Tewksbury Public Library

Sherlock's world, fan fiction and the reimagining of BBC's Sherlock, Ann K. McClellan

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages 249-267) and index

illustrations

index present

non fiction

Sherlock's world

bibliography

1031041199

Ann K. McClellan

Fandom & culture

fan fiction and the reimagining of BBC's Sherlock

Sherlock Holmes remains more popular than ever some 130 years after the detective first appeared in print. These days, the iconic character's staying power is due in large part to the success of the recent BBC series Sherlock, which brings the famous sleuth into the twenty-first century. One of the most-watched television series in BBC history, Sherlock is set in contemporary London, where thirtysomething Sherlock and John (no longer fussy old Holmes and Watson), alongside New Scotland Yard, solve crimes with the help of smartphones, texting, online forums, and the internet. In their modernization of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's nineteenth-century world, Sherlock creators Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss make London as much a character of their show as the actors themselves. The highly stylized series has inspired an impassioned fan community in Britain, the U.S., and beyond. Fans create and share their writings, which reimagine the characters in even more dramatic ways than the series can. Interweaving fan fiction studies, world-building, and genre studies, Ann McClellan examines the hit series and the fan fiction it inspires. Using Sherlock to trace the changing face of fan fiction studies, McClellan's book explores how far fans are willing to go to change the Sherlockian canon while still reinforcing its power and status as the source text. What makes Sherlock fan fic Sherlockian? How does it stay within the canon even while engaging in the wildest reimaginings? Sherlock's World explores the boundaries between canon, genre, character, and reality through the lenses of fan fiction and world-building. This book promises to be a valuable resource for fan studies scholars, those who write fan fiction, and Sherlock fans alike

Introduction: It's Sherlock's world and we're just living in it: world building, canon, and fanfiction -- Transmedia sherlock: exclusive and inclusive world building -- A case of identity: role playing, social media, and BBC Sherlock -- Queering Sherlock's world: slash, fanfiction, and (non)compliance in world building -- Gendering Sherlock's world: biology, gender, and characterization -- Out of this world: Sherlockian alternate universe fanfiction -- Invasion of the body snatchers: world building and real person fiction -- Epilogue: Sherlock Season Four: the end of the world?