(Not sure if this is the right place to post this…)

I’ve just finished reading Mycroft’s Testimony by Sophie Bellocq-Poulonis. It’s in French and I don’t think it’s ever been translated. I really enjoyed this reading so I wanted to share my impressions with you, well, that is, if anyone’s interested 

It is a small book, the story itself is about 60 pages long and there is a psychopathological study of SH at the end of the book. I don’t claim having read a lot of SH related books (I mean, other than ACD’s work, obviously) so maybe that’s there’s nothing new in this book for those who have read a lot of books about our favourite detective. Still, I really enjoyed the reading. Note that the book was published in 2009 so before Sherlock arrived on BBC.

The story starts with the (fictional, obviously !) great-great-grand daughter of John Watson (John’s son was called William Scott Watson, something that should please the Johnlockers, hehe) telling us she has inherited texts of exclusive adventures of SH & JW and a text written by Mycroft Holmes in 1930, not long before his death. This is this text which is delivered to us here. Therefore, the story is written in the first person and from Mycroft’s POV.

Mycroft explains that Sherlock had a twin called Arthur and who the Holmes family called Arty. Arty was evil, and he was really bad to Sherlock. Sherlock was literally his punchbag.

When the twins were about 7 year old, Arty was found dead, floating in the house’s pond. Mycroft found Sherlock in tears, a few hours later, huddled up in the outhouse, terrified, swinging back and forth, repeating « Mori Arty » (mori, -ior, -eris, moriuus sum… here it could simply mean « Arty is dead »)

Although Sherlock claimed it was an accident, his mother was convinced he had killed Arty and from that moment, despised him. He lost his mother’s love. He went to the South of France where he lived a couple of years with the parents while Mycroft was making a name for himself in the British Government. When they came back, nothing had changed. Sherlock and his mother’s relationship was still as tense.

Then Mycroft explains Sherlock was brilliant at University, and told the story of his meeting with John Watson through Mike Stamford, though explaining he had himself studied several profiles (including John’s) to find a good flatmate for Sherlock, someone he could trust and who would allow him to indirectly keep an eye on his brother (who had turned to drugs and all when their parents both died the same day earlier in the story: Mycroft refuses to say what has happened)

Mycroft explains John clearly exceeded his expectations and that Sherlock felt better and better with him around. Learning to be « someone » (and not the shadow of his late twin) and slowly overcoming his traumatism.

But then John got married to Mary and Sherlock was devastated. He became really addicted to cocaine, fell into a deep depression for which John was both the responsible and the perfect antidote as Sherlock was only feeling better when John visited him at Baker Street or followed him in another adventure.

At the same time, London was the theater of horrible crimes committed by the man people called « Jack the Ripper ».

Mycroft was more and more worried for his little brother who fell deeper and deeper into darkness. He talked to Professor Gull, the personal doctor of the Royal Family, who decided to help him. Gull asked a lot of questions about Sherlock, tried to understand his traumatism better etc.

On his deathbed, that doctor called Mycroft and said he had two revelations to make. The first one concerned the royal family (Mycroft had to make one of its members « disappear » because he had syphilis and that it would have darkened the reputation of the family) and the other concerned Sherlock. Dr Gull had no proof but he was convinced Sherlock and Jack the Ripper were the same person a bit like Dr Jeckyll and Mr Hyde (that book was published a year or so prior to the events). That Sherlock had been so badly treated by his twin that he had kept a lot of violence inside him, and that he killed prostitutes because John had abandoned him for a woman and that it was a way to get revenge.

Mycroft then realised Sherlock had made up the character of Moriarty (« Mori… Arty… », remember ?) because he wanted to have a decent enemy, and because he had hallucinations. But if he wanted Sherlock to get rid of Moriarty (in his mind, that is), he had to « make him real », so he hired an actor to play the part of Moriarty and elaborated a complex stratagem which ended up to be… the Reichenbach Falls scene !

Of course, Watson had to believe Sherlock was really dead so that he could tell the whole world about it and convince everyone as he was convinced himself.

Mycroft then sent Sherlock three years into a mental institution, and he only came back after the death of Mary Morstan.

Mycroft finally tells that he never dared to talk about Jack the ripper to Sherlock and that Sherlock took the secret to his grave…

Well, this is a very quick and lame summary but you get the idea !

It was very well-written and interesting to read about Mycroft’s deep concern about his brother.
 

Last edited by Punch me in the face (September 6, 2014 2:01 am)