Crossover Covers: Adler

 

In 1902, nurse Jane Eyre returns from the Boer War and takes up rooms at Briony Lodge with Irene Adler. Soon, they must stop Ayesha, She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed, from destroying London. Along with various characters from the Holmes stories, also appearing are Estella Havisham (from Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations), Carmilla, Arthur Raffles, King Rudolf V of Ruritania, Queen Flavia, Rupert of Hentzau, Dr. Seward, the Demeter, Phileas Fogg, and Dr. Jekyll. Various anachronisms and reinterpretations of characters make this an AU. 

This crossover is one of over a thousand covered in my book Crossovers Expanded: A Secret Chronology of the World Volume 3, coming this summer from Meteor House! All three volumes are AUTHORIZED companions to Win Scott Eckert's Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1 and 2!

Crossover of the Week

Summer 1911

HOW THE PROFESSOR TAUGHT A LESSON TO THE GNOLES 

Professor Moriarty is hired by the thief Nuth to help him plunder the treasures of the creatures known as the gnoles. Nuth says thieves trace their lineage to Slith, and before him Prometheus, and that the history of thievery is as storied as that of any noble house in Ruritania or Celephais. He also asks Moriarty, “Shall I allow the foreigner Rocambole or the dissolute Raffles to wear the crown that is rightfully mine, then?” Moriarty has a tank which is based on the designs of “a certain Sikh of my acquaintance.” Moriarty says he will teach the gnoles the lessons of Troy, of Sarnath, and of Peking. 

Story by Josh Reynolds in The Adventures of Moriarty, Maxim Jakubowski, ed., Robinson, 2015. Nuth and the gnoles are from Lord Dunsany’s “How Nuth Would Have Practiced His Art Upon the Gnoles.” Slith, besides being mentioned in that story, appears in Dunsany’s “Probable Adventure of the Three Literary Men”; both stories are included in the collection The Book of Wonder. Ruritania is from Anthony Hope’s The Prisoner of Zenda. Celephais and Sarnath are from the works of H. P. Lovecraft. Rocambole is Ponson du Terrail’s adventurer. A. J. Raffles is E. W. Hornung’s gentleman thief. The Sikh is Captain Nemo. Rick Lai’s “The Secret History of Captain Nemo” and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen indicate Nemo would have no reason to do Moriarty any favors, so the Professor must have stolen his old foe’s technology. 

This crossover writeup is one of over a thousand appearing in my book Crossovers Expanded: A Secret Chronology of the World Volume 3, coming this summer from Meteor House! All three volumes are AUTHORIZED companions to Win Scott Eckert's Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1 and 2!

Crossover Cover: The Adventure of the Black Katana

 

Are you a Sherlock Holmes fan?

Then you'll love Bradley H. Sinor's story in this anthology, "The Adventure of the Black Katana," which has references to the Cthulhu Mythos and Raffles, as well as Sinor's story "Places for Act Two!" from the anthology Dracula in London!

For more information, be sure to pick up a copy of my book Crossovers Expanded: A Secret Chronology of the World Volume 3 when Meteor House publishes it! All three volumes are AUTHORIZED companions to Win Scott Eckert's Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1 and 2!

Crossover of the Week

Summer 1888

THE CASE OF MRS. NORTON 

The former Irene Adler hires Erik’s Opera Ghost Agency (whose current operatives are Ayda Heidari, Ysabel de Ferre, and Hagar Stanley) to determine whether her husband Godfrey Norton is the good man he appears. Appearing or mentioned are the Persian; the Countess de Cagliostro; Liddle, Neal, & Liddle; the King of Bohemia; A. J. Raffles; Professor Moriarty; Sherlock Holmes; Trilby; Coppélius; Spallanzani; Olympia; Irma Vep; Les Vampires; La Marmoset; and Mr. Calhoun. 

