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The Dispatch-Box of John H. Watson MD #1
Notes from the Dispatch-Box of John H. Watson MD
Another discovery from the vaults of Cox and Co., the old London bank which had forwarded the Deed Box of John H Watson to the author last year. The Dispatch Box contains all manner of illuminating documents about Messrs. Holmes and Watson. Of particular interest are what the author refers to as The Affair of the Vatican Cameos, the Reigate Poisoning Case, and a document apparently written by the man Holmes himself called 'the fourth smartest man in London', John Clay.
Grateful acknowledgement to Conan Doyle Estate Ltd. for permission to use the Sherlock Holmes characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Grateful acknowledgement to Conan Doyle Estate Ltd. for permission to use the Sherlock Holmes characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Kindle Edition
First published January 5, 2013
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About the author
Hugh Ashton
67 books64 followersHugh Ashton was born in the UK in 1956. After graduating from the University of Cambridge, he worked in a variety of jobs, including security guard, publisher's assistant, and running an independent record label, before coming to rest in the field of information technology, where he assisted perplexed users of computers and wrote explanations to guide them through the problems they encountered.
A long-standing interest in Japan led him to emigrate to that country in 1988; writing instruction manuals for a variety of consumer products, assisting with IT-related projects at banks and financial institutions, and researching and writing industry reports on the Japanese and Asian financial industries, and writing promotional material for international business publications.
He has recently returned to the UK, and now lives in the cathedral city of Lichfield with his wife, Yoshiko.
He has recently published many volumes of highly-acclaimed Sherlock Holmes pastiches (the Deed Box and Dispatch-box series) with Inknbeans Press of California, with some reviewers hailing him as the re-incarnation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. In addition, the list of his thrillers currently includes: At the Sharpe End, featuring an expatriate consultant living in Tokyo, Kenneth Sharpe, who finds himself thrust into a world of violence and high finance; Leo's Luck, a story of rock 'n' roll, crime, romance, and the paranormal; and Balance of Powers, set against the backdrop of the subprime mortgage crisis.
His historical works include: Beneath Gray Skies, an alternative history in which the American Civil War was never fought; Red Wheels Turning, set in an alternative Russia of 1917; and The Untime and The Untijme Revisited, Verne-ian 19th-century steampunk science fiction novels.
Children's books include the Sherlock Ferret series about the world's cutest detective, delightfully illustrated by Andy Boerger.
The collection of short stories Tales of Old Japanese describes some of the endearing characteristics of today's "silver generation" of Japan.
A long-standing interest in Japan led him to emigrate to that country in 1988; writing instruction manuals for a variety of consumer products, assisting with IT-related projects at banks and financial institutions, and researching and writing industry reports on the Japanese and Asian financial industries, and writing promotional material for international business publications.
He has recently returned to the UK, and now lives in the cathedral city of Lichfield with his wife, Yoshiko.
He has recently published many volumes of highly-acclaimed Sherlock Holmes pastiches (the Deed Box and Dispatch-box series) with Inknbeans Press of California, with some reviewers hailing him as the re-incarnation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. In addition, the list of his thrillers currently includes: At the Sharpe End, featuring an expatriate consultant living in Tokyo, Kenneth Sharpe, who finds himself thrust into a world of violence and high finance; Leo's Luck, a story of rock 'n' roll, crime, romance, and the paranormal; and Balance of Powers, set against the backdrop of the subprime mortgage crisis.
His historical works include: Beneath Gray Skies, an alternative history in which the American Civil War was never fought; Red Wheels Turning, set in an alternative Russia of 1917; and The Untime and The Untijme Revisited, Verne-ian 19th-century steampunk science fiction novels.
Children's books include the Sherlock Ferret series about the world's cutest detective, delightfully illustrated by Andy Boerger.
The collection of short stories Tales of Old Japanese describes some of the endearing characteristics of today's "silver generation" of Japan.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 8, 2013
What a wonderful book this is! The idea of rediscovering lost manuscripts, squired-away notes, dug-up diaries or even deed boxes hidden in a London bank vault is hardly new, and has been used many times before to produce novels and short stories, with varying levels of success, but I don't think I've seen it done so well before. This book contains three stories -- "The Affair of the Vatican Cameos," "The Reigate Poisoning Case," and "The History of John Augustus Edward Clay as Told by Himself."
