Story Profile – “The Outline of Mystery”
“The Outline of Mystery” is another novella I wrote for Belanger Books, for their anthology Sherlock Holmes: Further Adventures in the Realms of H.G. Wells, Volume One, edited by Derrick Belanger and C. Edward Davis. This is a collection of stories where Sherlock Holmes is inserted into tales created by H.G. Wells. My own story is a bit different, being based on Wells’ real life.
Wells gained fame for writing a “history of the world,” The Outline of History. It became a runaway bestseller and made him quite wealthy. But he had apparently completed all of the research and writing in a very short time, and some people wondered how it was possible. A Canadian woman named Florence Deeks claimed she had the answer. She declared that she had written a comprehensive history of the world, submitted it to Wells’ publisher, and they had shown Wells her manuscript before rejecting her work.
Is there any truth to this? There was a lengthy court battle that was eventually decided in favor of Wells, but scholars disagree on whether or not Deeks’ claim has merit. In this fictional story, the legal battle leads to bloodshed, and Holmes is drawn out of retirement to investigate…
–Chris Chan
Chris Chan’s first novel, Sherlock’s Secretary, was released on November 3rd. His book Murder Most Grotesque: The Comedic Crime Fiction of Joyce Porter was published by Level Best Books on September 7th. His first non-fiction book, Sherlock & Irene: The Secret Truth Behind “A Scandal in Bohemia” is available for sale at Amazon.com and the MX Publishing website, as well as at Book Depository (with free worldwide shipping there). It is also available in a Kindle edition.
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