Enter the Lion

This is as unique an effort to capture the essence of the Mycroft Holmes character as I have ever been fortunate enough to enjoy. Second probably only to Quinn Fawcett's more recent work on the "Brotherhood" series, this 1979 novel by Michael Hodel and Sean Wright really brings the Mycroft Holmes character alive. The authors explain how they stumble across the hidden manuscript in an antique store, and then present the work for the reader. I believe this book pre-dates or is a contemporary of the work of Nicholas Meyer, who used a similar device in his books ("Seven Percent Solution", etc.), to explain how he came across new Sherlock stories. Hodel and Wright go a step further, and offer insightful footnotes throughout which help to illuminate past and future items in the Canon, as well as historical perspective. In the manuscript (reportedly written in the clear, concise hand of Mycroft himself), a young Mycroft relates an adventure involving a political plot to embroil England in a second American Civil War. Murder and intrigue are the order of the day, and our hapless Foreign Office assistant is right in the middle! The pace rarely slows, and Sherlock is on hand to assist as he begins laying the groundwork to become the world's first consulting detective. One of the interesting things about the story is that authors Hodel and Wright eschew the usual Dr. Watson stand-in, and allow the Mycroft character to relate the events in first-person. The result is a Sherlock story with a completely different and refreshing perspective. This is especially important as we gain an understanding of the Holmes/Moriarty feud. The real mystery is why the book is not more well-known to followers of Mycroftia (let alone Sherlockia), and why there were no further Mycroft tales from these authors.