary circles, and without any encouragement or experience, became these skilled, observant, writers. To find one genius in a family is rare enough, but to find three is unheard of. Charlotte was told by Robert Southey, one of the great poets of the age, that literature was not a woman’s business, and they proved him spectacularly wrong. My family on both sides come from Yorkshire, and my aunt is constantly finding links between my family and the Brontes. She discovered only last week that one of my ancestors was married by Patrick Bronte, and I got very excited indeed.
I can bellydance! That has nothing to do with my books, I just love telling people that! I have the outfit, with a coin belt, I can do all the basic moves and quite a few advanced ones, and I just love the flowing movements and sensuality of it.
I love London. Whilst my family is from Yorkshire, I was born in London, and I have lived here most of my life. I love being in a city that’s so full of history, yet also full of the new. I love how different London can be, just from one tube stop to another. I love that it’s full of little hidden courts and alleyways with something wonderful at the end. I love the people, and the food and the music and the art and everything about it.
I wrote my first book when I was seven. It was for a school project, I wrote a story about a bunny rabbit. I haven’t stopped writing since. I’ve written ghost stories and romances and fantasy stories, but nothing was published until I decided to try and write a crime novel. Now that I’ve discovered it, I’m going to stick with the crime genre. Murder is definitely me.
I’m a sci-fi fan. I have been since I was very little. My second ever memory is watching Doctor Who. The story was Invasion of the Dinosaurs with Jon Pertwee, but I remember the companion most. She was Sarah-Jane Smith and I thought – and still think – she was wonderful. I wanted to be just like her. She was brave and clever and daring, much better than all the sweet and soft heroines of other programmes. I enjoy the way sci-fi plays with all our conceptions and beliefs, and turns them around and presents them to us in a different light. I love a good light-sabre battle. And I really do appreciate all the strong women to be found in sci-fi. In every other movie I saw, the Princess was like Snow White. In Star Wars, the Princess was Leia, and there was nothing sweet and meek about her. I wanted to be a Princess like the other girls, but I wanted to be the Princess who led the rebellion.
Read more: http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/books/michelle-birkby-the-women-of-baker-street-1030350.html#ixzz5FmbU65Za
Desert Island Books: Michelle Birkby
8 February 2017 By Michelle Birkby
I can only take five books to a desert island? Just five? And I presume one of them can’t be an exceptionally large map book, with tidal currents and shipping lanes and a handy pair of semaphore flags? No? Alright then, just five books to while away the hours.
Sounds rather fun, actually.
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
I always have a copy of Jane Eyre. I have five print copies and three ebooks of Jane Eyre. No, I don’t know why I need three ebooks of it either, but there you are. Jane Eyre changed my life when I read it, for school, when I was fourteen. Finally, a heroine like myself, poor and plain and obscure, but she wasn’t content to be quiet. She was strong and passionate and she demanded her rights. Every time I read this I discover something new, and I am always inspired by Jane’s fierce independence, and her courage, and her desire to do what she thinks is right, not what she is told is right. If I’m to survive a desert island, Jane is a fine example to follow.
Persuasion by Jane Austen
I admit, I nearly went for Emma. But while Emma glitters fascinatingly, Persuasion is the more deeply felt book. The story of Anne Elliot practically breaks my heart. But, like Jane Eyre, she too comes to believe in herself. Against what all prose and poetry say (all written by men, as she points out) she asserts the right of a woman to love longest whilst all hope is gone. And that inspires Captain Wentworth to write what I believe to be the finest love letter in English literature. The ending makes me cry every time, but it’s tears of joy.
Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
With the E.H. Shepherd illustrations of course. I first read this when I was about five, and loved it, though I didn’t really understand quite a lot of it. The Piper at the Gates of Dawn chapter confused me until I was a teenager, and then it opened up to me. When I was little, I felt like I was Toad, always being told to stop doing fun things. When I got older, I felt I wanted to be Ratty, sensible and jolly. Now I feel like Mole, a quiet person who longs to drop the housework and go for adventures on the river. No doubt when I get older I’ll feel like Badger. As long as I never turn into those awful weasels!
The Worst Journey in the World by Aplsey Cherry-Garrad
Cherry, as he was known to his friends, was fitted by nature to be a country vicar. He was incredibly short-sighted, he, like me, suffered from ulcerative colitis, and he was a self-effacing, nervous sort of chap. But Cherry decided to defy nature, and try to do something wonderful with his life. He decided to join Scott’s trip to the Antarctic. Of course, it all went horribly wrong, and Cherry was tormented by the expedition his whole life. This is the story of that expedition, and of a side trip he and two others took, to collect penguin eggs to prove a theory. It’s often forgotten that, unlike Amundsen, Scott’s trip to the South Pole was meant to be a scientific expedition. The story of the deprivation, the difficulties and the downright hell Cherry and the others went through to collect these eggs, and then later to try to save Scott is wonderfully written, gruelling, fascinating and very moving. No matter how bad things get on my desert island, I doubt the tent will ever be torn off my back by an Antarctic gale.
