Cindy Brown is a Sherlockian known far and wide, mainly because of her many travels to conferences and outgoing personality. I doubt if Cindy's ever met someone she hasn't become friends with! She's always generous with her compliments and interested in whatever topic you care to talk about with her. It's easy to see why she's one of the best-loved folks in this hobby of ours.
But Cindy isn't just outgoing and warm-hearted. She's also a tireless worker in Sherlockiana. Cindy is currently helping out with TWO conferences this summer, Lone Star Holmes and Holmes in the Heartland. She has been involved with The Beacon Society for years, currently serving on their grants committee to help fund programs that introduce young people to Sherlock Holmes, and she is the dynamo behind The Crew of the Barque Lone Star's fantastic monthly presentations on Zoom. And if that weren't enough, she's this week's Interesting Interview!
How do you define the word “Sherlockian”?
I think a Sherlockian is anyone who has a sincere interest and desire to have a better understanding of the character Arthur Conan Doyle was writing about over 100 years ago. But above that, the person has to have a true affection for Sherlock Holmes and the mystery he brings to the page and to our imagination.
How did you become a Sherlockian?
I’ve always been an avid reader and as a early teen in a small town, there wasn’t a whole lot of summer activities. I worked at the only swimming pool for miles and interacted with a college professor who brought her family to the pool. I was always interested in what she was reading. The conversations evolved from Agatha Christie to Arthur Conan Doyle, and I never looked back. Mysteries have always been my favorite genre, and I especially like the Victorian era stories.
What is your profession (or previous if you are retired) and does that affect how you enjoy being a Sherlockian?
I was a Certified Public Accountant and my career eventually allowed me to interweave both of my majors of accounting and sociology. I ended up being in enforcement for the Superfund program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which included helping to clean up polluted area and participate in the major disasters around the country. It was a very exciting career for an accountant to be able to go to the worst disasters in the recent decades and be an active member of a cleanup team. Being a member of such a team gave me the opportunity to interact with some wonderful people whom I didn’t even know were Sherlockians. I could say, they sort of dragged me into the hobby when they found out I was a fan. My profession simply was a bridge to meeting other people with similar interests, and I will always be grateful.
What is your favorite canonical story?
Well, that’s easy. My favorite story is "The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton." It’s got everything I want in a good mystery. A really evil snake of a man who has no sympathy for anything or anyone. His whole being is for selfish intent and the love of manipulating others through their human weaknesses. He finds those weaknesses and finds a way to blackmail them. I also love the fact that in this story, Holmes and Watson have a very narrow escape which makes it even more fun. But the best part of this story is the idea that the mystery woman actually gets revenge. I love revenge when it is “served cold” so to speak and so deserving. And she definitely surprised him. Her revenge was sweet because no one else really knew it was her, even Holmes and Watson. Of course, they did see the photograph in the window in London, and Holmes concluded that it was the mystery woman, but THAT was some sweet revenge.
Who is a specific Sherlockian that you think others would find interesting?
I think David Harnois is always a delight to talk to and an interesting Sherlockian. He has been the co-lead the Sherlockian society the Younger Stamfords in Iowa for many years and is a new member of the Baker Street Irregulars. His stage presence is amazing and I think he brings a lot to the Sherlockian world. He also runs the I am Lost Without My Boswell project, which is an all-volunteer project to create free audio dramatizations of the Sherlock Holmes stories.
What subset of Sherlockiana really interests you?
I love the old radio plays and am fascinated especially by the plays written and produced by Edith Meiser. She was brilliant and brought a lot of depth to Sherlock Holmes through the radio. What an interesting time to be introduced to this amazing character, and his Boswell. It’s easy to imagine families sitting by the radio on Sunday evening waiting for the next episode of the great detective. The theater of the mind did it all for the listener and brought the characters to life. Our imaginations probably worked harder then but made the stories more rewarding and enjoyable.
As head of the Beacon Society's Grants Committee, I'm sure you've seen some great ideas to introduce Sherlock Holmes to young readers. What are some projects that stick out in your mind?
I like some of the simpler ones, that are helping kids learn to read. This is accomplished by not only giving the children new books, which many have never had, but also spending time with them in programs such as “Read with Me”, and summer reading programs. We have recently had a grant given to a deaf and blind school, to introduce children with special needs to Sherlock Holmes. Other grants have included escape rooms, theater presentations of Sherlock Holmes with a professional actor participating, and even school classes dedicated to using scientific skills and deductive reasoning. The ideas are limitless, and teachers and librarians are expanding the universe in many ways to share Sherlock Holmes with their young students. We are currently trying to expand into children’s theaters and placing Sherlock Holmes books in youth detention centers. Grants have also been given to projects involving Accelerated Learning students, with opportunities to read and analyze Sherlockian pastiches while they continue their Sherlockian Training of how to be observant, and active participants in their learning as critical thinkers.
You are to be credited with all of the great speakers at each Crew of the Barque Lone Star meeting. What do you look for in a good speaker?
Wow, that’s a pretty fun part of my job for the Crew. I try to go to a lot of society events around the country and have been blessed with meeting many interesting and entertaining people. It doesn’t take me long to figure out if someone seems like a good candidate for our meeting. It would be nice if the feature presentation was directly related to this month’s story, but often that’s not the case. Our presentations just have to be something either Sherlockian or Victorian. And hopefully that will pique the presenter to talk about a special interest that he or she may have in the Sherlockian world. It’s always fun to see what the presenters come up with. Sherlockians never cease to amaze me!
What book would you recommend to other Sherlockians?
I think every Sherlockian should own a copy of the Jack Tracy book, The Encyclopedia Sherlockiana. It’s one of the best reference books I have come across and is well organized. It just makes for fun reading. And Jack Tracy was an interesting character, which goes beyond the realms of just being a Sherlockian.
Where do you see Sherlockiana in 5 or 10 years from now?
I hear so much about that topic these days, and of course there’s no right or wrong answer. A lot of people say we have to be more into the virtual world, and that may be. And I’ve heard a lot of talk about making our societies more reflective of a younger generation, but I don’t really see that happening either. Mainly because this is a sincere hobby/obsession. It takes time, which is something most young people, say in their 30’s and 40’s don’t have. They are busy building their careers and their families, and reading is only done if they can squeeze it into a little recreational moment. This hobby can take a lot of time and money. So I don’t really see it getting to be a younger person’s path. While we of course, do have some younger members they are more the exception.
In saying this, I hope I’m not throwing a negative light on recruiting young people, because we need their energy and their ability to show us the way of the future. Each person, no matter what their age brings something to the table and that’s what makes it such a great feast. I think we will be finding new ways to share our hobby with others, whether it’s virtual or some other social media, but I think we will continue to meet and share, and collect, and exchange our ideas.
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