num_pages: 347
description: What would happen if Sherlock Homles, a perfect man of the Victorian age--pompous, smug, and misogynisitic--were to come face to face with a twentieth-century female? If she grew to be a partner worthy of his great talents?Laurie R. King, whose very different first novel,. A Grave Talent (SMP, 1993), drew rave reviews, read the Conan Doyle stories and wondered about such an imaginary encounter. And following through, she has written The Beekeeper's Apprentice.1914, a young woman named Mary Russell meets a retired beekeeper on the Sussex Downs. His name is Sherlock Holmes. And although he may have all the Victorian "flaws" listed above, the Great Detective is no fool, and can spot a fellow intellect even in a fifteen-year-old woman.So, at first informally, then consciously, he takes Mary Russell as his apprentice. They work on a few small local cases, then on a larger and more urgent investigation, which ends successfully. All the time, Mary is developing as a detective in her own right, with the benefit of the knowledge and experience of her mentor and, increasingly, friend.And then the sky opens on them, and they find themselves the targets of a slippery, murderous, and apparently all-knowing adversary. Together they devise a plan to trap their enemy--a plan that may save their lives but may also kill off their relationship.This is not a "Sherlock Holmes" story. It is the story of a modern young woman who comes to know and work with Holmes, the story of young woman coming to terms with herself and with this older man who embodies the age that is past.
language: English
title: The Beekeeper's Apprentice
titlecomplete: The Beekeeper's Apprentice (Mary Russell, #1)
characters: Inspector Lestrade, Mrs. Hudson (Conan Doyle series), Mycroft Holmes, Dr. John Watson, Mary Russell, Patricia Donleavy, Sherlock Holmes (Russell & Holmes series)
genres: Fiction, Historical, Mystery, British Literature, Mystery Thriller, Adult, Historical Mystery, Historical Fiction, Crime, Audiobook
ratings_count: 81450
places: England, Sussex, England
series: Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes
awards: awardedAt: 757411200000
name: Agatha Award
category: Best Novel
publisher: Minotaur Books