A Caribbean Mystery by Agatha Christie
There had to be a crime story, and that crime story had to be a Christie and that Christie had to be a Miss Marple. She is the very embodiment of the quiet, unassuming woman everyone overlooks, until she turns out the be the cleverest – and possibly the most dangerous – person in the book. Her very success as a detective lies in the fact that everyone ignores her. I was tempted by The Moving Finger, with its intriguing poison pen plot, and its unusual love story at its heart. But in the end, it had to be this book, because of the wonderful scene where Miss Marple, burning with anger, presents herself in Mr Rafiel’s room, her white hair wrapped in a pink woolly nightcap, and announces herself as ‘Nemesis!’. It’s always been my favourite Miss Marple moment, and I always give a little cheer.
There, my five desert island books. I hope I won’t be rescued until I’ve read them all – and then I hope I’ll be left alone with another ten books…
Michelle Birkby is the author of The House at Baker Street, the first in a series written from the point of view of Sherlock Holmes’ housekeeper, Mrs Hudson, that follows Mrs Hudson and Dr Watson’s wife, Mary, as they team up together to do some detective work of their own. The second in the series, The Women of Baker Street, is out on 9 February.
Birkby, Michelle: THE HOUSE AT
BAKER STREET
Kirkus Reviews.
(Sept. 1, 2017):
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Full Text:
Birkby, Michelle THE HOUSE AT BAKER STREET Harper Perennial/HarperCollins (Adult Fiction)
$15.99 10, 24 ISBN: 978-0-06-268019-8
Sherlock Holmes' landlady and Dr. Watson's wife take on a case of their own in this debut mystery.After
losing her husband and young child, Martha Hudson began to take in lodgers to make ends meet. When an
eccentric, reclusive man asked for rooms where he could conduct chemical experiments and ballistics tests,
she could sense that he needed someone to care for him and leapt at the chance for some excitement. Now,
having eavesdropped for years, Mrs. Hudson has learned a great deal about deduction and become fast
friends with Mary Watson and the band of scrappy orphans known as the Baker Street Irregulars. So when
Laura Shirley arrives at 221B Baker St. with a story too shameful for her to confide in the great Sherlock
Holmes, Mrs. Hudson and Mrs. Watson draw out the tale with tea and sympathy. Mrs. Shirley has been
receiving letters threatening to divulge to her husband the most scurrilous rumors with no basis in fact and
no price demanded to stop them--blackmail not for profit but for pure malice. Dozens of other women have
received such letters too, including the reclusive Whitechapel Lady and "the Woman" of Holmes' obsession,
Irene Adler. The letter writer continually torments his targets until he ruins lives. Now he's escalated to
bloody murder. Can Mrs. Hudson and Mrs. Watson stop him before he kills again? Appealing characters,
gruesome homicides, and a detailed period setting in a blend as balanced as a perfect cup of tea. Enjoyable
fare for both die-hard Sherlock-ians and newcomers to the canon.
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Birkby, Michelle: THE HOUSE AT BAKER STREET." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Sept. 2017. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A502192390/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=62332696.
Accessed 17 May 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A502192390
5/17/2018 General OneFile - Saved Articles
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MARK_LIST&userGroupName=schlager&inPS=true&prodId=ITOF&ts=1526579246752 2/2
The House at Baker Street: A Mrs.
Hudson and Mary Watson Investigation
Publishers Weekly.
264.33 (Aug. 14, 2017): p52.
COPYRIGHT 2017 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
The House at Baker Street: A Mrs. Hudson and Mary Watson Investigation
Michelle Birkby. Harper Perennial, $15.99 trade paper (368p) ISBN 978-0-06-268019-8
Martha Hudson, Sherlock Holmes's landlady, and Mary Morstan Watson, Dr. Watson's wife, take center
stage in British author Birkby's fun if flawed first novel. In 1889, the brilliant detective dismisses a
prospective client who calls at 22IB, Laura Shirley, because she's unwilling to share with him the details he
needs. After this failed interview, Laura tells Mrs. Hudson and Mary that she's the target of a sadistic
extortionist who's threatening to accuse her of vile behavior unless she complies with his demands; the two
women agree to help. They soon learn that the blackmailer has other targets and is violent, to boot. That the
neophyte investigators insist on handling such a serious case involving multiple victims themselves, without
any assistance from Holmes, strains credulity. The cliched denouement, complete with the villain
confessing to the leads when he thinks they're at his mercy, doesn't enhance plausibility. Still, Mrs. Hudson
and Mary make an appealing pair, sure to win the hearts of some Holmes fans. Agent: Jane Judd, Jane Judd
Literary Agency (U.K.). (Oct.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"The House at Baker Street: A Mrs. Hudson and Mary Watson Investigation." Publishers Weekly, 14 Aug.
