American Mystery and Romantic Times awards
a New York Times Notable Book of 1991
SHE IS THE ONLY WOMAN TO OUTWIT SHERLOCK HOLMES: IRENE ADLER!
| |
American Mystery and Romantic Times awards a New York Times Notable Book of 1991 |
I want to recommend a book . . . I am not exaggerating when I say this book is probably the finest Sherlockian novel publisheed since 1915 [when Doyle published his last Sherlockain novel]. I am impressed with [Douglas's] storytelling...with her ability to reflect the minutiae of Victorian life accurately...her Sherlockian accuracy, her way of conveying female (and male) psychology, the life she breathes into the tough and clever Irene... Rarely do I read a 'pastiche,' as we have come to call Sherlockian novels, and come to believe it. But I think Carole Nelson Douglas has told the exact truth about Ms. Adler, and whenever I reread 'A Scandal in Bohemia' that truth will be part of the story for me." --Chris Redmond, BSI, ASH, The Waterloo Sherlockian Letter
"Setting herself the task of creating a heroine worthy of Sherlock Holmes, Douglas...succeeds smashingly. In providing an inventive, believable past for Irene Adler, the one woman (and an American at that) who ever duped Holmes, Douglas writes in a voice that resonates of Dr. Watson's (or Conan Doyle's) when appropriate, and links Adler's adventures with...Doyle's 'A Scandal in Bohemia.' Narrated with credible Victorian style and sensibility by Penelope 'Nell' Huxleigh, a parson's daughter, this lively caper establishes Adler's sleuthing skills...more than the usual Holmesian pastiche, presenting a truly original perspective of the one whom the great detective himself dubbed 'the woman.' She's a superior woman at that; readers will doff their deerstalkers." --Publishers Weekly
"a lively, witty detective novel...true to the spirit of Conan Doyle's original story. A real tour de force." --Amarillo Sunday News-Globe
"The detective in the deerstalker found few adversaries worthy of him: Moriarty, of course, and the brilliant and lovely diva Irene Adler... But was Adler the morally questionable 'adventuress' Dr. Watson perceived? Not if we are to believe this delightfully flip mystery, narrated by Adler's devoted but skeptical companion and chronicler, Penelope Huxleigh. Miss Huxleigh a much brighter bulb than Holmes' huffy sidekick may have some qualms about Miss Adler's fondness for tiny cigars and large ciphers, but steadfastly champions her friend's unconventional but upright character...this is Irene Adler's turn in the limelight, and she proves her power both to deduce and entertain." --Toronto Globe and Mail
"I read the best, and your book certainly fits that category. Clever and...a wonderful read." --John Bennett Shaw, BSI.
"entertaining and well-written...Irene is as intelligent and resourceful here as in Watson's account." --Peter E. Blau, BSI
"These modern scholars of Victorian literature are some cutups! Not content with confining their researches to academic journals, certain of these wits have turned to the historical mystery as a way of sharing the fun of their scholarship. And fun it is...when Carole Nelson Douglas purports to tell... how Irene Adler outfoxed Sherlock Holmes... To do justice to this remarkable heroine and her keen perspective on the male society in which she must make her independent way, the author adopts a saucy style and a delicious sense of humor. Both...have irresistible appeal for women of more modern sensibilities." --Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times
"Men, too." --Dave Wood, Minneapolis Star Tribune
"[a] delicious tour de force. Irene, who trades bon mots with Oscar Wilde as adroitly as she foils Holmes, is a Victorian-age Ms. who blithely flouts conventions and triumphs in not one, but two careers--opera diva and detective. Her madcap caper (includes) a scandalous contretemps with the King of Bohemia and a devilish treasure hunt in Wilde's back yard." --The London Times, The Tenants of Baker Street newsletter
"Read any good books lately? I have. Carole Nelson Douglas has kept me up several nights with Good Night, Mr. Holmes...about THE woman, Irene Adler. It kept me spellbound... Douglas...apparently has many fans. That figures. She is an excellent writer." --Lincoln Journal-Star
"Straightforward mystery novels don't often find their way into this space, but Good Night, Mr. Holmes qualifies for the short list of exceptions...this isn't exactly a Sherlock Holmes story; rather, it's a parallel adventure starring Holmes's uniquely gifted female rival, singer Irene Adler... Like Holmes, Irene is a keen observer and puzzle-solver with a strong sense of justice... Douglas neatly weaves bits of the familiar Holmes tales in and out of Irene's adventures... More significantly, her female's-eye view of the Victorian scene...provides a distinctive slant on the period...a thoroughly readable novel that complements the Holmes canon rather than competing with it...a welcome window on matters Victorian." --Dragon Gaming Magazine
"an absolutely delicious foray into the world of Sherlock Holmes... This serendipitous tour de force is bound to please fans of Elizabeth Peters' Amelia Peabody, and anyone who appreciates quick wit, intelligent plotting and a clever turn of phrase." ****1/2 --Rave Reviews
"an adventure even Sherlock would applaud. Douglas has captured the very essence of Doyle's unique style of writing, down to the very cobblestones of old 19th-century England... This book is not really about Sherlock Holmes... The book is about Irene Adler...about adventure, something usually denied the 19th-century female...a must-read." --Lebanon IL Advertiser
| GOOD MORNING, IRENE Tor, ISBN 0-812-50949-8 |
 |
The deaths of beautiful Irene Adler and her bridegroom, handsome barrister Godfrey Norton, have been widely reported in the English and European press. But the American opera singer who once outwitted Holmes, disappearing with her photograph of the King of Bohemia, is alive and well in Paris, and lapping up her obituaries with unconcealed glee. Nevertheless, although her "death" has ended the royal Bohemian's unwelcome attentions, it is a serious inconvenince: she cannot perform on the operatic stage.