The first two are straight-forward pastiches told in the voice of Doctor Watson, derived from cases mentioned during the course of Sherlock Holmes' published cases. No, actually, they are not really straight-forward at all, for while they do tell rousing good mysteries, packed with all the quirks and peculiarities we expect when the Great Detective is on the case, they also something of a commentary on Watson as a story-teller and chronicler. While we have built up a view of Holmes the Infallible, Holmes the Great Thinking Machine, and Holmes the Master of Deduction and Logic, we adhere to those concepts because of the stories Watson presented to us. What about the stories he did not tell us? Even Sherlock Holmes mentioned on at least two occasions to Watson that his readers might have a different view of Holmes if Watson were to publish some of his failures, some of his embarrassments, or some of his cases that were pure deduction with no real story attached. The first story falls into that category...while Holmes is not a failure, it does reveal him as human, as susceptible to overthinking a situation and listening to a well-meaning brother's bad advice. The fact that Ashton is able to do this without straying too far from the Canonical depiction of Sherlock Holmes is remarkable.
In the second story, we take a look at Watson's notoriously bad memory. He often got dates wrong, was internally inconsistent (he doesn't know anything about Moriarty in "The Final Problem," yet knows everything about the arch-fiend in "The Valley of Fear"), and sometimes I think even Watson didn't know how many wives he had or to whom he was supposed to report after leaving Baker Street. In "The Hound of the Baskervilles," he mentions defending a Mme. Montpensier, but it's clear from Aston's story that this must be a different case with the same name, or a similar case with different people, or that poor old Watson, when writing down "The Hound of the Baskervilles," either could not read part of his notes or just could not remember the name and so wrote down the first name that came to him. That theme is carried into Ashton's story by the woman having a maiden name, a married name from a first husband, a step-daughter with that surname, and a new married name from a man who is probably a bigamist so she will refer to herself as an unmarried woman again, but using her maiden name with a "Mme" rather than a "Mlle" because she is getting along in years and is no longer the demimonde she used to be. Poor Watson! Once again, Ashton crafts a well-plotted, well-written tale that could easily have come from Watson's pen.
Though the third tale is not, strictly speaking, a pastiche of Sherlock Holmes, it is the most interesting and engaging of the three, especially for fans of the famous story "The Red-Headed League." John Clay is, of course, the villain of the piece, described by Inspector Jones as "murderer, thief, smasher and forger." In this autobiographical tale from John Clay's own hand, we learn that Inspector Jones, and Watson by extension, may have overstated the case. Writing from prison, the terminally ill John Clay writes the story of his life, from being cheated out of a heritage that would surely have changed his life, to meeting the infamous Professor Moriarty, to being nabbed at the conclusion of the ill-fated venture recounted in Watson's published tale. As Clay relates his activities, he threads his way through Watson's other tales, moving in the background, making deliveries for Moriarty and Colonel Moran (whom Clay rightly feared), and at times encountering some of the same people as did Holmes and Watson, though at different places along the same timeline. What emerges from Ashton's efforts is an engaging tale filled with genuine pathos and an idea that maybe Clay was dealt with a bit more harshly than was warranted; that, of course, was why Watson was unsuccessful in getting the account published for Clay -- no publisher would touch it because of its moral ambiguity.
One final thing to mention about this book. When I started reading it, I was a bit put off by the typesetting -- full spaces between quotes and punctuation, double spaces after a full stop. But get used to it I did, to the point that it seemed quite natural. At the end of the book, in the notes about typefaces, the peculiar typesetting was revealed to be in imitation of that found in "The Strand" magazine of the time. That note would have been more useful at the beginning of the book rather than at the end. But, either way, I do appreciate the effort to be period correct.
