Crossover Cover: Sherlock Holmes: The Australian Casebook

 

The premise of this anthology is that Holmes and Watson spent several months in 1890, a year with supposedly little recorded data on Holmes’ cases, in Australia, originally to battle Guy Boothby's villain Dr. Nikola, but also solving several other cases along the way. Unfortunately, Baring-Gould placed no less than three cases in 1890, and too many crossover pastiches involving Holmes set in 1890 have been included in the CU for he and his Boswell to have spent more than a few days in Australia. Luckily, only two of the stories have crossovers. In Doug Elliott's "The Adventure of the Flash of Silver," Watson mentions the Nikola Formulae. In Christopher Sequeira's "The Dirranbandi Station Mystery," Holmes is hired to find a missing station hand. His client mentions bushrangers such as Captain Starlight, his colleague Warrigal, and Stingaree. Later, Holmes and Watson encounter Stingaree himself. Captain Starlight and Warrigal are from Rolf Boldrewood’s novel Robbery Under Arms. The Stingaree is from E. W. Hornung’s novel of the same name. 

These crossovers are two of hundreds covered 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 Volume 1 and 2!

Crossover of the Week

April 1923

THE HAUNTING OF DREARCLIFF GRANGE SCHOOL 

Drearcliff Grange School student Amy Thomsett, aka the Kentish Glory, and her fellow members of the Moth Club take part in the Great Game, an annual contest of skill between their school and others and must deal with the mysterious ghostly figure known as the Broken Doll. Appearing or mentioned are: Lucinda Tregellis-d’Aulney, aka the Aviatrix; Dr. Shade; Ariadne; Richard Cleaver, aka Clever Dick; the Diogenes Club; Janice Marsh; the Black Sow of Under-London; the Undertaking; Miss Violet “Fossil” Borrodale; Dennis Rattray, aka Blackfist; Maurice Wyvil; Moll Flanders; the Old Jago; Bert Stevens; Enoch Drebber; Lauriston Gardens; Jefferson Hope; Dr. Watson; the Splendid Six; Lord Piltdown; Jennifer God; Lord Leaves; Hans von Hellhund; Number 347, Piccadilly; Geoffrey Jeperson; Count DeVille; “Necro-nommi-con des Mortis”; Valmouth; the Hurstpierpoint Hotel; Sir Wilfrid Teazle; Mark Robarts’ A Counterblast to Agnosticism; Brichester; Colonel Clay; Sophy Kratides; Graustark; “a cove with either too many or too few names”; the Moriarty Mob; Sebastian Moran; Johnny Barlowe; the Opera Ghost Agency; Erik de Boscherville, aka the Phantom; Silver Blaze; Uncle Satt; Thomas Carnacki; the Mausoleum; the Royal North Surrey Regiment; Sir Boris de Bruin; the Department of Supplies; Sally Nikola’s dad; a Rolls-Royce ShadowShark; Colonel Zenf; Mr. John Bronze; the Angel Down Changeling; Queen Tera; the Mystic Maharajah; Lydia Marlowe; Anne Sercombe; Anne D’Arbanvilliers-Cleaver; Cassandra, Heather, and Priscilla Wilding; Thelma Guildmar; Giulietta Nefaria; Vera Claythorne; and Cunegonde Quive-Smith. 

