Newbury & Hobbes: Ten Years On

I can hardly believe that 2018 represented ten years since my first professional novel was published. A LOT of words have been written since! I still look back very fondly on The Affinity Bridge and the time of its writing, though, partly because it was the first time I’d really had *fun* creating a new world and setting, but mostly because it was the first time I really got to know Sir Maurice Newbury and Miss Veronica Hobbes. 

Now, on the eve of publication of The Revenant Express, the fifth book in the series (and the twelfth book in the overall alternate history sequence I’ve come to refer to as the ‘Albion Mythos’), it’s odd to look back to that period, when all of this was new. 

The Affinity Bridgewas written quickly, in the heat of excitement and creation, and at the time I had no idea that what I was writing would come to define much of my writing life for the next decade. I suppose I always knew there would be more stories to come – my initial notes for the series listed dozens of story ideas, some of which I still intend to come back to, one day – but at the time I was very focused on just writing a rip-roaring adventure story, something written for me, that drew inspiration from all the things I love. 

I was lucky that, when it came to finding a publisher for the book, both my UK and US publishers were keen to commit to a sequel, and so, soon after finishing The Affinity Bridge, I plunged straight into the follow up, The Osiris Ritual. I think it was while working on this one that I started to see the true importance of Veronica’s story to the whole saga, and much of what I’ve written about the pair since has been with this in mind. While the books are clearly anchored by Newbury and his involvement in each case, and despite the ups and downs caused by his opium addiction, he is in fact a constant throughout the stories, and it’s Veronica’s take, closely linked to that of her sister, that forms the beating heart of the series. That’s why the third book, The Immorality Engine, focuses on that sibling relationship, and how it might come to the attention of Queen Victoria and others. 

The Executioner’s Heart, too, places Veronica centre stage and in dire peril, and now, at last, The Revenant Expressis about to give answer to the cliffhanger at the end of that fourth novel, and show what becomes of both Newbury and Veronica in the aftermath of the terrible violence we saw inflicted in the final pages of the previous book. 

It’s been a few years between books, necessary, really, so that I could return to the series with renewed enthusiasm and excitement. Its worked, too, and there’s lots of new Newbury & Hobbes material on the way. The first comic book mini-series has just concluded, and is being collected as a graphic novel in April. A couple of long stories have appeared in recent anthologies, and there’s more of those to come. Brad Hoyt, a marvellous composer, has been releasing his soundtrack albums for the first three novels, the second of which has just been released. And there’s a brand new, narrative N&H board game launching in Kickstarter in the Summer, on which I’ve been working closely with the excellent folk at Needy Cat Games. To top it all off, I’m also hard at work on The Albion Initiative, the next book in the series. 

So, after ten years, Newbury and Veronica are still going from strength-to-strength, and the next couple of years look set to be their busiest to date. I’d never have imagined all of this when I first sat down at my computer in 2007 and started tapping out the opening scenes of The Affinity Bridge. If someone had told me then that ten years later I’d be working on the sixth novel in the series, that I’d be looking at sculpts and concept art for a board game, that there’d be a comic book out there featuring new adventures – and that I’d be thirteen books in to the strange, alternate history I was barely starting to explore back then, I would never have believed it. I can barely believe it now! 

The Revenant Express:  Newbury & Hobbes investigation by George Mann. (Published by Titan Books) Out Now.

Following their bloody encounter with the Executioner, Sir Maurice Newbury's assistant Veronica Hobbes is close to death. Desperate to save her life, Newbury and Veronica's sister Amelia board a sleeper train bound for St. Petersburg, in the hope that Gustav Faberge might have the answer. But there are enemies on board, and Newbury and Amelia will need all their strength and cunning to survive the Revenant Express.

You can find him on Twitter @George_Mann

The Immortal Sherlock Holmes

George Mann is the author of the Newbury and Hobbes and The Ghost series of novels, as well as numerous short stories, novellas and audiobooks. He has edited and written a number of Sherlock books including Encounters of Sherlock Holmes, More Encounters of Sherlock Holmes and Sherlock Holmes: The Spirit Box.

