 | |
| Author | Lyndsay Faye |
|---|---|
| Genre | Mystery novels |
| Publisher | Simon & Schuster |
Publication date | 2009 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback) |
| ISBN | 1-4165-8330-0 (first edition, hardback) |
Dust and Shadow: An Account of the Ripper Killings by Dr. John H. Watson is a Sherlock Holmes pastiche novel by Lyndsay Faye which pits Sherlock Holmes against Jack the Ripper. [1]
The book is Faye's first novel [2] and it has the blessing of Conan Doyle's heirs. [1]
The book takes its name from Horace's epigram, "We are but dust and shadow" (Pulvis et umbra sumus), which Holmes quotes in the novel.
In a foreword, writing in 1939, the elderly Dr. Watson decides to leave his manuscript account of the Ripper killings to his estate for publication after his death. The account was confidential until then, but Watson feels its important that the facts be known, since the deceased Sherlock Holmes, for once in his life, was wrong when he predicted that "the world has already forgotten [the Ripper]."
Holmes and Watson are called to the countryside by Inspector Gregson to look into the disappearance of a valuable ring from the home of a Baron's family. The "solution" is unsatisfactory: Holmes deduces the Baron himself stole the ring, having already pawned several items of value to pay for his brother's gambling debts, and even being forced to rob the grave of his prematurely deceased wife. When confronted, the Baron surrenders the ring, then kills himself in shame. Holmes claims to Gregson that the case is unsolvable while planning to return the ring anonymously in the mail, but is nonplussed when one of Gregson's young constables points out clues that Holmes himself took pains to conceal from Gregson. Returning to Baker Street, Holmes receives an anonymous threatening note.
A few months later, Watson is horrified by the news of Mary Ann Nichols's murder and mutilation, but Holmes dismisses it as an isolated incident. However, when Annie Chapman is murdered in a similar manner, and Inspector Lestrade asks for help, Holmes is forced to notice the similarities between the two killings and predicts that more will follow if the killer is not stopped. Investigating the murder scenes in Whitechapel, Holmes and Watson meet Mary Ann Monk, a casual friend of Mary Nichols, who agrees to spy on their behalf. After a few nights, she excitedly claims to have identified the killer from tavern gossip as a soldier named Johnny Blackstone, on leave from his regiment.
Despite their efforts, Holmes, Watson, and the police, are unable to prevent the murders of Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes. Holmes interrupts the killer in the process of murdering Stride and suffers a near-fatal stab wound without being able to catch the man. Worse, newspaper stories suggest that Holmes himself is the killer, based on his proximity to each of the murder scenes. Holmes also receives another anonymous note from the killer, identifying himself as "Jack the Ripper."
Patient investigation leads Holmes to an elementary solution that horrifies Watson, Monk, and Lestrade: the Ripper is a policeman, Constable Edward Bennett, able to escape the scenes of his crimes by re-donning his uniform and able to anonymously supply the newspapers with credible tips about Holmes's whereabouts and activities that make him look guilty. The Ripper decided that it was vitally important to neutralize Holmes as a threat to him, but by going to such lengths to do so, he has inadvertently revealed his own identity.
Despite this breakthrough, Holmes and Watson's stakeout only leads them to the site of Mary Jane Kelly's murder, with no clues as to Bennett's current whereabouts. They return home demoralized but receive a lucky break when Bennett's newspaper contact arrives on their doorstep in a panic, admitting that he followed Bennett to his current hideout, seeing gruesome relics that confirm he is the Ripper.
Holmes and Watson lie in wait at the hideout, actually the run-down home of Bennett's mother, who is blind and semi-deranged (from her ramblings, Holmes and Watson guess that Edward's madness resulted from his abusive father and that Edward turned on his father and killed him when Edward was still a child). Realizing Bennett has left a kerosene fire burning in the basement, Holmes and Watson hustle Mrs. Bennett out of the house just before it explodes into flames. Realizing from Mrs. Bennett that Edward's latest victim is being held upstairs, Holmes re-enters the home and rescues Mrs. Monk, drugged into a stupor but still alive. Injured and disoriented, they are confronted by Bennett, who charges at them. Watson draws his revolver and shoots Bennett dead, before passing out.
The Home Secretary and Sherlock's brother Mycroft, fearing a total breakdown of public order if the truth becomes known, order Lestrade to cover up the Ripper's identity and keep the official investigation open, indefinitely. However, Lestrade privately confirms to the rest of Scotland Yard that the case is solved. Knowing that they can never publicly acknowledge Holmes's role in stopping the killings, Lestrade and the detective force privately gift him with a commemorative cigarette case to replace the one the Ripper took as a trophy. Holmes is warmed by this heartfelt praise from law enforcement professionals more than he ever could be by any official accolades.
Reviews of Dust and Shadow: An Account of the Ripper Killings by Dr. John H Watson have been largely positive. [3] [4]
Tim Rutton, writing for the Los Angeles Times , stated "she gets the critical component – Watson's voice – right." [1]
Caleb Carr, who himself penned a Sherlock Holmes pastiche entitled The Italian Secretary , remarked "Where others have failed, Lyndsay Faye's extremely impressive debut novel succeeds, on every level, providing thrilling entertainment without blatant exploitation." [5]
The Chicago Center for Literature and Photography gave the novel an 8.9 out of 10. [6]
A Study in Scarlet is an 1887 detective novel by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle. The story marks the first appearance of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, who would become the most famous detective duo in English literature. The book's title derives from a speech given by Holmes, a consulting detective, to his friend and chronicler Watson on the nature of his work, in which he describes the story's murder investigation as his "study in scarlet": "There's the scarlet thread of murder running through the colourless skein of life, and our duty is to unravel it, and isolate it, and expose every inch of it."
