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The Childhood of Sherlock Holmes
A butler who shared years of employment with the Holmes family draws a clear portrait of Sherlock as a child. Read about Sherlock’s precocious and unsettling older brother Mycroft. Revealed at last is the whole dysfunctional household that shaped the character of the great detective. We are enabled to interpret Holmes’ personality traits in a more sympathetic and lucid manner.
352 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 9, 2012
he wild and wonderful world of pastiches can be a very repetitive place. We've seen it countless times and are now quite familiar with the standard drill...relative discovers long lost unpublished manuscript of Dr. John Watson. Now the story can finally be told...blah, blah and most emphatically blah. Once again we end up wading through an author's off the mark attempt to give voice to dear old Watson, and once again we give up in despair when we discover that yet again we are facing an author who can't find their own voice, much less give voice to our old favorite...shaking our collective heads, we vow to stop reading these shallow imitations. Then, and only rarely so, we find the one that stands out as being different, charmingly written and best of all...interesting!
Mona Morstein's The Childhood of Sherlock Holmes: The Butler's Tale is one of those rarities (based on the difficulties I had procuring this book, I use the word "rarities" advisedly). Yes, there is a long lost manuscript...but surprise, it's not a Watson MS. As a matter of fact Watson is barely mentioned at all in this book, and Holmes? Well, he's been reported dead at Reichenbach. The manuscript is actually the work of one Josiah Cobbett, crime reporter for The Guardian. Cobbett has set himself the daunting and dangerous task of documenting the elusive childhood of the great detective. After reaching a dead end with both Watson and brother Mycroft, Cobbett gets his first break from Wiggins and heads north to the Yorkshire riding of Wensleydale. There he discovers a village bound to silence by a strange and curious pact. After some careful legwork in the local pubs he discovers old Percy Brewster, who was butler to the Holmeses of Hillcroft House, and he is ready to break the pact and tell his tale. At this point we leave Cobbett's quest and instead read the butler's story of those remarkable Holmes boys and their family history.
Mona Morstein has my admiration for actually stitching together a coherent and perfectly acceptable background for the Holmes family that embraces, without contradicting, the scant clues to be found in the Canon. She manages to present a fairly believable back-stories that seek to explain Holmes interest in crime, the violin and chemistry. An attempt, if not wholly convincing, is made to illuminate the formation of Holmes' later opinions of the fairer sex. We are also given a rather good look at brother Mycroft and the specifics of his relationship with his younger and more outgoing brother. Quite frankly I found the Mycroft elements far more intriguing than the story of young Sherlock. The family story is a tragic but gripping read that is told quite well and utilizes a solidly Victorian vocabulary without seeming too overdone or labored. Full marks are awarded on the readability scale!
The main difficulty I had with the book has to do with the remarkably early development of the Holmes boys. Yes, it is safe to assume that the boys were fast learners and exhibited amazing ability at an early age, but Morstein goes somewhat too far in this direction. There is almost a supernatural feel, particularly to Mycroft's early abilities that unfortunately just doesn't ring true. My only other problem has to do with the fully-grown Mycroft and his vast influence and power. While Mycroft has been called "the government" I do find it a bit much to see him exercise his powers for such personal reasons and in such a sinister fashion as presented in this book. Still, it is but a minor point and didn't destroy the tone of the novel.
In the end, I wasn't disappointed with The Childhood of Sherlock Holmes. Frankly it stands as the best pastiche I've read since The Siam Question and goes one step further for taking on the challenge of exploring what is essentially new ground. Now all I wonder is if/when we can expect Mona Morstein to give us her detailed version of what happened with the youthful Sherlock between the main narrative of the current book and his arrival on the scene in A Study in Scarlet? I, for one, would enjoy reading that story
Mona Morstein's The Childhood of Sherlock Holmes: The Butler's Tale is one of those rarities (based on the difficulties I had procuring this book, I use the word "rarities" advisedly). Yes, there is a long lost manuscript...but surprise, it's not a Watson MS. As a matter of fact Watson is barely mentioned at all in this book, and Holmes? Well, he's been reported dead at Reichenbach. The manuscript is actually the work of one Josiah Cobbett, crime reporter for The Guardian. Cobbett has set himself the daunting and dangerous task of documenting the elusive childhood of the great detective. After reaching a dead end with both Watson and brother Mycroft, Cobbett gets his first break from Wiggins and heads north to the Yorkshire riding of Wensleydale. There he discovers a village bound to silence by a strange and curious pact. After some careful legwork in the local pubs he discovers old Percy Brewster, who was butler to the Holmeses of Hillcroft House, and he is ready to break the pact and tell his tale. At this point we leave Cobbett's quest and instead read the butler's story of those remarkable Holmes boys and their family history.