When Sir Arthur Conan Doyle sent Holmes tumbling to his apparent death over the Reichenbach Falls in 1893, it was, to all intents and purposes, the end of the world's foremost consulting detective. Doyle originally had no intention of reviving the character - in his mind, Holmes was dead, the stories were over, and the author could spend his days concerning himself with other things, much to his relief. 

 
What Doyle didn't realise, however, was that he'd come to the decision too late. Holmes had already outgrown his creator. Adored by the reading masses, Holmes had become a hero, a legend, a figurehead. There was a public outcry, and it wasn't long before Doyle felt compelled to revive the character, explaining how Holmes had survived the fall through his usual brand of cunning and resourcefulness. 

 
Holmes has continued his adventures ever since, persevering long after Doyle's death, still solving seemingly impossible crimes, even now.

What's intriguing is how Holmes, perhaps more than any other fictional character in the English language (and far beyond) has transcended his creator, and, indeed, the fiction in which his story began.

For Holmes has become more than a simple character, a device for telling clever detective stories - Holmes has passed into myth, like Hercules, Frankenstein's monster, or Romeo and Juliet before him. 

The line between fiction and history has been irrevocably blurred. Holmes is so ubiquitous that those unfamiliar with the original stories sometimes mistakenly believe the character to be a real historical figure. Indeed - pilgrims can visit his house on Baker Street in London, and his ongoing adventures are chronicled in any number of stage plays, television series, radio plays, novels and stories. 

 
Why is it that Holmes should have endured where so many other characters have passed into obscurity?

Perhaps it's because, in the Sherlock Holmes stories, Doyle created a template for the modern detective story, that even now percolates through almost all crime and mystery fiction on the shelves in bookshops and libraries around the world. Perhaps it's because that same template has been adopted by television, and that every time we sit down to watch an onscreen detective take on a new case, we're reminded of the original master, and his outlandish and fiendishly clever techniques - techniques that are often imitated, adopted or borrowed by those who came in his wake. Perhaps it's simply a tribute to the remarkable portrait Doyle painted of two men, Holmes and his indefatigable Boswell, Dr. John Watson, of their atypical friendship, and the fact that these characters continue to loom larger than life. 

 
What's clear is that many of us feel a deep affection for the character, and a certain responsibility to continue his adventures; to continue chronicling the exploits of this great master, so he is never forgotten. More than that, there's a selfish impulse, too, to somehow become a small part of Holmes's on-going story, to contribute, to give something back to a character who has given so much to us. 

 
As each generation finds a new way to engage with the character - some coming to him through the original canon, others through modern television adaptations or pastiches - a new group of people are inspired to create new and fascinating adventures for him. 

It's in this way that Holmes lives on, and will surely live on for centuries to come. As his fall over the raging Reichenbach Falls proved all those years ago - Holmes is essentially immortal. 

Associates of Sherlock Holmes Edited by George Mann (£7.99, Titan Books)

For the first time, famous associates of the Great Detective – clients, colleagues, and villains – tell their own stories in these brand-new adventures. Follow Inspector Lestrade as he and Sherlock Holmes pursue a killer to rival Jack the Ripper; sit with Mycroft Holmes as he solves a case from the Diogenes Club; take a drink with Irene Adler and Dr Watson in a Parisian café; and join Colonel Sebastian Moran on the hunt for a supposedly mythical creature…  

You can find more information about George Mann and his work on his website.  You can also follow him on Twitter @George_Mann and follow him on Facebook.

A Mann for all Genres

During the Crimefest weekend, Titan Publishing were hard at work getting their promotional Popcorn Machine working to launch Stephen King’s JOYLAND, which is from their imprint, Charles Ardai’s Hard Case Crime.

