Sherlock Holmes for the 21st Century

The 21st century is a good time to be Sherlock Holmes. He stars in the Guy Ritchie films, with Robert Downey, Jr.; an internationally popular BBC television series featuring Benedict Cumberbatch; a novel sanctioned by the Arthur Conan Doyle Estate; and dozens of additional novels and short stories, including two by Neil Gaiman. Add to this the videogames, comic books, and fan-created works, plus a potent Internet and social media presence. Holmes’ London has become a prime destination for cinematic tourists.
The evidence is clearly laid out in this collection of 14 new essays: Holmes and Watson are more popular than ever. The detective has been portrayed as hero, and antihero. He’s tech savvy, and scientifically detached—even psychologically aberrant. He has been romantically linked to The Woman and bromantically to Watson. Whether Victorian or modern, he continues to fascinate. These essays explain why he is destined to be with us for years to come.
Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.

Lynnette Porter is a professor in the Humanities and Communication Department at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida, and has written extensively on television and film.

Edited by Lynnette Porter
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 220
Bibliographic Info: notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2012
pISBN: 978-0-7864-6840-9
eISBN: 978-1-4766-0057-4
Imprint: McFarland

Introduction: In Search of the Real Sherlock Holmes      1

1. The Noble Bachelor and the Crooked Man: Subtext and Sexuality in the BBC’s Sherlock

CARLEN LAVIGNE      13

2. Sex and the Single Sleuth

ANISSA M. GRAHAM and JENNIFER C. GARLEN      24

3. “Bromance is so Bromance is so passé”: Robert Downey, Jr.’s Queer Paratexts

KAYLEY THOMAS      35

4. The Watson Effect: Civilizing the Sociopath

APRIL TOADVINE      48

5. “Don’t Make People into Heroes, John”: (Re/De) Constructing the Detective as Hero

FRANCESCA M. MARINARO and KAYLEY THOMAS      65

6. Making the Transition: The Modern Adaptation and Recreation of the Scientist Detective Hero

ANA E. LA PAZ      81

7. A Singular Case of Identity: Holmesian Shapeshifting

RHONDA HARRIS TAYLOR      93

8. The Process of Elimination: The Americanization of Sherlock Holmes

LYNNETTE PORTER      113

9. The “Great Game” of Information: The BBC’s Digital Native

RHONDA HARRIS TAYLOR      128

10. Detecting the Technocratic Detective

SVETLANA BOCHMAN      144

11. Investigating Victorian Propriety in Money Matters

SVETLANA BOCHMAN      155

12. Welcome to London: The Role of the Cinematic Tourist

LYNNETTE PORTER      164

13. True to Their Victorian Roots: The House of Silk

LYNNETTE PORTER      181

14. Bookends of the Great Detective’s Life: Neil Gaiman’s Award-Winning Pastiches

LYNNETTE PORTER      192

About the Contributors      203

Index      205

“An enjoyable collection”—Mythlore.