''A Taste for Honey'' is a 1941 mystery novel by H. F. Heard.

Background

''A Taste for Honey'' was the first of three novels Heard wrote about a Mr. Mycroft, strongly implied to be an elderly

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...

in retirement on the

Sussex Downs The South Downs are a range of chalk hills that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, in the Eastbourne Downland Estate, East Sussex, in the eas ...

. The novel's two sequels are ''Reply Paid'' (1945) and ''The Notched Hairpin'' (1949). Heard also wrote two short stories featuring the detective for ''

Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine ''Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine'' is a bi-monthly American digest size fiction magazine specializing in crime fiction, particularly detective fiction, and mystery fiction. Launched in fall 1941 by Mercury Press, ''EQMM'' is named after the fict ...

'': "Mr. Montalba, Obsequist" (September 1945) and "The Enchanted Garden" (March 1949).

Reception

Christopher Morley Christopher Darlington Morley (May 5, 1890 – March 28, 1957) was an American journalist, novelist, essayist and poet. He also produced stage productions for a few years and gave college lectures.''Online Literature'' Biography Morley was bo ...

called ''A Taste for Honey'' the only worthwhile Sherlock Holmes sequel, adding that it was "engaging and terrifying".

Raymond Chandler Raymond Thornton Chandler (July 23, 1888 – March 26, 1959) was an American-British novelist and screenwriter. In 1932, at the age of forty-four, Chandler became a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive durin ...

called the book "a very clever thriller".

Vladimir Nabokov Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov (russian: link=no, Владимир Владимирович Набоков ; 2 July 1977), also known by the pen name Vladimir Sirin (), was a Russian-American novelist, poet, translator, and entomologist. Bo ...

expressed enthusiasm for the novel, stating in a letter to his friend, the critic

Edmund Wilson Edmund Wilson Jr. (May 8, 1895 – June 12, 1972) was an American writer and literary critic who explored Freudian and Marxist themes. He influenced many American authors, including F. Scott Fitzgerald, whose unfinished work he edited for publi ...

: "I was lying on my bed groaning … yearning for a good detective story—and at that very moment the ''Taste for Honey'' sailed in. … Mary cCarthywas right, I enjoyed it hugely." Nabokov, an expert in entomology, also noted that the author got facts about butterflies in the novel wrong.

Adaptations

On 22 February 1955, the

American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an American commercial broadcast television network. It is the flagship property of the ABC Entertainment Group division of The Walt Disney Company. The network is headquartered in Burbank, Cali ...

presented "Sting of Death", an adaptation of the novel starring

Boris Karloff William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), better known by his stage name Boris Karloff (), was an English actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film ''Frankenstein'' (1931) (his 82nd film) established h ...

as Mr. Mycroft, as an episode of '' The Elgin TV Hour''. The novel was loosely adapted into a 1967 British horror film, ''

The Deadly Bees ''The Deadly Bees'' is a 1966 British horror film based on H.F. Heard's 1941 novel '' A Taste for Honey''.Ed. Allan Bryce, ''Amicus: The Studio That Dripped Blood'', Stray Cat Publishing, 2000 p 43-45 It was directed by Freddie Francis, and ...

'', directed by

Freddie Francis Frederick William Francis (22 December 1917 – 17 March 2007) was an English cinematographer and film director. He achieved his greatest successes as a cinematographer. He started his career with British films such as Jack Cardiff's ''Sons and L ...

Robert Bloch Robert Albert Bloch (; April 5, 1917September 23, 1994) was an American fiction writer, primarily of crime, psychological horror and fantasy, much of which has been dramatized for radio, cinema and television. He also wrote a relatively small ...

, who admired the novel, kept closely to it in his original screenplay; however, before production began, the screenplay was heavily rewritten by

Anthony Marriott Anthony Marriott JP (17 January 1931, London – 17 April 2014) was a British playwright, screenwriter and actor. As a playwright he was best known as the joint author, with Alistair Foot, of the farce ''No Sex Please, We're British'' which ...

, removing most connections with the book.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taste for Honey 1941 British novels British mystery novels British novels adapted into films Sherlock Holmes novels Sherlock Holmes pastiches Novels adapted into radio programs Cassell (publisher) books

Background

Reception

Adaptations

See also

References