I first fell in love with Sherlock Holmes, not through the books but through the Granada TV series, starring Jeremy Brett as Holmes. Previously, I hadn’t much liked the film pairings of an idiot Watson with his smug friend. This series, however, closely adapted of Doyle’s creation, which I promptly read and adored.
Rosalie Williams’ interpretation of the landlady of Granada’s 221B Baker Street brought this canonically rarely mentioned character to life too, as a no-nonsense Scot who managed ‘the worst tenants in London’ with dour, exasperated, yet motherly affection.
My love of the stories grew over the years, especially with regular re-reading of the originals. These are still as fresh, dynamic, and clever as when they were first published: full of adventure, humour, memorable characters, and unexpected moments of emotion and introspection.
I explored pastiches and retellings with new interest. Then BBC’s Sherlock arrived in 2010, demonstrating how Holmes and Watson’s enduring, crime-solving friendship was still relevant and compelling in a modern setting.
Fans of the show then did what fandom has done for decades: it began reinterpreting the characters and their settings. If Holmes and Watson could be modern, they could be set anywhere and retain their essential selves. They could be male or female; straight or queer; cisgender or transgender; white, Asian, or black. Their nationalities could change, even their vocations. And sometimes, they weren’t human.
This is where The She-Wolf of Baker Street (Clan Destine Press) comes in.
I’d wanted to write a werewolf tale for a while, to explore how ideas of ‘uncontrolled’ violence might manifest in an experienced, post-menopausal woman. I’d mostly read about male werewolves’ unbridled savagery, and wondered what this trope might suggest about abusive men justifying their violence as something they can’t help. How might that concept apply to the ways women can be violent? What would be the effect of our own monthly cycles?
The final spark for She-Wolf came when I thought: what if Mrs Hudson was a werewolf in modern London? What if Sherlock Holmes was investigating something for her, without knowing this vital fact? What if John Watson knew, and Sherlock didn’t? How would that play out for their dynamic? How would the ever-logical Sherlock Holmes cope with discovering that there was more in this world than he’d dreamt of in his philosophy?
Other modern-world fantasy concepts I’d considered for years began to fold into these ideas: how had all the iron railways crossing the UK since the Industrial Revolution affected the fae, and would the rail removals of the 1960s have different consequences?
Add to this a desire to focus more on how werewolf-ism affected female characters, along with centring Mrs Hudson as the main protagonist and bringing in Irene Adler, I gender-flipped several canonical characters. Sherlock’s brother Mycroft became his sister Myca; the Murray who had saved John Watson in Afghanistan became his lesbian friend Nick Murray. I queered a lot of characters too – including Audrey Hudson, Sherlock, and John – drawing on a history of the othering of queerness in life and art.
I also played with dozens of canonical references to explore all these ideas: of violence; trust; otherness; the bonds of love; the history of Britain’s fae; the challenges of accepting change; grief; and the nature of family.
The result is a wild ride. Audrey Hudson is grieving the unsolved murder of her family. Sherlock tries to solve it without knowing they are werewolves. John bridges their worlds when he becomes Sherlock’s flatmate, assisting investigations while holding missing pieces of the puzzle. As more is revealed, and more enemies arise, Audrey tries to protect her new ‘pack’ – but the biggest threat to Sherlock may not be the forces gathering against them, but the truth of the shadow world he refuses to see, and the secrets kept from him by those he cares about.
The resolution of The She-Wolf of Baker Street goes beyond everyday crime. It will test friendships and love; it will push every character to their limit; and they will face enemies and powers that threaten the folkloric heart of Great Britain herself.
More info here.