Sherlock Holmes Pastiche Summaries

"The Adventure of the Headless Monk" (1989) from a radio play by Anthony Boucher & Denis Green (1946) Story Type: Pastiche Canonical Characters: Sherlock Holmes; Dr. Watson; Mrs Hudson Characters based on Fictional Characters: (Tarnacci (Thomas Carnacki)) Other Characters: Mortimer Harley; David Pendragon; Dorothy Brownlee; Mr Brownlee; Servant; (Brother Hugh; Leonard Miles) Date: Towards the end of November, 1896 Locations: 221B, Baker Street; Victoria Station; Cornwall; Trevenice Manor; The Cornish Express Story: After being fogbound for several days, Holmes and Watson are visited by Harley, a scientist specialising in the supernatural. He tells them of the Headless Monk of Trevenice chapel. He has been invited to investigate recent sightings of the ghost and asks Holmes, as a sceptic, to accompany him. They leave immediately for Cornwall, and as they approach the chapel they encounter stable hand Pendragon who tells them of ghostly organ music that comes from inside. Brownlee, owner of the Manor, is dismissive of them, and the ghost. Holmes decides that the ghost is being produced to cover up the practising of withcraft in the area. Harley announces his intention to carry out an exorcism to purify the chapel, but the sound of organ music in the night announces his death. Pendragon's description of the ghost he saw leads Holmes to identify the murderer.
	"The Adventure of the Iron Box" (1989) from a radio play by Anthony Boucher & Denis Green (1945) Included in: The Lost Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Ken Greenwald) Story Type: Pastiche Canonical Characters: Sherlock Holmes; Dr. Watson; (Mary Morstan) Historical Figures: (Sir Walter Scott) Other Characters: Ian Dunbar; Dorothy Small; Herbert Small; Sir Walter Dunbar; Mr Murdock; Dunbar's Servants; (Sir Thomas Dunbar; Sir Thomas's Wife; Alexander (Sandy) Murdock; Ian's Manservant; Sandy's Son) Date: December 30th, 1899 - January 1st, 1900 Locations: The Flying Scotsman; Scotland; Dunbar Castle Story: Holmes and Watson travel to Scotland to visit Watson's old friend Sir Walter Dunbar at Dunbar Castle. On the journey up, aboard the Flying Scotsman, Watson tells Holmes how Sir Walter's father, a close friend of Sir Walter Scott, had left an iron box full of gold in the trust of his lawyer, Murdock, to be given to his son on the New Year's Eve before his twenty-first birthday. Because Sir Walter was born on 29th February, he has had to wait until he is eighty-four to claim his inheritance. Holmes prophesises that Sir Walter will not get his gold. At the Castle they meet Sir Walter's grandson and heir, Ian, his fiancée Dorothy, and her father. Murdock's grandson arrives with the box. When realisation comes that 1900 is not a leap year, and Sir Walter's twenty-first birthday, and thus his, and Ian's, inheritance, will not be for another four years, Dorothy's father forbids them from marrying. Holmes brings news that he has seen two figures fighting, and that Sir Walter has fallen into the moat, but a search fails to find the body. As Ian is proclaimed the new baronet, he orders that the box be opened, but all that is found inside is a slip of paper. Holmes reveals the fate of Sir Walter, and what lies beneath the box's false bottom.
