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A review by catherine_t
The Hudson Diaries: The Life and Times of a Baker Street Resident by Kara L. Barney
2.0
This slim volume (I read it in a day) consists of tales supposedly written by Martha Hudson, nee Beauregard, housekeeper at 221 Baker Street: how she came to be employed there, and cases in which she became involved along with Holmes and Watson.
I am a Holmes fan, let there be no mistake. I've read the stories dozens of times. I suspect that I've read the stories more than the author of The Hudson Diaries has. I'm afraid I took issue with Mrs. Hudson being portrayed as a) the housekeeper, not the landlady and b) her overall characterization. I have no doubt that Mrs. Hudson, as Doyle wrote her (not that he wrote much), was a stalwart, intelligent woman, but Barney's interpretation leaves that out entirely and turns her into an almost flighty, melodramatic character.
I don't recommend this book.
I am a Holmes fan, let there be no mistake. I've read the stories dozens of times. I suspect that I've read the stories more than the author of The Hudson Diaries has. I'm afraid I took issue with Mrs. Hudson being portrayed as a) the housekeeper, not the landlady and b) her overall characterization. I have no doubt that Mrs. Hudson, as Doyle wrote her (not that he wrote much), was a stalwart, intelligent woman, but Barney's interpretation leaves that out entirely and turns her into an almost flighty, melodramatic character.
I don't recommend this book.