2017, p. 52. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A501717096/ITOF?
u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=99e25783. Accessed 17 May 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A501717096
The Women of Baker Street
by Michelle Birkby
Holmes’ landlady, Mrs Hudson, is in hospital, and thinks she sees a murder, but cannot be sure. Dr Watson’s wife Mary investigates a number of missing young boys. Gradually the two inquiries are drawn together and their lives are put in danger.
Review
It had to come! With all the manufactured hysteria surrounding the dreadful TV series and an army of Holmes imitators trying to cash in growing by the day, it was only a matter of time before someone turned their attention to the ‘wallpaper’ of Conan-Doyle’s originals and discovered that two women received occasional mentions.
The redoubtable landlady/housekeeper Mrs Hudson – other than one mention of her ‘queenly tread’ – has no physical description or first name, although Holmes’ fans have identified her with ‘Martha’ in His Last Bow. Now she is transformed into a former property magnate with several houses in the better parts of London, a widow who has also lost her only son – and a proto-feminist. Her ripping off of Inspector Gregson at one point could hardly have been bettered by Germaine Greer! She is also the narrator of this unlikely tale.
Mary Watson, née Morstan, was the wife of Dr John Watson, and was rarely involved in her husband’s partnership with Holmes. She first appeared in The Sign of Four, where she was a central character, and Watson refers to her in a number of other stories. Michelle Birkby’s Mary is an intelligent, inquisitive and often impulsive young woman with a strong social conscience and desire to help those less fortunate.
These are the all-too-modern versions of the Women of Baker Street, contending with the rather more famous occupants of 221b to put a feminist slant on the business of crime detection in Conan-Doyle’s gas-lit, atmospheric world of crime and adventure.
But Birkby’s updating brings other problems. Around the turn of the 19th century, it is doubtful, despite their friendship, whether Mesdames Hudson and Watson would refer to each other by Christian names, even in private. Mrs Hudson would never have introduced Mrs Watson to a boy as ‘Mary Watson’ or called the good doctor ‘John’. Even Holmes refrained from such a breach of etiquette during their long association.
And in the matter of manners, no woman of a certain class would ever swear in normal conversation and any boy who used the word ‘bastard’ in front of two women would have had his ears soundly boxed!
Yet despite these quibbles from a die-hard Holmes traditionalist, this is a convoluted and clever, if slightly improbable, drama of obsession and madness. Birkby, who read her first Holmes story at 13, got the idea while in hospital, suffering as her Mrs Hudson does, from serious stomach problems.
Dr Watson has managed to get her in to a private ward at St Bartholomew’s, but while in a stupor recovering from her operation, she believes she sees the murder of another patient. Was it a drug nightmare induced by morphine, or horrific reality? As her recovery continues she becomes aware she is surrounded by women who all have secrets to hide – and also that the number of deaths in the ward is particularly high.
Meanwhile, Mary Watson is investigating stories of young boys going missing, determined to find them and reunite them with their families. Trying to discover the truth, she comes across rumours of the dreaded ‘Pale Boys’, a group of ghostly spectres who bring death to those who cross their path. Gradually the two investigations are drawn together, until a dreadful discovery in Regent’s Park leads to a climax in the dark and fog of Villiers Street, leading down to the Thames at Charing Cross.
The two principals are surrounded by a wonderful supporting cast. All the familiar names are pressed into service – Inspectors Lestrade and Gregson, Wiggins and his gang of Baker Street Irregulars. They are joined by cameos of Holmes and Watson, a fascinating former courtesan with her tales of high society scandals and some of her former lovers, plus a new addition to the Baker Street household. Mrs Turner, the mother of one of the missing boys, is brought in to help Mrs Hudson – and it can surely be no coincidence that in A Scandal In Bohemia Holmes calls his landlady by that name.
It’s not Holmes and if you’re looking for a re-run, you’re going to be disappointed. It is, though, a thoroughly enjoyable, cleverly written and shrewdly plotted Victorian murder mystery.
Reviewed 19 August 2017 by John Cleal
John Cleal is a former soldier and journalist with an interest in medieval history.
REVIEW: THE WOMEN OF BAKER STREET BY MICHELLE BIRKBY
POSTED ON OCTOBER 27, 2017 BY MARLENE HARRIS
Review: The Women of Baker Street by Michelle BirkbyThe Women of Baker Street (A Mrs Hudson and Mary Watson Investigation, #2) by Michelle Birkby
Format: ebook
Source: purchased from Amazon
Formats available: paperback, ebook
Genres: historical mystery
Series: Mrs. Hudson and Mary Watson #2
Pages: 368
Published by Pan Macmillan on February 9th 2017
Purchasing Info: Author's Website, Publisher's Website, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Book Depository
Goodreads
As Sherlock and Watson return from the famous Hound of the Baskervilles case, Mrs Hudson and Mary must face their own Hound, in the swirling fog of Victorian London . . .
