The Casebook of Newbury & Hobbes (37 page)

This one was also written for the
Annual
. I was playing around with form again here. I’d been writing a long sequence of “drabbles”—one-hundred-word stories—that built into a longer narrative, and decided to write a story in twelve minichapters, one each for the twelve days of Christmas. I love the discipline of writing precisely like this, carefully choosing every word and sticking to the rules. It’s quite a challenge, but it’s something I do a lot. I have notebooks full of these things, mostly featuring Newbury and Lady Arkwell. One day I’ll collect them all into a book.

I wrote this story around the time of the centenary of
The Titanic
, but this is the first time it’s seen print. It was written entirely at a writer’s retreat, fuelled by coffee, doughnuts and the good company of other writers.

It features what’s probably the last appearance of Lady Arkwell, chronologically speaking, but it’s the first time Peter Rutherford appears in the Newbury & Hobbes story. He’s a character I created for my novel
Ghosts of War,
a British spy who represents the next generation of secret agents. Here, he’s charged with interviewing an older Newbury about what
really
happened the night the
Titanic
went down, and passing on another of Lady Arkwell’s notes.

This might be my favourite of the short stories I’ve written to date. It represents a kind of nexus point in my fictional universe, the point where everything came together and I realised that all of my stories were really all part of one big saga. It features Peter Rutherford interviewing Professor Archibald Angelchrist—an aged, retired Secret Service man—about an adventure he once had with Newbury, Veronica and Bainbridge.

Angelchrist was a key character in my
Doctor Who
novel,
Paradox Lost,
and then later in
The Executioner’s Heart,
but this was his first appearance.

I like how it takes the form of smaller, nested stories that all come together at the last moment—and the fact it’s got terror birds and reanimated pygmies in it. It’s the story I typically bring out for readings and events.

There are few greater pleasures in life than sitting down to read an issue of the Sexton Blake Library. For years I’ve been addicted to these pulps, which had their golden age in the inter-war years. They’re rip-roaring adventures, full of larger-than-life heroes and villains.

The best of these villains, and, in my humble opinion, one of the best fictional characters ever created, is Zenith the Albino. He’s a gentleman prince from Eastern Europe, who smokes opium-tainted cigarettes and always wears immaculate evening wear, treats women with the utmost respect and has a rather relaxed attitude towards life and death. He appeared in over forty novels and novellas during the 1920s and 1930s.

This story was written for a new anthology of Zenith stories, and I decided to pitch him against Peter Rutherford, my British spy of the same era. Of course, it was too good an opportunity not to have Rutherford seek the advice of Veronica, amongst others, when going up against such a dangerous foe.

What I was also doing here, and in these other Rutherford stories, is showing the changing of the guard, the handing over of the baton from Newbury and Veronica to the next generation. Rutherford is clever enough, and respectful enough, to know that he can learn a great deal from those who have fought such battles before.

I suppose this is quite a sentimental story, really, but I’m a romantic at heart.

I was doing two things here. Firstly, exploring Angelchrist’s history with Newbury, Veronica and Bainbridge to really get to the bottom of his place in the saga, his relationship with the key characters. Secondly, showing another side to Rutherford, and how he thanks Angelchrist for all of his help by reuniting him with his old friends at Christmas. It felt like a good note to end the collection on, the point where Rutherford goes it alone, leaving the old guard to retire in peace, finally able to simply enjoy one another’s company at Christmas, safe in the knowledge that someone else is out there now, looking out for the interests of the British Empire.

“The Dark Path”, “Lady Arkwell’s Deceit” and “A Night, Remembered” are original to this volume.

“The Hambleton Affair” first appeared in the limited-edition hardback of
The Affinity Bridge
, published by Snowbooks in 2008.

“The Shattered Teacup” first appeared in a limited edition chapbook for Christmas 2008, given away by the author as a Christmas card.

“What Lies Beneath” first appeared in the limited edition hardback of
The Osiris Ritual,
published by Snowbooks in 2009.

“The Case of the Night Crawler” first appeared as a limited edition chapbook for Teslacon II, published by Percepto Press.

“The Sacrificial Pawn” first appeared in
Team Up,
published by Obverse Books in 2011.

“Christmas Spirits” first appeared in the hardback edition of
The Immorality Engine,
published by Snowbooks in 2011.

“Strangers from the Sea” first appeared in the charity anthology
Storyteller,
published by Obverse Books in 2013.

“The Only Gift Worth Giving”, “A Rum Affair” and “Old Friends” first appeared in
The Newbury & Hobbes Annual 2013,
published by Obverse Books in 2012.

“The Maharajah’s Star” first appeared in the charity ebook anthology,
Voices From the Past,
edited by Scott Harrison and Lee Harris, published by H&H Books, 2011.

“The Albino’s Shadow” first appeared in the anthology
Zenith Lives!
edited by Stuart Douglas, published by Obverse Books in 2012.

George Mann was born in Darlington and is the author of over ten books, as well as numerous short stories, novellas and original audio scripts.

The Affinity Bridge,
the first novel in his Newbury & Hobbes Victorian fantasy series, was published in 2008. Other titles in the series include
The Osiris Ritual, The Immorality Engine
and the forthcoming,
The Revenant Express.

His other novels include
Ghosts of Manhattan
and
Ghosts of War
, mystery novels about a vigilante set against the backdrop of a post-steampunk 1920s New York, as well as an original
Doctor Who
novel,
Paradox Lost,
featuring the Eleventh Doctor alongside his companions, Amy and Rory.

He has edited a number of anthologies, including
The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction
and
The Solaris Book of New Fantasy,
and has written new adventures for Sherlock Holmes and the worlds of Black Library.

AVAILABLE NOW FROM TITAN BOOKS

THE WILL OF THE DEAD

A young man named Peter Maugram appears at the front door of Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson’s Baker Street lodgings. Maugram’s uncle is dead and his will has disappeared, leaving the man afraid that he will be left penniless. Holmes agrees to take the case and he and Watson dig deep into the murky past of this complex family.

A brand-new Sherlock Holmes novel from the acclaimed author of the
Newbury & Hobbes
series.

AVAILABLE NOVEMBER 2013

GEORGE MANN

THE REVENANT EXPRESS

A NEWBURY & HOBBES INVESTIGATION Join Sir Maurice Newbury on his fateful journey to St. Petersburg in the aftermath of the “Executioner” affair, pursued by those who would see him dead...

AVAILABLE JULY 2014

TITAN
BOOKS.COM

COMING SOON FROM TITAN BOOKS

BRAND-NEW TALES OF THE GREAT DETECTIVE

The spirit of Sherlock Holmes lives on in this collection of fourteen brand-new adventures. Marvel as the master of deduction aids a dying Sir Richard Francis Burton; matches wits with gentleman thief, AJ. Raffles; crosses paths with H.G. Wells in the most curious circumstances; unravels a macabre mystery on the Necropolis Express; unpicks a murder in a locked railway carriage; explains the origins of his famous Persian slipper and more!

FEATURING ORIGINAL STORIES FROM

Mark Hodder • Mags L Halliday • Cavan Scott • Nick Kyme • Paul Magrs • George Mann • Stuart Douglas • Eric Brown • Richard Dinnick • Kelly Hale • Steve Lockley • Mark Wright • David Barnett • James Lovegrove

COMING SOON

Further Encounters of Sherlock Holmes
(February 2014)

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