The following book review was written for the Mark Twain Forum by Tim
Champlin.
~~~~~

_Diamond Jubilee: Sherlock Holmes, Mark Twain and the Peril of the Empire_.
By Paul Schullery. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2016. Pp.
258. 6 x 9". Paperback. $18.00. ISBN-10:  153083932.


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Reviewed for the Mark Twain Forum by:
Tim Champlin


Copyright (c) 2016 Mark Twain Forum. This review may not be published or
redistributed in any medium without permission.


Paul Schullery is a novelist who does all the little things right. For an
author who writes historical fiction, using small details correctly and in
the right proportion is critical to creating a world where a reader can
find a comfortable escape.


What makes historical fiction even more fun to read (and sometimes a bit
easier to write) is for the author to use characters already created and
familiar to the reader. In this case, the characters are Sherlock Holmes
and Mark Twain--one fictional, though he seems real, and the other real,
though he seems almost mythical.


Of course, using two such monumental figures requires that the author
adhere to all the known idiosyncrasies of character, habits of speech,
action and dress that readers have come to know and expect. Paul Schullery
has done his homework and does not disappoint. The mannerisms, dialogue,
dress and habits of both men are correct down to the last detail. Clemens's
limited physical capabilities of a sedentary smoker in his 60s are accurate
and believable. But Twain's limitations do not prevent him from
participating in the action--even to resurrecting his long-past piloting
skills. Katy Leary, the Clemens's take-charge household maid, is a very
perceptive woman who plays a key role in the plot.


If this is a Sherlock Holmes mystery, it must be told from the point of
view of his good friend and chronicler, Doctor John Watson. So a first
person narrator is already in place and ready to go. Watson eases us into
the tale, as he does in most Holmes stories. No beginning _in medias res_
here. But the action soon picks up when Sam Clemens (Mark Twain) comes
calling on the famous detective for help. A very strange-looking man seems
to be stalking Twain all the way from South Africa and has showed up as a
prowler at Twain's rented house in London. The Baker Street Irregulars are
also hired to ferret out information vital to the Holmes investigation.
Their leader has an even bigger part later in the story.


Holmes, at first, seems a bit more voluble and willing to share his thought
processes with Watson than in the original stories. But Schullery
anticipated this deviation and has Watson remark that this seemed
uncharacteristic of his friend. The tendency to give Watson a little more
information is necessary for clarity in the story, and helps Watson,
himself, become a major participant in the action and the eventual
resolution of the mystery.


It is June 1897, London, and Queen Victoria is preparing to celebrate her
Diamond Jubilee as the long-reigning monarch of the British Empire. We
already suspect there is some nefarious plot afoot to disrupt this great
celebration because of the subtitle of the book, _Sherlock Holmes, Mark
Twain and The Peril of the Empire_. The fact that Twain was in London at
this time coincides with history since he stayed there several months at
the end of his round-the-world lecture tour to write his book, _Following
the Equator_. The author does not work into the storyline the fact that
Mark Twain covered the Jubilee celebration for the _New York Journal_ and
that his reports were published in June 1897. Schullery's research of the
great parade spectacle could have come from Twain's articles, or from
London newspapers, or both. As the story approaches a climax, a struggling
Watson gives a fragmentary and harried description of the magnificent
pageant taking place around him.


For the sake of future readers, I won't disclose anything of the eventual
culprit, or the surprise ending. The author throws in a couple of red
herrings so it's not likely most readers are going to have a clue until
later in the book as to the identity of the villain, or the motivation for
his deadly intent.


This is a fun read. Paul Schullery is an accomplished professional. He has
a smooth narrative style that moves the story along while providing all the
small asides and details necessary to picture what is happening and to feel
the elation, pain, fear, and confusion of the characters.

 Only one small word of caution: Schullery's description of a ratting match
in a dive near the London docks might not be the best thing to read right
before supper.


_Diamond Jubilee_ is the first Schullery book I've ever read, but it
certainly won't be the last.

_____


ABOUT THE REVIEWER:  Tim Champlin is the author of 40 books, the vast
majority of them historical novels. Several touch on Mark Twain or his
characters:  _Swift Thunder_ (1998); _Fire Bell in the Night_ (2004); _Tom
Sawyer and the Ghosts of Summer_ (2010); and the forthcoming _Mark Twain
Speaking from the Grave_; _Huck Finn's Howling Adventure_; and _Tom
Sawyer's Dark Conspiracy_.