I love these books so much. If you have never read them before here is a brief description of what they’re all about.
Mary Russell, is a teenage orphan who meets the retired Sherlock Holmes in Sussex, during the First World War. Holmes makes her his apprentice and they investigate and solve cases. As the years pass and Mary grows up, the pair realise they are falling in love and eventually marry.
As a massive Sherlock Holmes fan, I was initially sceptical when I read that Holmes marries in these stories. Holmes had no time for romance and I was left wondering how on earth this would be made believable. I needn’t have worried though, for believable it is.
The books are very detailed and have interesting plots; as much as I enjoy the stories I confess to mainly reading for the scenes between Holmes and Mary, I love their slow build relationship and how due to his feelings for her, we (occasionally)get a glimpse of the emotional and vulnerable side of the great detective.
This series and the relationship between Mary and Holmes serves as the ultimate fan fiction for those of us who would have loved to have been a friend to Holmes, share his adventures, and have our lives be that bit more interesting due to his presence in it.
I have long thought this would make a perfect miniseries. I would cast Patrick Malahide as Holmes. I always picture Carey Mulligan as Mary when I read the books, but I think she is a bit too old now for the role.
I have always wanted Malahide to play Holmes, he has the look and I think he would be fantastic in the role. I was first struck by his Holmes similarity in his series The Alleyn Mysteries (1990-1994)and I have been hoping ever since that he would don that famous deerstalker. Please, someone out there make this happen!
Any other fans of these novels here? Do you want it to receive the miniseries treatment? If so, who would you cast as Holmes and Russell? What are your favourite novels from this series?
I love A Monstrous Regiment Of Women, The Beekeepers Apprentice and Locked Rooms the most.
I’m pretty chuffed that I have recently made a work friend a fan of these stories, she tells me she is now hooked.
