Review of Charlie Milverton: A Modern Sherlock Holmes Story by Charlotte Anne Walters
A Chivalric Holmes Aids a Lady in Distress
I will confess that the original Arthur Conan Doyle, as told by Dr. Watson, "The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton," collected in THE RETURN OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, is unremembered from my tween reading of the stories of the Great Detective. It is now my habit to read the 'new' Holmes and to follow up with a reading of the 'old' Holmes. Charlotte Anne Walters has skillfully denuded Conan Doyle's narrative of its essential shaggy dog story while translating Watson's chronicle of events into the modern world of cellphones and laptops. Before writing this review, I read the original for comparison purposes.
Whether the late nineteenth century or early twenty-first, Holmes and Watson prove that chivalry is not dead. In the analog world of Holmes damning letters can prove socially ruinous. In modern London, paparazzi and security cameras replace the written word. In any era, the existence of venomous blackmailers is always the same. Their victims find themselves in a damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don't situation where alerting the authorities will inevitably bring ruin.
In place of Victorian mores, Walters offers the subjugation of a woman to a viciously controlling man. He manages every detail of her life — he owns her body and soul. Can Holmes save the day?
I listened to this quick read via Audible. The narrator, Steve White, was good but not great. I found myself missing some of his words. This flaw did not overly impact the story Charlotte Anne Walters wrote.