"The Adventure of the Out-of-Date Murder" (1989) from a radio play by Anthony Boucher & Denis Green (1945) Included in: The Lost Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Ken Greenwald) Story Type: Pastiche Canonical Characters: Sherlock Holmes; Dr. Watson; (Mrs Hudson) Other Characters: Professor Evan Whitnell; Whitnell's Assistant; Lady Helena Clavering; Daft Timmy; Harry Clavering; Sir George Clavering; Policemen; (Sir Nigel Clavering) Date: September, 1900 or 1901 Locations: 221B, Baker Street; Eastbourne; Whitnell's Museum; The Sussex Downs; Limestone Cave; Lady Clavering's House Story: Watson drags Holmes away from his chemical experiments and takes him to Eastbourne. They visit Holmes's friend, Whitnell, who tells them of his recent discovery of ancient animal specimens in a cave in which conditions lead to a natural mummification process. He also introduces them to Lady Helena, whose husband, Sir George, walked out on her five years ago, in the manner of an ancestor some two hundred years previously, and has not been seen since. She now wishes to remarry, and asks Holmes to find out if her husband is still alive. On the Downs they meet Dafty Timmy (who tells them that his birds dropped Sir George off a cliff) and Sir George's aggressive brother, Harry. Visiting Whitnell's caves, they discover the preserved body of Sir George's ancestor, Sir Nigel, who disappeared in 1777, but Holmes becomes convinced that the body is actually Sir George. Whitnell is sent for the police, but while Holmes and Watson guard the body in the dark cave, they are attacked, and, while unconscious, dumped in a pit. Having engineered an escape, they discover that an attempt has been made to burn the evidence in Timmy's bonfire, but Holmes is still able to reveal the culprit and plan his retirement.
	"The Adventure of the Second Generation" (1989) from a radio play by Anthony Boucher & Denis Green (1945) Included in: The Lost Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Ken Greenwald) Story Type: Pastiche Canonical Characters: Sherlock Holmes; Dr. Watson; (Mrs Watson (Anna); Mary Morstan; Irene Adler; Godfrey (Jeffrey) Norton) Other Characters: Watson's Secretary; Holmes's Manservant; Deevers; Irene Norton; Mr Litton-Stanley; (Lord Weston's Son; Irene's Maid) Date: Spring, 1909 Locations: Watson's Practice; Sussex; Paddlewaite Station; Holmes's Bee Farm Story: Holmes summons Watson to Sussex. Watson is telling him of a girl he met on the train who needs help, when a note arrives from a neighbour, Litton-Stanley, complaining about Holmes's bees. When he hears that the girl was called Irene Norton, Holmes realises she is Irene Adler's daughter and summons her from the village. She tells him that she is being blackmailed by Litton-Stanley over some "indiscreet letters" she had written to a friend that he must have stolen. She asks Holmes to steal the letters, kept in a filigree box, back. He and Watson visit Litton-Stanley disguised as a charity subscription-seeking parson and doctor. Their attempt to retrieve the letters is interrupted by Deevers, the butler, who has a theft of his own, of the Kitmanjar Emerald, in mind. Holmes deduces that Irene's intentions may not be as innocent as he presumed, and changes his plan to prevent a theft, presenting her with the box, but not its contents. It is only when Litton-Stanley comes for help in catching the thieves that Holmes realises that, despite his best endeavours, he has been duped after all.
"The April Fool's Adventure" (1989) from a radio play by Anthony Boucher & Denis Green (1946) Included in: The Lost Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Ken Greenwald) Story Type: Pastiche Canonical Characters: Sherlock Holmes; Dr. Watson; Young Stamford; Mrs Hudson; Professor Moriarty Other Characters:Criterion Orchestra; James Murphy; Lady Ann Partington; Lady Ann's Servants; Matron; Cabby; Criterion Waiter; (Lady Ann's Father; Mr Vanderlighter) Date: 31st March - 1st April, A little after Holmes and Watson first took up lodging in Baker Street Locations: Watson's House; Criterion Restaurant; 221B, Baker Street; Cavendish Square; Lady Anne's House; Piccadilly Circus Story: Watson reads over an unfinished account of an old case: At the Criterion, he meets Stamford, who introduces him to Murphy. They plan to play an April Fool joke on Holmes, at the instigation of Lady Ann, to whom he has been rude. Lady Ann calls at Baker Street, telling Holmes that the Elfenstone Emerald has been stolen from the wall safe in her bedroom. Holmes examines the scene of the crime and spots the clues that have been planted for him, and which point to himself as the culprit. After the prank has been revealed, it is discovered that the emerald really has been stolen. When the thief confesses, it further transpires that the returned jewel is a fake. The previous evening it had been examined by a dinner guest expert, so there is no question that it had not been switched prior to that morning. Holmes recovers the gem and reveals the culprit, and has his first meeting with his nemesis.