The first two are straight-forward pastiches told in the voice of Doctor Watson, derived from cases mentioned during the course of Sherlock Holmes' published cases. No, actually, they are not really straight-forward at all, for while they do tell rousing good mysteries, packed with all the quirks and peculiarities we expect when the Great Detective is on the case, they also something of a commentary on Watson as a story-teller and chronicler. While we have built up a view of Holmes the Infallible, Holmes the Great Thinking Machine, and Holmes the Master of Deduction and Logic, we adhere to those concepts because of the stories Watson presented to us. What about the stories he did not tell us? Even Sherlock Holmes mentioned on at least two occasions to Watson that his readers might have a different view of Holmes if Watson were to publish some of his failures, some of his embarrassments, or some of his cases that were pure deduction with no real story attached. The first story falls into that category...while Holmes is not a failure, it does reveal him as human, as susceptible to overthinking a situation and listening to a well-meaning brother's bad advice. The fact that Ashton is able to do this without straying too far from the Canonical depiction of Sherlock Holmes is remarkable.
In the second story, we take a look at Watson's notoriously bad memory. He often got dates wrong, was internally inconsistent (he doesn't know anything about Moriarty in "The Final Problem," yet knows everything about the arch-fiend in "The Valley of Fear"), and sometimes I think even Watson didn't know how many wives he had or to whom he was supposed to report after leaving Baker Street. In "The Hound of the Baskervilles," he mentions defending a Mme. Montpensier, but it's clear from Aston's story that this must be a different case with the same name, or a similar case with different people, or that poor old Watson, when writing down "The Hound of the Baskervilles," either could not read part of his notes or just could not remember the name and so wrote down the first name that came to him. That theme is carried into Ashton's story by the woman having a maiden name, a married name from a first husband, a step-daughter with that surname, and a new married name from a man who is probably a bigamist so she will refer to herself as an unmarried woman again, but using her maiden name with a "Mme" rather than a "Mlle" because she is getting along in years and is no longer the demimonde she used to be. Poor Watson! Once again, Ashton crafts a well-plotted, well-written tale that could easily have come from Watson's pen.
Though the third tale is not, strictly speaking, a pastiche of Sherlock Holmes, it is the most interesting and engaging of the three, especially for fans of the famous story "The Red-Headed League." John Clay is, of course, the villain of the piece, described by Inspector Jones as "murderer, thief, smasher and forger." In this autobiographical tale from John Clay's own hand, we learn that Inspector Jones, and Watson by extension, may have overstated the case. Writing from prison, the terminally ill John Clay writes the story of his life, from being cheated out of a heritage that would surely have changed his life, to meeting the infamous Professor Moriarty, to being nabbed at the conclusion of the ill-fated venture recounted in Watson's published tale. As Clay relates his activities, he threads his way through Watson's other tales, moving in the background, making deliveries for Moriarty and Colonel Moran (whom Clay rightly feared), and at times encountering some of the same people as did Holmes and Watson, though at different places along the same timeline. What emerges from Ashton's efforts is an engaging tale filled with genuine pathos and an idea that maybe Clay was dealt with a bit more harshly than was warranted; that, of course, was why Watson was unsuccessful in getting the account published for Clay -- no publisher would touch it because of its moral ambiguity.
One final thing to mention about this book. When I started reading it, I was a bit put off by the typesetting -- full spaces between quotes and punctuation, double spaces after a full stop. But get used to it I did, to the point that it seemed quite natural. At the end of the book, in the notes about typefaces, the peculiar typesetting was revealed to be in imitation of that found in "The Strand" magazine of the time. That note would have been more useful at the beginning of the book rather than at the end. But, either way, I do appreciate the effort to be period correct.
January 16, 2016
Notes from the Dispatch-Box of John H Watson by Hugh Ashton
“The Affair of the Vatican Cameos”
This story was mentioned in passing by Watson in HOUN.
Avery Pillstone of the British Museum comes to Baker Street. He has been employed by the Museum for thirty years; holding the position of Visiting Curator for the past five.
The Vatican Cameos, on loan to the museum, have all been replaced by forgeries. There are thirteen cameos, depicting Christ and the Twelve Apostles. The originals were there when Pillstone left for the night but were stolen and fakes left in their place the next day.
