The Case of the Left-Handed Lady: An Enola Holmes Mystery (Hardcover)

by Nancy Springer (Author) "With a shock of astonishment I read the card brought in to me on a silver tray by the page-boy..." (more)
Key Phrases: Lady Cecily, Alexander Finch, Lady Theodora (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal
Grade 5–9—Fourteen-year-old Enola Holmes is intelligent, sassy, and a woman before her time, living incognito in Victorian London and working as a Perditorian. She is on the run from her famous older brothers, Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes, who feel she belongs in a boarding school learning to be a lady. Using various aliases, disguises, and ciphers, Enola is on the case to find the missing teenage daughter of Sir Eustance Austair while trying to elude "capture" by her siblings. She finds herself in the back alleys of London, using her wits to locate the missing Lady Cecily while also trying to keep herself out of mortal peril. Though readers' interest will be piqued by the references to Enola's first adventure, The Case of the Missing Marquess (Philomel, 2006), this title stands alone. Fans of Blue Balliet's Chasing Vermeer (2004) and The Wright 3 (2006, both Scholastic) and Ellen Raskin's The Westing Game (Dutton, 1978) will surely enjoy the suspense and the fresh voice of this young sleuth.—Angela M. Boccuzzi-Reichert, Merton Williams Middle School, Hilton, NY
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
In The Missing Marquess (2006), Springer introduced 14-year-old Enola Holmes, Sherlock's younger sister. In this book^B, Enola starts her own detective agency in London, complete with costumes and circumventions to hide her age. When a young lady of privilege goes missing, Enola uses several of her personas to find the girl. The mystery, laced with buzzwords of the time, won't have much resonance for contemporary kids, but Enola is beautifully drawn, as are the sights and sounds of late-nineteenth-century London. A surprise reunion for Enola will touch readers. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Philomel (January 18, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399245170
• ISBN-13: 978-0399245176
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 5.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #182,864 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exciting, well-written series, March 24, 2007

By	C. M. Gill (Cincinnati OH) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

While written for young adults, the Enola Holmes books have a lot to recommend them for readers of any age. This is the second book in the series; I strongly recommend that you read "The Case of the Missing Marquess" first. Nancy Springer has created a smart, brave leading character, while still being true to the spirit of the Conan Doyle stories. When I heard about these books, I rolled my eyes at the idea of Sherlock holmes' younger sister. But Springer does a fine job of making the characters and relationships plausible. I'm looking forward to Book Three!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another great book!, February 19, 2007

By	Eclectic Maven (Southern CA) - See all my reviews

I really like the first book in this series so naturally I bought the second. I liked the first one better but this book was still worth the read. Like a previous reader stated, Enola is an interesting character who's fun to spend a couple of hours with. Some of the content is a bit mature of younger readers, and I wouldn't recommend it for sensitive children under the age of 12, but otherwise it's a good read.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enola Holmes Outwits Her Brother, The Great Detective!, December 30, 2008

By	Mel Odom (Moore, OK USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Case of the Left-Handed Lady: An Enola Holmes Mystery (Paperback)

Enola Holmes is back in her second adventure, and this time she's in the heart of London. While she's prowling the dark streets and dangerous alleys of 19th century England, she's also being hunted by her brother Sherlock Holmes. Nancy Springer has created an excellent series for young readers as well as Holmes aficionados. Two other books have already been published since this one, and a fifth is waiting in the wings.

However, I can't help but grin just a little at the thought of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle sitting down to read one of Springer's books. I wonder what his reaction would be. Everyone knows Doyle had a love/hate relationship with his most famous character because he wanted to write more historical (for the time) romances of knights and adventure. Unfortunately for him, but not for the world, Sherlock Holmes resisted even death and came back again and again.

In the medieval romances Doyle wanted to write, women still remained as objects of affection and were helpless to save themselves. That's not what Enola Holmes is all about. She is a plucky and self-sufficient heroine that today's youth will readily embrace. I can't help but wonder if Doyle would be less enthusiastic over Enola's relationship to his Great Detective and her contribution to the ongoing mythos, or to the fact she is female. Either way, Springer has delivered an original character and world steeped in history, social contradictions, and breakneck adventure.

Enola has successfully set herself up under another name as a secretary to a Perditorian (a finder of persons and things, quite similar to Sherlock Holmes). Interestingly enough, Enola becomes quite sympathetic about the disappearance of young Lady Cecily. This case is one of the few that Sherlock Holmes has turned down. Also interesting, the person that brings the case to Enola's attention is none other than Dr. John Watson. As everyone knows, Dr. Watson is Sherlock's constant companion and confidant.

I couldn't help feeling just a little bit anxious over Enola's meeting with Watson. Watson was never the observer and detective that Sherlock was and served more as a raconteur of the investigations, but he was no fool either. I kept waiting on the edge of my seat for Watson to point at our young heroine and yell, "A-ha! The game is afoot!"

Instead, he was there to hire her fictional employer to find herself. Sherlock is working himself into a state over his sister's disappearance. Enola becomes torn when she hears how much her brother is worried over her. I love the fact that Enola worries about her brothers even though she's not had much chance to be close to them. One of the things that Enola most wants is family. She never had much of a growing up because her brothers are so much older than she is. Then there's the matter of the mysterious disappearance of her mother, which first set her on the run from her brothers' efforts to put her in a young ladies school.

With that threat hanging over her head, she can't turn to Sherlock or Mycroft. Even Watson is off limits. Above family, she treasures her freedom and independence.

I have to admit to a little trouble with all the codes that passed back and forth in the book. I like cryptography, and Springer's seemed really cool, but it was so obtuse that I think younger readers might have trouble grasping it. I struggled with it myself. And it was real stretch to think that even Sherlock Holmes would have tumbled to the code.

The author excels dramatically during the action scenes set in London's darker and more dangerous corners. The attempted garroting in the book's earlier sections is breathtaking, no pun intended. I love the look and feel of Sherlock Holmes in Victorian London, and Springer kept me there with her young heroine throughout the novel.

The twists and turns of the plot, even the real identity of the criminal mastermind, threw me at times and seemed a little farfetched. However, Enola's latest adventure is a colorful romp that allows her to thumb her nose at the Great Detective's skills of observation and deduction. Even though I don't want to believe Sherlock could ever be fooled, if anyone could do it, it would be Enola Holmes.

These books are great additions for Sherlock Holmes fans, as well as for young minds interested in mysteries and historic settings filled with danger and action.