Novel by Kim Newman, Titan Books, 2018. The Splendid Six, consisting of the Aviatrix, Clever Dick, Blackfist, Lord Piltdown, the Blue Streak, and the Mystic Maharajah, are from Newman’s Diogenes Club story “Clubland Heroes.” Hans von Hellhund is also from that story; an AU counterpart is mentioned in “Coastal City.” Dr. Shade is from Newman’s “The Original Dr. Shade.” Ariadne is from Newman’s Bad Dreams. The Diogenes Club and Sophy Kratides are from Doyle and Watson’s Sherlock Holmes story “The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter.” Bert Stevens is from the Holmes story “The Adventure of the Norwood Builder.” Enoch Drebber, Lauriston Gardens, and Jefferson Hope are from Holmes’ first appearance, A Study in Scarlet. Colonel Sebastian Moran is Professor Moriarty’s lieutenant from “The Adventure of the Empty House.” Silver Blaze is from the Holmes tale “The Adventure of Silver Blaze.” The Undertaking is from the Diogenes Club stories “Angel Down, Sussex” and “Sorcerer Conjurer Wizard Witch.” The Angel Down Changeling is from the former story. The Mausoleum is from the latter story. Violet Borrodale is from Newman’s “Richard Riddle, Boy Detective in ‘The Case of the French Spy.’” Janice Marsh, a member of the Marsh family seen in H. P. Lovecraft’s “The Shadow over Innsmouth,” is from Newman’s “The Big Fish” and “Another Fish Story.” The Black Sow of Under-London is the Beast of London from Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere. Maurice Wyvil is from William Harrison Ainsworth’s Old St. Paul's. Moll Flanders is the title character of Daniel Defoe’s novel. The Old Jago is from Arthur Morrison’s A Child of the Jago. “Jennifer God” is a reference to vampire Geneviève Dieudonné from the Diogenes Club stories, who also has a counterpart in the Anno Dracula Universe. Lord Leaves is from the Diogenes Club stories “Soho Golem" and “Cold Snap.” Number 347, Piccadilly was Dracula’s home in London in Bram Stoker’s novel. “Count DeVille” was the alias Dracula used to buy the house. Geoffrey Jeperson is the adoptive father of Richard Jeperson, a 1960s and 1970s agent of the Diogenes Club seen in Newman’s The Man from the Diogenes Club. Richard Jeperson drives a Rolls-Royce ShadowShark. “Necro-nommi-con des Mortis” is a reference to the Necronomicon Ex Mortis from the Evil Dead movies; the book appears under the variant name Necronomicon des Mortes in the Angel episode "Hell Bound." Valmouth is from Ronald Firbank’s novel of the same name. One of the characters in the book is Mrs. Eulalia Hurstpierpoint. Sir Wilfrid Teazle is an ancestor of Louise Magellan Teazle from Newman’s An English Ghost Story. Mark Robarts is from Anthony Trollope’s Framley Parsonage. A Counterblast to Agnosticism is from Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the d’Urbervilles. Brichester University is from Ramsey Campbell’s Cthulhu Mythos stories. Colonel Clay is from Grant Allen’s An African Millionaire. Graustark is a European kingdom in novels by George Barr McCutcheon. The “cove with either too many or too few names” is the Man with No Name from Sergio Leone’s films dubbed “the Dollars Trilogy”: A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, and The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Johnny Barlowe is from Ilya Surguchev and Frederick Albert Swan’s The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo. The Opera Ghost Agency is from Newman’s Angels of Music. Erik is from Gaston Leroux’s The Phantom of the Opera. Uncle Satt and Sir Boris de Bruin are from the Diogenes Club story “The Gypsies in the Wood.” Thomas Carnacki is from William Hope Hodgson’s Carnacki, the Ghost-Finder. The Royal North Surrey Regiment is from A. E. W. Mason’s The Four Feathers. The Department of Supplies is from Newman’s Professor Moriarty: The Hound of the d’Urbervilles. Sally Nikola’s father is Guy Boothby’s villain Dr. Nikola. Colonel Zenf is from “Sorcerer Conjurer Wizard Witch” and “Cold Snap.” John Bronze is from Newman’s contributions to The Lovecraft Squad mosaic novel series, created by Stephen Jones. Queen Tera is from Stoker’s The Jewel of Seven Stars. Lydia Marlowe is from the Sherlock Holmes movie The Woman in Green. Anne (or Ann) Sercombe is the future wife of John le Carré’s spy George Smiley. Anne D’Arbanvilliers-Cleaver may be the sister of Clever Dick, whose aunt, Rebecca D’Arbanvilliers-Cleaver, appears in “The Gypsies in the Wood.” Cassandra, Heather, and Priscilla Wilding are likely related to Newman’s recurring character Heather Wilding. Thelma Guildmar is from the 1922 movie Thelma. Giulietta Nefaria, aka Whitney Frost, is better known as Madame Masque, a foe and onetime love interest of the Marvel Comics hero Iron Man. Vera Claythorne is from Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None. Cunegonde Quive-Smith must be related to Major Quive-Smith from the movie Man Hunt. 