When Mrs Hudson falls ill, she is taken into a private ward at St Barts hospital. Perhaps it is her over-active imagination, or her penchant for sniffing out secrets, but as she lies in her bed, slowly recovering, she finds herself surrounded by patients who all have some skeletons in their closets. A higher number of deaths than usual seem to occur on this ward. On her very first night, Mrs Hudson believes she witnesses a murder. But was it real, or just smoke and mirrors?
Mary Watson meanwhile has heard about young boys disappearing across London, and is determined to find them and reunite them with their families. As the women's investigations collide in unexpected ways, a gruesome discovery in Regent's Park leads them on to a new, terrifying case.
My Review:
I read The House at Baker Street last weekend, and I loved it so much that when I discovered that the second book in the series was already available in ebook, I immediately grabbed it. Then I discovered that I simply couldn’t wait to read it, so here we are again, returning to Victorian London and 221b Baker Street.
The Women of Baker Street is a direct follow up to The House at Baker Street. Events that occurred in that first book are definitely still resonating by the time this second book opens a few months later. And dogged Inspector Lestrade is still investigating the rather incendiary ending of that first story.
Much to the dismay of both Mrs. Hudson and Sherlock Holmes.
But the story in The Women of Baker Street opens in a decidedly different place, as Martha Hudson is whisked off to St. Bart’s Hospital after collapsing at home. She’s been ill for weeks, and also been successfully concealing her illness from Holmes after his return from Dartmoor, where he was off investigating the legendary Hound of the Baskervilles.
Mrs. Hudson was afraid she had cancer, and just didn’t want to know. In the 19th century, there was no hope of a cure, just suffering and death. But her problems, while serious, were much less desire. An intestinal blockage, fixed with quite survivable surgery followed by bedrest.
That’s not all there is to the case. Dr. Watson takes advantage of both his position at the hospital and Mrs. Hudson’s bent for investigation and installs her in a semi-private women’s ward where odd things have been happening. He’s not convinced that there is really anything going on, but one of the nurses whom he respects is convinced. Of course, he doesn’t believe he’s putting Mrs. Hudson at risk – his concern is to set the nurse’s mind at ease.
However, the pattern in this series is that the women’s instincts are much more accurate than the men’s logic. There IS something strange going on in that particular ward. On her very first night, Mrs. Hudson thinks she witnesses a murder. Then she chalks off her experience to pain and medication.
Until it happens again.
The first part of this case is rather quiet. Mrs. Hudson doing what she does best, sitting (or in this case mostly lying) and listening while other people expose their foibles and their secrets. The small ward is a hotbed of gossip, pain and seething resentment, all exposed to her expert’s eye over the long days that the women are all cooped up together in this single room.
When the tide of strange deaths nearly overtakes Mrs. Hudson herself, Watson and Mary whisk her back home, to continue the case, and her recovery, in a less dangerous location. At least it seems less dangerous, until Martha’s case, and the even more tragic situation that Mary has been investigating on her own, collide within the precincts of 221b. With nearly disastrous results.
The game is afoot. Until it very nearly isn’t.
Escape Rating A-: The story in The Women of Baker Street gets off to a much slower start than the previous entry in the series. Mrs. Hudson has turned out to be the prime mover and shaker in these stories, and as this entry begins, she is temporarily down for the count.
And also quite shaken. She is used to being the mistress of herself and her own domain, but as the story begins she is an invalid, stuck in a place not of her choosing and unable to take care of herself. And, of course, she hates it.
Until Dr. Watson presents her with his little bit of investigation. While she’s still not happy with her surroundings, now she has purpose – even if a part of her believes that this case has been invented to keep her at least mentally occupied.
Not that the various denizens of the ward aren’t fascinating. Especially Emma Fordyce, who was once one of the grandes horizontales of her day. She was a celebrated courtesan, lover of the rich, famous and influential, and she has never told any of the secrets that were whispered in her ears. Rumor has it she’s planning to talk.
When she dies unexpectedly, even for someone staying the hospital, it throws suspicion on anyone whose secrets she might have exposed – and on the woman who seems to have been installed in the ward solely to watch her – or to watch over her.
There were plenty of reasons still around who might want Emma Fordyce dead. But once Mrs. Hudson is home and able to take a slightly more dispassionate view of the case – all she runs into are dead ends. Including the buried bodies of a group of young boys who seem to be tied into, not the case of Emma Fordyce, but to a ghost story.
As Holmes discovered on Grimpen Mire – at the heart of all too many ghost stories lies a kernel of very nasty truth. And it is Mrs. Hudson’s dangerous investigation into the nasty truth of the so-called “Pale Boys” that brings them face-to-face with death.
