The Casebook of Solar Pons

Solar Pons #5

by August Derleth, David Marcum (Editor), Derrick Belanger (Foreword)

The steadily expanding devotees of the Sherlock Holmes of Praed Street will hail with delight this crowning volume in a series of collections which have now pastiched the entire quintet of the Master’s adventures. Here is another collection of “as sparkling a galaxy of Sherlockian pastiches as we have had since the canonical entertainments came to an end,” as Vincent Starrett – who contributes a preface to this book – wrote in his introduction to the first collection of the adventures of Solar Pons twenty years ago.A dozen new Pontine exploits round out the quintet in these pages – from The Adventure of the Sussex Archers to The Adventure of the Innkeeper’s Clerk – and between these two tales are such memorable stories as The Adventure of the Haunted Library, The Adventure of the Intarsia Box, The Adventure of the China Cottage, The Adventure of the Crouching Dog, The Adventure of the Whispering Knights, and others, including among them The Adventure of the Missing Huntsman – in which Pons and Parker invade the fox-hunting country of England, and The Adventure of the Ascot Scandal, one of Pons’ briefest and most amusing problems.To supplement the tales, the distinguished British author, Michael Harrison, contributes a monograph exploring the background of Dr. Lyndon Parker, and, in the course of so doing, explains the doctor’s semi-American English. And, finally, August Derleth has added an Afterword in which he sets forth the facts about the origins of Solar Pons, admitting that it was never his “intention to do any considerable number of pastiches” and relating the circumstances surrounding the continuing numbers of the tales, ending happily with, “I cannot promise to write no more of them.”The present collection brings the total number of the Pontine pastiches to 57 – one more than the total of the canonical short stories, of which a reviewer for The Louisville Journal-Courier wrote, “These tales recall, as nothing else has done, those delicious days and nights in Baker Street, days and nights that have vanished forever.”– From the original 1965 Mycroft & Moran edition dust jacket

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Short Stories, Detective, Collections

347 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1965

About the author

August William Derleth was an American writer and anthologist. Though best remembered as the first book publisher of the writings of H. P. Lovecraft, and for his own contributions to the Cthulhu Mythos and the Cosmic Horror genre, as well as his founding of the publisher Arkham House (which did much to bring supernatural fiction into print in hardcover in the US that had only been readily available in the UK), Derleth was a leading American regional writer of his day, as well as prolific in several other genres, including historical fiction, poetry, detective fiction, science fiction, and biography

A 1938 Guggenheim Fellow, Derleth considered his most serious work to be the ambitious Sac Prairie Saga, a series of fiction, historical fiction, poetry, and non-fiction naturalist works designed to memorialize life in the Wisconsin he knew. Derleth can also be considered a pioneering naturalist and conservationist in his writing

[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augus...]

Reviews

[S.A. Krishnan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting take on the Sherlock Holmes story.

It is a new spin off on Sherlock Holmes stories. The puzzles are new and presented perfectly in the collection of stories.
Solar Pons has his friend Dr. Parker and along with him, they solve the mysteries. The pacing of the stories were perfect and I enjoyed reference to Bancroft, Pons’ brother. The narration of the story also gave it an authentic feel of the Sherlock Holmes stories. Enjoyed it.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another pleasant volume of pastiches of Doyle that feature Pons and Parker, Derleth's homage to Holmes and Watson. The stories first appeared in issues of Alfred Hitchcock's and The Saint mystery magazines in the early 1960's. They're a trifle more Americanized than the originals, but I thought the overall tone and effect quite convincing. Readers who know Derleth only through Arkham and Lovecraft will be surprised, and fans of Doyle will be in for a treat. I was surprised to find a story not listed on the contents page, The Adventure of the Amateur Philologist, on page 210, and was quite pleased with myself for observing as well as seeing.

[Alex Budris · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the last collection of stories about everyone's second favorite detective to be released in author August Derleth's lifetime. My copy is signed by Derleth, inscribed to Dr. Félix Martí-Ibáñez, who was a world class physician, psychiatrist, publisher, author, and all around genius - He was the Dean of the History of Medicine at New York Medical College, to give you an idea of what caliber this guy was. I bet this book was once part of a mind blowing personal library. I can only hope it finds its new home here - currently between a signed (by the editors) four volume set of The Valancourt Book of Horror Stories and an old copy of London Mystery digest - even remotely as hospitable.