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 1922-Winter 1923 

THE SECRETS OF DREARCLIFF GRANGE SCHOOL 

Amy Thomsett, a young girl with the ability to levitate both herself and other people and objects, is enrolled at the Drearcliff Grange School, where she finds that she is not the only student with an Unusual Talent. Forming a secret society called the Moth Club with her friends and taking the alias of the Kentish Glory, she must thwart a takeover of the school by Antoinette Rowley Rayne and her followers, the Black Skirts. Appearing or mentioned are: Miss Violet "Fossil" Borrodale; Lucinda Tregellis d’Aulney, aka the Aviatrix; Irene Dobson; Luna Bartendale; the book My Nine Nights in a Harem; Captain Dennis Rattray, aka Blackfist; the Blue Streak; Lord Piltdown; Ticia Frump; Miss Catriona Kaye; Hans von Hellhund, the Demon Ace; Dr. Shade; night-gaunts; Sally Nikola’s father, the Fifth Most Dangerous Man in the World; Janice Marsh; Singapore Charlie’s; the Scarlet Pimpernel; Zorro; Shrewsbury College; the Old Ones; the Deep Ones; Anthony Zenith; the Mausoleum; Egdon Heath; Isidore Persano and his Worm Unknown to Science; Mr. Roderick Spode; the Mystic Maharajah; Innsmouth, Massachusetts; the Ghidorah, a Black Skirt triad; a rhedosaurus; the Diogenes Club; the Esoteric Order of Dagon; the Black Quorum; the Blood Banner Society; the movie She-Strangler of Shanghai; Box Brothers Bank; Dr. Mabuse; Captain Geoffrey Jeperson; Haghi; the Onion Men; Olivia Gibberne; Di’en Ching; Winnerden Flats; Moria Kratides; the Hydes of March; Buggleskelly; the Duel of the Seven Stars; Ariadne; Hilda Courtney; Lydia Marlowe; Anne Sercombe; Anne D’Arbanvilliers-Cleaver; Cassandra, Heather, and Priscilla Wilding; Susan Foreman; Alraune Ten Brincken; Vera Claythorne; Cunegonde Quive-Smith; and Elva Kyle. 