Irene Adler is not a woman for whom idleness holds the slightest appeal. Thus the appearance of Sarah Bernhardt as a new friend is extremely welcome; but the unexpected emergence of a drowned sailor's body from the Seine is even more so. On the sailor's chest is a tattoo--a tattoo reminiscient of one Irene saw years ago in London, on another sailor's chest, while the corpse lay upon Bram Stoker's dining room table.... She had been unable to decipher the mysterious circumstances of the London death. Now, with a second corpse to consider, she seems to see a pattern. Then a young woman is abducted, and--against her will--tattooed!
The inimitable detecting skills of Irene Adler will be sorely tested by the Machiavellian complexities at hand. Godfrey Norton's unexpected gifts of disguise will be needed, as will the dogged intelligence of Miss Penelope Huxleigh, Irene's faithful chronicler. A large a varied cast--among them the divine Sarah, a green serpent, the first beautiful, blond American Princess of Monaco, a young American journalist, an all-too-attentive Viscount, and Sherlock Holmes himself--will play their roles before Irene unravels the dreadful mystery that confronts her.
Written with all the wit, humor and skill that distinguished Good Night, Mr. Holmes, the first Irene Adler mystery, Good Morning, Irene will delight its readers.
 |
IRENE AT LARGE Tor, ISBN 0-812-51702-4 |
Alive and well despite the widely published accounts of her death, the irresistible Irene Adler and her husband, dashing barrister Godfrey Norton, are taking coffee with their friend Nell Huxleigh in a Parisian sidewalk cafe when a stranger dressed in Oriental garb falls at their feet. Surprisingly, it is not Irene's beauty that has felled him, but a dose of poison--and even more surprisingly, the friends learn as he recovers that he is an Englishman! After nine years in Afghanistan, following the disastrous battle of Maiwand, Quentin is on his way to london to find a Dr. Watson who tended his battle wounds, a Dr. Watson whose life may well be in danger. Nell's heart is quickly lost to Quentin, but after a shot through a window, Quentin vanishes. Irene vows to find him, for Nell should not be loved and left. Their search takes them first to a Parisian garret, inhabited only by a dead Lascar and...an indecently large cobra! Although Irene dispatches this scaly miscreant handily with her revolver, the game is indeed aslither. The sinuous chase leads through a command performance for the Empress of All the Russias and two visits to Sarah Bernhardt, into a channel steamer and under the desk of Dr. John H. Watson, loops into 221 B Baker Street, and uncoils deadly secrets both past and present.
When Carole Nelson Douglas gave Irene a wholly new life in Good Night, Mr. Holmes, she introduced an "irresistible" (N.Y. Times) heroine. At once utterly original, yet completely consistent with the Irene Adler who appeared--and died--in Arthur Conan Doyle's story A Scandal in Bohemia,--Douglas's enchanting creature also triumphs in Good Morning, Irene.
 |
ANOTHER SCANDAL IN BOHEMIA Forge, ISBN 0-812-51703-2 |
The ever-irresistible Irene Adler, her dashing barrister husband, Godfrey Norton, and the indomitable Miss Nell Huxleigh have arrived at last at their French cottage--having survived (but just barely) the dastardly plots, Russian spies, pistol-wielding criminals...and the occasional cobra. Our happy trio seek nothing but rest and peace. But Irene has always chafed under idle conditions and Paris, she says, "is pretty and urbane, but hardly a center of excitement." So when Charles Frederick Worth, the Parision King of Courture, invites Irene to become his "mannequin de ville," to wear the fabulous Worth creations to stimulate his trade, Irene leaps at the chance.
But what was a joyous lark soon turns into a journey that can lead to disgrace, dishonor...and death. For Irene, Nell and Godfrey are drawn into a series of events that will compel Irene to the one place that she daren't go--and to the one man she must not confront.
To Prague and the King of Bohemia.
Carole Nelson Douglas' provocative mystery series reconsiders one of the most mysterious women in fiction from a woman's fresh point of view. Irene Adler, the beautiful and clever American opera singer who once out-witted the Master, Sherlock Holmes, is endowed with an unexpected and new talent: she is also an astute detective, one whose quick intellect rarely fails. These new adventures inter-weave the Sherlock Holmes cases with those of this daring diva/detective. Now Irene Adler herself sleuths among the Bad and the Beautiful of Belle Epoque Europe, taking along her man Godfrey, the dashing barrister she eloped with in A Scandal in Bohemia. She appears in Good Night, Mr. Holmes (winner of American Mystery and Romantic Times awards, and a NY Times Notable Book of 1991), Good Morning, Irene; Irene at Large; and Irene's Last Waltz.
Narrated by Penelope "Nell" Huxleigh, a prim and proper parson's daughter who is shocked yet intrigued by her friend's flamboyant approach to 19th-century life, Irene Adler's escapades deliver wit, gusto, murder, mystery, and high adventure.
"Perhaps it has taken until the end of this century for an author like Douglas to be able to imagine a female protagonist who could be called the woman by Sherlock Holmes." --Grounds for Murder
"A hundred years from now, readers will still be raving about the world's greatest detective, but for many the name on their lips may very well be Adler instead of Holmes."--Romantic Times
"a brash, beautiful and brilliant heroine . . . newcomers to the Irene Adler camp will scurry to bookstores [for other] Adler adventures." --Dallas Morning News
"These modern scholars of Victorian literature are some cutups!...this enchanting paragon comports herself beautifully...remarkable...keen perspective...saucy style...delicious...irresistible appeal...." --The New York Times