Sherlock Holmes and the King's Governess

by Barrie Roberts

From a manuscript believed to be the work of John H. Watson, MDThe summer of 1897 brings visitors flocking to London for Victorias Diamond Jubilee. With them comes a Russian nobleman, as well as an English lady from Canada. This lady calls on Holmes and Watson for their assistance in dealing with strangers who are following her. The mystery deepens when Holmes recognizes one of them as the head of Russian Intelligence in London.

Genres: Mystery, Historical Mystery, 19th Century, British Literature

318 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Adelais]

Дуже симпатичний холмсівський пастиш, де клієнтка - гувернантка короля Сіаму (прототипом послугувала Анна Леоновенс, саме так), і політичні інтриги як поперли! На кілька глав навіть завітав і колишній вихованець гувернантки, страшенно розумний хлопчик і мій фаворит у цій книжці, а ще там є кузен російського царя, ще той казьол. Наприкінці Холмс навіть висватав закоханих, але він ненавмисне і не передбачав такого ефекту від своїх цілком логічних дій, поки розплутував злочин. Яка приємна книжечка.

[Clint Smith]

Sherlock considers his performance in this case to be a failure.

[Rena Sherwood]

Let me explain why I gave this five stars. Now, I have written a very unsuccessful Sherlock Holmes eBook and so I know how incredibly hard it is to write one. It's even harder to write a pastiche in the same way Sir Arthur Conan Doyle did. Barrie Roberts pulls off the trick so deftly that if it wasn't for the character of the King's Governess, I would have sworn this was Doyle. Doyle usually didn't borrow other author's characters. (Well, maybe he did. My memory ain't what it used to be.)



Now, granted, if you've never read a Sherlock Holmes story in your life (and what an incredibly deprived life that is) then you'll probably be lost here. You also need to know a little about the Victorian Age as well. So -- this is not the Sherlock Holmes book to start on. It is a book to continue the journey, so to speak.

[Sue]

interesting take on SH, but the story involved foreign affairs and mistreatment of women and the rich who hold power over others. It was hard to read in spots but things worked out in the end.

[Heather]

I don't know if it was just me, but I could not get into this book.

[Brad McKenna]

Those folks that try their hand at a Holmes story have nearly impossibly high expectations to live up to. As such, I feel my rating of this book is a wee bit unfair. But, while Mr. Roberts emulates the writing style of Mr. Doyle well enough, this book lacked the surprising twists I've come to expect. The client's connection to Russia and the seemingly unrelated murder of the fiancee of another aristocratic dame didn't surprise me. Adding to the trouble was the fact that the ending was very anticlimactic.

I love Sherlock Holmes enough to give Mr. Roberts' attempts another try. He wrote a few and this was one of the later ones. Perhaps he just ran out of steam. So, if you're a lover of Holmes, I'd probably wouldn't start with this book as a way to reach out beyond Mr. Doyle's works.

[Shannon Appelcline]

A perfectly adequate pastiche. Its most interesting element is that it places Holmes very clearly in historical Victorian times, so we have the Queen's Diamond Jubilee going on and Holmes' client turns out to be Anna Leonowens of The King and I.

Beyond that, the sleuthing was interesting, and the book read quickly. I might randomly pick up another of these, but I won't hunt hard for them.

[Cris]

Probably the best Sherlock Holmes pastiche I've read. It's certainly become my favorite novel. Roberts successfully evokes Doyle's style, language, and characters. Part of a series, Roberts' titles can be read independently.

[Read1000books]

Average.

[David Johnston]

Faithful mimicry of Doyle's style as Holmes investigates a threat against a version of "Anna" from "Anna and the King of Siam"

[Pinko Palest]

good marks for verisimilitude, but the story itself is too far fetched and doesn't seem to work

[bryan fothergill]

A nice pastiche. Barrie Roberts never fails to deliver. A case that delves into foreign politics of the Victorian age. A great read for any Sherlock Holmes fan.