In Bloody Murder,
Julian Symons’ famous survey of the mystery genre, Symons writes that
“successful comic crime stores, short or long, are rare. One turns away with a
shudder from the many Holmes parodies (…)” Perhaps Julian Symons didn’t have
much of a sense of humour, though something resembling one does shine through
in his book from time to time. Either way, Symons does Holmesian literature –
both parody and pastiche – an enormous injustice by dismissing it as he does.
He doesn’t really take the time to appreciate the Holmesian literature that has
been written over the years.
Symons’ caution is justified in some cases, but with such a
huge output of Sherlock-related literature, you can only expect some pastiches
to be less successful than others. Holmes seems to have particularly bad luck
when he is brought to Canada. Ronald C. Weyman’s Sherlock Holmes: Travels in the Canadian West is one of the worst
collections of Holmesian pastiches I have ever read. The mysteries are frankly
laughable, and the premise is absurd: apparently, during Sherlock’s Great
Hiatus (after his disappearance at the Reichenbach Falls) the detective wasn’t
really in hiding… no, no, Dr. Watson and he were just in Canada, chilling with
the Indi–– er…I mean, Native Americans (for we must be Politically Correct, my
good Watson). No, really—he doesn’t even bother to use a fake name, he keeps
introducing himself as Sherlock Holmes. But throughout this time Holmes
potentially has Colonel Moran’s rifle aimed at his head from any window.
Certainly not the Great Detective’s smartest move, and indeed, the entire book
often reads like a fictionalised history textbook, with Watson spending too
much time telling you about historical figures, customs, etc. The book is even
illustrated with well-known images of Canadian history, making the whole thing
that much more like a history textbook… and that much duller.