	"The Case of the Amateur Mendicants" (1989) from a radio play by Anthony Boucher & Denis Green (1945) Included in: The Lost Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Ken Greenwald) Story Type: Pastiche Canonical Characters: Sherlock Holmes; Dr. Watson; The Amateur Mendicant Society; (Mrs Hudson) Other Characters: Lady Dorothy Broxton; Doorman; Sidney Holt; Julian Trevor; Lord Cecil Dearingforth; Small, Aged Man; Don Louis Jose Fernando de La Storez; Police; (Policeman; Earl of Meerschaum; Michail Petrov) Date: November, 1887 Locations: 221B, Baker Street; Amateur Mendicants' Warehouse Story: A woman calls at Baker Street, looking for a doctor. Watson is surprised that, despite her cultivated voice, she is dressed as a beggar. She takes him to a club, in the basement of a warehouse, full of beggars and well-dressed people. He is shown one of the members, whom he declares dead of a broken neck, after which he is sent home with a warning to forget all he has seen. The following morning the same woman, now respectably dressed, arrives at 221B, introduces herself as Lady Dorothy Broxton, and asks Holmes to investigate the murder at the Amateur Mendicant Society - a group of wealthy people who get pleasure from leading a seamy life disguised as beggars. One of the members, Dearingforth was seen to trip the dead man, a poet named Trevor, at the top of the club stairs. Holmes sends Watson back to the warehouse, promising to follow on later. While Watson is questioning those involved, a new member arrives. Holmes deduces the true nature of the society, but he and Watson find themselves prisoners along with Lady Broxton, and must escape before the building blows up.
"The Case of the Baconian Cipher" (1989) from a radio play by Anthony Boucher & Denis Green (1946) Included in: The Lost Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Ken Greenwald) Story Type: Pastiche Canonical Characters: Sherlock Holmes; Dr. Watson; Francois Le Villard; (Mrs Watson; Mrs Hudson; Jefferson Hope; Mycroft Holmes) Historical Figures: (William Shakespeare; Sir Francis Bacon) Other Characters: Doris Favisham; George Quilter; Quilter's Gardener; Jeffrey Davies; (Lady; Little Boy; Advertisement Placer; Watson's Patients; Telegraph Boy) Date: 1889 Locations: 221B, Baker Street; Baker Street; Penge; The Elms Story: Le Villard is visiting Holmes, and when Watson arrives they are arguing over the merits of British criminals. Holmes points out a coded message in the agony columns of the Times and deciphers it as a cry for help. The three of them travel to Penge, the source of the message, in time to hear shots coming from inside the house. They are greeted by the revolver-firing Favisham and her wheelchair-bound uncle, George Quilter, who says he placed the advertisement to find someone who could help him prove that Shakespeare's plays were written by Francis Bacon. Fresh soil on Quilter's shoes suggests to Holmes that a murder may already have happened, probably hastened on by a telegram from Mycroft. They search the garden, and Holmes organises a shooting-match to gain the upper hand.
	"The Case of the Camberwell Poisoners" (1989) from a radio play by Anthony Boucher & Denis Green (1946) Included in: The Lost Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Ken Greenwald) Story Type: Pastiche Canonical Characters: Sherlock Holmes; Dr. Watson; (Amateur Mendicant Society; Mrs Hudson; Major Prendergast) Other Characters: Edmund Lovelace; Lovelace's Servant; Alice Harley; Randolph Lovelace; Gladstone the Dog; (Edmund's Grandfather; Gerald Lovelace; Derrick Waterlow; Edmund's Cook) Date: Late October, 1887 Locations: 221B, Baker Street; Camberwell; Lovelace's House Story: Holmes is called on by Edmund Lovelace who lives, with his brother and three cousins, in a house in Camberwell left to them by his grandfather. Should one die, their share is to be divided between the survivors. He suspects his cousin Gerald, administrator of the estate, is planning murder, after discovering a syringe of cyanide in his pocket. An examination of Edmund's walking stick suggests to Holmes that the situation may be even more dire than he suspects. At the house he meets two of the other cousins, and the brother, who has a mental age of eight, and an aged dog. When they visit Gerald's room they find him dead, poisoned and with his head bashed in. After examining the room and the body, Holmes winds the dead man's watch to gain a clue to the murder. After taking statements from the cousins, and waiting for the watch to wind down, Holmes is able to name the murderer.