Holmes is on the scent of the missing paintings and a kidnapped artist. The case twists through some very interesting hands along the way! Five Stars.
“The Reigate Poisoning Case”
This case is mentioned in passing by Watson in HOUN as the “Mme. Montpensier murder case.” Some details, however; do not match up. The author states as much in his introduction.
Madame Louise Montpensier brings the case of her step-daughter’s murder to Sherlock Holmes. The step-daughter, Annabel, is dead and Mme. Montpensier states that she is responsible, but did not kill her.
Mme. Montpensier has married again after Annabel’s father’s death to a man named Ferdinand Colethorpe. Colethope is wicked, and Mme. Feels that he has slain Annabel for the sake of the money her father left to her.
This involves something Mme. Montpensier describes as murder, with a note found that expresses fear of murder happening. Further investigation seems to confirm Madame’s guilt—but twists are always a part of Sherlock Holmes adventures! Five stars.
“The History of John Augustus Edward Clay as Told by Himself”
John Clay is of course the villain from REDH, the man described in that adventure by Holmes as “the fourth smartest man in London, and for daring I am not sure that he has not a claim to be third.”
This is a firsthand account of many of John Clay’s criminal enterprises, in the form of a journal dictated to Watson without Holmes’ knowledge. Five stars just for the audacity of it!
Quoth the Raven…
“The Affair of the Vatican Cameos”
This story was mentioned in passing by Watson in HOUN.
Avery Pillstone of the British Museum comes to Baker Street. He has been employed by the Museum for thirty years; holding the position of Visiting Curator for the past five.
The Vatican Cameos, on loan to the museum, have all been replaced by forgeries. There are thirteen cameos, depicting Christ and the Twelve Apostles. The originals were there when Pillstone left for the night but were stolen and fakes left in their place the next day.
Holmes is on the scent of the missing paintings and a kidnapped artist. The case twists through some very interesting hands along the way! Five Stars.
“The Reigate Poisoning Case”
This case is mentioned in passing by Watson in HOUN as the “Mme. Montpensier murder case.” Some details, however; do not match up. The author states as much in his introduction.
Madame Louise Montpensier brings the case of her step-daughter’s murder to Sherlock Holmes. The step-daughter, Annabel, is dead and Mme. Montpensier states that she is responsible, but did not kill her.
Mme. Montpensier has married again after Annabel’s father’s death to a man named Ferdinand Colethorpe. Colethope is wicked, and Mme. Feels that he has slain Annabel for the sake of the money her father left to her.
This involves something Mme. Montpensier describes as murder, with a note found that expresses fear of murder happening. Further investigation seems to confirm Madame’s guilt—but twists are always a part of Sherlock Holmes adventures! Five stars.
“The History of John Augustus Edward Clay as Told by Himself”
John Clay is of course the villain from REDH, the man described in that adventure by Holmes as “the fourth smartest man in London, and for daring I am not sure that he has not a claim to be third.”
This is a firsthand account of many of John Clay’s criminal enterprises, in the form of a journal dictated to Watson without Holmes’ knowledge. Five stars just for the audacity of it!
Quoth the Raven…
August 18, 2015
This was one of my favorites in the Sherlock Holmes series by Hugh Ashton. It contains three short stories. All three relate to untold cases mentioned by Conan Doyle. The first The Affair of the Vatican Cameos involves the theft of some valuable objects on loan to the British Museum from the Vatican. It could prove damaging to the state if not recovered quickly. The second is The Reigate Poisoning Case where a woman comes to Holmes to report the death of her step-daughter in what seems to be a clear case of accidental death, but the woman is convinced that it was murder and that she will be blamed. The third is the most unusual in that it is told not by Holmes or Watson, but is instead is told by the man who was the mastermind behind the Redheaded League case. It is called The History of John Augustus Edward Clay As Told By Himself. In it Clay tells his life story and the story behind The Redheaded League case. It also gives an excellent behind the scenes look at Professor Moriarty's criminal network. As always Ashton does an exceptional job in delivering stories that have the feel that they came from the pen of Arthur Conan Doyle himself.
December 12, 2016
This was not good. I am disappointed!
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