The intertextual Moriarty: an analysis of Kim Newman’s professor Moriarty: The Hound of the D’Urbervilles

Abstract

Kim Newman’s take on Arthur Conan Doyle’s well-known Sherlock Holmes (1887-1927) canon in the form of the novel Professor Moriarty: The Hound of the D’Urbervilles (2011) is a brilliant view into the world of pastiches and how they tend to stand out in the vast adaptation genre. Newman, however, does not stop at simply pastiching Doyle, but also intertextually combines the Victorian England with various other literary narratives from around the same period. Through these intertextual practices, Newman demonstrates the diverse ways and degrees to which intertextuality can shape narrative recreations, showing how it enriches the already inventive pastiche genre. This thesis examines how Kim Newman’s novel functions within the pastiche genre, focusing on the various ways intertextuality manifests itself within the narrative, and the creative strategies Newman employs in its use. The introduction of the thesis will provide background information on the novel and the reasoning behind its selection. The literature review will discuss the key concepts of adaptation, pastiche and intertextuality relevant to the thesis, followed by an overview of the current discourse surrounding Sherlock Holmes adaptations and pastiche. The second chapter will present an in-depth analysis of the novel’s genre, along with a selection of Newman’s short stories, focusing on the examples of intertextuality present within them. Keywords: pastiche, intertextuality, Sherlock Holmes adaptations, James Moriaty