As with novels based in the world of Jane Austen, the publishing industry has issued numerous books that, in one way or another, build on Arthur Conan Doyle’s Great Detective, Sherlock Holmes. Many of these are great fun and expand the Holmes legacy in various ways. Among others, I have in mind Laurie R. King’s Mary Russell (Holmes’s apprentice, later his wife), Sherry Thomas’s Lady Sherlock (a Victorian female detective named Holmes who claims Sherlock as her brother and cover), Vicki Delaney’s Sherlock Holmes Bookstore (based around Gemma Holmes, a modern-day bookstore owner with a Sherlockian personality whose uncle claims descent from Arthur Conan Doyle), and Bonnie MacBird’s Sherlock Holmes Adventures (very close to the canon, but new stories invented by this author). Even Katharine Schellman’s Lily Adler Mysteries, which I love, have echoes of Holmes in the heroine’s last name and personality. To this group I now add Leonard Goldberg’s Daughter of Sherlock Holmes series, which takes the original cast into a new generation. Dr. Goldberg was kind enough to answer my questions, so read on to find out more from this interview about the origins and distinctive features of his books.
What inspired the Daughter of Sherlock Holmes series?
I actually got the idea from a critic who happened to give me a fine review on an earlier novel. He stated that the story “seemed to fly along on the Holmesian wings of Joanna Blalock.” That was the moment I connected the forensic pathologist Joanna Blalock to Sherlock Holmes, and I knew that someday I would tie Joanna to Sherlock in a stand-alone novel. And eventually I did in The Daughter of Sherlock Holmes.
Introduce us, please, to Joanna Blalock. What is her origin story, and how would you characterize her personality?
Joanna Blalock in The Daughter of Sherlock Holmes is the long-ago grandmother of the modern-day forensic pathologist who carries the same name. The idea, of course, is that the modern-day Joanna has inherited some of Sherlock Holmes’s genes, which explains her remarkable deductive abilities. A more complete history goes as follows: the Victorian Joanna’s son fought for Britain as a fighter pilot in the Royal Air Force in World War II, migrated to America after the war, and became the father of the modern-day Joanna while a successful banker in San Francisco.
The Victorian-era Joanna has a son, Johnny, who is even more like Sherlock Holmes. Why include him?
For a number of reasons. First, I wanted to show that in some instances intelligence can be inherited, with the remarkable ability to reason and deduct passed from Sherlock to Joanna to Johnny. The Curies were a good example of this genetic possibility, with the family collecting three Nobel Prizes in two generations, beginning with Madame Curie. Secondly, how can we be certain that Joanna was truly the daughter of Sherlock Holmes? After all, her mother, Irene Adler, was a beautiful opera star who was lonely in Paris and had been deserted by her husband. Then she shows up on Sherlock’s doorstep and was supposedly impregnated during an alcohol-cocaine haze. Perhaps she had other lovers and chose Sherlock as the most likely to deceive. This thought must have crossed Watson’s mind, but he never wrote of it. But upon being introduced to young Johnny, Watson is stunned by the lad’s remarkable resemblance to a young Sherlock Holmes. Thus, there can be no doubt that Joanna is Sherlock’s daughter.
The novels in this series are told from the perspective of Dr. Watson’s son, also a doctor. Tell us a bit about him—and his relationship with his father, who appears in the books as well.
In the books, Watson has a handsome son who is a keen pathologist and he, together with Joanna, form the next-generation Holmes and Watson.
Inspector Lestrade and Mrs. Hudson also have descendants in these books. Why did you make that choice, and what should we know about them?
Primarily because Lestrade’s father, who was also an inspector at Scotland Yard, always brought the most difficult cases to Sherlock for solution. I thought it best to have the elder Lestrade’s son do the same as a way to bring the most interesting and perplexing cases to Joanna. Of perhaps more importance, with the presence of Scotland Yard at her side, Joanna would be seen as part of an official investigating team, which allows her to have the power and influence of the Metropolitan Police but without their constraints. In essence, like her father before her, Joanna uses Lestrade to aid her efforts. In regards to Miss Hudson, her character was simply too good to ignore. She is the gatekeeper to 221B Baker Street and no one is allowed in without her permission. At times, she seems to be overly protective. Even Lestrade has to wait in the foyer until she ascends the stairs and raps upon Joanna's door for permission to let the inspector in. Also, in one of the adventures, I gave Miss Hudson a bit of deductive reasoning, which was great fun.
