The West End Horror
Encyclopedia
The West End Horror: A Posthumous Memoir of John H. Watson, M.D. is a Sherlock Holmes
pastiche
novel
by Nicholas Meyer
, published in 1976. It takes place after Meyer's other two Holmes pastiches, The Seven-Per-Cent Solution
and The Canary Trainer
, though it was published in between the two.
The plot concerns a series of strange murders in London's Theater District at the end of the 19th Century. Contrary to what the press has sometimes asserted, The West End Horror has nothing to do with (though it arguably bears subtle references to) Jack the Ripper
or his crimes.
Although this novel does not feature a dramatic action climax (unlike Meyer's other two pastiches), the mystery's dénouement may well affect many more people than those of Meyer's other adventures. It also includes a first meeting between the great detective and Doctor Moore Agar, whose "dramatic introduction to Holmes" was one Watson, in the original Arthur Conan Doyle
story "The Adventure of the Devil's Foot
", wrote that he "may some day recount."
. It opens with a foreword by Meyer, who states that the manuscript was brought to his attention by a woman with some familial connection to Horace Vernet
, also an ancestor of Holmes. The woman had read The Seven-Per-Cent Solution
and thought Meyer might be interested. Although damaged by water, the manuscript proved authentic.
Dr. Watson explains in his own preface that he did not publish the story because of the number of well-known persons who would be affected - persons whose identity would be impossible to disguise. Holmes had for a long time refused Watson permission to write the story on these very grounds, but Watson eventually persuaded him by promising to place the manuscript in Holmes' hands, the only condition being that he not destroy it.
The story does, indeed, involve many well-known people, including George Bernard Shaw
, who hires Holmes to look into the death of an unpleasant theatre critic; Sir Arthur Sullivan, one of whose singers at the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
was another victim of the murderer; and others including W. S. Gilbert
, Oscar Wilde
, Bram Stoker
, Henry Irving
, Ellen Terry
and Frank Harris
.
It is to be noticed that the reader encounters a young policeman called Stanley Hopkins, who appears several times in Conan Doyle's stories although Nicolas Meyer does not say so. Furthermore, this first encounter is supposed to take place in 1895, whereas "Black Peter" by Conan Doyle, and where Stanley Hopkins is a major character, took place in late 1894.
It should also be noted that Meyers' novel mirrored certain fact in the life of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle himself. In the novel, Holmes managed to clear the name of a shy Parsee Indian wrongfully accused of murder; in real life Conan Doyle played a significant part in helping George Edalji
, a Parsee victim of injustice in the English court.
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
pastiche
Pastiche
A pastiche is a literary or other artistic genre or technique that is a "hodge-podge" or imitation. The word is also a linguistic term used to describe an early stage in the development of a pidgin language.-Hodge-podge:...
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by Nicholas Meyer
Nicholas Meyer
Nicholas Meyer is an American screenwriter, producer, director and novelist, known best for his best-selling novel The Seven-Per-Cent Solution, and for directing the films Time After Time, two of the Star Trek feature film series, and the 1983 television movie The Day After.Meyer graduated from...
, published in 1976. It takes place after Meyer's other two Holmes pastiches, The Seven-Per-Cent Solution
The Seven-Per-Cent Solution
The Seven-Per-Cent Solution: Being a Reprint from the Reminiscences of John H. Watson, M.D. is a 1974 novel by American writer Nicholas Meyer. It is written as a pastiche of a Sherlock Holmes adventure, and was made into a film of the same name in 1976....
and The Canary Trainer
The Canary Trainer
The Canary Trainer: From the Memoirs of John H. Watson is a 1993 Sherlock Holmes pastiche by Nicholas Meyer. Like The Seven Percent Solution and The West End Horror, The Canary Trainer was published as a "lost manuscript" of the late Dr. John H. Watson...
, though it was published in between the two.
The plot concerns a series of strange murders in London's Theater District at the end of the 19th Century. Contrary to what the press has sometimes asserted, The West End Horror has nothing to do with (though it arguably bears subtle references to) Jack the Ripper
Jack the Ripper
"Jack the Ripper" is the best-known name given to an unidentified serial killer who was active in the largely impoverished areas in and around the Whitechapel district of London in 1888. The name originated in a letter, written by someone claiming to be the murderer, that was disseminated in the...
or his crimes.
