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The Beekeeper's Apprentice (1994)

by Laurie R. King

Other authors: See the other authors section.

Series: Mary Russell (1), Mary Russell: Chronological Order (1915-1919)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
5,8822901,680 (4.06)480
A chance meeting with a Sussex beekeeper turns into a pivotal, personal transformation when fifteen-year-old Mary Russell discovers that the beekeeper is the reclusive, retired detective Sherlock Holmes, who soon takes on the role of mentor and teacher.
  1. 130
    The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley (clif_hiker, 47degreesnorth)
    47degreesnorth: Younger heroine and more precocious but similar
  2. 70
    A Monstrous Regiment of Women by Laurie R. King (catpal1)
    catpal1: All of the books in this series are wonderful. It's such a fresh take on the Sherlock Holmes fiction: the give-and-take reminds me of the old Kate Hepburn/Spencer Tracy pairings.
  3. 50
    The Seven-Per-Cent Solution by Nicholas Meyer (markusnenadovus)
  4. 50
    A Red Herring Without Mustard by Alan Bradley (47degreesnorth)
  5. 50
    Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear (Sally604)
    Sally604: Mysteries set in the same era with a female detective - lots of fun to read.
  6. 30
    The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley (47degreesnorth)
    47degreesnorth: No Holmes but younger more precocious heroine with a thirst to solve the case.
  7. 30
    Mr. Churchill's Secretary by Susan Elia MacNeal (yonitdm)
    yonitdm: They both feature brilliant, strong women as main characters, plus mystery, intrigue, and many, many cups of tea.
  8. 20
    The Final Solution. A Story of Detection by Michael Chabon (laytonwoman3rd)
    laytonwoman3rd: This book also features an elderly beekeeper who does some detecting, and who we are meant to understand to be Sherlock Holmes, although his name is not mentioned.
  9. 20
    The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Martin Harry Greenberg (Othemts)
  10. 10
    Chalice by Robin McKinley (MyriadBooks)
    MyriadBooks: To continue a bit of the bee theme.
  11. 00
    Sherlock Holmes and the Red Demon by Larry Millett (Othemts)
  12. 00
    A Slight Trick of the Mind by Mitch Cullin (Othemts)
  13. 01
    Holmes on the Range by Steve Hockensmith (clif_hiker)
  14. 01
    And Only to Deceive by Tasha Alexander (nessreader)
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» See also 480 mentions

English (285)  Swedish (1)  Piratical (1)  French (1)  All languages (288)
Showing 1-5 of 285 (next | show all)
I thoroughly enjoyed the adventures of Mary Russell, a teenaged genius who matches wits and joins forces with the "retired" Sherlock Holmes. She's a character I'd like to spend more time with. The story is well-plotted, and exciting in all the right ways, but I was totally bewildered by the mechanics of the climactic scene, and that might influence my decision to carry on with this series. ( )
  laytonwoman3rd | Mar 3, 2024 |
Sherlock Holmes fanfic. Entertaining. I seem to remember a few bits toward the beginning that were too embarrassingly Mary Sue to read, but it settles down after a hundred or so pages. Interesting approach to story-telling: the speed of events changes wildly throughout the book---but very true to what it's supposed to be, which is a memoir. ( )
  caedocyon | Feb 23, 2024 |
(2007) Pretty good take on Sherlock Holmes several years after he has ?retired? who takes on a young female protege Mary Russell who turns out to be a very good complement to Holmes's talents. Book is really a collection of short stories and a novella which all lead into one another with the ultimate case of solving who is trying to kill Holmes. Turns out is his nemesis's (Moriarity) daughter.(PW)Sherlock Holmes takes on a young, female apprentice in this delightful and well-wrought addition to the master detective's casework. In the early years of WW I, 15-year-old American Mary Russell encounters Holmes, retired in Sussex Downs where Conan Doyle left him raising bees. Mary, an orphan rebelling against her guardian aunt's strictures, impresses the sleuth with her intelligence and acumen. Holmes initiates her into the mysteries of detection, allowing her to participate in a few cases when she comes home from her studies at Oxford. The collaboration is ignited by the kidnapping in Wales of Jessica Simpson, daughter of an American senator. The sleuthing duo find signs of the hand of a master criminal, and after Russell rescues the child, attempts are made on their lives (and on Watson's), with evidence piling up that the master criminal is out to get Holmes and all he holds dear. King ( A Grave Talent ) has created a fitting partner for the Great Detective: a quirky, intelligent woman who can hold her own with a man renowned for his contempt for other people's thought processes.
  derailer | Jan 25, 2024 |
Way better than I expected, but I don't think I'll be reading anymore in this series. It begins as a really satisfying cozy suspense novel, and King nails the atmosphere of the late 1910s, but the overall plot didn't wow me.

