In a similar way, his love of bees humanizes him, and pokes holes in Watson’s portrayal of him as a “logic machine” with no feelings-and queer readings of the character achieve a similar goal, recasting his disinterest in women and sex as a consequence of his homosexuality, not his misanthropy or a flaw in his character. In the introduction, editor Atlin Merrick points out that, “Well, in the over six hundred thousand words he wrote about the legendary detective, Arthur Conan Doyle mentions Holmes' bees only three times, each mention little more than a single sentence.” As a theme for a collection of queer reimaginings, I think it’s particularly apt a Holmes fan who has read all the stories can pick up on small mentions of Holmes’ love for bees in the same way a queer reader of the canon will pick up on queer themes and the strong bond between the two men. This work specifically is a collection of short stories that all involve bees somehow, whether literally or figuratively. “‘Here is the fruit of my leisured ease, the magnum opus of latter years!’ He picked up the volume from the table and read out the whole title, Practical Handbook of Bee Culture, with Some Observations upon the Segregation of the Queen.” - His Last Bow by Arthur Conan DoyleĪ Murmuring of Bees is one of the first works to come out of romance/erotica publisher Improbable Press, a publishing house mainly focused on publishing works of fiction about Holmes and Watson being in love. Was given this book as an ARC by Improbable Press in exchange for an honest review.
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