Novel by Kim Newman, Titan Books, 2015. Violet Borrodale is from Newman’s “Richard Riddle, Boy Detective in 'The Case of the French Spy’.” The Splendid Six, whose members include the Aviatrix, Blackfist, the Blue Streak, Lord Piltdown, and the Mystic Maharajah, are from Newman’s Diogenes Club story “Clubland Heroes.” Hans von Hellhund is from “Clubland Heroes”; an AU version is mentioned in “Coastal City.” Irene Dobson is from Newman’s story “Is There Anybody There?” Luna Bartendale is from Jessie Douglas Kerruish’s novel The Undying Monster. My Nine Nights in a Harem is mentioned in several of Newman’s works. Professor Moriarty: The Hound of the d’Urbervilles reveals that it was authored by Colonel Sebastian Moran. Ticia Frump is the future Morticia Addams from Charles Addams’ comic strip The Addams Family and subsequent TV and movie spin-offs; Frump is Morticia’s maiden name. Catriona Kaye is from the Diogenes Club tales. The Club itself is from Doyle and Watson’s Sherlock Holmes tale “The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter,” which features Sophy Kratides, Moria Kratides’ mother. Dr. Shade is from Newman’s “The Original Dr. Shade.” Night-gaunts and the Old Ones are from H. P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos. Sally Nikola's father is Guy Boothby’s villain Dr. Antonio Nikola. Janice Marsh, a member of the Marsh family of Innsmouth, Massachusetts that has interbred with the aquatic Deep Ones in Lovecraft’s “The Shadow over Innsmouth,” is from Newman’s “The Big Fish” and “Another Fish Story.” She-Strangler of Shanghai is from “The Big Fish.” The Esoteric Order of Dagon is from Lovecraft’s story. Singapore Charlie’s is from Sax Rohmer’s Fu Manchu novels. The Scarlet Pimpernel and Zorro need no introduction. Shrewsbury College is from Dorothy L. Sayers’ Lord Peter Wimsey novel Gaudy Night. Anthony Zenith is Zenith the Albino, detective Sexton Blake’s archenemy. Blake went up against the Black Quorum in the serial Mystery of No. 13 Caversham Square by Pierre Quiroule. The League of the Onion Men battled Blake in a storyline by Gwyn Evans. The Mausoleum is from the Diogenes Club tale “Sorcerer Conjurer Wizard Witch.” Egdon Heath is from Thomas Hardy’s The Return of the Native and Evelyn Waugh’s Decline and Fall. Isidore (originally Isadora) Persano and the worm unknown to science are from the Holmes story “The Problem of Thor Bridge.” Roderick Spode is from P. G. Wodehouse’s Jeeves books. The Ghidorah is named after the monster from the Godzilla film Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster. Since the massive destruction of public property in Japan seen in most Godzilla films is not compatible with the CU, Godzilla and Ghidorah’s rampages must have been fewer, more isolated, and less destructive than the movies depicted. The rhedosaurus is from the movie The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms. The Blood Banner Society is from Newman’s contributions (written as Jack Yeovil) to the novel series based on the miniature wargame Dark Futures. That game takes place in a universe that diverged from ours in 1960, so this must be the CU version of the Society. Box Brothers Bank is from Professor Moriarty: The Hound of the d’Urbervilles. Dr. Mabuse is from Norbert Jacques’ novels, as well as a series of films. Captain Geoffrey Jeperson is the adoptive father of Richard Jeperson, the title character of Newman’s collection The Man from the Diogenes Club. Haghi is from Fritz Lang’s film Spione. Olivia Gibberne is probably related to Professor Gibberne from H. G. Wells’ “The New Accelerator.” Dien Ch’ing is a CU version of the character from Newman’s Warhammer novel Beasts in Velvet, written under the Yeovil pseudonym. Winnerden Flats is from the British science fiction television serial Quatermass II. The Hydes of March are likely connected to Robert Louis Stevenson’s Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Buggleskelly is from the movie Oh, Mr. Porter! The Duel of the Seven Stars refers to Newman’s serial novella Seven Stars. The Seven Stars themselves are originally from Bram Stoker’s The Jewel of Seven Stars. Ariadne is from Newman’s novel Bad Dreams. Hilda Courtney is from the movie Dressed to Kill, while Lydia Marlowe is from The Woman in Green; both films star Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Dr. Watson. Anne Sercombe is British spy George Smiley’s wife in John le Carré’s spy novels, though there her first name is spelled “Ann.” Anne D’Arbanvilliers-Cleaver is possibly the sister of Richard “Clever Dick” Cleaver, the final member of the Splendid Six, whose aunt Rebecca D’Arbanvilliers appears in the Diogenes Club story “The Gypsies in the Wood.” Cassandra, Heather, and Priscilla Wilding are presumably related to Heather Wilding from Newman’s “The Serial Murders,” “Going to Series,” The Quorum, and “Cold Snap.” Susan Foreman is Doctor Who’s granddaughter. Alraune Ten Brincken is from Hanns Heinz Ewers’ Alraune. Vera Claythorne is from Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None. Cunegonde Quive-Smith is likely related to Major Quive-Smith from the movie Man Hunt. Elva Kyle may be related to Selina Kyle, the original Batman’s foe (and later second wife) the Catwoman, who once used the alias “Elva Barr.” 

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

Crossover of the Week

October 1885

THE HOUND OF THE D’URBERVILLES

            Professor Moriarty and Colonel Moran are hired by Jasper Stoke-d‘Urberville, nephew of Simon Stoke-d’Urberville, to kill Red Shuck, the spectral hound that has allegedly haunted the d’Urberville family for generations. Appearing or mentioned are: the village of Trantridge; the Chase; Simon’s son Alexander; Theresa “Tess” Durbeyfield-Clare; Tess’ son Sorrow and siblings Abraham and Modesty; the city of Wintoncester; Selden; Desperado Dan’l; a terrifying Fat Man in Whitehall; Doctor Jack Quartz; Dr. Nikola; the Si-Fan; the Lord of Strange Deaths; the Grand Vampire; Les Vampires; Wessex; Diggory Venn; Parson Tringham; Car Darch; Sir Pagan d’Urberville; Melchester; Lord John Roxton; Casterbridge; the Ranee of Ranchipur; Blind Herder; Arnsworth Castle; Jim Lassiter; John Durbeyfield; the parish of Kingsbere; Sherton Abbas; Singapore Charlie; Marlott Churchyard; and Elizabeth-Louise Durbeyfield.

