Enola Holmes: The Case of the Missing Marquess (An Enola Holmes Mystery)

Nancy Springer is a noted fantasy author, but here lately she's been re-writing some of her - and my - favorite childhood characters. I've always been partial to that Outlaw of Sherwood Forest, Robin Hood, but who knew he had a daughter? Nancy did. In fact, she's written five novels about Rowan Hood and her merry band. Morgan Le Fay has always been one of those strong woman, and evil, from Arthurian legend. But who knew her childhood stories? Nancy did. She wrote two of the young Morgan Le Fay. When I think of private detectives, I always think of Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson, and Mycroft Holmes. But who knew that Sherlock and Mycroft had a younger sister? Nancy did. And she's just now penning the curious adventures of Enola Holmes, the fourteen-year-old younger sister of the Great Detective. I first met Miss Enola Holmes in the novel, ENOLA HOLMES AND THE CASE OF THE MISSING MARQUESS. I found her to be utterly brilliant, like her older brothers, and quite given to solving mysteries. Her deductive reasoning is a delight, as is her particular views on society. Regrettably, young Enola is not a proper young lady. She loves traipsing through forests, wearing men's clothing, and having hideouts that require journeying through streams and across muddy earth. She's also quite fearless and knowledgeable about a great many things. The first-person narrative of the novels revealed a lot of Miss Holmes's character to me within a few short pages. I found her to be, not so much a carbon copy of Sherlock Holmes, but rather a young lady with all of Sherlock's best qualities who was also equipped with the vision of youth and feminine perspective. There are a great many puzzles in Miss Holmes's life. Not in the least of these is the reason why her mother abandoned Miss Holmes on the morning of her fourteenth birthday. As much as that bothered and stymied young Miss Holmes, it also burdened me with curiosity and speculation. But Miss Holmes's mother left many messages behind for her young daughter. They shared a passion for puzzles and curiosities. Miss Holmes's first name, Enola, is actually ALONE spelled backward. Once you understand that, you begin to worry at what prompted her mother to name her such. The name, though, offers hints as to how to solve the other mysteries her mother left her. The interpretations are so obvious when the solution is given. After she discovers she's been abandoned, Miss Holmes puts the police to searching for her mother, but at the same time she knows that if her brothers find her alone and uncared for they'll ship her off to a young ladies' finishing school. That's not something Miss Holmes wants. Before long, she figures out a way to escape the watchful eye of Mycroft as he stays there to set his mother's affairs right. Then she's on her way to London, the Greatest City in the world, on her trusty bicycle. Along the way I was treated to a great many descriptions of the time and land that were truly amazing. It also doesn't take Enola long to come across a mystery that haunts her all the way to London. While at the estates of the Marquess of Tewksbury, Enola takes the case long enough to figure out what happened to the young boy. She doesn't dream that this endeavor will follow her all the way to her destination and place her squarely in the path of the worst danger she's ever known amid London's seedier alleys. ENOLA HOLMES AND THE CASE OF THE MISSING MARQUESS is a wonderful book for the 9-12 year old minds. It's small and compact, not overly long, and physically fits into small hands quite well. Not only that, but the cover art is outstanding. I also liked the fact that the cover is printed right on the hardcover under the dust jacket. The second book is called ENOLA HOLMES AND THE CASE OF THE LEFT-HANDED LADY, and is already out. ENOLA HOLMES AND THE CASE OF THE BIZARRE BOUQUETS is coming in January 2008. The first two books would make excellent gifts for the upcoming Christmas season.

When picking up the book, Elona Holmes and the Missing Marquess by Nancy Springer, I wasn’t prepared for what the pages contained. This thriller fiction novel feels as if it could’ve been a diary from a real experience. Taken from the viewpoint of Elona Holmes, the younger sister of Sherlock Holmes. Placed in the 1880s, and the Victorian embellishments in the writing aren't hard to miss! The book focuses primarily on self-discovery and the experiences of young Enola. Heartbroken with the disappearance of her mother on her fourteenth birthday, the movie takes off from said event. After sending a telegram for her brothers to investigate this, she finds out they’re not as kind as she remembered them to be. If you love female leads who are spirited, independent, and anything with puzzles, you should take a peek at this book. With the timesetting, anyone who likes the Victorian era would appreciate the attention to detail in the depiction of the clothing. With the many hurdles that Enola has to overcome, it promises to be exciting whenever you flip the page. And if this book has you hooked, not to worry, because this series has nine books! This mystery novel from Nancy Springer, who has been awarded the Ripper and multiple Edgar awards for this series, is sure to make your time reading it joyous.

As a long-time fan of Nancy Springer's works, I was delighted when I stumbled upon the Enola Holmes series. Not only did it fit right in with my Sherlock-Holmes jonesing, but I fondly recalled Springer's habits of creating exciting female leads in a world otherwise run by the men-folk; something that is more than a little hard to find for the young lady bibliophile. There's nothing wrong with Sherlock, Jem, and Dante, of course...it's just nice to have someone a little easier to relate to in the estrogen department, every once in a while. In the Enola Holmes series, Madame Springer provides her usual intriguing story and enjoyable characters. The original character feels less shoe-horned into the borrowed canon world than some of her others have (Rowan Hood, for example, who was thoroughly enjoyable but made no real sense in regards to the original Robin Hood tales). Enola is witty, stubborn, and capable. All improvements on the typical 'distressed female' that come both from the Holmes era and a great deal of modern-day whinier 'heroines' that seem to be creeping into the business. Where the book fails is, ironically, the injections of thorough historical fact. The plot is broken up by almost random paragraphs explaining the laws of female accompaniment, what kind of boots that lady is wearing and why, whence this and that came about and how it matters...it was almost difficult in some places to resist the urge to skip forward several paragraphs until a character's name pops up, signaling the return to actual story. Given that this is a Holmes-inspired mystery, you might miss an important detail. Also problematic is the uncharacteristic role of Mycroft as the jerk older brother who wants to ship Enola off to a nasty school to take care of her while Mum is away. Granted, Enola needed the motivation to take off on her own, and given the Victorian rules (which we are reminded of repeatedly) it would have to be someone in her own family to give her the send off, and of course we wouldn't want Sherlock to be the elected misogynist, but it still comes off as a forced characterisation. Despite these flaws, the adventure Enola embarks on, and all those following, are fun at the very least, invigorating at the most generous. I cannot think of anyone I would strongly dissuade from reading. Perhaps this series could even be a lead-in to Enola's big brother's stories. Either way, it is worth a look.

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My daughter loves this collection. This book was read in one day because it's so good.

Il est souvent difficile d'être le "fils de..." mais il l'est tout autant d'être "la soeur de..." surtout quand il s'agit du super détective Sherlock Holmes. Notre héroine compte bien lui démontrer qu'elle en a tout autant que lui dans la cervelle et pour cela, elle s'affranchie des règles de la société victorienne. Prenant et agréable à lire!