Story by Kim Newman in Angels of Music, Titan Books, 2016. Erik and the Persian are from Gaston Leroux’s The Phantom of the Opera. Irene Adler, her husband Godfrey Norton, and the King of Bohemia are from Doyle and Watson’s Sherlock Holmes tale “A Scandal in Bohemia.” Ayda Heidari is the future wife of Bob Ferguson from “The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire.” Professor Moriarty is Holmes’ greatest foe. Ysabel de Ferre is a foe of detective Sexton Blake. Hagar Stanley is from Fergus Hume’s Hagar of the Pawn-Shop. Josephine Balsamo, the Countess of Cagliostro, is the archenemy of Maurice Leblanc’s gentleman burglar Arsène Lupin. Liddle, Neal, & Liddle is from Arthur Morrison’s Martin Hewitt story “The Case of Laker, Absconded.” A. J. Raffles is E. W. Hornung’s amateur cracksman. Trilby O’Ferrall is from George du Maurier’s Trilby. Coppélius, Spallanzani, and Olympia are from Jacques Offenbach’s opera Tales of Hoffmann. Irma Vep and Les Vampires are from Louis Feuillade’s silent film serial named for the latter. La Marmoset and Mr. Calhoun are from Albert W. Aiken’s “La Marmoset, the Detective Queen; or, The Lost Heir of Morel.” 

This crossover writeup is one of hundreds included in my book Crossovers Expanded: A Secret Chronology of the World Volume 3, which will be published by Meteor House! All three volumes are AUTHORIZED companions to Win Scott Eckert's Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1 and 2!

Crossover of the Week

Autumn 1926 

WRATH OF N’KAI 

Countess Alessandra Zorzi, a professional thief-for-hire, comes to Arkham, Massachusetts to steal a mummy found in Oklahoma. Two years ago, Alessandra stole a gargoyle from the cathedral of Vyones. A month after that, she pilfered a copper ring crafted in the shape of a serpent from a house in Mayfair. Philippa “Pepper” Kelly, who works as a cab driver in male disguise, has as her head dispatcher a short, fat man named De Palma. At the unveiling of the mummy at the Miskatonic Museum, Alessandra runs into her old acquaintance Tad Visser, a New Yorker, who says the crowd includes bigwigs from Miskatonic, Harvard, Yale, and even representatives from his alma mater, Empire State. Alessandra knows of others in her profession who are violent or lacking in restraint, such as “that charlatan, Lampini.” Her teachers included an elderly Englishman with an inordinate fondness for cricket, a melancholy albino who smoked opium-soaked cigarettes, and the incomparable Mr. Nuth. Alessandra tells Pepper, “As a gentleman of my acquaintance once said, one cannot make bricks without clay.” Alessandra and Visser discuss Arkady Cottonwood’s book The Oldest Rite, a single copy of which Alessandra has stolen five times for three different clients. She also once procured a book on horology for a fat man in New York with a fondness for orchids. 

An Arkham Horror novel by Josh Reynolds, Aconyte, 2020. Vyones is from Clark Ashton Smith’s Averoigne stories. The gargoyle is a reference to Smith’s “The Maker of Gargoyles.” The copper ring is the Serpent Ring of Set from Robert E. Howard’s Conan story “The Phoenix on the Sword.” De Palma is likely the father or grandfather of Louie De Palma, head dispatcher for the Sunshine Cab Company in New York, from the TV series Taxi. Empire State University will later be attended by Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man. Lampini is Bruno J. Lampini, who appears in his own series of stories by Reynolds. Lampini is named after Professor Bruno Lampini from the movie House of Frankenstein. The elderly Englishman is E. W. Hornung’s amateur cracksman A. J. Raffles. The melancholy albino is Sexton Blake’s archenemy Zenith the Albino. Nuth is from Lord Dunsany’s story “How Nuth Would Have Practiced His Art Upon the Gnoles.” The gentleman of Alessandra’s acquaintance is Sherlock Holmes, who said “Data! Data! Data! I can’t make bricks without clay” in Doyle and Watson’s “The Adventure of the Copper Beeches.” Arkady Cottonwood is from Reynolds’ story “Corn Wolf.” Cottonwood’s book The Oldest Rite is mentioned in several of Reynolds’ works. The fat orchid enthusiast is Nero Wolfe, although Alessandra’s acquisition of the book for him must have happened before he officially hung up his shingle as a private eye in 1930. Professor Tyler Freeborn mentions his expedition to the Great Sandy Desert with Professor Nathaniel Wingate Peaslee and Professor Ferdinand Ashley from “The Shadow Out of Time” as a past event. This reference must be disregarded, as that expedition took place in 1935, nine years after the events of this novel. 

