The Improbable Tales of Baskerville Hall
The Improbable Tales of Baskerville Hall by Ali Standish mingles elements of the historical Arthur Conan Doyle and his most famous series, Sherlock Holmes, into a steampunk-influenced adventure that’s reminiscent of a jaunt through Hogwarts. A young Arthur Conan Doyle, living hand to mouth with his sisters, mother, and alcoholic father in Edinburgh, jumps at the chance to improve his family’s fortunes when he is offered a spot at an exclusive boarding school, Baskerville Hall. When he arrives—by airship!—Doyle settles in and quickly establishes himself as one of the most promising students currently in residence. When a series of break-ins, thefts, and threatening appearances by shadowy figures occur, events conspire to put Doyle’s education and life at risk.
This fast-paced story is filled with interesting and well-crafted characters. Real people such as Doyle himself mingle with his fictional characters such as Dr. Watson, creating an intriguing cast. I loved the diversity in the people the best. They’re not all homogenous and bland; they are vivid and have personalities that are deeply developed, given the relative shortness of the book and its targeted age level.
The Sherlock Holmes series lends itself well to steampunk, and Standish does a good job incorporating components of that genre into her novel. However, the similarities to Harry Potter are a bit off-putting, and the elements of fantasy seem more appropriate to a new Potterverse story than to a Sherlockian retelling.
The book’s target readers will likely love the Potter-esque atmosphere, as will adult Potterheads. Other readers may enjoy the steampunk elements and bits of Victorian society woven throughout the novel. More discerning readers may not be as taken with it.