Again.
The two intertwining cases turn out to be intensely chilling – to the point where The Women of Baker Street would make a good Halloween story. The creepy factor is very high, especially when added with the layers of misdirection and manipulation. And the crimes that Martha and Mary find themselves investigating just add to the chills, as does Lestrade’s continued investigation into the remnants of the case from the previous book.
No ice cube got left undribbled down my back by the end.
This is a series where I seriously want more stories, but don’t see any listed on the horizon. Which does not keep me from hoping that the author will return to Mrs. Hudson and Mrs. Watson. Soon, I hope.
4.5/5
The Women of Baker Street: A Mrs Hudson and Mary Watson Investigation
BY MICHELLE BIRKBY
Find & buy on
The Women of Baker Street is an entertaining historical thriller set in Victorian London. It is based on the Arthur Conan Doyle characters Mrs Hudson and Mary Watson. Told from the perspective of Mrs Hudson, Sherlock Holmes’ landlady, this is the second book in a series where the women solve their own cases. (I hadn’t read the first, but this book can stand entirely on its own.)
The novel opens with Mrs Hudson going into hospital. On the first night, dazed with drugs and pain, she sees what might have beenbe a murder, but in the light of day convinces herself that it had been a morphine-induced nightmare. However, what starts as little more than a game—observing the other patients in the ward to see how much she can deduce about them— takes a more sinister turn as she realises that there are more deaths than usual in the ward. Mary Watson, the wife of Dr Watson, has her own mystery to solve;: the disappearance of a number of boys from a variety of backgrounds. Sharing their concerns, the two women gradually uncover a series of links between the investigations, culminating in a gruesome find in Regent’s Park and leading them to discover the truth behind both mysteries.
With The Women of Baker Street, Michelle Birkby has created a fast-paced, entertaining and eminently readable novel. The central characters are likeable and well-rounded, and the first-person narrative gives the story an immediacy that is very appealing. I have to admit to finding some of the plot twists a little far-fetched, but this did not stop me from enjoying the book tremendously.
The Women of Baker Street
Written by Michelle Birkby
Review written by Victoria Goodbody
The Women of Baker Street
Pan; Main Market Ed
RRP: £7.99
Released: February 9 2017
PBK
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Like many people, I am a long-standing fan of Sherlock Holmes, and the world of 221b Baker Street, having read all of Conan Doyle’s novels, some of the many spin-offs, watched the films and TV series. When this arrived to review, I wasn’t sure whether there was anything left to say about the phenomenon. Luckily for us, there is something new to say.
Michelle Birkby is also a long-standing fan of the phenomenon, and was particularly intrigued about the character of Mrs Hudson, Holmes’s housekeeper. In both this novel, and her first one; Mrs Hudson, and John Watson’s wife Mary, are brought out of the shadows into the forefront of the novels. In the original books, Mrs Hudson is a shadowy figure, dressed in black, seen showing visitors to Holmes’s rooms, carrying trays and occasionally assisting Holmes in his investigations. The lack of information in the originals, about her life, other than she is a reasonably well off widow, allows Michelle to invent a past and present for her. Mrs Hudson is now the mother of a son, who died as a child, which is integral to the plot. In the first novel, Mrs Hudson and Mary team up as amateur detectives, whose first case leads them into danger.
This second book in the series sees them investigating two cases. Mrs Hudson is rushed to hospital with nasty pains, and is admitted to a hospital ward, where there is an abnormally high death rate. None of the women in the ward are what they seem, from the patients to the nursing staff. The ward is presided over by the mysterious Sister Ruth Bey, who is the night Sister. She spends all of her time at her desk, obsessively writing in a logbook, refusing to go near the patients. Mrs Hudson is driven to investigate, when she witnesses one of the deaths taking place, and discovers that it was murder. Mary’s case involves the “pale boys”, who may or may not be real. The boys are street children, either snatched from the street, from orphanages, or trained to kill. The two investigations run in tandem, before converging halfway through the novel. I found the plot interesting and different, although I was irritated by the numerous references to the events of the earlier novel, which I’ve not read.
I found the characters to be well developed, with distinct personalities of their own. I particularly liked the depiction of Mrs Hudson, who narrates the novel, along with Mary Watson. The women patients and nurses are also fully formed and distinct from each other: Emma, Betty, Eleanor, Flo Bryson, Miranda Logan, and all have secrets they wish to hide. Sherlock Holmes, John Watson and Lestrade all make appearances, but refreshingly are in the background, offering advice when asked. The novel explores the themes of, the deaths of children, insanity, women’s’ lives, the experience of being ill, poverty and childhood.
