‘Sherlock Holmes and the Cabinet of Wonders’ by Linda Stratmann

Published by Sapere Books,
11 November 2024.
ISBN: 978-085495557-2 (PB)

It is February 1878 and Arthur Stamford has two things on his mind. The first is the need to do well in his forthcoming final examinations to become a qualified surgeon. The second is his concern about his friend, Sherlock Holmes, who has been depressed and discouraged since the tragic outcome of the last major investigation he had undertaken at the request of his brother, Mycroft. To successfully pass his examinations, Stamford knows he has to work hard, and he wishes to explore different aspects of the specialism he has selected, ophthalmology. Fortunately, Stamford spots an opportunity to combine his studies with an effort to relieve Holmes’ dark mood. He decides to visit a display of sleight of hand by a renowned conjuror, which will demonstrate how a skilled practitioner of legerdemain can deceive the eyes of the watchers. Stamford thinks this may interest Holmes and persuades him to accompany him to the Egyptian Hall, where the conjurer is one of the acts, alongside the main attraction, the famous magicians Maskelyne and Cooke, who are the leaseholders of the Hall.

Holmes agrees to join Stamford to view the entertainment, which they both enjoy. All of the performers are extremely talented, but the highlight is Maskelyne and Cooke’s demonstration of the Cabinet of Wonders. Maskelyne has a mission to demonstrate as fraudulent the tricks used by spiritualists, who claim they are assisted by the spirits that they summon. One of these tricks was when two of the spiritualists were tied up in a closed cabinet from which comes the sound of musical instruments being played. Maskelyne has replicated this cabinet, and he and Cooke reproduce the spiritualists’ act, the first time with the cabinet door closed, and the second time with it open to reveal that the two men have freed themselves and are playing the instruments; they then retie the rope to make it appear that they were unable to move. Maskelyne uses this act to show that no ghostly aid is required to work the mysteries of the Cabinet of Wonders, just the skills of competent magicians. This crusade has earned him many bitter enemies amongst the spiritualists and their followers.

Stamford is pleased that this outing has helped to revitalise Holmes’ interest in developing his detective skills, although he is concerned that Holmes’ landlady might discover Holmes while he is practising his attempts to escape after Stamford, at his request, has tied him up. Three weeks after their visit to the Egyptian Hall, Sergeant Lestrade visits Holmes to invite him and Stamford to accompany him to the venue, because a member of Maskelyne’s staff has been discovered dead under suspicious circumstances. Thomas Tapper was sixty years old and had worked for Maskelyne as a stage assistant for five years; his body was discovered that morning, tied up in the Cabinet of Wonders. Apparently, Tapper had boasted that he could perform Maskelyne’s Cabinet of Wonders trick and could release himself from the ropes without assistance. At first it is assumed that he had attempted the escape trick and, when he failed to do so, panic had caused him to have a heart attack. However, it becomes apparent that somebody had been involved in the death, and Maskelyne requests Holmes to investigate.

One of the hardest things to establish is whether Tapper was killed because of something that occurred in his own life, or whether his death in such circumstances is an attempt to discredit Maskelyne. If the motive is connected to the magician, there are several possible suspects, not only the vengeful spiritualists, but also Mr Ashbury, a disreputable manager of theatrical magicians. In the past, Ashbury has bullied his clients into helping him to copy Maskelyne’s tricks, although, as Ashbury lacks any trace of Maskelyne’s genius, his copies were always shoddy and fraudulent. Ashbury hates Maskelyne, and some of the performers under contract to him have also fallen foul of the master magician, when Ashbury has convinced them to cheat in their acts.

Tapper was unmarried and had no close friends, so Holmes and Stamford have to investigate his interactions with the people at the Egyptian Hall in order to get some insight into his life and character. They also have to follow up the current location and lifestyle of those people who wish to discredit Maskelyne, which proves so time-consuming that Stamford is worried that Holmes is not considering the importance of his studies. The investigation is both difficult and, at times, dangerous, and provides Stamford with his first opportunity to work as a qualified doctor as he struggles to save a life.

Sherlock Holmes and the Cabinet of Wonders is the eighth book in the series narrated by Stamford, Holmes’ biographer before he met Doctor Watson. It is an excellent addition to an enjoyable series; the characters are engaging, and develop with each adventure they undertake, and the plot is interesting; above all the historical detail is immaculately researched, complex and compelling. This is an enjoyable read, which I recommend.
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Reviewer  Carol Westron

Linda Stratmann was born in Leicester in 1948 and first started scribbling stories and poems at the age of six. She became interested in true crime when watching Edgar Lustgarten on TV in the 1950s. Linda attended Wyggeston Girls Grammar School, trained to be a chemist’s dispenser, and later studied at Newcastle University where she obtained a first in Psychology. She then spent 27 years in the civil service before leaving to devote her time to writing. Linda loves spending time in libraries and archives and really enjoys giving talks on her subject. 

www.lindastratmann.com  

Carol Westron is a Golden Age expert who has written many articles on the subject and given papers at several conferences. She is the author of several series: contemporary detective stories and police procedurals, comedy crime and Victorian Murder Mysteries. Her most recent publications are Paddling in the Dead Sea and Delivering Lazarus, books 2 and 3 of the Galmouth Mysteries, the series which began with The Fragility of Poppies.

www.carolwestron.com