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amediaA while back I bought some mysteries by Roberta Rogow at MediaWest*Con, and I've finally gotten around to reading them.
I have some of Roberta's filk tapes; I don't think I've ever read any of her fan writing, but these books are a lot of fun. So far I've read The Problem of the Missing Miss, The Problem of the Spiteful Spiritualist, and The Problem of the Evil Editor (though not in that order; I read the second and third ones first and liked them so much I ordered the first one, which hadn't been available at MW*C). I've still got The Problem of the Surly Servant to go; I don't know if there are any more after that one, but I hope so.
The premise of the books is that the young Arthur Conan Doyle and the elderly Charles Dodgson were casually acquainted and occasionally solved mysteries together. The books are liberally sprinkled with references to the Alice books and other Carrolliana, including his works on logic, as well as incidents and quotations that are presented as inspirational tidbits tucked away by Doyle to use in his writings. I found them clever and amusing.
The mystery part of the mysteries is usually not all that mysterious; the fun lies in going along for the ride.
The author has clearly done lots of research, not only on the lives and works of Dodgson and Doyle, but on the social, political, and technological history of the period. There are times when the books feel slightly overstuffed with information; in The Problem of the Spiteful Spiritualist, for example, there's a description of a parlor that just goes on and on about all the furniture, knickknacks, pictures, etc. But I will say that the style of the description actually fit the content: a typical Victorian parlor would look over-filled to the modern eye, much as the sentences describing it did.
I think she does especially well with the social-history aspect, with a sharp eye for each character's social status and how that affects interactions among the characters.
My favorite of the books so far is The Problem of the Evil Editor, which brings together a number of fictional and historical characters and incidents in a very entertaining way. I particularly liked the involvement of Oscar Wilde, the behind-the-scenes look at how magazines were put together in the 19th century, and some pleasantly unexpected character moments. (I would say more about what I liked but it would be spoilery!)
I have some of Roberta's filk tapes; I don't think I've ever read any of her fan writing, but these books are a lot of fun. So far I've read The Problem of the Missing Miss, The Problem of the Spiteful Spiritualist, and The Problem of the Evil Editor (though not in that order; I read the second and third ones first and liked them so much I ordered the first one, which hadn't been available at MW*C). I've still got The Problem of the Surly Servant to go; I don't know if there are any more after that one, but I hope so.
The premise of the books is that the young Arthur Conan Doyle and the elderly Charles Dodgson were casually acquainted and occasionally solved mysteries together. The books are liberally sprinkled with references to the Alice books and other Carrolliana, including his works on logic, as well as incidents and quotations that are presented as inspirational tidbits tucked away by Doyle to use in his writings. I found them clever and amusing.
The mystery part of the mysteries is usually not all that mysterious; the fun lies in going along for the ride.
The author has clearly done lots of research, not only on the lives and works of Dodgson and Doyle, but on the social, political, and technological history of the period. There are times when the books feel slightly overstuffed with information; in The Problem of the Spiteful Spiritualist, for example, there's a description of a parlor that just goes on and on about all the furniture, knickknacks, pictures, etc. But I will say that the style of the description actually fit the content: a typical Victorian parlor would look over-filled to the modern eye, much as the sentences describing it did.
I think she does especially well with the social-history aspect, with a sharp eye for each character's social status and how that affects interactions among the characters.
My favorite of the books so far is The Problem of the Evil Editor, which brings together a number of fictional and historical characters and incidents in a very entertaining way. I particularly liked the involvement of Oscar Wilde, the behind-the-scenes look at how magazines were put together in the 19th century, and some pleasantly unexpected character moments. (I would say more about what I liked but it would be spoilery!)
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Date: 2011-01-23 01:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-01-23 08:08 pm (UTC)The only place I've found the books other than MW*C is on Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/Roberta-Rogow/e/B001HOKQVG/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1
They're moderately expensive new, but some are available cheaper used.