In 1988, author Rohase Piercy did something remarkable and controversial.
She published a book in which Dr John Watson was in love with Sherlock Holmes. (Whether Holmes reciprocates is the grand question of much of the rest of the book.)
Boy, did some people find that idea challenging. The Daily Mail seemed to think it would cause the fall of England, though the Guardian responded with bemused good humour.
Many readers who had thought about the queer possibilities of this literary partnership were delighted.
The book
A preface by Dr Watson is followed by part one, ‘A Discreet Investigation’, in which a case leads Holmes and Watson to the demi monde, a tangled case of blackmail and the question of whether Sherlock Holmes has noticed that his client and her intimate friend are in fact a lesbian couple.
Told canonically from Watson’s point of view, Watson’s unrequited love for Holmes and attempts to deal with his unrequited affections become central. Does Holmes know of Watson’s dangerous leanings, or to whom they are directed? Will Watson’s ‘indiscretions’, the way in which he tries to manage his hopeless desire, destroy their friendship? Or will Watson find a way to live with his nature while protecting both himself and Sherlock Holmes’s reputation?
Watson’s resolution to this crisis with Mary Morstan (who has secrets of her own) isn’t the end of the matter, however. The second half of My Dearest Holmes, ‘The Final Problem’, deals with the aftermath of Watson’s solution, as well as the events at the Reichenbach Falls and ‘The Adventure of The Empty House’. It’s a far cry from the stories Watson wrote for The Strand, which are necessarily inaccurate to protect their original clients as well as Watson’s deeply troubled heart.
30th Anniversary Edition
2018 marks 30 years since My Dearest Holmes caused such consternation, and so Rohase Piercy has published an anniversary edition. The new edition is framed with a foreword by Charlie Raven, exploring the changes in attitude to LGBTQ relationships in the intervening 30 years, and a final essay by Piercy – “Sherlock Holmes: a Decadent Detective?” – on the gothic and decadent origins of the character.
This reprint of My Dearest Holmes comes into a world where queer readings of Holmes and Watson are not so rare – Improbable Press even specialises in Holmes♥Watson fiction!
How does it stand up, 30 years later?
The Review
Reader, it is wonderful. An angst-fest for sure, but splendidly paced, and full of teasing moments. Some canon-esque humour gets in there, and some entertaining reworkings of the stories we know, shifted to become the history of “what really happened” in this telling.
Holmes is as ineffable as ever, often fond of his friend, sometimes unkind, and a stickler for not getting sentimental about things. Along with John Watson, you can’t tell how Sherlock really feels about his friend. What, if anything, does he feel, and what might he be repressing? How much does his use of the cocaine bottle relate to everything he never says?
Watson’s inner turmoil is compassionately explored, as is the world under the surface of respectable London, with loves and liaisons not accepted by the mainstream but definitely humming away in the shadows.
There are cases of course (where Holmes is, there too are puzzles) but the true, unexpressed feelings between these two great friends and colleagues is the largest puzzle of all, and it’s only resolved in the last few chapters.
Piercy’s writing, like the best new Holmesian adventures, mimics the tone of Conan Doyle without becoming clumsy or cliched. My Dearest Holmes has a style reminiscent of Doyle and is easy to read in that regard.
Which is great, because I gulped it all down. There’s a lot of hurt before we get any comfort at all, but it’s well told and not without lighter, warmer moments. And while subtle in its execution, the payoff is worth the wait.
Buy My Dearest Holmes
- My Dearest Holmes (Common Language Bookshop)
- My Dearest Holmes (Bookdepository)
- My Dearest Holmes (Barnes and Noble)
- My Dearest Holmes
(Amazon US)
- My Dearest Holmes (Amazon Australia)
- My Dearest Holmes (Amazon UK)
- My Dearest Holmes (Fishpond)
(Amazon US)
More about Rohase Piercy
- A 2016 interview with Rohase Piercy
- My review of Charlie Raven/Rohase Piercy’s A Case of Domestic Pilfering
My first six months on Patreon have gone really well, and I’d like to thank everyone who has supported me there to write fiction! The second of the Duo Ex Machina novellas, Sacrifice, will wind up its chapter-by-chapter posting soon, and will then be prepped to go to all my supporters there as an ebook!
My Patreon supporters help me write fiction directly by paying a small amount each month. The income helps me to pay for things like covers, editing and proofreading. In time, I hope I’ll have enough income from all the mini-Medicis who support me to work a little less on the corporate writing side so I can write a little more on the fiction side!
Depending on your reward level, you get access to:
I’m currently completing some stories for a short story collection, 
Levels of support
A Dream to Build A Kiss On is my new contemporary-era Holmes♥Watson romance/adventure from Improbable Press!
A Dream to Build A Kiss On
My first confession is that this image is not actually in Hardware Lane, which runs parallel to Elizabeth Street (between Queen and Elizabeth Streets) starting at Bourke Street and going through to Lonsdale. Between Lonsdale and Little Lonsdale, it becomes Hardware Street, even though it’s shorter than the Lane.
The paved Lane between Little Bourke and Lonsdale Streets is closed to traffic, because it’s full of outdoor seating for cafes and restaurants. At one end, a nightclub called Khokolat has operated out of a basement premises at #43 