[Hugo Negron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being a fan of H.P. Lovecraft, I had of course read some of the Cthulhu Mythos books August Derleth had written compiled in such works as the Mask of Cthulhu and The Trail of Cthulhu. Derleth had his own intepretation of Lovecraft's myth cycles resulting in stories that far removed from Lovecraft's vision. This made me initially doubt how well he could write a pastiche of Sherlock Holmes.

I've read the classics of Doyle to other versions such as the Hyde/Dracula encounters written by Loren D Estleman, and probably the best take on the concept of Holmes vs. Jack the Ripper by Ellery Queen. How close, I wondered, would Derleth keep to Doyle's style?

Getting a copy of #4 The Casebook of Solar Pons, though skeptical at first, I was pleasantly surprised. Derleth got the mood and style right, and rather smartly kept away from the attempts other imitators of Doyle have tried and miserably failed at - detailing out the breakdown Holmes would use to identify the origins of his visitors/clients attire, education, background, etc.

The mysteries were well hidden, the interaction between Dr. Lyndon Parker and Solar Pons spot on, and the details to the London world they inhabit distinct and colorful.

I can honestly say Derleth found his stride with Solar, and I'm definitely curious to read more. But mystery upon mystery, this book held one of its own. The copy I have shows 11 stories/cases listed on the table of contents - but there were actually 12 included in the book! Missing in the table of contents was The Adventure of the Amateur Philologist, which was nestled between The Adventure of the Missing Huntsman and The Adventure of The Whispering Knights (one of my favorites in the book).

Publisher mistake...or something more? This might be a job for Solar Pons...

[Thaddeus Tuffentsamer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great collection of stories. Solar Pons is a worthy successor to Sherlock Holmes. The stories are well written and just as intriguing. Well worth your time reading.

[Dave Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great collection. Astounding how a non-native can write with such a knowledge of both the language and the locations of inter-war Southern England. The amount of research to get an accurate depiction of authentic -sounding character names and habits along with an uncanny knowledge of the London and the Southern English villages is incredible. Combined with little nods to Sherlock this is a delight to read.

[Richard Mellon · Rating 5 out of 5]

More good stories about Pons and Parker

These are all good solid stories with our heroes solving crimes when they are just trying for some vacation time and rest but crime takes no days off ...

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read all of the Arthur Conan Doyle short stories and novels and quite a few of the pastiches. My favorite example of the latter has long been "The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes," by Adrian Conan Doyle (Arthur's son) and John Dickson Carr. In my opinion, "The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes" rivals that collection. A few minor quibbles: in the world of these stories, Sherlock Holmes exists, though he doesn't appear and is long retired. Pons is so similar to Holmes that I found myself thinking of him as Sherlock. He (Pons) doesn't come alive as his own character. The misconception is furthered by the supporting characters Dr. Parker, who resembles Watson, and Inspector Jamison, who is similar to Lestrade. There is even a copy of Holmes's brother Mycroft, whose name is Bancroft. This can seem silly, but once I got used to the name changes, I enjoyed these stories. My other quibble is Dr. Parker seems underdeveloped compared to Dr. Watson, but as Derleth wrote 70 "Solar Pons" stories, compared to Arthur Conan Doyle's 56, perhaps Parker gets more to do in some of the others. The eleven stories in this collection are consistently good, if not overly original. Recommended for those who can't get enough of Sherlock Holmes and think the BBC "Sherlock" TV series has gone off the deep end.

[Jann Barber · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Bel Air Mystery Book Group celebrated Sherlock Holmes' birthday by reading something by Arthur Conan Doyle or a book by other authors dealing with Sherlock. I happened to have a book I bought at a library book sale, written by August Derleth. He approached Doyle and asked if he could take up the Sherlock stories after Doyle killed off the detective. Doyle politely declined Derleth's offer, so Derleth created his own detective. Solar Pons has Dr. Parker and a landlady named Mrs. Johnson. Solar's brother is named Bancroft. The stories are delightful puzzles and often have humor interjected, sometimes about Sherlock Holmes. I am glad I bought and kept this book, as I don't know if any volumes are available through the library.

[Jules Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

Collection of Sherlock Holmes pastiche short stories. Well-written and enjoyable, even if the Watson avatar shows more than a little USian influence in his language.

[Elaine de Jong · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent Sherlock Holmes pastiche. August Derleth is a master at his work.