How do John Watson and Joanna Blalock become acquainted?
Joanna’s mother dies shortly after childbirth and Sherlock has no intention to raise the newborn, so he and Watson arrange for the baby to be adopted by a well-to-do couple, with the papers permanently sealed. Strange, indeed! But not true, for later in Joanna’s adventures her life is threatened by Professor Moriarty’s twin, who seeks revenge for Sherlock disposing of his brother at the Falls of Reichenbach. In a letter written by Holmes to Watson just prior to the Great Detective’s death by natural causes, Holmes asks Watson to look after Joanna, whose life is in danger. Watson agrees to do so even if it requires him to dispose of the evil twin. This letter can be found in the novel The Wayward Prince, which precedes A Scandalous Affair.
I decided to create Watson this way so that the daughter has a solid link to her father’s past, which only Watson can provide. He can also assist with occasional guidance from his vast experience alongside the Great Detective. And it is Watson who points out the remarkable similarities between Sherlock and his stunning daughter.
Another recurring character in the books is Toby Two. What can you tell us about her?
As described by the elder Watson, the first Toby was an ugly, long-haired, lop-eared creature with a keen nose, who resided in a cage in a filthy house (filled with disgusting animals) owned by an equally disgusting fellow named Sherman. Sherlock Holmes was not fond of dogs but tolerated Sherman and the hound when it served his purposes. I made Toby Two, the offspring of the original Toby, a bit more attractive, with the keenest of noses. It was a plus that she rather liked Joanna and was always eager to work with her. When Sherman died, Joanna took the dog in at Baker Street, with Miss Hudson happy to look after the gentle Toby Two. I thought it a good idea to include Toby Two initially, for it required Joanna, like her father before her, to deal with individuals at the lowest end of English society. Sherman’s house was located in the squalor of crime-infested Lower Lambert, which indicated Joanna showed no hesitation in working within the shadows and grime of London, as did her father. For in both, the chase to solve a perplexing crime knew very few limits.
A Scandalous Affair is John and Joanna’s eighth case. Set it up for us, please.
In A Scandalous Affair, Sherlock Holmes’s daughter faces an elaborate mystery that threatens the second most powerful man in His Majesty’s government. His position is such that he answers only to the king and the prime minister.
In 1918, during the height of the Great War, Joanna Holmes and the Watsons receive a late-night, clandestine visit from Sir William Radcliffe, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who brings with him an agonizing tale of blackmail; a case so sensitive that it can only be spoken of in the confines of 221B Baker Street.
An unknown individual has come into possession of salacious photographs, which not only sully the family name but may force the chancellor to vacate his seat on the War Council where his advice is most needed. The blackmailer has in their possession revealing photographs that show Sir William’s granddaughter in romantic encounters with a man other than the aristocrat whom she is engaged to marry. Should the pictures be released to the public, the wedding would be immediately called off, and the prospect of the granddaughter ever finding a suitable husband would vanish.
Sir William's family has been forced to pay exorbitant sums for several of the photographs, but even more salacious pictures remain in the blackmailer’s possession—and will no doubt carry greater demands and threats. Scotland Yard cannot be involved, for fear of public disclosure. It thus falls on the shoulders of Joanna and the Watsons to expose the blackmailer and procure the photographs before irreparable harm comes to the chancellor and his family.
And what of you? Are you already working on book 9? And if so, please drop a few hints on what to expect.
Yes. It revolves around a group of widows forming a club to mourn the loss of their husbands who died fighting for Britain in the ongoing world war; and of course there are those waiting in the wings with evil intentions.
Thank you so much for answering my questions!
Leonard Goldberg, a consulting physician and Clinical Professor of Medicine at the UCLA Medical Center, is also the internationally bestselling author of the Daughter of Sherlock Holmes series and other novels. A Scandalous Affair is his latest book. Find out more about him and his books at https://www.leonardgoldberg.com.
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