This crossover writeup is one of hundreds included in my book Crossovers Expanded: A Secret Chronology of the World Volume 3, which will be published by Meteor House! All three volumes are AUTHORIZED companions to Win Scott Eckert's Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1 and 2!

Crossover of the Week

Early Spring 1898

KINGDOM OF THE BLIND

            Appearing or mentioned are: Sylvia Pence; Count Salvatore Corbucci; Catarina Corbucci (aka the Blind Spinner); Noel Moriarty; the Gentlemen of the Night; the Black Coats; the Agnes de la Fere Athletic Club; Rochelle Moreau; Orianne Coyatier; Ecstasy Parker; Norman Head; Koutatsu of Shimosa Province; Sumeru Yuki; the Iga clan; Senzo; Marga Sandorf; the Order of the Serpent Heart; Baron Von Schulenberg; Colonel Skimmel; Aristide Sandorf; Dr. Eric Malbodius; Madame Sara’s Perfumery; Senora Pilar Reloj; the Pallid Mask; the Chupin Detective Agency; Chief Inspector Jacques Lefevre; Irina Putine; Vathelos; Anna Beringer; Leonard Wolfe; Superintendent Ford; the Koga clan; the White Priest; the Countess Yalta Memorial Hospital; the Royal Palace Hotel; the Regenerator of Fashion; Joséphine Balsamo; Ace Sartana; Maude North; the hero of the dime novel The Man from Minnesota; Mary Holder; Sir George Burnwell; the Old Fellow; La Frenaie wine; Dr. Antonio Nikola; Tarao Hanzo; Inspector Justin Ganimard; Helen Lipsius; Cesarine Caoutchouc; Colonel Clay; Alexander Holder; a blade used by the legendary Yagyu family to slay demons; and Julius Von Herder.