            Short story by Colonel Sebastian Moran, edited by Kim Newman in Professor Moriarty: The Hound of the d’Urbervilles, Titan Books, 2011. The village of Trantridge, Simon Stoke-d’Urberville, the Chase, Simon’s son Alexander, Theresa “Tess” Durbeyfield-Clare, Sorrow Durbeyfield, Abraham Durbeyfield, Modesty Durbeyfield, the city of Wintoncester, Parson Tringham, Car Darch, Sir Pagan d’Urberville, John Durbeyfield, the parish of Kingsbere, Marlott Churchyard, and Elizabeth-Louise (or Eliza-Louisa) Durbeyfield are from Thomas Hardy’s novel Tess of the d’Urbervilles. Diggory Venn is from Hardy’s novel The Return of the Native. Wessex is a fictional region of England that appears in most of Hardy’s novels. Melchester is from Hardy’s Two on a Tower and Jude the Obscure. Casterbridge is from Hardy’s The Mayor of Casterbridge. Sherton Abbas is from Hardy’s The Woodlanders. Selden is from Doyle and Watson’s The Hound of the Baskervilles. The terrifying Fat Man in Whitehall is Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock’s brother. Blind Herder is the blind mechanic Von Herder from the Holmes story “The Adventure of the Empty House.” “The Arnsworth Castle business” is an untold Holmes case mentioned in “A Scandal in Bohemia.” Desperado Dan’l is inspired by (though not the same person as) the British comic book cowboy Desperate Dan. Doctor Jack Quartz is the arch nemesis of dime novel detective Nick Carter. Dr. Nikola is from the series of novels by Guy Boothby. The Si-Fan and Singapore Charlie are from the Fu Manchu novels by Sax Rohmer; the Lord of Strange Deaths is Fu Manchu himself. Les Vampires are from the titular film serial directed by Louis Feuillade, as is their leader, the Grand Vampire. Lord John Roxton is from Doyle’s Professor Challenger stories. Ranchipur is from the film The Rains of Ranchipur. Jim Lassiter is from the novel Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey. The month is given, but the year is conjecture based on the facts Moran has worked for Moriarty for some time and Selden is next seen as an escaped convict in 1888.

Crossover Cover: The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal

This collection features occult detective Simon Feximal and his biographer and lover, Robert Caldwell. In "The Caldwell Ghost," Feximal says the Third Line of the Saaamaaa Ritual, on which he and his fellow ghost-hunter Carnacki had done such perilous research. The Saaamaa Ritual and Carnacki are from William Hope Hodgson’s Carnacki the Ghost-Finder. In "Remember, Remember," Mr. Lownie, editor of the Chronicle, tells Caldwell that Feximal is at Hartley House "with Miss Kay and Dr. Berry. Carnacki’s in Ireland chasing some haunting, else he’d be there too, I hear." According to Robert, "that list encompassed the best-known ghost-hunters in England, with the exception of the reclusive Dr. Silence." Dr. Silence is the title character of Algernon Blackwood's collection John Silence. In "Devils on Horseback," Feximal is a member of the Diogenes Club, to which he had been nominated by one of his more peculiar acquaintances, a Government man whose intellectual capacity is matched only by his corpulence. Both Simon and Caldwell are members of a club called the Remnant, whose members include Dr. Silence, Thomas Carnacki, and Dr. Nikola. The Diogenes Club and the corpulent Government man (Mycroft Holmes) are from the Sherlock Holmes stories. Nikola is a supervillain created by Guy Boothby. In "The Writing on the Wall," Feximal and Caldwell encounter the occultist Karswell. Dr. Silence appears, and the Saaamaaa Ritual and John Watson are mentioned. Karswell is from M. R. James’ story “Casting the Runes.” Dr. John Watson is Sherlock Holmes’ best friend and biographer.

