The Beekeeper's Apprentice (1994)

by Laurie R. King

Other authors: See the other authors section.

Series: Mary Russell (1)

Members	Reviews	Popularity	Average rating	Mentions
4,360	220	1,131	(4.1)	392

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110
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley (clif_hiker, 47degreesnorth)
47degreesnorth: Younger heroine and more precocious but similar
50
A Red Herring Without Mustard by Alan Bradley (47degreesnorth)
50
A Monstrous Regiment of Women by Laurie R. King (catpal1)
catpal1: All of the books in this series are wonderful. It's such a fresh take on the Sherlock Holmes fiction: the give-and-take reminds me of the old Kate Hepburn/Spencer Tracy pairings.
30
The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley (47degreesnorth)
47degreesnorth: No Holmes but younger more precocious heroine with a thirst to solve the case.
30
The Seven-Per-Cent Solution by Nicholas Meyer (markusnenadovus)
20
Mr. Churchill's Secretary by Susan Elia MacNeal (yonitdm)
yonitdm: They both feature brilliant, strong women as main characters, plus mystery, intrigue, and many, many cups of tea.
20
Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear (Sally604)
Sally604: Mysteries set in the same era with a female detective - lots of fun to read.
20
New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Martin Harry Greenberg (Othemts)
20
The Final Solution. A Story of Detection by Michael Chabon (laytonwoman3rd)
laytonwoman3rd: This book also features an elderly beekeeper who does some detecting, and who we are meant to understand to be Sherlock Holmes, although his name is not mentioned.
10
Chalice by Robin McKinley (MyriadBooks)
MyriadBooks: To continue a bit of the bee theme.
00
The Tale of Hill Top Farm by Susan Wittig Albert (dreamydress48)
dreamydress48: Same time period; also a cozy mystery. Great series in general.
00
The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan (dreamydress48)
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Mr Holmes by Mitch Cullin (Othemts)
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English (218) Piratical (1) Swedish (1) French (1) All (221)

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Showing 1-5 of 218 (next | show all)

Ok, it took me a very long time to finish the book but I did enjoy it. I think the narration made it very hard to stay immersed in the story (stories). The narrator did a good job giving the key players their own, distinct voices but they were all slow and fairly monotone and I found myself drifting away for long periods of time and then hitting rewind a lot. And then drifting away again and hitting rewind more. And so on and so on.

I think if I try another of the Mary Russell stories, I'll read it with my eyeballs. (

)

amcheri | Jan 19, 2017 |

The first book in the Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes series. A retired Sherlock Holmes becomes mentor and teacher to a young woman who carries on his work.

mcmlsbookbutler | Dec 30, 2016 |

)

lrobe190 | Dec 27, 2016 |

I wanted to like this so much more than I did. Mary Russell is far too much of a Mary Sue to hold my interest, and I didn't like the way that poor Watson was shunted aside. And I don't like the direction this seems to be going (i.e., I think King is building toward a romance between Holmes and Russell, and I don't find that remotely credible). I like King's Kate Martinelli books, but I'm going to give the rest of this series a pass. (

)

gayla.bassham | Nov 7, 2016 |

A young American girl about to study at Oxford meets Sherlock Holmes near her farm on the Downs. She is feisty and intelligent. Things happen and they have adventures together.

Holmes is a beautifully drawn character with light and shadow. Russell is a character told in the first person, so she feels a little less well drawn, but still interesting.

The writing is excellent and hums along. There are lovely vignettes of life in the Britain in the early years of the World War I. I enjoyed it immensely. (

)

devilish2 | Sep 24, 2016 |

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▾Other authors

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Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
Laurie R. King	—	primary author	all editions	calculated
Sterlin, Jenny	Narrator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed

▾Work-to-work relationships

Is contained in

Mary Russell Mysteries (1,7,8) by Laurie R. King

Mary Russel Mysteries (1-4,6,8) by Laurie R. King

Was inspired by

The Complete Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

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▾Common Knowledge

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Series (with order)

Mary Russell (1)

Canonical title

The Beekeeper's Apprentice

Original title

The Beekeeper's Apprentice

Alternative titles

On the Segregation of the Queen

Original publication date

1994

People/Characters

Mary Russell

Sherlock Holmes

John H. Watson (M.D.)

Important places

Important events

World War I (1914|1918)

Related movies

Awards and honors

Agatha Award Nominee (Novel, 1994)

ALA Best Books for Young Adults (1995)

IMBA's 100 Favorite Mysteries of the 20th Century

(show all 7 items)

Epigraph

Dedication

For another M.R., my mother, Mary Richardson

First words

I was fifteen when I first met Sherlock Holmes, fifteen years old with my nose in a book as I walked the Sussex Downs, and I nearly stepped on him.

Quotations

He said nothing. Very sarcastically.

My main passions were becoming theoretical Mathematics and the complexities of Rabbinic Judaism, two topics which are dissimilar only on the surface.

Last words

(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)

Disambiguation notice

Publisher's editors

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Original language

▾References

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Wikipedia in English (2)

File:Beekeeper's Apprentice.jpg

The Beekeeper's Apprentice

▾LibraryThing members' description

Book description

U raskošnoj galeriji likova koju je za sobom ostavio Arthur Conan Doyle gdje središnje mjesto zauzima portret Sherlocka Holmesa, pored njega, osim slike dr. Watsona, ostao je prazan okvir savršeno podoban da udomi prkosni profil jedne gospođice.
Američka književnica Laurie R. King, dobitnica dviju prestižnih nagrada za najbolji kriminalistički roman godine, odvažno je odlučila ispuniti taj okvir likom mlade Mary Russell.
Jednog sunčanog dana u travnju 1915. nedaleko od svoje kuće u Sussexu Mary Russell umalo je nagazila na pognuta pedesetogodišnjaka potpuno zaokupljena promatranjem pčela. Drska i načitana, petnaestogodišnjakinja briljantna uma i zadivljujuće sposobnosti dedukcije, izmamit će od inače ženama nesklonog Holmesa iznenađen komentar. “Pa to zna razmišljati!”
Tako će početi naukovanje Mary Russell, buduće suradnice djelomično umirovljenog slavnog detektiva Sherlocka Holmesa. Njihove zajedničke avanture zabilježene su u pet dosad objavljenih romana i zacijelo predstavljaju najvjerniji nastavak književnog rada Arthura Conana Doylea.
Laurie R. King u svojim je djelima uspjela vjerodostojno dočarati ton, ugođaj i duh vremena, zadržavši izvornu cjelovitost Holmesova karaktera i pritom kao ravnopravnu protutežu stvorila potpuno samostalan, oštrouman, duhovit i zanosan ženski lik.
Roman Pčelareva naučnica Laurie R. King s engleskoga je, u ukradenom vremenu između dvije Patricije Cornwell, prevela Martina Gračanin, a ilustraciju na naslovnici izradio je Igor Kordej, uz napomenu da su oba crna lovca namjerno naslikana na bijelim poljima jer negativci uvijek igraju prljavo.

Haiku summary

Old Holmes meets his match
She's his child-bride and partner
Together they sleuth
(pickupsticks)

▾Book descriptions

Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0312427360, Paperback)

An Agatha Award Best Novel Nominee

Named One of the Century's Best 100 Mysteries by the Independent

Mystery Booksellers Association

From New York Times bestselling author Laurie R. King comes the book that introduced us to the ingenious Mary Russell–Sherlock Holmes mysteries

In 1915, Sherlock Holmes is retired and quietly engaged in the study of honeybees when a young woman literally stumbles into him on the Sussex Downs. Fifteen years old, gawky, egotistical, and recently orphaned, the young Mary Russell displays an intellect to impress even Sherlock Holmes--and match him wit for wit. Under his reluctant tutelage, this very modern twentieth-century woman proves a deft protégée and a fitting partner for the Victorian detective. In their first case together, they must track down a kidnapped American senator's daughter and confront a truly cunning adversary--a bomber who has set trip wires for the sleuths and who will stop at nothing to end their partnership. Full of brilliant deductions, disguises, and dangers, this first book of the Mary Russell--Sherlock Holmes mysteries is "wonderfully original and entertaining . . . absorbing from beginning to end" (Booklist).

(retrieved from Amazon Thu, 12 Mar 2015 18:09:08 -0400)

(see all 8 descriptions)

▾Library descriptions

Chance meeting with a Sussex beekeeper turns into a pivotal, personal transformation when fifteen-year-old Mary Russell discovers that the beekeeper is the reclusive, retired detective Sherlock Holmes, who soon takes on the role of mentor and teacher.… (more)

» see all 9 descriptions