BBC Sherlock Fan Forum - Serving Sherlockians since February 2012 » My grandmother's maiden name was Watson...

HughAshton · September 19, 2012 8:45 am

...which is probably why I am writing Sherlock Holmes pastiches from the exotic location of Kamakura, a little south of Tokyo. There are now eleven tales - some novella length, and some short stories - and a full-length Holmes novel. I am a great lover of the BBC Sherlock series, and I think that Martin Freeman's Watson has helped me flesh out Conan Doyle's rather placid character.

I've had enormous fun writing my Tales from the Deed Box - I have tried to keep them as authentic as possible, at the same time as making them detective puzzles in their own right. One other nice thing is that Holmes and Watson have come more alive in my stories than I ever thought they would, and this is at least partly due to the Sherlock series striking sparks in my imagination.

If any of you have read any of my stories, I will be delighted to hear your reactions to them, and answer any questions you may have about them.

SusiGo · September 19, 2012 9:25 am

Can there be a better reason to become a Sherlockian? Welcome to the forum, Hugh, you've put Japan on our map. I'll get your book for my Kindle, this sounds really good.

Davina · September 19, 2012 2:18 pm

Hello and welcome to the forum Hugh. Hope you have lots of fun here. Japan is a country I have always hoped to visit someday.

Harriet · September 19, 2012 2:38 pm

Enjoy being here with us, welcome!

sherlockskitty · September 19, 2012 5:37 pm

welcome to you from the local kitty-- I am in the USA and I'm pleased to meet a writer from Japan.

veecee · September 19, 2012 5:53 pm

Welcome, Hugh!

NW16XE · September 20, 2012 12:20 pm

Welcome, Hugh! I will look for your stories on Amazon. Hope you find the forum fun and inspiring!

Last edited by NW16XE (September 20, 2012 12:22 pm)

HughAshton · September 20, 2012 11:14 pm

Hey, NW16XE - just noticed your signature. Roger Scruton was my Director of Studies at Cambridge for my first year. That dates me!

NW16XE · September 20, 2012 11:48 pm

Good lord, that must have been amazing! I am impressed, and a bit jealous. As a Cambridge man and a Sherlockian, I think you are exactly the person to answer a question I have: assuming Sherlock Holmes also attended Cambridge, which college would he have been at? (I sort of think Magdelene, only because they held out on admitting women for so long which sounds like his sort of place, but I really know nothing about the University at all.)

HughAshton · September 20, 2012 11:59 pm

Well, when Sherlock attended University, very few colleges were co-educational. It's most unlikely that he was at Cambridge, I think. As Baring-Gould has pointed out, in MISS (Missing Three-Quarter), the villages that Holmes travels through when he is following the doctor are in no logical order. I feel he would have known the geography of Histon, Trumpington, Madingley, etc. much better had he been at Cambridge.

However, assuming that Cambridge was his University, I would imagine Sidney Sussex would have suited him well. Jesus is another possibility. I feel none of the "central" colleges (King's, Queens', Corpus, Trinity, John's, Caius) would be his style. I don't think he was a Christ's man (my college), but I cannot tell you why. For no good reason, my money is on Merton, Oxford.

NW16XE · September 21, 2012 12:25 am

Good point about the geography, that is hard to get around. I assumed Cambridge because (as our Sherlock pointed out on another thread) it is known for its contributions to science. Also, someone on another forum remarked that Cambridge has more tolerance for eccentrics than Oxford, but that might have been taking the mick ( and me taking it seriously .

Last edited by NW16XE (September 21, 2012 1:22 am)

HughAshton · September 21, 2012 12:54 am

Mycroft, I feel, was a Trinity (Cambridge) man, but I don't think his younger brother would have felt comfortable under his shadow. An intriguing possibility of course, is that Sherlock attended Trinity College, Dublin. Though Holmes was no team sports player, I think a little attachment to his alma mater would have at least made him aware of the 'Varsity match in MISS, and also there might have been some mention in MISS or 3STU (Three Students) of his previous existence in the university there. 3STU doesn't mention either Oxford or Cambridge, of course.

Last edited by HughAshton (September 21, 2012 1:21 am)

NW16XE · September 21, 2012 1:22 am

I don't know about the Varsity match argument, I can see Sherlock being absolutely unaware of sport (outside of useful ones, like boxing and martial arts); I think to him that might be the sort of thing that falls into the catagory of intellectual tat, like the earth going round the sun. However, the not caring to be in Mycroft's shadow at Uni seems very much right. Between that and his lack of knowledge about the surrounding geography, you may have me convinced.

veecee · September 21, 2012 2:47 am

Are you talking about our 21st century Sherlock or the original Sherlock Holmes? I ask because of the remark about very few colleges being co-ed. Our Sherlock would have been attending in what -- the 90's? Were the colleges still exclusively male then?

HughAshton · September 21, 2012 2:50 am

We're talking about the canonical Sherlock. I think there were no co-ed colleges at Oxford or Cambridge in the early 1880s, which is when I assume he attended.

veecee · September 21, 2012 8:22 pm

OK. That makes more sense. Thanks.

ImaSherlockGirl · September 25, 2012 6:28 am

Hello, and welcome, Hugh! Nice to meet you!

SusiGo · September 25, 2012 6:43 am

Hugh, I read your stories and was very impressed with how good you manage to capture ACD's voice and the whole atmosphere. Very well done. I'd like to read more of this. The cormorant story was my favourite.

HughAshton · September 25, 2012 6:51 am

SusiGo - many thanks for the kind words. There are three volumes of short stories/novellas out there now (paperback and Kindle) and one novel (paperback and Kindle). More information on these at http://221BeanBakerStreet.info - also a Kindle-only novella - the Case of the Trepoff Murder.

Sherlock Holmes · September 25, 2012 7:51 pm

Ohmygod, yes...I've been on your website, and actually posted a link to it in this forum a few weeks ago (I think it was in the Sherlock Poems & Stories section). Really really love your stuff. You write so well in the style of Watson's literary agent, you do a really good job!

Thanks for joining the forum, hope you can have fun here...