Sherlock Holmes and Erast Fandorin: the peculiarities of Akunin’s dialogue with Conan Doyle

Abstract

The article analyzes the receptions of A.С. Doyle’s masterpieces and the circle of novels “Fandorin” by Boris Akunin. Based on the analysis of the works “Azazel”, “Decorator”, “Scarpei Baskakovs”, “Prisoner of the Tower”, a number of conclusions are made about the specifics of B. Akunin’s intertextual strategy. It is shown that the intertextual dialogue between Akunin and Conan Doyle is carried out through character and narrative projections, in particular, structural stylization, the transposition of the plot on Russian soil, etc. The ambiguous role of Conan Doyle receptions, performing, firstly, the para-genre (detective) function of plot-semantic coding, secondly, the function of the transtextual riddle, the solution of which lies outside the work - in the Conan Doyle pretext, thirdly, the function of a parody imitation of the predecessor’s stylistic manner, including the specifics of Russian translations of short stories about Sherlock Holmes, is revealed.

Keywords

• intertextual dialogue
• arthur conan doyle
• sherlock holmes
• boris akunin
• fandorin
• dr. watson
• reception
• allusion
• detective