Crossover of the Week

December 1896

CUT THE BRANCH

Appearing or mentioned are: the Black Coats; Joséphine Balsamo; the House of Crafts; Dr. Antonio Nikola; Catarina Corbucci; Count Salvatore Corbucci; Professor James Moriarty; Madame Fourneau’s College for Young Women; Norman Head; Noel Moriarty; Irina Putine; the Chupin Detective Agency; Urania Caber; the golden ram crest of the Cagliostro family; the Gentlemen of the Night; Orianne Coyatier; Rochelle Moreau; Ramirez; Professor Chavain; Madame Sara (aka Sarah Warrender); Colleen Pegler; the White Lodge; Frank Moran; Colonel Sebastian Moran; Patrick Dickson; Hamish Webb; Stangerson’s Disassociation of Matter Through Electricity; the Brotherhood of the Seven Kings; Gordo Reloj; Pilar; Aguilar; the All-Father; Dominick Moriarty; Marga Sandorf; Aristide Orlowsky Sandorf; Baron Von Schulenberg; Manny Bennet; Solly Bennet; Corben Caine; Wilmot Rogers; Jefferson Gonzales; the Lanky Gunman; the Yankee Whistler; a friend of Gordo’s; Dupont-Verdier (aka Satanas); Jillian Blake; Leonard; Etienne Cressy Raimond D’Arcourt; Sharita; the Duchy of Strackenz; the Thuggee cult’s alliance with Naga worshippers; Achmet Genghis Khan; Gruesome Clayton; Carfax Abbey; Dracula; and Ballmeyer.

Short story by Rick Lai in Sisters of the Shadows: The Cagliostro Curse, Black Coat Press, 2013. The Black Coats are a criminal conspiracy featured in novels by Paul Féval. Orianne Coyatier is the granddaughter of Jean-François Coyatier (aka the Marchef), who acted as the Black Coats’ executioner. The All-Father is the leader of the Black Coats. The Gentlemen of the Night are from Féval’s The Mysteries of London. Joséphine Balsamo battled Arsène Lupin in Maurice Leblanc’s The Countess of Cagliostro. Leonard is also from that novel. The House of Crafts is an allusion to the criminal organization known as Krafthaus in John Buchan’s The Power-House. Dr. Antonio Nikola is a scientist and criminal mastermind featured in novels by Guy Boothby. Catarina Corbucci is meant to be Madame Koluchy from L. T. Meade and Robert Eustace’s The Brotherhood of the Seven Kings. Norman Head is also from Meade and Eustace’s novel. Madame Sara is from Meade and Eustace’s The Sorceress of the Strand; her alias of Sarah Warrender is meant to imply she is the mother of Miss Warrender from Arthur Conan Doyle’s “Uncle Jeremy’s Household.” Achmet Genghis Khan was identified as Miss Warrender’s father in Doyle’s tale. Count Salvatore Corbucci dueled with A. J. Raffles in E. W. Hornung’s “The Fate of Faustina” and “The Last Laugh.” Professor James Moriarty is Sherlock Holmes’ archenemy. Noel Moriarty (whose full name is James Noel Moriarty) is the Professor’s younger brother mentioned in The Valley of Fear. Colonel Sebastian Moran is Professor Moriarty’s second-in-command from “The Adventure of the Empty House.” In The Power-House, the Krafthaus’ leader Andrew Lumley lives in a house called the White Lodge; the implication of the White Lodge reference in Lai’s story is Lumley is actually Noel Moriarty. Madame Fourneau’s College for Young Women is from the Spanish horror film La Residencia. Irina Putine is an alias for Irene Tupin from the same film. Professor Chavain is based on Madame Fourneau’s reference to her former student, a noted botanist. The Chupin Detective Agency, run by Victor “Toto” Chupin, is from the works of Emile Gaboriau. Urania Caber is meant to be Urania Moriarty, the Professor’s daughter, whose existence was revealed by Philip José Farmer in Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life. Jillian Blake is based on a reference to a Jill Fagin who married a Blake in Farmer’s book. The golden ram crest of the Cagliostro family is from the animated Lupin III film The Castle of Cagliostro. Rochelle Moreau is the daughter of H. G. Wells’ Dr. Moreau and the niece of Bernard Moreau, who is mentioned in La Residencia. Tuco Benedicto Pacifico Juan Maria Ramirez is from the film The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. “Colleen Pegler” is an alias for Peg Cullane from Louis L’Amour’s The Man Called Noon. Frank Moran is Francis “Colt” Moran from the film Today It’s Me…Tomorrow You! Patrick Dickson is meant to be Tricky the Gambler from the movie The Fighting Fists of Shanghai Joe. Hamish Webb is meant to be James Webb from the movie Black Killer. Stangerson’s Disassociation of Matter Through Electricity is from Gaston Leroux’s first Rouletabille novel, The Mystery of the Yellow Room. Ballmeyer is Rouletabille’s father. Gordo Reloj is meant to be Gordo Watch from the film Arizona Colt (aka The Man from Nowhere); “reloj”is Spanish for “watch.” Pilar and Aguilar are from the film A Stranger in Town. Dominick Moriarty is meant to be Dominick Medina from John Buchan’s The Three Hostages. Marga Sandorf is the niece of the title character of Jules Verne’s novel Mathias Sandorf. Aristide Orlowsky Sandorf is meant to be the Hungarian villain Orlowsky from the movie Django Strikes Again. Baron Von Schulenberg is from the movie The Big Gundown. Manny Bennet is meant to be Manuel from the film Cemetery Without Crosses. Corben Caine and Wilmot Rogers are Ben Caine and Will Rogers from the same film. Solly Bennet is Solomon “Beauregard” Bennet from the movie Face to Face. Jefferson Gonzales is from the film Ringo and His Golden Pistol. The Lanky Gunman is Hank “Lanky” Fellows from the movie A Taste for Killing. The Yankee Whistler is the title character of the movie Yankee. Gordo’s friend is Frank Talby from the movie Day of Anger. Satanas is from Louis Feuillade’s film serial Les Vampires; in the English language translation of the serial, Satanas’ real name is given as Claude Dupont-Verdier. Etienne Cressy Raimond D’Arcourt and Sharita are from Gardner F. Fox’s novel Woman of Kali. The Duchy of Strackenz is from George MacDonald Fraser’s Royal Flash; here, it is implied to be the same country as the Duchy of Cagliostro from The Castle of Cagliostro. The alliance between the Thuggee and Naga worshippers is from Emilio Salgari’s Sandokan novels. Gruesome Clayton is Sir William Clayton from Farmer’s Tarzan Alive and Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life. Carfax Abbey is from Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