"The Case of the Demon Barber" (1989) from a radio play by Anthony Boucher & Denis Green (1946) Included in: The Lost Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Ken Greenwald) Story Type: Pastiche Canonical Characters: Sherlock Holmes; Dr. Watson; Tobias Gregson; Mrs Hudson Other Characters: Mark Humphries; Theatre Audience; Man with Note; Derrick Lindsay; Actors; Maria Humphries; Senor Vennelli; Stage Door Guard; Cabby Date: Winter, 1896 Locations: Theatre; Scotland Yard; 221B, Baker Street Story: Holmes and Watson go to see a performance of Sweeney Todd. They are summoned backstage by actor-manager Mark Humphries, who believes he is being taken over by his role, having woken in the morning three times to find his boots covered in mud and his razor stained with blood. They check with Gregson to see if there have been any razor murders, but he can find none in the records. The following morning, Humphries is able to show them evidence of his nightly wanderings. After analysing the blood on the knife, they return to the theatre, but find Humphries dead, an apparent suicide. Holmes takes on the role of Sweeney Todd to flush out the murderer.
	"The Case of the Girl with the Gazelle" (1989) from a radio play by Anthony Boucher & Denis Green (1946) Included in: The Lost Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Ken Greenwald) Story Type: Pastiche Canonical Characters: Sherlock Holmes; Dr. Watson; (Inspector Lestrade; Tobias Gregson; Professor Moriarty; Baker Street Irregulars) Historical Figures: (Jean Baptiste Greuze) Other Characters: Hotel Desk Clerk; Hotel Manager; Davenant's Butler; Violet Jackson; Sir Henry Davenant; (Duke of Carlyle; Joe the Butcher; Francois Dulac; Moriarty's Men; Madame Ledue) Date: Autumn, 1887 Locations: 221B, Baker Street; Carlton Hotel; Davenant's Mansion Story: Holmes receives a letter, on Carlton Hotel stationery, from Dulac, a world expert on the artist Greuze, who fears his life is in danger. Holmes senses that Moriarty is involved. At the hotel, they find Dulac's room empty, and a blood-stained floor. The manager tells them that Dulac earlier had a visitor answering to Moriarty's description. Davenant, millionaire owner of Greuze's Young Girl with the Gazelle has been trying to contact Dulac. Holmes visits Davenant, disguised as an art expert. Davenant tells them of threats against the painting, made by Moriarty who was outbid by Davenant at the auction at which he acquired it. Davenant's secretary, Violet, brings a note from Moriarty claiming he has replaced the painting in Davenant's strongroom with a copy. Holmes gets her to take a sample of the paint, which he takes to Baker Street for analysis, and which proves to be of too recent origin to have been applied by Greuze. Back at Davenant's house, a copy of Dynamics of an Asteroid leads Holmes to deduce the painting's fate, but he, Watson and Davenant are locked in the strongroom and the culprit escapes.