"The Final Problem" is a short story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle featuring his detective character Sherlock Holmes. It was first published in The Strand Magazine in the United Kingdom, and McClure's in the United States, under the title "The Adventure of the Final Problem" in December 1893. It appears in book form as part of the collection The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.
Murder by Decree is a 1979 mystery thriller film directed by Bob Clark. It features the Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who are embroiled in the investigation surrounding the real-life 1888 Whitechapel murders committed by "Jack the Ripper". Christopher Plummer plays Holmes and James Mason plays Watson. Though it features a similar premise, it is somewhat different in tone and result to A Study in Terror. It is loosely based on The Ripper File by Elwyn Jones and John Lloyd.
Detective Inspector G. Lestrade is a fictional character appearing in the Sherlock Holmes stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle. Lestrade's first appearance was in the first Sherlock Holmes story, the 1887 novel A Study in Scarlet. His last appearance is in the 1924 short story "The Adventure of the Three Garridebs", which is included in the collection The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes.
"The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton" is one of the 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It was originally published in Collier's in the United States on 26 March 1904, and in The Strand Magazine in the United Kingdom in April 1904. It is one of 13 stories in the cycle collected as The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1905).
A Study in Terror is a 1965 British thriller film directed by James Hill and starring John Neville as Sherlock Holmes and Donald Houston as Dr. Watson. It was filmed at Shepperton Studios, London, with some location work at Osterley House in Middlesex.
Sherlock Holmes has long been a popular character for pastiche, Holmes-related work by authors and creators other than Arthur Conan Doyle. Their works can be grouped into four broad categories:
"The Doctor's Case" is a short story by American author Stephen King, originally published in The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, a 1987 centennial collection, and reprinted in his collection Nightmares & Dreamscapes.
The Spider Woman is a 1943 mystery film starring Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Dr. Watson, the seventh of fourteen such films the pair were involved in. As with all of the Universal Studios films in the series, the film is set in then-present day as opposed to the Victorian setting of the original stories. This film incorporates elements from the 1890 novel The Sign of the Four, as well as the short stories "The Final Problem", "The Adventure of the Empty House", "The Adventure of the Speckled Band" and makes explicit reference to "The Adventure of the Devil's Foot".
The Woman in Green is a 1945 American film, the eleventh of the fourteen Basil Rathbone-Nigel Bruce Sherlock Holmes films based on the characters created by Arthur Conan Doyle. Produced and directed by Roy William Neill, it stars Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes and Bruce as Dr. Watson, with Hillary Brooke as the woman of the title and Henry Daniell as Professor Moriarty. The film follows an original premise with material taken from "The Final Problem" (1893) and "The Adventure of the Cardboard Box.
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson is a 1979 Soviet film adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle's novels about Sherlock Holmes. Directed by Igor Maslennikov, it is the first of a 5-part TV film series The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. The film is divided into two episodes: "The Acquaintance" and "Bloody Inscription".
A Study in Scarlet is a 1933 American pre-Code mystery thriller film directed by Edwin L. Marin and starring Reginald Owen as Sherlock Holmes and Anna May Wong as Mrs. Pyke. The title is taken from Arthur Conan Doyle's 1887 novel of the same name, the first in the Holmes series, but the screenplay by Robert Florey was original.
Sherlock Holmes Versus Jack the Ripper is an adventure game for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360, developed by Ukrainian studio Frogwares and distributed by Focus Home Interactive. It is the fifth game in the Sherlock Holmes series of adventure games developed by Frogwares. The game takes place in the London district of Whitechapel in 1888, the historical site of the Jack the Ripper murders.
This article describes minor characters from the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and from non-canonical derived works. The list excludes the titular character as well as Dr. Watson, Professor Moriarty, Inspector Lestrade, Mycroft Holmes, Mrs. Hudson, Irene Adler, Colonel Moran, the Baker Street Irregulars, and characters not significant enough to mention.
The Hound of the Baskervilles is a 1983 British made-for-television mystery thriller film directed by Douglas Hickox, starring Ian Richardson as Sherlock Holmes and Donald Churchill as Dr. John H. Watson. It is based on Arthur Conan Doyle's 1902 novel The Hound of the Baskervilles.
The Last Sherlock Holmes Story is a Sherlock Holmes pastiche novel by Michael Dibdin. The novel is an account of Holmes's attempt to solve the Jack the Ripper murders.
The Ripper Legacy is a mystery pastiche novel written by David Stuart Davies, featuring Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson in a story with ties to Jack the Ripper.
The Whitechapel Horrors is a 1992 mystery pastiche novel written by Edward B. Hanna, featuring Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson investigating the Jack the Ripper murders.
Lyndsay Faye is an American novelist and Sherlockian. She is known for her works of period fiction, which draw variously on mystery, historical fiction, and classical literature. Her 2012 debut novel, The Gods of Gotham was named "the year’s best mystery novel" by the American Library Association, and was nominated for the Edgar Award alongside Faye's 2016 Jane Eyre reimagining Jane Steele.
