Review: ‘A Continuum of Sherlock Holmes Stories’ by Jayantika Ganguly

If proof were needed of the continuing universal appeal of Sherlock Holmes, then step forward Ms Jayantika Ganguly. Jay, as she likes to be called, has been a Sherlockian since the age of twelve, but what sets her apart from many other fans, and indeed writers of Holmes’ pastiches, is that she is from far-off India, combining life there as a corporate lawyer with her role as General Secretary of the Sherlock Holmes Society of India and editor of the e-magazine, ‘Proceedings of the Pondicherry Lodge’.

Each of the entertaining yarns in the present collection first saw the light of day in the ‘MX Books of New Sherlock Holmes stories’, edited bi-annually by David Marcum. The stories are inventive, yet perfectly acceptable within the canon: Jay seems to have a soft spot for Sherlock’s enigmatic brother, Mycroft, whose large girth pops up often.

What is particularly engaging is the way Jay weaves aspects of her own country and culture into some of the tales, notably in ‘The Adventure of the Defenestrated Princess’ and in ‘The Adventure of the Indian Protegé’, narrated by Holmes himself, and set during ‘the great hiatus’, the three years following Holmes’s apparent death at the Reichenbach Falls. In fact, he was travelling the world in disguise – a device, as we know, forced on a reluctant Conan Doyle by readers who could not bear to think their beloved detective was no more.

If I have a particular favourite tale here, it is ‘The Adventure of Parsley and Butter’, inspired by Holmes’ cryptic remark in ‘The Adventure of the Six Napoleons’, when he says ‘You will remember, Watson, how the dreadful business of the Abernetty family was first brought to my notice by the depth which the parsley had sunk into the butter upon a hot day.’ From this suggestive beginning, Jay weaves an engrossing tale of intrigue and deception.

The Continuum of Sherlock Holmes Stories is available from MX publishing and from Amazon and the Book Depository.

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