#Laurie R King

[velveteencryptid]

Okay, bear with me

Laurie R King, author of a looooong and ongoing series of books inspired by Sherlock Holmes, once said that she had to convince the Doyle estate that her books were not going to be bodice-rippers (my words not hers). They were very concerned about the reputation and vibes of Sherlock and wanted to ensure she would honor ACD and the original Sherlock appropriately (she does imo).

Now, let's talk about the TV show Elementary, specifically the pilot. It immediately sets the stage that Holmes and Watson - who is a woman this time - are meeting for the first time. With Watson being a woman, you could easily see people assuming this show is going to be about them falling in love. Most shows with a male + female leads do, after all.

Then, the first thing Sherlock Holmes says to Joan Watson is a couple sentences about being in love/love at first sight: "Do you believe in love at first sight? I know what you're thinking: the world is a cynical place, and I must be a cynical man, thinking a woman like you would fall for a line like that. Thing is, it isn't a line, so, please... hear me when I say this. I have never loved anyone as I do you right now, in this moment."

And Joan is shocked and confused. Understandably!

Then Sherlock hits play on the remote in his hand, and the TV starts playing right as a character says the EXACT speech he just gave. He gives a "nailed it" and finally introduces himself like normal.

It's funny AND sets a tone for his eccentricities, but I don't think that's why they did it. I think that scene went exactly like that to announce right out of the gate that this would not be a love story, there would be no sexual tension, Watson being female changes NOTHING.

And it didn't. And it was perfect. Not usually wholesome or beautiful, but perfect.

I don't really have a point here, just had to connect those two points after re-watching the pilot last night

[runilareads]

Mary Russell - Florence Pugh Sherlock Holmes - Paul McGann Dr. John Watson - Bradley Walsh Mycroft Holmes - Joe McGann Mrs. Hudson - Phoebe Nicholls Inspector Lestrade - Ed Speleers Patricia Donleavy - Tuppence Middleton

[genderfluidbf]

ok maybe i just have rose tinted glasses bc mary russell was recommended to me by a very beloved teacher, and i read it in the middle of my "i want to be and/or marry sherlock holmes" phase but like. the age gap doesnt bother me? it weirded me out when i heard abt it but i think laurie r king does a really good job of like, kind of bringing it abt in a way that doesnt seem creepy? like from what i remember, perhaps the timing is a bit abrupt but its mary who i think initiates and holmes is fighting it and honestly their relationship is so far from a typical romance story romance that its not creepy? like first and foremost i would say they are partners and friends and that love just kinda grew stronger until they decided they wanted to kiss about it???? idk maybe im crazy, can anyone who has read the series pls jump in bc i *need* to talk abt this to someone

[sparklywaistcoat]

A very merry Unbirthday to me!

[inamemyselficarus]

All Sherlock Holmes-es are good Sherlock Holmes-es, but I must confess that I've flown through the first 5 books of Laurie R. King's Russell and Holmes Series and I think I'm more than half in love with this one specifically.

[azazel-dreams]

Mary Russell's War by Laurie R King

Rating: ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

The Mary Russell series in reading order:

The Beekeeper’s Apprentice 

A Monstrous Regiment of Women

A Letter of Mary

The Moor 

O Jerusalem 

Justice Hall 

The Game 

Locked Rooms 

The Language of Bees 

The God of the Hive 

Beekeeping for Beginners (novella)

Mrs Hudson’s Case (novella)

Pirate King 

Garment of Shadows 

Dreaming Spies 

Mary Russell's War (short stories)

The Marriage of Mary Russell (novella)

The Murder of Mary Russell

Island of the Mad 

Riviera Gold 

Castle Shade 

[scientistofdeduction]

I respect Sherlockians who Play the Game (live as though Sherlock Holmes and John Watson were real and treat the canon as true stories), and admire the commitment of those who hold to that no matter what. It’s a fun and very unique experience across all fandoms that I don’t see anywhere else.

But I did see a post about the Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes series by Laurie R King (which is good fun though not without some stuff that does deserve questioning). In that thread, one of the comments was from David Marcum, who does the MX Publishing’s massive collections of Holmes stories and who is one of the more serious who Play the Game. He linked a post where he talked about how he rationalizes the series with The Game—specifically how can one rationalize a Holmes who is in retirement marrying a young woman in her twenties.

