The Sherlockian Interview - Susan Knight
Posted by Steve Emecz on
The final four volumes (49-52) of The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories are now on Kickstarter (click here). Every day we will be featuring one of the authors in the collection. Today its Susan Knight.
What’s the name of your story in the collection?
I have two stories in the latest collection: Sherlock Holmes and the Female Detective and Holmes the Hunter.
How did the story come about?
For the first one, I recently came across a fascinating new book, The Mysterious Case of the Victorian Female Detective by Sara Lodge, about the overlooked role of women in the nineteenth century in bringing criminals to account. They were often unofficially employed by the regular police force, or worked as private detectives. They also featured in much popular fiction, sometimes somewhat sensationally. This inspired my yarn.
Holmes the Hunter is a what-if story. What if someone who played a key role in world history in the 20th century were to be targeted in his youth by an assassination plot? Luckily Holmes is on the case to prevent disaster.
Have you contributed to anthologies before?
Yes, I have contributed to the MX anthologies since 2019, and a collection of those stories has been published by MX under the title, Sherlock Holmes Investigates: The Strange Case of the Pale Boy and other Mysteries.
Where did you first discover Holmes?
When I was a child at home, we had a big red-covered anthology entitled Tales of Mystery and Adventure. This included The Adventure of the Speckled Band. I was rivetted.
Are there any writers/adaptations of Holmes you particularly enjoy?
For me, Jeremy Brett is the quintessential Holmes, with David Burke and Edward Hardwicke as terrific embodiments of Dr Watson, although I have to admit to a soft spot for Nigel Bruce’s interpretation of the role as an utter nincompoop. I can’t possibly single out a particular writer from the very many who have produced excellent Holmes pastiches over the year. Just to say I recently read The Magician’s Trunk by Dan Andriacco, whose characters McCabe and Cody provide a most engaging variation on the theme.
Do you write on any other subjects?
In the past I have had several other books published, including a collection of short stories, Out of Order, and novels The Invisible Woman, Grimaldi’s Garden and Gomorrah, all of which would come under the heading of literary fiction. My non-fiction book of 2001, Where the Grass is Greener, featured interviews with immigrant women living in Ireland. I am currently looking for a publisher for my biography of an Irish women who spent most of her life, from 1914-1948, working in Rumania, a witness and sometimes victim of the massive upheavals of the first half of the twentieth century. She kept a diary on which I have based the book.
Where can fans find more about your work?
I have a blog at Susan Knight on Wordpress. I am also on Facebook, with a regular page and an author page, and have an author profile on Amazon - Susan Knight.