Mona Morstein has my admiration for actually stitching together a coherent and perfectly acceptable background for the Holmes family that embraces, without contradicting, the scant clues to be found in the Canon. She manages to present a fairly believable back-stories that seek to explain Holmes interest in crime, the violin and chemistry. An attempt, if not wholly convincing, is made to illuminate the formation of Holmes' later opinions of the fairer sex. We are also given a rather good look at brother Mycroft and the specifics of his relationship with his younger and more outgoing brother. Quite frankly I found the Mycroft elements far more intriguing than the story of young Sherlock. The family story is a tragic but gripping read that is told quite well and utilizes a solidly Victorian vocabulary without seeming too overdone or labored. Full marks are awarded on the readability scale!
The main difficulty I had with the book has to do with the remarkably early development of the Holmes boys. Yes, it is safe to assume that the boys were fast learners and exhibited amazing ability at an early age, but Morstein goes somewhat too far in this direction. There is almost a supernatural feel, particularly to Mycroft's early abilities that unfortunately just doesn't ring true. My only other problem has to do with the fully-grown Mycroft and his vast influence and power. While Mycroft has been called "the government" I do find it a bit much to see him exercise his powers for such personal reasons and in such a sinister fashion as presented in this book. Still, it is but a minor point and didn't destroy the tone of the novel.
In the end, I wasn't disappointed with The Childhood of Sherlock Holmes. Frankly it stands as the best pastiche I've read since The Siam Question and goes one step further for taking on the challenge of exploring what is essentially new ground. Now all I wonder is if/when we can expect Mona Morstein to give us her detailed version of what happened with the youthful Sherlock between the main narrative of the current book and his arrival on the scene in A Study in Scarlet? I, for one, would enjoy reading that story
August 30, 2012
Ok, so, given that Conan Doyle is dead, this is the closest I'll ever have to Sherlock's childhood, so that gives it a lot of points.
Yes, the characterization is a little weird. Sherlock and Mycroft are way too "intelligent" for being 3 years old, so I thought that was an exageration. Their abilities as youngsters are uncommon, but once they grow the story is just amazing. It's really easy to picture them like Morstein describes them to be, and in this book, I couldn't help but sympathize with Sherlock.
Goes to my top ten. But, maybe only Sherlock fans should read this book, it's really not for everybody. There's a lot of thing the author assumes you already know from the original stories.
Yes, the characterization is a little weird. Sherlock and Mycroft are way too "intelligent" for being 3 years old, so I thought that was an exageration. Their abilities as youngsters are uncommon, but once they grow the story is just amazing. It's really easy to picture them like Morstein describes them to be, and in this book, I couldn't help but sympathize with Sherlock.
Goes to my top ten. But, maybe only Sherlock fans should read this book, it's really not for everybody. There's a lot of thing the author assumes you already know from the original stories.
June 20, 2019
3.5 stars. I ended up skimming halfway through because it was taking me so long to get through it. The anecdotes were good but very detailed and a little repetitive - that both boys were geniuses I got the first few mentions :). One random f-bomb that probably fit the character but otherwise clean. A good, tragic read!
March 12, 2023
The never-before-known secrets about the childhood of Sherlock Holmes, as told by the family butler.
We start the book with a middle-aged journalist looking to discover Holmes’ history in the wake of the detective’s ‘death’. He follows clues he can glean from Dr. Watson’s stories and one of the Baker Street Irregulars. His path brings him to an elderly butler who served the Holmes family until tragedy strikes.
Every time I read this book, I enjoy it. Are parts of it a bit fantastical? Yes, but I still enjoy it. The very strangeness of it somehow seems to fit with the Holmes’ canon.
I can understand why some fans of Sherlock Holmes wouldn’t enjoy this one, but I have a soft spot for this one.
We start the book with a middle-aged journalist looking to discover Holmes’ history in the wake of the detective’s ‘death’. He follows clues he can glean from Dr. Watson’s stories and one of the Baker Street Irregulars. His path brings him to an elderly butler who served the Holmes family until tragedy strikes.
Every time I read this book, I enjoy it. Are parts of it a bit fantastical? Yes, but I still enjoy it. The very strangeness of it somehow seems to fit with the Holmes’ canon.
I can understand why some fans of Sherlock Holmes wouldn’t enjoy this one, but I have a soft spot for this one.
October 23, 2016
Unexpectedly, this book broke my heart. And then broke it again. And again and again. If I had known it would be this sad, I don't think I would have read it.
However, it was well-written and I could envision the Holmes household all too well. It's a good read, and it's worth it. I don't think I'll ever forget it.
However, it was well-written and I could envision the Holmes household all too well. It's a good read, and it's worth it. I don't think I'll ever forget it.
January 30, 2012
It was okay. Interesting ideas. A bit melodramatic. Now I'm reading Sherlock Holmes of Baker Street, which is SO MUCH BETTER. Don't bother with this one, just read that one. Unless you REALLY can't get enough SH, and you don't mind drama.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews