Sherlock Holmes has a sister. I bet you didn’t know that. Well, at least he does in the imagination of the author Nancy Springer. In the tradition of the great feminist retellings — Wide Sargasso Sea, Circe, even Wicked — Springer imagines what it would be like for the famous and esteemed detective to have a little sister, forever in his shadow. Springer also imagines what kind of mother would have given birth to the Sherlock Holmes many of us know and love. Women are not the focus of Arthur Conan Doyle’s original series and its’ film and TV adaptations. There are a couple of exceptions to that, chief among them being Irene Adler in “A Scandal in Bohemia.” But, by and large, they are kept in the background. In the young adult series Enola Holmes Mysteries, Nancy Springer answers the question, ‘what if the intellect and observational skills of Sherlock Holmes were attributed to a young woman instead?’ What if a young woman got to go on adventures, skirt danger, solve mysteries, and save the day?

It started with The Case of the Missing Marquess in 2006, but I must admit that the first time I heard about Enola was when the film adaptation came out on Netflix in 2020. Having just recently rewatched the first and second in the series, I have a renewed interest in reading the books though — fond as I am of Enola. She’s a great character. In the first book and movie, her mother goes missing, leaving Enola at their very English, manor-like home Ferndell Hall. The film ages Enola a couple of years, from 14 to 16, perhaps to make her mother’s absence a little more palatable and the dangerous adventure she ends up undergoing a little more age-appropriate. I’ve started listening to The Case of the Missing Marquess on Libby, and I’m enjoying the descriptive prose so far. It begins with Enola skulking around the east end of London under cover of darkness. It’s the end of the 19th century, and she’s in the perilous area and time of Jack The Ripper. What I love most about the Netflix films is probably Millie Bobby Brown’s Enola herself and her relationship with her mother, played by Helena Bonham Carter. I’m a sucker for an emotional mother-daughter scene, but these two are precise and measured in their acting — earning the pathos they elicit. Brown’s Fleabag-like turns to the camera are effective and endearing, pulling us into the fold of her quick wit and fledgling detective skills. Although it may seem unlikely that she capably takes on the very adult world of London and survives (spoiler alert), it is nonetheless comforting. There’s nothing more comforting to me than a capable woman. In fact, it is Bonham Carter’s Eudoria Holmes who raises Enola to believe ‘she will do quite well on her own.” What could be more feminist and less in keeping with the Victorian values of that time? While the implication may seem a tad untoward — why would she need to be on her own? It’s her mother’s wisdom that chose the name Enola: alone in reverse. Although she’s not without family that loves her, Eudoria encourages her to rely on her own keen abilities, to be resourceful, to learn to fight so she can protect herself instead of despairing when all seems lost.

In listening to The Case of the Missing Marquess, I’ll find out what changes the filmmakers made to the book. There are ten books in the Enola Holmes series, with an eleven-year gap between Enola Holmes and the Case of the Gypsy Goodbye (2010) and Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche (2021). With the return of Enola in 2021, comes a new title: New adventures of Enola Holmes. There are also two more films that have since been released, but neither of the last two are based on existing Enola Holmes stories. The director of the first movie Harry Bradbeer co-wrote the second with Jack Thorne. The latter, funnily enough, is known for Adolescence, along with the director of Enola Holmes 3, Philip Barantini. Adolescence is a dark, dramatic, crime drama about a very different teenage lead, which took the 2026 awards season by storm. The newest Enola film deviates from the novels, with Enola set to marry her longtime love interest and House of Lords member, the Viscount Tewkesbury and Marquess of Basilwether. Tewkesbury, as he’s called in the films for short, is only present in the first book of Nancy Springer’s series. He’s twelve and not so much a love match as he is in need of help.

There is also a graphic novel adaptation of Springer’s novels. Illustrated and written by Serena Blasco in French and translated by Tanya Gold into English, each volume contains three of the Enola Holmes stories. As such, the narratives are condensed and adapted into illustrated format. For those interested in reading about Enola but without all those unnecessary words, Blasco’s books are highly rated. Plus, the covers are pretty. See below. The third English volume will be out in August, so it’s not available in our collection yet, but all the rest are. We also have all of Nancy Springer’s series available except for the newest volume. However you prefer to experience the stories, I encourage you all to try out one of the books, films, or graphic novels. That’s it for me this time. I hope you enjoyed this double dose of Claire this month. Until next time, stay cool and enjoy your summer!