I found it an enjoyable read, and liked the refreshing take on the Holmes phenomenon. I was unaware of the existence of either book, until this arrived, and was sufficiently intrigued by the references to the events of the earlier novel, to buy a copy, to read later. However I didn’t find that it affected my reading or enjoyment of the book, if like me, you have not read the first one. It would be useful to have some knowledge of the Sherlock Holmes stories, as it makes this book more enjoyable, although again it is not essential to have done so.
The House at Baker Street (Book Review)
Posted on 20 December, 2016 by Elise Elliot
The House at Baker Street
by Michelle Birkby
Pan Macmillan (February 2016)
352p. ISBN 9781509807222.
Publisher’s Summary
When Sherlock Holmes turns down the case of persecuted Laura Shirley, Mrs Hudson – the landlady of Baker Street – and Mary Watson – the wife of Dr Watson – resolve to take on the investigation themselves. From the kitchen of 221b, the two women begin their inquiries and enlist the assistance of the Baker Street Irregulars and the infamous Irene Adler.
A trail of clues leads them to the darkest corners of Whitechapel, where the fearsome Ripper supposedly still stalks. They soon discover Laura Shirley is not the only woman at risk – the lives of many others are in danger too.
As Mrs Hudson and Mary Watson put together the pieces of an increasingly complex puzzle, the investigation becomes bigger than either of them could ever have imagined. Can they solve the case or are they just pawns in a much larger game?
General Review
The House at Baker Street may easily be one of the strongest pastiches that came out in 2016, and it’s certainly my favorite. It tells the story of Mrs Hudson and Mary Watson making the choice to take on the role of detective after Mr Holmes rejects a client they feel needs help. It is a simple enough premise, but one executed to great effect in this book.
The story is told from Mrs Hudson’s POV, and the narrative is occasionally meandering, occasionally wandering, and brings to mind a story not written down as a book but rather one she is speaking out loud. The writing style makes you feel as though you’re sitting at Mrs Hudson’s bedside, hearing her confess the secrets of her life, the things she’s never been able to bring herself to say before now.
And the secrets are a major theme in this book. The mystery itself, a somewhat straightforward case of blackmail (with a few twists), is naturally all about secrets: the secrets of the victimized women, the secrets of the blackmailer’s assistants, and the secrets of the blackmailers themselves. But what’s particularly lovely about this book are the secrets that aren’t actually tied to the mystery (which does sometimes become a plodding, ponderous thing, though not so much that it hurt my enjoyment of this book).
There are the secrets that Holmes and Watson keep from Mrs Hudson and Mary, the secrets of their clients and cases. There are the secrets that our heroines keep from the men, both personal and in the course of their own case. Most interesting to me are the secrets of Canon introduced to the reader, such as how Holmes and Mrs Hudson met, or how Mrs Hudson took the news that Mary and John were to marry. If you’ve ever wondered what happens behind the scenes of the Canon, this book offers up a number of fascinating suggestions.
There is also the secret Mrs Hudson withholds from the story, one that she hints at throughout the book. It’s a secret most Holmesians can easily discern, knowing as we do how the Canon goes, but seeing how this author will execute it keeps this reader, at least, feeling both excitement and dread for the books still to come in this series.
Mrs Hudson is a phenomenal protagonist, a woman who has always desired adventure and excitement and instead found herself creating what life she could on a heap of disappointments, satisfying herself by listening at the air vent to the cases that come to Holmes and Watson. She is a smart woman, and deeply compassionate – her relationship with the Irregulars is one of the strongest parts of this book – and she makes an excellent detective in the end, though it takes her a while to reach her conclusions. She doubts herself at times, and wonders what she’s doing, but she is a natural observer and has a talent for seeing the big picture. She’s more hesitant and practical than Mary, but she is also fiercely loyal and brave, two traits which drive her throughout the story.
There is enormous affection for Sherlock Holmes and John Watson, despite the narrative’s implicit criticism of Holmes’ seeming disregard for Mrs Shirley. Though both Mary and Mrs Hudson are disappointed in Holmes for doing so, he is never depicted as a villain or a cruel man, just a flawed one who sometimes cannot see beyond his own assumptions of the world. It’s a remarkably nuanced approach to Holmes, and one I’d love to see more of in other pastiches.
Many of the secondary characters drawn from Canon get a lovely treatment too. We get to know a number of Irregulars and see their own personal relationships with Mrs Hudson. There are Canonical antagonists, both infamous (as the publisher’s summary suggests) and less well known. While some readers may feel that the book packs too many Canonical characters in, I thought they all served a purpose and weren’t just there to show that the author knows her Canon. Rather, they are all given a rich personal life, and fit well within the themes of the book.
There is so much more that I want to mention and talk about in this review but can’t, for fear of spoilers. I truly adored this pastiche, and am very much looking forward to the sequel, which comes out in February of 2017, only two months from now!
What About Our Watson?
