The distinction between a pastiche and a parody can be more nebulous
than you might think.
In his essay, “The Beginnings of Solar Pons,” August Derleth
made it clear that he intended Pons as a pastiche of Sherlock Holmes, “not parody.” But Vincent Starrett, in praising the
Pons stories, wrote that he found in them “a hint
– just a mild flavor of burlesque.” He added that “it seems to me the best
pastiches must have just that remote flavor of affectionate spoofing.”
Recently, I picked up a copy of
Arsene Lupin Versus Herlock Sholmes (also
known as The Blonde Lady) at the
Mysterious Bookshop in New York. Most crime fiction aficionados at least
recognize the Lupin name as that of the famous thief of French fiction. In this
episodic novel, which I have known about since I was a boy, Lupin does battle
with a character that might fairly be called a burlesque of Sherlock Holmes.
The story is serious, but Herlock Sholmes is not.
Even less serious is Sholmes’s
sidekick, Wilson. When Sholmes calls Wilson a “triple imbecile,” he is only
stating the obvious. Think Nigel Bruce, but not as smart.
Lupin, on the other hand, is everything
that the back cover of the Wildside Press edition of Arsene Lupin Versus Herlock Sholmes proclaims him to be: “witty, charming,
brilliant, sly . . . and possibly the greatest thief in the world.”
And still, the best he can do
against “Herlock Sholmes” is a draw. To that degree, Sholmes is like the character
of which he is a parody. His one book-length appearance is worth reading.
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