I also realized (rather to my consternation) that I don't LIKE Mary Russell. Maybe it's because the narrative voice is that of an old woman looking back, but she comes off as preternaturally confident, capable, and detached. I feel bad for being all "OMG Mary Sue"; the character was constructed to be a suitable partner for Holmes himself, so I want her to be intelligent and excellent. But she didn't feel compelling or three-dimensional, at least not after the first hundred pages or so.

I'm not sure if I would have liked the book more or less if I were more of a Sherlock Holmes buff - I haven't read the original stories for ages and never picked up most of the novels. ( )
  raschneid | Dec 19, 2023 |
I guess if I'm going to keep enjoying Holmes fanfic so much, I should probably read the originals... ( )
  mmparker | Oct 24, 2023 |
Showing 1-5 of 285 (next | show all)
But at the heart of the novel is not the historical accuracy or the gender commentary; rather, the core of the story is the partnership between Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes. It's a partnership between equals, of two keen minds, two clever, stubborn, and formidable people who nevertheless feel the psychological weight of the profession they have chosen to follow. Moreover, there's none of that tired and overdone sexual tension that one might expect from a story with two protagonists of the opposite gender. There are no romantic interludes, tense moments, or pensive fantasizing. Instead, rather like the recent adaptation Elementary, the story does something remarkable: portray a friendship and a relationship between two unique characters of opposite genders without going down the tired, old, (and, in the case of Holmesian adaptations, particularly overdone) path of romance.
 

» Add other authors (8 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Laurie R. Kingprimary authorall editionscalculated
Sterlin, JennyNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Epigraph
Dedication
For another M.R., my mother, Mary Richardson
First words
I was fifteen when I first met Sherlock Holmes, fifteen years old with my nose in a book as I walked the Sussex Downs, and I nearly stepped on him.
Quotations
He said nothing. Very sarcastically.
My main passions were becoming theoretical Mathematics and the complexities of Rabbinic Judaism, two topics which are dissimilar only on the surface.
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
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Wikipedia in English (2)

A chance meeting with a Sussex beekeeper turns into a pivotal, personal transformation when fifteen-year-old Mary Russell discovers that the beekeeper is the reclusive, retired detective Sherlock Holmes, who soon takes on the role of mentor and teacher.

No library descriptions found.

Book description
U raskošnoj galeriji likova koju je za sobom ostavio Arthur Conan Doyle gdje središnje mjesto zauzima portret Sherlocka Holmesa, pored njega, osim slike dr. Watsona, ostao je prazan okvir savršeno podoban da udomi prkosni profil jedne gospođice.
Američka književnica Laurie R. King, dobitnica dviju prestižnih nagrada za najbolji kriminalistički roman godine, odvažno je odlučila ispuniti taj okvir likom mlade Mary Russell.
Jednog sunčanog dana u travnju 1915. nedaleko od svoje kuće u Sussexu Mary Russell umalo je nagazila na pognuta pedesetogodišnjaka potpuno zaokupljena promatranjem pčela. Drska i načitana, petnaestogodišnjakinja briljantna uma i zadivljujuće sposobnosti dedukcije, izmamit će od inače ženama nesklonog Holmesa iznenađen komentar. “Pa to zna razmišljati!”
Tako će početi naukovanje Mary Russell, buduće suradnice djelomično umirovljenog slavnog detektiva Sherlocka Holmesa. Njihove zajedničke avanture zabilježene su u pet dosad objavljenih romana i zacijelo predstavljaju najvjerniji nastavak književnog rada Arthura Conana Doylea.
Laurie R. King u svojim je djelima uspjela vjerodostojno dočarati ton, ugođaj i duh vremena, zadržavši izvornu cjelovitost Holmesova karaktera i pritom kao ravnopravnu protutežu stvorila potpuno samostalan, oštrouman, duhovit i zanosan ženski lik.
Roman Pčelareva naučnica Laurie R. King s engleskoga je, u ukradenom vremenu između dvije Patricije Cornwell, prevela Martina Gračanin, a ilustraciju na naslovnici izradio je Igor Kordej, uz napomenu da su oba crna lovca namjerno naslikana na bijelim poljima jer negativci uvijek igraju prljavo.
Haiku summary
Old Holmes meets his match
She's his child-bride and partner
Together they sleuth
(pickupsticks)

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