Book Review: Charles Phillips and Melanie Frances’s “The Sherlock Holmes Escape Book – The Adventure of the British Museum”
“You must look for a stone in the middle of Egypt. For the King is in danger.”
The new year appears to have been dragging on for some time, you have read every Sherlock Holmes story you could get your hands on (twice, at least) and you feel like you need something to take your mind off the general state of the world while actively engaging in an adventure? Then the second instalment of The Sherlock Holmes Escape Book will be perfect for you. The cover itself is already immensely appealing, featuring the movable circular translation device which allows you to follow clues and translate them into numbers, colours, letters, hieroglyphs and other signs in order to figure out which path you have to take through the adventure. The golden Sutton Hoo helmet in front of the portico of the British Museum is an extra lovely touch.
The adventure starts off when Holmes and Watson visit the Egyptian wing of the British Museum in order to decipher a code that appears to have been written in Egyptian hieroglyphics. The assistant director, Sir Alisdair Stuart, had begged Holmes repeatedly for a meeting, but Holmes, much to Watson’s astonishment, had always declined. Yet, the mysterious letter by Lady Arabella Conk-Singleton, the wife of one of Mycroft Holmes’s acquaintances from the Diogenes Club, has caught Holmes’s attention, as it hints heavily at a possible assassination attempt on King Edward VII mere weeks after the death of his mother, Queen Victoria.
The venture is interrupted when Holmes and Watson are called to the Enlightenment Gallery, where the assistant director has collapsed and appears to be near death. Holmes finds several intriguing documents in Sir Alisdair’s breast pocket and begins to realise that the case he initially ignored might be of significant interest to him after all.
At this point, much like a choose-your-own-adventure game, the escape book takes off into several directions.
Through the second person narrative perspective, which admittedly takes some getting used to when we expect the narrative voice of John Watson, the reader automatically takes on the role of Holmes – and experiences the adventure through his eyes. There are documents and maps to be studied, riddles to be solved, hieroglyphs deciphered, objects identified and red herrings ignored – all in the sublime setting of the British Museum, whose objects are a reflection both of British Imperialism and a far reaching, never ending curiosity – not unlike Sherlock Holmes himself. (A side note: Holmes himself is rightfully critical of some of the objects’ residence in London rather than in their place of origin).
I will not go into further detail concerning the story, as those forking paths lie ahead for each reader to tread, but I promise that the case will keep you engaged and on your toes, especially if you are a fan of the British Museum. In times like these, when a visit to the museum seems like an unachievable dream, it is lovely indeed to return to these majestic halls and be surrounded by the kings of old.
If you happen to get lost, there are hints available at the end of the book to help you along, as well as solutions, in case you need them. Furthermore, the book includes Watson’s handy Morse code notes and two pages on which you can jot down notes to help you with the riddles. I must admit that I wrote mine down on post-its, so I can pick the book up again without finding the solutions already scribbled into it and start the journey afresh. One final note: the illustrations in the book are truly wonderful, as you can see above, but my absolutely favourite one is found between story-parts 11 and 12. Once you see it, you will know why.
And now, without further ado, go and visit London and the British Museum in 1901 and help save the King!
The book was published by Ammonite Press and is available in all good book stores (go and support your local indie-book shop! For the UK, check here, and for the US, where the book is released in March 2021, here)
As a little bonus – and to pass the time – why don’t you check out the Hieroglyphic code wheel’s online version and write secret messages to your friends?
Maria teaches English Literature at Leipzig University, Germany, published a German introduction to Sherlock Holmes and is a fan of all things Holmes – but especially of the Canon stories and Sherlock BBC. Contact her at @stuffasdreams & maria@bakerstreetbabes.com
Thank you for posting this wonderful book, this story is really interesting,even the cover photo is beautiful and very intriguing. Excited to read the whole story. I’m looking forward to see more such type of book in future
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