Victorian Johnlock Fic Recs
This is not a comprehensive list by any means, it’s just my personal favourites.
Since First I Saw Your Face by Stavia_Scott_Grayson. 92 k, Mature. During the Great Hiatus, Holmes, studying in Tibet, reflects on his first meeting with Dr John Watson. - It’s so meticulously written, with a lot of research put into it, and there’s cases! It feels like an extension of the canon, simply beautiful. (ongoing)
My Greatest Joy and Privilege by apliddell. 2414 words, General. Watson solves Holmes, and then Holmes solves Watson. - Post-Reichenbach. Very short and tender. Liddy has a way with victorian language.
Upstanding Books and Sorrowful Diaries by Heurtebizzz (hertie). 16k, Mature. In the summer 1894, Mycroft Holmes requests his brother’s help in the search of a noble foreigner gone missing. Watson writes up what looks like an interesting case. Holmes has been keeping a journal, too. - This one contrasts Watson’s narration to Holmes’ diary and plays with the concept of an unreliable narrator. A case is the catalyst for romance. Amazing.
five times sherlock holmes lied to john watson (and one time he finally told the truth) by miss_frankenstein. 5948 words, General. “Something in Wilde’s persecution has touched a nerve in Sherlock – snapped that tenuous thread of hope holding him upright – and it feels as if he has taken to bleeding internally. ”Set in “The Abominable Bride” universe, this piece adopts a familiar format to chronicle Sherlock’s quiet suffering in the wake of the 1895 Oscar Wilde trials and the particular way they affect his relationship with (and feelings for) John. - Don’t let the trope-y title dissuade you, it’s brilliant.
Poets Lie by A_Candle_For_Sherlock. 5588 words, General. Love was a proven irrationality for men of his kind. To say to anyone, “My heart is yours,” would bring on his beloved the permanent threat of being cast off from society, safety, home–Unconscionable. He’d thought the impulse long conquered. Now he saw that time had only distilled it. It was no wild, unfocused longing now, but a concentrated need. To touch a loved face tenderly–it was such a simple thing to be so entirely out of reach. - It expands on the stories by interspacing bits into canon cases, “filling in the gaps”.
As Yes to If by daisynorbury. 3020 words, General. “Leave for your own sake if you must, but on no account shall you leave for mine. I can imagine no sadder outcome of the insight you have gained tonight. "Epilogue to "The Devil’s Foot”, and includes spoilers for that episode. It languished in my files for years, and yesterday it was Callicat49’s lovely user icon that inspired me to finally finish it. The title’s from my favorite piece of e.e. cummings. - I’ve yet to read this one since I haven’t read The Devil’s Foot yet.
Silver Gaze by daisynorbury. 4837 words, Teen. “It wasn’t the future I’d imagined as a young man, but what of it? Holmes often seemed to think me immovably conventional, and a month ago I might have accepted that judgement without comment, but it seems now that I am not so old that I can’t adapt, and not so staid that I can’t heed the call of love, even if its voice rings deeper than I dreamed.”
Floriography Lessons by Waid. 1091 words, Not Rated. Now that they are in a “romantic relationship”, Watson subjects Holmes to the intricacies of Victorian courtship. Holmes learns about the Language of Flowers, among other things
The Language of Flowers by fleetwood_mouse. 11k, Teen. A case leaves Watson wondering about a series of strange messages he received years ago, when he believed Holmes to be dead. - Ingenious and lovely (You need an ao3 account for this one).
It seems I tend to favour short and general-rated fics. Anyway, enjoy.
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