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The son of Sherlock Holmes (who also happens to also be the grandson
of thief A. J. Raffles) decides to have his own adventures published.
Upon selecting the man who will chronicle his life (much as Watson did
for Holmes), we get the tale Raffles' astonishing origin, followed by
an exciting series of adventures involving burglary, extortion, armed
robbery, and moreùwith Raffles treading the fine line (and often
slipping off) between good and evil, as the conflicting heritage of
his sire and grandsire battle for dominance!
John Kendrick Bangs (1862-1922), an American writer, is best
remembered these days for three volumes of fantasy: A Houseboat on the
Styx (1895), Pursuit of the Houseboat (1897), and the collection, The
Enchanted Type-Writer (1899). All are classics of modern fantasy,
precursors to works by Thorne Smith (Topper), Philip Jose Farmer (The
Fabulous Riverboat), and many others. And all three feature Sherlock
Holmes as a major character. Without doubt Bangs used Holmes without
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's permission. Victorian-era writers often
"borrowed" each other's creations. Luckily, Holmes fared well in
Bangs's able hands. |
