Author Bonnie MacBird tells Caroline Lindsay why it’s no mystery that she’s wanted to write Sherlock Holmes adventures all her life
It’s fair to say that almost 90 years after the death of his creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes is enjoying something of a renaissance. From the popular BBC TV series starring Benedict Cumberbatch to a bespoke Sherlock tartan, it seems that everyone wants a piece of the Victorian sleuth.
Holmes’s quintessential Britishness appealed to former Hollywood screenwriter Bonnie MacBird, so much so that she’s writing a trilogy of Sherlock Holmes adventures, aiming to encapsulate the atmosphere and style of Conan Doyle’s original stories.
The book, Unquiet Spirits, follows Art in the Blood as the second in a trilogy, and is a tale of whisky, ghosts and murder. This time, the great detective and his sidekick Dr John Watson set off on a grand adventure to the South of France and then to a castle in the Highlands, where they have to disentangle a decades-long mystery featuring ghosts, murders and kidnappings in a Scottish whisky dynasty.
An avid fan of the detecting duo since she was just 10, Bonnie – who describes herself as “an extroverted, playful and theatrical book lover” – is a member of the London Sherlock Holmes Society and groups in Paris and Los Angeles, and speaks regularly on Sherlock Holmes worldwide.
Talking about her latest book, she explains: “Holmes discovers that the three cases he’s presented with have blended into a single, deadly conundrum and in order to solve the mystery, the ultimate rational thinker must confront a ghost from his own past to solve a series of increasingly bloody crimes.”
With a deep interest in Victorian Britain, Bonnie’s trilogy is something she’s wanted to write for a long time.
“I’m drawn to the characters, the gentleman adventurer mythos, the passionate fight for justice, the intellectual stimulation, the genius hero – who is nevertheless flawed and sometimes vulnerable – the great friendship that threads through every paragraph,” she says.
“The humour, the pace and the delightful puzzles of the original stories have appealed to me since childhood,” she continues. “Doyle is a genius at storytelling; while he’s wildly popular, his actual craft and skill are underrated, I think. The subtle humour, the crackling dialogue and the indelible characters are the ultimate challenge to emulate. He’s pretty much my hero as a writer.
“I’ve been an avid reader all my life and am married to a brilliant scientist, a bit like Holmes himself. I’ve been an admirer of intellect and logical discourse since I was a child,” she continues.
Of Scottish descent, Bonnie – who describes herself as “an extroverted, playful and theatrical book lover” – first visited Edinburgh 30 years ago and has been a regular visitor ever since.
“I come to Scotland at every chance I get,” she smiles. “I love the people, the dry humour, the beauty of the Highlands and the dark, gothic architecture and hilly vistas of Edinburgh and oh yes, the whisky!”
It was while researching the book that she discovered her own love of whisky.
“For this novel, I worked with the delightful whisky expert Charles MacLean and visited castles and distilleries including one with Victorian-era equipment in operation – Bruichladdich on Islay,” she says.
Admitting that the research for her books is “great fun” she explains: “I love inhabiting a world with people whom I admire and who fascinate me. For Unquiet Spirits, I also toured Fettes College in Edinburgh and a pathology museum.”
From her own wide ranging reading and her work in the film business as a story editor and screenwriter, Bonnie is steeped in storytelling. But writing in the style of Conan Doyle presents new challenges.
“Screenplays are highly structured and require an economy of style and expression that serves adventure writing well,” she explains. “Structure and pace are never far from my consciousness, and I have an internal editor that tells me when the story is lagging.
“Writing Holmes is a unique challenge in that one is emulating the style of a master. One must deliver on the promises of his work including Doyle’s unique narrative drive, the world famous characters, the friendship, the humour, and – don’t forget – brilliant deductions. The difficulty is what makes it fun. I tell my writing students not to “write what you know, but instead to write what you love,” she continues.
“Learning is always available, but the passion you feel for your story is what will rivet your reader to the page.”
Bonnie is already working on the final book in the trilogy, The Devil’s Due, so what can we expect from our sleuths next? “Holmes will face the power and seduction of pure evil,” teases Bonnie, giving nothing away.
An avid theatre goer in her spare time, she may have to put that particular passion on hold for a while to focus on her writing.
“As well as adapting one of the Holmes books for the stage or film, I’m also toying with a present-day mystery. And probably more Holmes and Watson,” she says.
“The biggest challenge for me is so much time alone during the writing. But it’s a grand adventure and a life I would not change for any other.”
Unquiet Spirits by Bonnie MacBird is published by HarperCollins, £14.99.
Look out for our review of Unquiet Spirits in The Courier’s Weekend magazine on May 26.