Crossover Cover: Sherlock Holmes: The Game's Afoot

This anthology contains three stories with crossovers. In M.J. Elliott's "The Adventure of the Hanging Tyrant," set in 1894, Holmes investigates a case that involves Oswald Crawshay, who learned the art of housebreaking from his uncle, a suspect in the theft of the Melrose Necklace. Oswald's uncle is Reginald Crawshay from E. W. Hornung’s Raffles stories "Gentlemen and Players" and "The Return Match," both of which are included in the collection The Amateur Cracksman. In Christopher Sequeira's "The Adventure of the Haunted Showman," set in October 1897, Inspector Lestrade brings a potential client to Holmes, who says he is engaged in a pressing affair involving an unclaimed rare book recently auctioned after the sale of the Al Hazred Collection, and he shall not be free until a courier returns from Amsterdam with a message he requires. After the woman and Lestrade leave, Holmes admits to Watson he was lying about the prior case. Despite Holmes’ falsehood, he must be aware of the real "Mad Arab" Abdul Alhazred, the author of the Necronomicon in H. P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos. "The Return of the Sussex Vampire," also by Sequeira, is set in 1926. The elderly Holmes and Watson investigate a case of vampirism plaguing Josiah Ferguson’s daughters, similar to a case involving Josiah’s nephew Bob’s infant son that occurred years ago. Bob Ferguson is from Doyle’s "The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire." Watson is uncertain what to do with notes from some of Holmes’ cases, including that of the Nikola Formulae. This is a reference to Guy Boothby’s master criminal Doctor Nikola. Watson has grown children (including at least two sons) and young grandchildren at the time of this case. However, in Farmer’s The Adventure of the Peerless Peer, Watson states Nylepthah is the only one of his four wives to bear him a son, that child being born in November 1918. Combined with a reference to Watson attending Mycroft Holmes’ funeral in 1919, this places Sequeira’s tale in an alternate reality to the CU.

