A rose by any other name…
17 Jul
There’s been a LOT of excitement about my new writing project, which I feel I must thank you all for. I’m really loving writing this book and can’t wait until you can all read it, which will hopefully be later this year if all goes well.
I’ve read and re-read Conan-Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes books dozens of times since I was a very little girl but it would never have occurred to me to add anything to the vast amounts of speculative fiction about him until I had a conversation with my friend Del a while ago about whether his mother was likely to have been a ‘badass’ or a meek Victorian Miss. We both concluded that Mrs Holmes must have been at least a bit of a badass to have produced Mycroft and Sherlock.
It was at this point that I started thinking about writing about her and as I’ve also always wanted to write some sort of whodunnit, I naturally decided to combine the two. I also fancied trying my hand at steampunk but I’m not so sure about that now although I’ve been having fun researching early nineteenth century weaponry.
It’s not all been plain sailing though – I am sticking closely to Conan Doyle’s canon and it’s possible to work out birth years for both Sherlock and his elder brother, Mycroft (and there may even have been other Holmes siblings, which I am currently undecided about) from the later books, which means that I have a rough time scale to work within as well, thus the 1840s setting when actually I would have preferred to set the books later on in the 1870s.
I also had to think of a name for my heroine. I’m well aware of Baring-Gould’s speculative fiction from the 1960s when he decided that Mrs Holmes was called Violet Sherrinford but decided not to adopt this name for my own take on Sherlock Holmes’ mother for three reasons. Firstly, although I am working to Conan Doyle’s canon, I didn’t feel comfortable basing a character on more recent fiction; secondly, I don’t like the name Violet Sherrinford and thirdly, as Conan Doyle himself didn’t mention the name of Sherlock Holmes’ mother then I wanted to use that as a relatively blank slate and put my own spin on her.
At the moment, the heroine of my book is called Corisande ‘Cora’ Sherlock. I opted for Corisande as Conan Doyle DOES reveal that Sherlock’s mother was at least half French and the niece of the artist Horace Vernet and so a French name, shortened to a typically English diminutive suited that very well. I don’t actually like the surname ‘Sherlock’ very much but it was very common in Victorian England for younger sons to be given their mother’s maiden name as a first name (my own sons have half of my maiden surname as middle names as that is traditional in Scotland where I was born) and I also wanted to link her with her son even if he never actually makes an appearance, even as an infant, in the books.
Ignoring the fact that this is actually a portrait of an unfortunate Russian Grand Duchess and those donkey riding unfriendly skirts, this is how I imagine my heroine to look.
In the meantime, however, I’m going to crack on and write the bloody thing! I’m having fun right now juggling 1840s ladies fashion and the riding of donkeys. Luckily, however, this isn’t as unsurmountable as the problem Philippa Gregory faced (and notably ignored) when she had her legless anti-hero in Wideacre swinging on and off his very big horse, apparently without assistance.
"You'd find it easier to be bad than good if you had red hair," said Anne reproachfully. "People who haven't red hair don't know what trouble is." - Anne of Green Gables.
I’m really looking forward to this: it sounds like such a fun idea! Given that there is no mention of Sherlock’s mother’s name in Conan Doyle, I think you should stick to your guns and use whichever name you want for her (and what best suits the character you are describing).
Thanks so much! I feel really lucky right now as there is so much interest and good will about this project – the launch is going to be brilliant and a lot of fun! :)
I hope that people involved in fandom don’t think that my using a different name implies that I think they are wrong. I just think that when the original author didn’t mention it, that means we can all be creative as we like and that no one is right or wrong. It’s only meant to be fun after all. :)
Exactly!
How interesting! And good for you. I would probably be a bit daunted by all of the raging fans. I used to read the Laurie R. King series featuring Mary Russell Sherlock, which I really liked. She got a lot of fist shaking reviews for daring to turn Sherlock Holmes into a semi-romantic hero. And yet she has been hugely successful so don’t let anyone shout you down. Good luck!
It’s not nice to be told that you’re likely to become flame bait when your book is published but at the same time I’m not going to be bullied into changing my heroine’s name! I don’t anything bad will happen anyway – I don’t imagine anyone would really complain that I’m doing anything wrong when I’m basically just ignoring anything that isn’t Conan Doyle’s own original work. That would be illogical, surely? :)
Is that the series where Holmes gets married? Well, if she married off their hero and lived to tell the tale then I’m sure I’ll be just fine! :)
Hmm perhaps the surname would be a french one anglicized for her son? The napoleonic wars were still relatively recent in the 1840′s something like Cherloc or Chere- Loque I have a thing about french ladies disposessed to englad during wartime as thats how my grandmother ended up in england in 1943.
I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to be negative. I was hoping to encourage you to keep up the good work and to not let the flamers influence you. Which is doesn’t sound like they are. I like the name, personally, and I think your reasoning is perfectly sound. :-)
And yup, that is the series. I thought it was quite good, personally. One of my favorite quotes comes from the second book where Mary realizes that she is in love with Sherlock.
A Sherlock Holmes continuation? Great!! Not that you’re asking for opinions, but, here goes: how about Sherlock Holmes having a sister that was adopted by the family that takes a special role in life?
As I recall, Holmes despised women and thought they were stupid. Kind of strange if his Mom was a globetrotting heroine? But perhaps he resented her interest in things other than himself, or perhaps, like the Scarlet Pimpernel, she concealed her adventuring behind the image of a Society Twit? I look forward to your book.
I’ve never got the impression that he despised women, just that he didn’t get how um some of the ones that he encountered were driven by their hearts rather than their heads. In the stories, he expresses admiration for several women and concern for rather more.
He won’t actually appear in my books, but I know plenty of guys who grew up with strong, highly intelligent and intrepid mothers who get impatient with women who don’t live up to this benchmark.
The book sounds brilliant, I love the idea and can’t wait to read it! I love that the heroine is Sherlock Holmes’ mother :)
Thanks so much! :)
How fascinating Melanie! Holmes had to get his deductive skills from someone and why not his Mum? Have you ever seen the movie or read the book The 7% Solution where Holmes takes a turn on Freud’s couch? Apparently, in this version, Sherlock saw his mother havin sex with Moriarty.
Thank you! I haven’t seen that one, alas but oh dear! I don’t think that will be happening in my books! ;)
What an exciting project! I look forward to reading it. But I have to ask….what on earth is wrong with dog in that portrait?!? He looks like he’s about to attack the Grand Duchess!
It’s weird, isn’t it? It looks like it’s either going to attack or it is terrified of her!
I am a huge Sherlock Holmes fan. This sounds ACE.
This sounds wonderful! And yes, you’re right: Holmes did express admiration for more intrepid women, including Irene Adler and Violet Hunter from “The Copper Beeches.” And I also think Watson’s friend’s fiancee in “The Naval Treaty” because she assisted with the investigation, but in a limited way.