Although this novel does not feature a dramatic action climax (unlike Meyer's other two pastiches), the mystery's dénouement may well affect many more people than those of Meyer's other adventures. It also includes a first meeting between the great detective and Doctor Moore Agar, whose "dramatic introduction to Holmes" was one Watson, in the original Arthur Conan Doyle
Arthur Conan Doyle
Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle DL was a Scottish physician and writer, most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, generally considered a milestone in the field of crime fiction, and for the adventures of Professor Challenger...
story "The Adventure of the Devil's Foot
The Adventure of the Devil's Foot
"The Adventure of the Devil's Foot" is one of the 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories written by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. It is one of eight stories in the cycle collected as His Last Bow....
", wrote that he "may some day recount."
Plot summary
The book is written in the form of a false documentFalse document
A false document is a literary technique employed to create verisimilitude in a work of fiction. By inventing and inserting documents that appear to be factual, an author tries to create a sense of authenticity beyond the normal and expected suspension of disbelief for a work of art...
. It opens with a foreword by Meyer, who states that the manuscript was brought to his attention by a woman with some familial connection to Horace Vernet
Horace Vernet
Émile Jean-Horace Vernet was a French painter of battles, portraits, and Orientalist Arab subjects.Vernet was born to Carle Vernet, another famous painter, who was himself a son of Claude Joseph Vernet. He was born in the Paris Louvre, while his parents were staying there during the French...
, also an ancestor of Holmes. The woman had read The Seven-Per-Cent Solution
The Seven-Per-Cent Solution
The Seven-Per-Cent Solution: Being a Reprint from the Reminiscences of John H. Watson, M.D. is a 1974 novel by American writer Nicholas Meyer. It is written as a pastiche of a Sherlock Holmes adventure, and was made into a film of the same name in 1976....
and thought Meyer might be interested. Although damaged by water, the manuscript proved authentic.
Dr. Watson explains in his own preface that he did not publish the story because of the number of well-known persons who would be affected - persons whose identity would be impossible to disguise. Holmes had for a long time refused Watson permission to write the story on these very grounds, but Watson eventually persuaded him by promising to place the manuscript in Holmes' hands, the only condition being that he not destroy it.
The story does, indeed, involve many well-known people, including George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
, who hires Holmes to look into the death of an unpleasant theatre critic; Sir Arthur Sullivan, one of whose singers at the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company was a professional light opera company that staged Gilbert and Sullivan's Savoy operas. The company performed nearly year-round in the UK and sometimes toured in Europe, North America and elsewhere, from the 1870s until it closed in 1982. It was revived in 1988 and...
was another victim of the murderer; and others including W. S. Gilbert
W. S. Gilbert
Sir William Schwenck Gilbert was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his fourteen comic operas produced in collaboration with the composer Sir Arthur Sullivan, of which the most famous include H.M.S...
, Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
, Bram Stoker
Bram Stoker
Abraham "Bram" Stoker was an Irish novelist and short story writer, best known today for his 1897 Gothic novel Dracula...
, Henry Irving
Henry Irving
Sir Henry Irving , born John Henry Brodribb, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era, known as an actor-manager because he took complete responsibility for season after season at the Lyceum Theatre, establishing himself and his company as...
, Ellen Terry
Ellen Terry
Dame Ellen Terry, GBE was an English stage actress who became the leading Shakespearean actress in Britain. Among the members of her famous family is her great nephew, John Gielgud....
and Frank Harris
Frank Harris
Frank Harris was a Irish-born, naturalized-American author, editor, journalist and publisher, who was friendly with many well-known figures of his day...
.
It is to be noticed that the reader encounters a young policeman called Stanley Hopkins, who appears several times in Conan Doyle's stories although Nicolas Meyer does not say so. Furthermore, this first encounter is supposed to take place in 1895, whereas "Black Peter" by Conan Doyle, and where Stanley Hopkins is a major character, took place in late 1894.
It should also be noted that Meyers' novel mirrored certain fact in the life of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle himself. In the novel, Holmes managed to clear the name of a shy Parsee Indian wrongfully accused of murder; in real life Conan Doyle played a significant part in helping George Edalji
George Edalji
George Ernest Thompson Edalji was a solicitor from the West Midlands who became world-famous in 1907 when Sir Arthur Conan Doyle campaigned to have him declared innocent of maliciously wounding a pony in 1903....
, a Parsee victim of injustice in the English court.