Literary Pastiches

Last night I dreamed of literary pastiches. I think what got me started was, curiously, not a pastiche, but the real copper-bottomed article. An article, in fact from the World’s Pictorial News, published 12th February 1928, and quoted by John over at Obscene Desserts. It’s a real hoot, and definitely worth your time. As John says, the whole tone of the article is very much of its time, and reminiscent of the plot device of Dennis Wheatley’s 1934 novel, The Devil Rides Out.

I’ve just finished reading the three “Lucifer Box” novels (The Vesuvius Club, The Devil in Amber and Black Butterfly) by the multi-talented Mark Gatiss and enjoyed them very much. The Devil in Amber is set in the late 1920s, and is a pitch-perfect pastiche of the style of the newspaper article and Wheatley’s novel. All three novels are pastiches – the first (The Vesuvius Club) has an Edwardian setting, and is a pastiche of Oscar Wilde crossed with Conan Doyle, while Black Butterfly, set in the 1950s is a pastiche of Ian Fleming.

Gatiss has great fun with all three novels, in particular with his characters’ names; starting with Lucifer Box himself, and taking in such luminaries as Bella Pok, Kitty Backlash, Whitley Bey, Melissa ffawthawte, Percy Flage, Victoria Wine and her deadly manservant Oddbins. For those not familiar with the high streets of Britain, the last two names are wine shop chains.

Anyway, I’d obviously got to thinking about literary pastiches when I fell asleep last night, because I dreamt of a Bond-like adventure. I awoke this morning with the name of my Bond Girl on my lips. Not a bad effort, even if I do say so myself. It was Ms. Clementine Tonguewood.