You can read it here

Basically what I find interesting is that Marcum firstly adheres to Holmes’ supposed age in the Game, making him in his very late 60s in most of the Russell years, instead of his early 50s as suits the story (Holmes remarks to Russell that he was often assumed to be older due to Watson’s stories). A woman in her 20s with a man in her 50s will still raise eyebrows, especially as he met her as a teenager, and yet that’s not the same gap as 70 and 20. Likewise Russell has gone through a lot of life experience by the time any romantic moves are made; her and Holmes are on fairly even footing by then. (Do I still approve of the age gap? No, but then again maybe that’s just my personal preference.

But my bigger qualm with Marcum’s rationalizing the Russell thrillers within The Game is how he rationalizes it all. Russell is a woman who is sick in the head after her family’s death, becomes obsessive over Holmes (fairly directly in opposite to the text where she doesn’t care if he’s a neighbor or a myth, and berates him to his face for assuming her intelligence—point in her favor, I might add), and further descends into madness creating a romance between them in her mind, a life well lived with family.

Here’s hoping I’m not the only one who is a little disturbed by this—yes, the way to rationalize an intelligent woman holding her own with Holmes intellectually, romantically, and as a crime solver, is that she’s insane and disturbed and creepy. Yuck.

He notes that he’s on board with Holmes having romance with Irene Adler, which is fairly bonkers to me. I can read stories where they’ve had a romance, in fact, if memory serves, the two had something brief pre-Russell era in that canon. But I do not like the idea that Holmes cannot be romantic with a “fan made” character. An argument can be made that many Dan made characters are Mary Sues, or John Does, for Watson, as many find the good Doctor difficult to write (and I agree, he is, but that doesn’t always warrant a stand in when Watson would’ve suited the same character actions). But it’s strange that when the newcomer is a woman, she’s hated or interrogated so thoroughly, especially when Mary Russell is so strong a presence and definitely holds her own as a unique character and not just a stand in (even if Watson is a bit dim in her stories compared to canon, we can forgive that because he is so loved by everyone in the Russell texts).

Instead, if I were playing The Game, i would submit this (and I plan on writing a fic to challenge Marcum’s own little story):

Russell is the neighbor of semi-retired Holmes and their meeting is unchanged, he begins to tutor her and saves her in his own way, and she him. The events of Beekeepers and O Jerusalem take place fairly close to recorded, save a few alterations.

Holmes in retirement is living with Watson, as a romantic partnership. Russell discovers this early and although taken aback at first, comes around to it quickly. She creates the stories as fabrications to hide their romance, and with permission from H&W, creates the romantic relationship on paper between her and Holmes to disguise what would’ve been illegal and perhaps reputation ruining for the pair.

The three remain their own sort of family and the series progresses as published to continue that fabrication of the truth.

No mentally disturbed Russell, but a Russell who’s still strong and sane and perhaps at times cleverer than Holmes. No creepy stalker behavior by a girl, but the same in canon amazing woman we get to see grow up. Same partnership, just no romance.

I wonder if this solution wouldn’t occur to a canon purist who plays the game— a purist up until the point where they play a game of rationalizing a non-canonical work to fit their version of Holmes. Not saying that to be scathing, just if one is to entertain the possibility of modern pastiche fitting into The Game, it would be fun to be a little more creative.

I wonder if queer H&W doesn’t slot into their version of the game, and so a clever woman protecting that deep love wouldn’t either. But it seems a far better solution to approach the Russell texts under The Game than Marcum’s rationalization. Again, I’d want for some more creativity than his version.

But then, My Holmes, when I finally write him, is queer, and I enjoyed the Russell series, so it wasn’t a difficult solution.

[02subaruoutback]

i love laurie r king for the kate martinelli books but i’ll never forgive her for making sherlock holmes not only straight but a straight up pedophile

[ravens-cove]

[mabhsavage]

Currently reading the Mary Russell stories, reasonably non-sexist Holmes since the 1990s. (Mind you he has his moments!)

Happy “Sherlock Holmes Can Legally Be Nice To Women,” day to all those who celebrate.

[bookwyrmshoard]

The Lantern’s Dance, by Laurie R. King

A dizzying, delightful kaleidoscope of a novel

I was very excited to read The Lantern’s Dance, the first new Mary Russell & Sherlock Holmes mystery since 2021’s Castle Shade. Once started, I could hardly put it down, staying up until 2:30 in the morning to reach the denouement. Like The Murder of Mary Russell, the novel alternates between past and present narratives, slowly revealing hidden connections that surprised and enchanted me.