John Watson appears here as perfectly as one might hope. He is always haring off with Holmes, gun in hand, helping him with his current cases. He is shown as intensely loyal to Holmes, caring and respectful of Mary, and also as a kind and loyal friend to Mrs Hudson. We get to see him as a doctor on multiple occasions, and every time he is competent and comforting. He is also the ultimate secret keeper, in my opinion, as he finds a way to both keep and respect Mary’s secrets while protecting Holmes’ as well. He is an excellent partner, friend, and husband. Honestly, he just wins all the husband awards in this book. I wish more people would portray the marriage between Mary and Watson like this: affectionate, teasing, and full of implicit trust.
And then there’s Mary. While this Society is devoted to John H Watson, I decided that Mary Watson should be my focus when discussing the Watsonian aspects of this book. As it is written in the book, “If he loved her, she must be worth his loving.”
Mary Watson is an absolute gem, and is the best part of this book for me. She is truly the Mary Watson we meet in SIGN, so incredibly smart and adventurous and more than a match for John. Mary is the energy of our detective duo here, brimming with enthusiasm and passion for what they’re trying to do. Holmes himself credited Mary with “a decided genius” in SIGN, and it is on full display here. Her powers of deduction are less refined, but as she explains, she’s listened to enough of John’s stories to know the basics of applying the skills. She is also deeply compassionate and social, and her kindness often moves the case along as people instinctively open up to her (“birds to a lighthouse” indeed!).
That isn’t to say she’s shown as perfect. In fact, Mary is a bit reckless, horribly stubborn, and has a sharp and abrupt temper, all of which cause problems for her at different points. But it’s impossible not to love Mary, who so desperately wants to help, and who so desperately wants to be more than a housewife.
I will admit, I haven’t seen many depictions of Mary in pastiches. She’s often relegated to the side as having waved Watson off for his own adventures, if she’s a character in them at all. But other books will be hard-pressed to show me a stronger, fiercer Mary than this one. This is a Mary who is certainly worthy of John Watson – although here, I might instead say that Watson is worthy of this Mary. I am certainly looking forward to the next book and finding out how Mary handles their latest mystery.
You Might Like This Book If You Like:
Women Protagonists; Backstories and Character-Driven Stories; the Baker Street Babes Podcast; Examinations of Class and Gender in Victorian London
(Note from Selena Buttons: This review was supposed to appear last Thursday, but was delayed by technical difficulties. Apologies, Lucy!)
The House at Baker Street by Michelle Birkby Reviewed By Frances Colville
Book Reviews, Culture, Featured by Frostie
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The House at Baker Street by Michelle Birkby Reviewed By Frances Colville
It’s a growing trend to write fiction about the women behind famous men, and a brilliant idea to extend this to write about the women behind fictional characters too; in this case the women connected to Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson. The House at Baker Street by Michelle Birkby puts together the scraps of information we learn about these ‘background’ women in the Arthur Conan Doyle stories and gives them a detective adventure of their own.
Both Martha Hudson and Mary Watson are believable characters and the plot is a good one, though not perhaps quite of the standard of an original Conan Doyle. The book doesn’t have the same period feel as the Conan Doyle stories either, but then why should it? It was written a hundred years later and doesn’t make any pretentions to be the same as the originals.
As far as I can tell, without extensive knowledge of the Sherlock Holmes books, it fits in well and I didn’t come across any annoying anomalies. In short, it could have happened! I enjoyed it very much and I particularly liked the way the scene is now set for further adventures by the same pair of intrepid female detectives.
The House at Baker Street by Michelle Birkby is published by Pan Macmillan and will be available in paperback from 25 February 2016
REVIEW: THE HOUSE AT BAKER STREET BY MICHELLE BIRKBY
POSTED ON OCTOBER 23, 2017 BY MARLENE HARRIS
Review: The House at Baker Street by Michelle BirkbyThe House at Baker Street (A Mrs Hudson and Mary Watson Investigation #1) by Michelle Birkby
Format: eARC
Source: publisher via Edelweiss
Formats available: paperback
Genres: historical mystery
Series: Mrs. Hudson and Mary Watson #1
Pages: 368
Published by Harper Perennial on October 24th 2017
Purchasing Info: Author's Website, Publisher's Website, Amazon, Book Depository
Goodreads
When Sherlock Holmes turns away the case of persecuted Laura Shirley, Mrs Hudson, the landlady of Baker Street, and Mary Watson resolve to take on the investigation themselves. From the kitchen of Baker Street, the two women begin their enquiries and enlist the assistance of the Baker Street Irregulars and the infamous Irene Adler.A trail of clues leads them to the darkest corners of Whitechapel, where the feared Ripper supposedly still stalks. They discover Laura Shirley is not the only woman at risk and it rapidly becomes apparent that the lives of many other women are in danger too.As they put together the pieces of an increasingly complicated puzzle, the investigation becomes bigger than either of them could ever have imagined. Can Mrs Hudson and Mary Watson solve the case or are they just pawns in a much larger game?It is time for Mrs Hudson and Mary Watson to emerge from the shadows and stand in the spotlight. Readers will discover they are resourceful, intelligent and fearless women, with a determination to help those in need . . .
