A Holmes by Any Other Name

Book excerpt: Sherlock Holmes is one of the most recognizable—and most parodied—names in western literature. Bill Mason, BSI, collects and annotates these parody names, from the first one that appeared in 1891, to the present day. As Mason says in his introduction: One of the great aspects of Sherlock Holmes is the fact that, just as the character himself is subject to endless variation, so is his name. Ellery Queen noted that the name itself “is particularly susceptible to the twistings and mis-shapenings of burlesque minded authors.” Surely, Arthur Conan Doyle, who struggled a little with what he was going to call his detective hero, could not have known just how perfect the name he finally selected—Sherlock Holmes—would be for parody, for rhyme, for the transposing of letters and sounds, for the substitution of suggestive words in the name of a comic character. Mason’s listings are an invaluable resource for the Holmsian scholar, researcher, or for those interested in whiling away a few hours with a delightful and chuckle-inspiring volume.