Readers familiar with the Sherlock Holmes canon may recall that in “The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter,” Holmes divulges that his grandmother was “the sister of Vernet, the French artist”—probably Horace Vernert (though the Vernet family produced a number of artists through the generations.) From this single quotation and a few other tidbits about Holmes’s origins, Laurie R. King has woven an adventure involving an antique zoetrope, a coded journal, family secrets, missing jewels, and a thirst for revenge several generations in the making. Told from three points of view (Mary Russell, Holmes, and the journal’s author), The Lantern’s Dance is a dizzying, delightful kaleidoscope of a novel, where each new revelation paints the known facts in a different light.

The book begins with Russell and Holmes arriving at Holmes’s son Damian’s home in France, only to discover that the Adlers (Damian, his fiancée Dr. Aileen Hemmings, and his young daughter Estelle) have fled. On questioning the neighbors, Holmes and Mary learn that several foreign men, possibly Indians, have been seeking Damian for several weeks—around the same time that he received a trio of crates and a trunk once belonging to the artist Vernet. A break-in the previous night by a man dressed as a lascar (an Indian sailor) has sent the Adler family into hiding. Holmes immediately sets out to find and protect them, while Russell, hobbled by a sprained ankle, remains at the Adler home to explore the crates and see what can be learned locally. Discovering an old journal written in an obscure and fiendishly difficult code, she sets about decoding it. As she reads, Mary begins to suspect the journal is connected not only to the Vernet family, but to the present-day mystery and perhaps even to Holmes himself.

If I have any small quibble about the book, it’s that I would have liked to see more of the present-day Adlers, particularly the child. The short glimpses of her are as charming as her appearances in The God of the Hive, but far too few. I also would have enjoyed more interactions between Damian and Aileen, and between Damian and his father… though their few interchanges are handled well, and I appreciate the hints of growth in their relationship with one another. Still, this is first and foremost a Mary Russell novel; while we do spend time with Holmes, the focus leans toward both Mary and the journal.

The chapters rotate between the three points of view, with the journal chapters often followed by Mary’s thoughts on what she has translated thus far, and her own attempts to find out more about the men seeking Damian. This sometimes makes for slightly uneven pacing, but on the whole, King build the tension well. My only other quibble is that in one of the plotlines, the danger is overcome a little too easily and the tension fizzles out. But this is not, strictly speaking, a murder mystery; it’s more a series of puzzles both past and present, and the reader has all the fun of figuring out not only the solutions (who are the men seeking Damian, and why? Who is the mysterious journal writer?) but also how they may be connected. I did in fact manage to solve the majority of the interlocking puzzles myself, but I missed a few crucial pieces here and there, and therefore I thoroughly enjoyed the final denouement.

I recommend The Lantern’s Dance to all of Mary Russell’s many fans—you won’t be disappointed! But if you’ve never met Russell or Laurie King’s iteration of Holmes before, you should really start with the first book in the series, The Beekeeper’s Apprentice, and follow that up with (at a minimum) the short story “The Marriage of Mary Russell” and the two-part mystery contained in The Language of Bees and The God of the Hive; the last two give necessary background on Damian, Estelle (also known as Stella), and Aileen. But honestly, I urge you to read the entire series in order; it’s one of my favorite mystery series of all time, and the order actually does matter.

Challenges: NetGalley & Edelweiss Challenge 2024; COYER Unwind (2024), Chapter 1; COYER Readathon (Read a book from a friend’s list)

Review originally published on my blog, The Bookwyrm's Hoard.

FTC disclosure: I received a review copy from the publisher.  All opinions are entirely my own.

[runilareads]

Book Review: The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King (Mary Russell & Sherlock Holmes, 1)

Title: The Beekeeper's Apprentice Author: Laurie R. King Series: Mary Russell & Sherlock Holmes, 1 Release Date: January 1994 Publisher: Bantam Rating: 4 stars

Favourite character: Sherlock Holmes Least favourite character: N/A (spoiler reasons)

Mini-Review: I enjoyed this, although I'd say it's definitely on the medium to slow side with pacing. The writing was beautiful and I loved the characters, but I did find certain parts to almost be reminiscent of grooming. Different times, but this was still written in the 90s so just be aware of that if you plan on reading it.