Set in a small-town North Carolina amusement park in 1973, Joyland tells the story of the summer in which college student Devin Jones comes to work as a carny and confronts the legacy of a vicious murder, the fate of a dying child, and the ways both will change his life forever. "I love crime, I love mysteries, and I love ghosts. That combo made Hard Case Crime the perfect venue for this book, which is one of my favorites. I also loved the paperbacks I grew up with as a kid, and for that reason, we're going to hold off on e-publishing this one for the time being. Joyland will be coming out in paperback, and folks who want to read it will have to buy the actual book." Stephen King

Joyland is a coming-of-age tale that will make you reflect upon your own life as well as question our past. With not long to wait until release so here’s the first review from The Washington Post

Anyway, during the Crimefest weekend we bumped into one of their interesting writers – George Mann. I asked Titan’s Sophie Calder to let me know more about Mann’s work, and we’re delighted to present it here, and a natural read while waiting for Joyland's release -

George Mann’s 

The Executioner’s Heart: A Newbury & Hobbes Investigation

From the writer of The Ghost series of novels and audio scripts for the BBC’s Doctor Who and Sherlock Holmes, comes the fourth instalment of George Mann’s popular Newbury & Hobbes series of steampunk mysteries, The Executioner’s Heart [Titan Books, July 2013, Original Paperback].

The Executioner’s Heart is the latest adventure of Sir Maurice Newbury, gentleman investigator for the Crown, and his feisty assistant Miss Veronica Hobbes!

A serial killer is loose on the streets of London, murdering apparently random members of the gentry with violent abandon.

The corpses are each found with their chest cavities cracked open and their hearts removed. It is clear some new and strange contraption is being used to affect this procedure. Charles Bainbridge, Chief Inspector of Scotland Yard, suspects an occult significance to the crimes and brings Newbury and Veronica in to investigate

Praise for the Newbury & Hobbes Series:

THE AFFINITY BRIDGE

“A thoroughly engaging story…excellent world building, captures the Sherlock Holmes feel, never a boring passage. Bottom line: a hugely entertaining book. 4.5 out of 5 stars.”

—SF Signal

“Mann is at the forefront of the new generation of UK genre movers and shakers.”

—SF Revue

“The Affinity Bridge is an enormously entertaining ride through an alternate early-twentieth-century London, a depiction of a world that stands on the cusp of great change even while being mired in the societal norms of yesteryear (not unlike our own world), and an absorbing, suspenseful mystery that makes liberal use of all sorts of good, geeky fun, while featuring distinctive, complex heroes for whom it is a pleasure to root.”

—Rob Will Review

THE OSIRIS RITUAL

“The pacing of The Osiris Ritual is fluid and engaging as Mann moves nimbly among storylines. He paints his characters in vivid, unforgettable strokes, especially the more ominous ones.”—Los Angeles Times

“The Osiris Ritual is a heart-pounding, adrenaline-inducing combination of the steampunk and detective genres, the twisted but ultra-cool result of a literary genetic experiment gone wild… George Mann is a worthy successor to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and fans of steampunk and page-turning thrillers should check out both this and The Affinity Bridge.”—BoomTron

“Newbury and Hobbes have a refreshing chemistry. The multiple mysteries and complex storylines were intriguing. And the suspense was thrilling, making it impossible to put down. This is one steampunk I highly recommend.”—Sci Fi Chick

“Occult detective work, freaky bad guys who are damn unsporting and a burgeoning love story make this a steampunk mystery you should add to your reading list.”—SF Crowsnest

George Mann is the author of the Newbury and Hobbes and The Ghost series of novels, as well as numerous short stories, novellas and audiobooks. He has written fiction and audio scripts for the BBC’s Doctor Who and Sherlock Holmes. He is also a respected anthologist and has edited The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction, The Solaris Book of New Fantasy, and Titan Books’ Encounters of Sherlock Holmes. He lives near Grantham, UK.

Photo of George Mann © 2013 Titan Publishing