            Short story by Rick Lai in Sisters of the Shadows: The Cagliostro Curse, Black Coat Press, 2013. Sylvia Pence is meant to be Madame Sylvia from L. T. Meade and Robert Eustace’s story “Finger Tips,” included in the collection The Oracle of Maddox Street. Catarina Corbucci is better known as Madame Koluchy, from Meade and Eustace’s The Brotherhood of the Seven Kings; here, she is conflated with the Blind Spinner from John Buchan’s The Three Hostages. Norman Head, Anna Beringer, and Superintendent Ford are also from The Brotherhood of the Seven Kings. Madame Sara’s Perfumery is from another book by Meade and Eustace, The Sorceress of the Strand. Count Salvatore Corbucci dueled with A. J. Raffles in E. W. Hornung’s “The Fate of Faustina” and “The Last Laugh.” Noel Moriarty is Professor Moriarty’s younger brother, who was mentioned in the Sherlock Holmes novel The Valley of Fear. Ecstasy Parker is the sister of Larry Parker from Doyle and Watson’s “The Adventure of the Empty House.” Julius Von Herder is also from that story, although his first name is Lai’s invention, and is meant to imply he is the father of the titular villain of Ian Fleming’s James Bond novel Dr. No. Mary Holder, Sir George Burnwell, and Alexander Holder are from another Holmes tale, “The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet.” The Gentlemen of the Night are from Paul Féval’s The Mysteries of London. The Black Coats are a criminal conspiracy featured in a series of novels by Féval. Orianne Coyatier’s grandfather Jean-François Coaytier, also known as the Marchef, was the Black Coats’ executioner. The Agnes de la Fere Athletic Club is named after the main character (also known as Dark Agnes de Chastillon) of Robert E. Howard’s stories “Sword Woman,” “Blades for France,” and “Mistress of Death.” Vathelos is from Howard’s Conan story “Black Colossus.” The experiments of Rochelle Moreau’s father were chronicled in H. G. Wells’ The Island of Doctor Moreau, while her uncle Bernard is mentioned in the film La Residencia. Koutatsu of Shimosa Province and Senzo are from the movie Zatoichi’s Cane-Sword. Sumeru Yuki is related to the Marquis Sumuru from Sax Rohmer’s novels dealing with the Marquis’ villainous widow. The Iga and Koga ninja clans are historical, but their feud formed the basis for the Japanese television series Shadow Warriors. Tarao Hanzo is also from that series. Marga Sandorf’s uncle is the title character of Jules Verne’s novel Mathias Sandorf. The Order of the Serpent Heart is meant to be the secret society from H. Rider Haggard’s Heart of the World. Baron Von Schulenberg is from the film The Big Gundown, while Colonel Skimmel is from the movie Adios Sabata. Here, the Baron and the Colonel are identified as cousins; both were played by Gérard Herter. Aristide Sandorf is meant to be the villain Orlowsky from the movie Django Strikes Again. Dr. Eric Malbodius is meant to be Norbert Jacques’ criminal mastermind Dr. Mabuse. Senora Pilar Reloj is Pilar from the film A Stranger in Town; Lai’s story “Cut the Branch” revealed she married her fellow outlaw Gordo Reloj, who is meant to be Gordo Watch from the movie Arizona Colt. The Pallid Mask will later be known as Fantômas; his alias in this story is derived from Robert W. Chambers’ The King in Yellow. The Royal Palace Hotel is from the first Fantômas book, while the Old Fellow is from the seventh novel in the series, Le Pendu de Londres. Maude North is the villain’s late Boer wife mentioned in The Daughter of Fantômas. The Chupin Detective Agency, headed by Victor “Toto” Chupin, is from the works of Emile Gaboriau, as is the Regenerator of Fashion. Chief Inspector Jacques Lefevre is from the movie Bluebeard. Irina Putine is meant to be Irene Tupin from La Residencia. Leonard Wolfe is from R. Austin Freeman’s Dr. Thorndyke tale “The Aluminium Dagger.” The White Priest is Pai Mei of Chinese legend and film; his tendency to pluck out women’s eyes is an allusion to the movie Kill Bill: Vol. 2, which features a flashback in which Pai Mei rips out Elle Driver’s right eye. The Countess Yalta Memorial Hospital is named after a character from Fortuné du Boisgobey’s The Lost Casket (aka The Severed Hand); at the end of the novel, there are plans to construct a hospital in the Countess’ memory somewhere in France. Joséphine Balsamo is from Maurice Leblanc’s Arsène Lupin books The Countess of Cagliostro and Countess Cagliostro’s Revenge. Inspector Justin Ganimard is also from the Lupin tales. Ace Sartana is the Spaghetti Western hero Sartana combined with the Ace of Hearts from the movie They Called Him Cemetery; both were played by Gianni Garko. The hero of The Man from Minnesota is the title character of the film Minnesota Clay. La Frenaie wine is from the Averoigne tales by Clark Ashton Smith. Dr. Antonio Nikola was the subject of novels by Guy Boothby. Helen Lipsius is meant to be the Helen who worked for Dr. Lipsius in Arthur Machen’s The Three Hostages; her usage of the doctor’s surname is meant to suggest she is his mistress, just as Carl Peterson’s mistress Irma is often referred to as Irma Peterson. Cesarine Caoutchouc and Colonel Clay are from Grant Allen’s An African Millionaire. The Yagyu blade is from the film Samurai Reincarnation.

Crossover of the Week

September 1908–1911

YOUNG BECK, A CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCK

Paul Beck Jr., the son of sleuth Paul Beck, embarks upon his own detective career. There are references to a cricket-playing gentleman thief named Baffles, and Paul Jr.’s best friend, Charlie Kirkwood, remarks to Paul Sr., “I think I remember once, long before I had the pleasure of knowing you personally, reading a case of yours in which the famous Baffles imitated the finger marks of an absent burglar with India-rubber gloves.” Paul Sr. also comments, “No monkey has turned up in a burglary since the mystery of the Rue Morgue, so it must be a man.”

Collection of short stories written by Charles Kirkwood, edited by M. McDonnell Bodkin, 1912. “Baffles” is meant to be A. J. Raffles. The elder Beck’s encounter with Raffles is unrecorded. Paul Sr.’s comments treat Poe’s “Murders in the Rue Morgue” as an historical event. Paul Beck, Jr. is in his twenties, and is allegedly Paul Sr.’s son by Dora Myrl. However, Paul Sr. was identified as forty-one-years-old when he married Dora during the events of The Capture of Paul Beck, which also took place in 1908. Rick Lai writes, “Paul is now in his early sixties while Dora is about forty. I suspect that Paul Sr. had an earlier marriage when he was about nineteen. For some reason, Paul Sr. didn’t want this first wife discussed; possibly she was a crook. Kirkwood must have been instructed to make misleading chronological assertions and pretend that Paul Jr. was Dora’s son.”