My Review:
This is not the first re-imagining of the life of Sherlock Holmes’ imperturbable housekeeper, Mrs. Hudson, to emerge in recent years, but it is the one that tears the fabric of its canon the least. (The Murder of Mary Russell by Laurie R. King posits a much, much different life for the Great Detective’s landlady!)
Instead, like Carole Nelson Douglas’ series featuring Irene Adler as the protagonist, The House at Baker Street show the world of 221b through the eyes of its female inhabitants and habitués as they take up a case that Holmes rejects. And they carry it off with aplomb, if not without more than their fair share of danger and intrigue.
Just like Holmes himself, Martha Hudson also has the assistance of her very own Watson. Mrs. Hudson is aided and abetted by Mrs. Watson – the former Mary Morstan that was. In addition to calling on the aid of many of Holmes’ own allies, including the ever-present and ever-helpful Irregulars.
And when Hudson and Watson find themselves in need of an expert housebreaker, they turn to Holmes’ very own nemesis, Irene Adler herself.
The case in The House at Baker Street feels very much like something that Holmes would reject out of hand – and one where the female Hudson and Watson would understand the circumstances so much more intimately than the male detectives.
At a time when an unsullied reputation was a woman’s most precious possession, a whisper campaign of tireless malignity filled with descriptions of unspeakable acts could bring down the highest of the elite – and could wreck a formerly happy marriage. It could even end a life.
Or two. Or ten. Or possibly a hundred.
But whisper campaigns are insidious, and women, even more so then than now, we’re not supposed to even think of the things that were being hinted at. Never accused, because an accusation requires proof. But whispered about in an undertone in a crowded ballroom, or a smoky club room. And, as always, it is impossible to prove a negative. How does one prove that one hasn’t ever done something, especially when no one will directly speak of it?
Laura Shirley is a victim of just such a campaign. Holmes rejects her incoherent plea for help, both impatient with her frightened mannerisms and certain that she must be lying about something relevant. He’s certain that there’s no smoke without at least a little fire.
Martha Hudson and Mary Watson know better. Laura Shirley’s fear is real. Whether Hudson and Watson have learned enough of the detective business to solve her case is anyone’s guess – including their own.
But in a fit of daring – or perhaps insanity – they decide to try. And discover that they have inserted themselves into a web much darker than they, or even Sherlock Holmes himself, ever imagined.
Escape Rating A-: This story feels like it fits almost seamlessly into the Holmes canon. It’s not just that the reader can feel the pea-souper fog and almost smell the smells – especially the unsavory ones. It’s that this story feels like something that could have happened under Holmes’ very nose – not because he didn’t notice but because he often does not seem to care what happens to other people. In the stories, and especially in some of the portrayals of Holmes on TV and in the movies, he frequently seems like a fairly selfish bastard.
And a genius, of course. But still, quite often, a bastard who cannot admit that he does, in fact, care about at least some of the people around him. Like Watson. And Mrs. Hudson, and the Irregulars. And even, in an unspecified and undefined way, Irene Adler.
But it is all too easy to seem him dismissing Laura Shirley in irascible impatience. And even today, we are all much too aware that a woman’s testimony about her abuse, because that is what was happening to Laura Shirley, is always discounted, often down to nothing. That men in general and Holmes (and her husband) in particular would write her story off to either hysterical imaginings or a guilty conscience feels like the way of the world. Not just hers, but ours.
That Martha Hudson and Mary Watson take her seriously because they both know better also feels entirely too plausible. But what makes this book is that they choose to do something about it – and in the doing uncover great danger – but also discover that they, every bit as much as Holmes and Watson, rise to the thrill of the chase and the danger of the hunt for evil.
Hudson and Watson, but particularly Mrs. Hudson, jump off the page. The story is told from Martha Hudson’s perspective, and we are with her as she reaches outside of herself and pushes out of her “comfort zone” to face this challenge. We are with her as she stumbles and fumbles and most importantly, learns how to expand herself into this new role that she has taken on. And it is the making of her.
That Hudson and Watson discover in the end that evil, is in fact hunting them makes for the perfect ending – and effectively slots the first case of Hudson and Watson into the greater arc of Holmes and Watson’s long-running battle with the greatest criminal mastermind of their generation.
If you love Sherlock Holmes’ stories, The House at Baker Street is a marvelous addition to your addiction. It certainly was to mine. There is a second book in this series, titled The Women of Baker Street, which I can’t wait to immerse myself in.
4.5/5