Crossover of the Week

May 26, 1903

A CASE FOR LANGDALE PIKE

            Sherlock Holmes comes to his friend Langdale Pike seeking help on a case. Mentioned are: Sir Harry Flashman; Miss Irene Adler; Enoch Soames; James Moriarty; Dr. John H. Watson; A.J. Raffles; the Diogenes; Isadora Klein (aka Lady Lomond); His Royal Highness Prince Florizel of Bohemia; Clarence, Lord Emsworth; Professor G.E. Challenger; the Doctors Nikola and Thorndyke; Mr. Oswald Bastable; Frederick, Lord Ickenham; Mr. A.V. Laider; Mr. Joseph Jorkens; the Darling children; Karswell; “that so-called ghost ship at Whitby”; Graustark; Ruritania; Van Dusen; an officious young waiter who is trying to better himself by reading Spinoza and memorizing Shakespeare and aspires to be a gentleman’s gentleman, and whose name starts with a J; Strether; Little Bilham; Isadora Klein; Spencer John; Grimpen Mire; Hewitt; young Wimsey; the Great Old Ones; and Miskatonic University.

            Short story by Michael Dirda in On Conan Doyle; or, The Whole Art of Storytelling, Princeton University Press, 2012. Langdale Pike, Isadora Klein, and Spencer John are from Doyle and Watson’s Sherlock Holmes story “The Adventure of the Three Gables.” This story depicts Holmes’ consultation with Pike on that case, which was only alluded to in the original tale. Irene Adler is from the Holmes story “A Scandal in Bohemia.” Professor James Moriarty is Holmes’ greatest foe. One member of the Diogenes Club is Sherlock’s older brother Mycroft. Grimpen Mire is from the Holmes novel The Hound of the Baskervilles. Professor George Edward Challenger appears in The Lost World and other works by Doyle. Sir Harry Flashman is the antihero of a series of novels by George MacDonald Fraser. Enoch Soames and A.V. Laider are the respective title characters of two stories by Max Beerbohm, both of which are included in the collection Seven Men. A.J. Raffles is E.W. Hornung’s gentleman thief. Prince Florizel of Bohemia is from Robert Louis Stevenson’s books New Arabian Nights and The Dynamiter. Clarence, Lord Emsworth is from P.G. Wodehouse’s Blandings Castle novels. Frederick, Lord Ickenham is better known as Uncle Fred, and is the subject of another series by Wodehouse. The officious young waiter is Wodehouse’s Reginald Jeeves, future valet to Bertie Wooster. Dr. Antonio Nikola is a master criminal created by Guy Boothby, while Dr. John Evelyn Thorndyke is a detective created by R. Austin Freeman. Oswald Bastable is from Edith Nesbit’s books The Story of the Treasure Seekers, The Wouldbegoods, and The New Treasure Seekers. Joseph Jorkens is an explorer and raconteur created by Lord Dunsany. The Darling children are from J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan. Karswell is from M.R. James’ story “Casting the Runes.” The “so-called ghost ship at Whitby” is from Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Graustark is a European monarchy appearing in novels by George Barr McCutcheon. The kingdom of Ruritania is from Anthony Hope’s The Prisoner of Zenda and Rupert of Hentzau. Van Dusen is Professor Augustus S.F.X. Van Dusen, aka “the Thinking Machine,” a sleuth created by Jacques Futrelle. Lambert Strether and Little Bilham are from Henry James’ novel The Ambassadors. Private detective Martin Hewitt appeared in stories by Arthur Morrison. Young Wimsey is Dorothy L. Sayers’ future sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey. The Great Old Ones and Miskatonic University are from H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos.

Crossover Covers: Doc Savage: Doom Dynasty

In this two-issue miniseries, Doc Savage battled Dr. Nikola, a villain created by Guy Boothby. There was also a reference to Johnny Littlejohn being at "that weird university in Massachusetts," a reference to Farmer's theory that Johnny taught at Miskatonic University, from H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos.

Crossover Cover: Professor Moriarty: The Hound of the D'Urbervilles

This collection of stories by Kim Newman describes the misdeeds of Professor James Moriarty and Colonel Sebastian Moran. The first story, "A Volume in Vermillion," shows how Moran first came to work for Moriarty. The final story, "The Problem of the Final Adventure" describes the duel between Moriarty and Sherlock Holmes at the Reichenbach Falls, as well as the events leading up to it, from Moran's point of view. All of the story titles are various on the titles of stories from the Holmes canon. Each of the stories has several crossovers. "A Volume in Vermillion" features characters from Zane Grey's Riders of the Purple Sage, while the title story is a sequel to Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles. A number of other fictional criminals appear, including the Lord of Strange Deaths (Fu Manchu), Les Vampires, Doctor Nikola, Doctor Mabuse, and A.J. Raffles and Bunny Manders.