Fan Cast: Mary Russell - Florence Pugh Sherlock Holmes - Paul McGann Dr. John Watson - Bradley Walsh Mycroft Holmes - Joe McGann Mrs. Hudson - Phoebe Nicholls Inspector Lestrade - Ed Speleers Patricia Donleavy - Tuppence Middleton

[genderfluidbf]

the beekeeper's apprentice: mary russell book one

synopsis (via goodreads): Long retired, Sherlock Holmes quietly pursues his study of honeybee behavior on the Sussex Downs. He never imagines he would encounter anyone whose intellect matched his own, much less an audacious teenage girl with a penchant for detection. Miss Mary Russell becomes Holmes's pupil and quickly hones her talent for deduction, disguises and danger. But when an elusive villain enters the picture, their partnership is put to a real test.

rating before reread: ★★★★★

rating after reread: ★★★★

general thoughts: i have changed as a person since i last read this! i am no longer the pretentious middle schooler so deeply enamoured by holmes and russell's deductive skills. instead, i think, i favor the growth of their relationship and trust in one another.

laurie r king's writing style for this series is honestly immaculate. she has successfully infiltrated the mind of mary russell. its a period piece told from the perspective of a young woman, and shes managed to capture that spirit through her descriptions.

i take off a star however, for repeated rereads. its never going to compare to the first time i read it. its hard to say anything abt the cleverness, for me, when i already know whats gonna happen.

spoilers under the cut!!

firstly i suppose i gotta talk abt the relationship between holmes and russell. gotta say, i love it? but in later books the foundation we've laid here takes a bit of a sinister tinge. for now tho, i love it.

they save each other!!!!! its directly talked abt in the book but to paraphrase, russell saves holmes from dying of boredom, and holmes saves russell from becoming a worse version of her aunt.

they provide each other companionship and a whetstone to hone their minds against. say what u will, but sherlock holmes needs someone to go up against, who can be an equal to him and put him in his place if need be.

laurie r king describes their playact of a falling out in this way: "Holmes and I had only a few days to perfect our rôles of the two friends now turned against each other, the father and daughter alienated, the near-lovers become bitterest, most implacable of enemies"

if i am to criticize one thing in this book, it is their weird relationship. she is 15 when they meet, and he is like, definitely in his 60s. as a middle schooler i was quick to justify and defend my hero, sherlock holmes, but now i find it hard to not feel a little uneasy. i will say tho, the way laurie r king writes their relationship helps to assuage my concerns. it doesnt feel predatory.

anyways, onto mrs. hudson and dr. watson. some say watson is portrayed poorly here. i think it can go either way. those who want all of their characters to be smart and capable in all ways see watson diminished into a bumbling fool. i think tho that watson is aptly characterized, if we're basing it off of the original stories. he is fiercely loyal, an excellent doctor, and, quite frankly, incapable of pulling off some of the more delicate schemes needed to be on the level of sherlock holmes. yes, he is written to be a bit of a fool, but not i would think in a malicious way. he has a big heart, and many other wonderful qualities. he is not, however, capable of disguising himself and losing a tail.

mrs. hudson is a girlboss.

the daughter of moriarty being the villain is perhaps a bit trite? but perhaps thats also why its clever. u dont expect it. moriarty is dead, this is not connected to the original stories, and in the original stories i dont believe theres a mention of his family.

its late, and im getting tired, and i am quite certain no one will read this, so i will end my nonsensical babbling here.

[muatyland]

Recensione "La sposa di Sherlock Holmes: Una lettera di Maria Maddalena" Mary Russel e Sherlock Holmes Vol. 3 di Laure R. King

Agosto 1923. La quiete di casa Holmes, nel Sussex, viene turbata quando Dorothy Ruskin, un’archeologa di ritorno dalla Terra Santa, arriva portando una scatola finemente intarsiata con all’interno il frammento di un antico papiro. Di lì a poco, la signorina Ruskin muore in un incidente stradale che Holmes e Mary dimostrano essere in realtà un omicidio. Ma qual è il movente? È forse colpa del…

[azazel-dreams]

Castle Shade by Laurie R King

Rating: ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

The Mary Russell series in reading order:

The Beekeeper’s Apprentice 

A Monstrous Regiment of Women

A Letter of Mary

The Moor 

O Jerusalem 

Justice Hall 

The Game 

Locked Rooms 

The Language of Bees 

The God of the Hive 

Beekeeping for Beginners (novella)

Mrs Hudson’s Case (novella)

Pirate King 

Garment of Shadows 

Dreaming Spies 

Mary Russell's War (short stories)

The Marriage of Mary Russell (novella)

The Murder of Mary Russell 

Island of the Mad 

Riviera Gold 

Castle Shade 

[bangbangwhoa]

books I’ve read in 2024 📖 no. 029

The Lantern’s Dance by Laurie R. King

“Resentments, unsettled scores, and long-standing acrimony were one thing. What I had not anticipated was being met by the sound of a break-action shotgun snapping into place behind me.”