"The Case of the Notorious Canary Trainer" (1989) from a radio play by Anthony Boucher & Denis Green (1945) Included in: The Lost Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Ken Greenwald) Story Type: Pastiche Canonical Characters: Sherlock Holmes; Dr. Watson; Wilson, the Notorious Canary Trainer; (The Giant Rat of Sumatra; Mycroft Holmes) Fictional Characters: (Dr John Thorndyke) Historical Figures: Arthur Conan Doyle Other Characters: Mary Victor; Basil Carter; Mr Wainright; Sergeant Blake; Mrs Wainright; Postmaster; Laburnum Grove Hotel Owner; Man at Wedding; Fisherman's Arms Landlord; (Walter C. Bunker) Date: Summer, 1908 Locations: Watson's Lodgings; Doyle's House; Kent; Kingsgate; The Fisherman's Arms; The Pier; Telegraph Office; Post Office; 15, Laburnum Grove; Cemetery Story: Holmes is staying at Watson's lodgings when Watson receives a telegram from Doyle. He visits Doyle who reads over his unpublished cases and chooses the case of Wilson, the Notorious Canary Trainer to round off his latest book. Holmes and Watson are holidaying in Kent when Holmes receives a note from a young girl, Mary, staying at their inn, asking for help. She tells them she has come from London to get away from someone, but has been followed there. After seeing someone through the window, she flees from the room. They confront the young man, Carter, outside the inn, who tells them he is from the Foreign Office, and knows Mycroft. They also meet the Wainrights, whose singing canaries have been a constant presence during their holiday so far. Holmes recognises him as Wilson, the notorious canary trainer, whom he had sent to prison in 1895, but who later escaped. The following day, Mary and Carter have disappeared, and Wilson shoots himself on the pier after confessing to a murder at the inn. Back at the inn they question Mrs Wainright, and find the canaries dead. In Mary's room they find a note from an American, Bunker, but at his hotel, they learn that he has gone to the cemetery. There they find a wedding in progress. Returning to the hotel, Holmes finally reveals who has been murdered and how, and his own involvement in Thorndyke's Red Thumb Mark case. Watson returns from his meeting with Doyle to find Holmes poring over an ancient alchemical text revealing the secrets of the elixir of life, based on royal jelly.
	"The Case of the Uneasy Easy Chair" (1989) from a radio play by Anthony Boucher & Denis Green (1946) Included in: The Lost Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Ken Greenwald) Story Type: Pastiche Canonical Characters: Sherlock Holmes; Dr. Watson; Mrs Hudson; Inspector Lestrade Other Characters: Harriet Irvin; Robert Binyon; Travers; Constable Webster; Mr Silverschwantz; Peregren Irvin; (Sir Edward Irvin; Malapierri) Date: Winter, 1897 Locations: 221B, Baker Street; Scotland Yard; Knightsbridge; Irvin's House; Bond Street; Silverschwantz's Antique Shop; Peregren's House near Dorking Story: Harriet Irvin calls on Holmes and asks him to prove the innocence of Binyon, her father's secretary, who has been arrested for the murder of his employer. Irvin was stabbed in his study, outside which Binyon was sitting. Binyon and Harriet were in love, but Irvin had forbidden them from marrying. Lestrade has seen this as motive for the murder. Holmes interviews Binyon in his cell, then visit's Irvin's house, where they find the constable on guard has been killed in the same manner as Irvin. Holmes examines the chair in which both men's bodies were found. After visiting the antique shop from which the chair was purchased, and learning something of its history, they visit the dead man's brother, before returning to Irvin's house to unmask the murderer.
"Murder Beyond the Mountains" (1989) from a radio play by Anthony Boucher & Denis Green (1946) Included in: The Lost Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Ken Greenwald) Story Type: Pastiche Canonical Characters: Sherlock Holmes / (Olaf) Sigerson; Dr. Watson; Head Lama (Head Abbot); (Professor Moriarty) Other Characters: Tibetan Guides; Ilene Farley; Cart Driver; Feodor Dimitrivich Borodin; Sir Harvey Forrester; Wah-tzun; Monastery Guard; Monastery Scribe; (Chinese Soldiers) Date: 1893 Locations: 221B, Baker Street; Tibet; A Mountain; Puncha-Pushpah Monastery Story: Watson asks Holmes to tell him about his time in Tibet: Holmes is journeying through the mountains as Olaf Sigerson, on his way to Lhasa, when his guides and equipment are swept away by an avalanche. Wandering in delirium he is rescued by missionary, Ilene Farley. As they travel to the monastery, they encounter Russian envoy, Borodin. At the monastery they meet the head abbot, who introduces them to British Government representative Forrester. The Chinese emissary, Wah-tzun, arrives, and refuses all of them permission to travel on to Lhasa. When Wah-tzun is strangled, Holmes agrees to solve the case in return for permission from the abbot to journey on to Lhasa. Cigarette ash and cardboard lead him to his first suspect, but his case seems to crumble when he learns that this suspect only has one hand.

Sherlockian Story Summaries

Ken Greenwald