Author John Allen has a theory about the creator of Sherlock Holmes:
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle did not create Holmes. It was Doyle’s wife, Louise Hawkins Conan Doyle, who gave birth to the beloved sleuth.
Allen has put his beliefs to the test, writing and publishing the first of a projected 12-novel series of Holmes mysteries titled BRIMSTONE. His detective is Louise Hawkins Conan Doyle, and Allen names her as the author of the tale he presents, set in 1879 Bristol, England.
In a previous book, SHADOW WOMAN, Allen set out to prove that Louise was the true creator of Sherlock Holmes. The inspiration for his startling and controversial theory of authorship was a 1980s essay by Martin Gardner called “The Irrelevance of Arthur Conan Doyle.” Gardner claimed that Arthur was “too gullible and to easily duped to have created Sherlock Holmes.”
Allen determined that Gardner was correct, but Gardner identified no alternative author. Allen continues, “So I decided to give it a try. I came to suspect Louise as the actual author, but I lacked the knowledge and tools to make a solid case.”
Then the Internet came along, giving Allen a valuable research tool. He became convinced that Louise did in fact create Sherlock Holmes. Allen presented his case in SHADOW WOMAN, which was published in 2017. To further advance Louise as Holmes’s creator, to give her the credit he believes she is due, he is now featuring her in a series of mystery novels, the first of which is BRIMSTONE.
As if Allen hadn’t set the bar too high already, he has added a subtext to BRIMSTONE that explores contemporary wrongful convictions through his Victorian thrillers.
BRIMSTONE brims with appeal to multiple audiences, from lovers of detective stories to those interested in justice for the wrongfully convicted. Sherlock Holmes would be proud.
EXCERPT
LOUISE BEHIND BARS
Judge Blair modified the contempt penalty imposed on Louise to time already served. Detective John Reeves, eager to inform her that she was free, was surprised when she insisted on serving the entire seven-day sentence. He hesitantly asked if she would mind him calling on her, once matters settled, but she did not respond. He reproached himself for such an untimely and selfish intrusion, and vowed to never again disturb her, to spend his time instead searching for the man with the dent in his forehead.
Upon learning of Louise’s lack of appreciation for his mercy, Judge Blair declared her in trespass of Crown property and ordered that she be removed, with force if necessary. Three jailers tried, but she thrust her arms between the bars and interlocked her fingers. As the two men pulled Louise from behind, the matron attempted to pry apart Louise’s fingers, but stopped in horror at the snap of a knuckle and a scream of pain.
Dr. Daniel Weston arrived within the hour. After removing his silk-lined bowler and installing his pince-nez spectacles upon the bridge of his nose, he examined Louise’s injuries. He set the obviously dislocated small finger of her right hand, splinting it and taping it to the two adjoining fingers. He applied an ointment to the burns on her left hand, then rebandaged it. He told her that her ankle was healing more slowly than expected, that she might have broken a bone, and he wrapped the ankle tightly for her, advising that her foot should be in a cast and that she should keep off it as much as possible.
Her nose was definitely broken and must soon be set, he said, lest it be deformed forever. Informing her that the procedure would be quick but painful, he offered several doses of laudanum, which she accepted. Despite the sedative and her resolution to be stoic, she screamed for a second time when the doctor put his hands on either side of her nose and snapped it left, then right, to reset the bone and cartilage.
“It will be nearly perfect when it heals,” he told her. He suspected the renewed bruises around her eyes would be spectacular for several weeks.
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John Allen was born in Long Beach, CA. An engineer “by education, training, and experience,” he describes himself as “a recovering engineer.” He left engineering to become the junior partner in Allen & Allen Semiotics Inc., a corporation that his wife, Lynn, launched for their diversified home business. Their projects include designing databases for mid-sized companies. John Allen holds a BS from the United States Air Force Academy, an MS from the University of Southern California, and an MA from the University of California, Riverside.
You can visit his website at http://louiseconandoyle.com/
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