Tracy Barrett taps young readers' inner sleuth with 'The Sherlock Files'

by Kara Furlong
photo by John Russell

Xander and Xena Holmes are embarking on an extraordinary year. A career opportunity for their father has transplanted the brother and sister from sunny Florida to rainy England. They must adapt to a new school in a strange city, where the inhabitants eat unfamiliar foods and speak an unusual vernacular. And they’ve just learned they have a very famous ancestor and inherited one of his most intriguing possessions.

In The 100-Year-Old Secret (Henry Holt and Company), the first book in Tracy Barrett’s middle grade series The Sherlock Files, little mysteries lurk around every rain-dampened London corner.

Xander and Xena are no stereotypical pre-teens. They share an innate curiosity about the world that makes them more interested in people watching than TV watching. Eager to explore their new home, the duo is soon contacted by members of the Society for the Preservation of Famous Detectives, who inform them they are descendants of none other than Sherlock Holmes. What’s more, they’re due to receive Sherlock’s casebook, full of notes on mysteries he never got around to solving.

One of those mysteries happens to coincide with an art exhibit opening in the city. A retrospective of the late Nigel Batheson’s paintings would be complete if not for the glaring absence of his best-known work, “Girl in a Purple Hat.” What became of the painting, missing for a century? Was it destroyed, or is it hidden away somewhere? Who is the girl in purple who posed for the reclusive artist? And can Xander and Xena solve the mystery and restore the missing artwork to the collection before it ships off for a world tour? The young detectives follow the clues from museums to castles, art galleries to the English countryside.

Barrett, a senior lecturer in Italian and director of Vanderbilt’s Italian language program, began writing nonfiction books for young readers as a creative diversion from her classroom teaching. The process of writing nonfiction usually requires extensive research on a subject. “I figured if I could research and write about an obscure 13th-century Italian poet, as I did for my dissertation, then I could research and write about pretty much anything,” she said.

However, Barrett says she didn’t have much confidence in herself as a fiction writer until her scholarly and creative endeavors collided.

“In my research for Vanderbilt I was doing a project on medieval women, and I stumbled on this Byzantine princess who absolutely fascinated me,” Barrett explained. “She was just a strange historical figure with an odd story, so for fun I wrote a chapter of a mock memoir of hers. I read it to my critique group, and they said, ‘Well, what happens next?’”

The result of that exercise was Barrett’s critically acclaimed 1999 novel Anna of Byzantium, which is now on required reading lists at many middle and high schools. Barrett often encounters Vanderbilt students who are fans of the work and recognize her as the author. “Writing Anna sort of freed me up and allowed me to write fiction, and I’ve been doing it ever since,” she said.

Several well-received novels followed, then The Sherlock Files came along. But Barrett didn’t go sleuthing for the project. Instead, it found her.

An aspiring writer proposed the idea of an American brother and sister living in London and solving Sherlock Holmes’ cold cases to the publisher, which purchased the concept but decided to pursue the series with an established author. R.L. Stine, who pens the best-selling Goosebumps series for young adults, recommended Barrett for the job, though the two had never met. Stine had read Barrett’s Cold in Summer, a suspense novel with a supernatural twist, and enjoyed her writing style.

“The publisher contacted me and I loved The Sherlock Files concept. I thought it sounded like so much fun and lighter than what I usually do,” Barrett said. “I love reading mysteries, but I wasn’t sure how to go about writing one.”

Barrett penned The 100-Year-Old Secret by following the publisher’s tried-and-true method for mystery writing, which includes creating a detailed proposal and chapter-by-chapter outline of the plot before any actual writing begins, as well as lots of feedback from editors.

“I resisted some of the editorial control at first, but they always assure me, ‘This is your book. Write it the way you want.’ I dig in my heels on some details, but they have so much experience publishing mysteries that I trust their advice,” she said.

Barrett exercised creative license when developing the characters of Xander, 10, and Xena, 12. The children are endowed with some natural abilities that assist in their detective work: Xander has a photographic memory, and Xena is exceptionally athletic. They are resourceful, never hesitating to pound the pavement in pursuit of a lead or darken a library door to do some good, old-fashioned research. And ultimately it’s their youthful insight that helps them solve the case.

Barrett shares her own insight on engaging young readers.

“I think kids like to see other kids being empowered,” she said. “And I think the people who write most successfully for children are those who remember their own childhoods well – not necessarily specific incidents, but they remember emotions well and can put into words how they felt when they were young.”

Like most good writers, Barrett has been an avid book reader since childhood. Her longtime favorites include E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web (“Beautifully written – it comes close to the perfect book for me”), Norton Juster’s The Phantom Tollbooth and Katherine Paterson’s Bridge to Terabithia and The Great Gilly Hopkins.

Barrett cites Mrs. Mike, a lesser-known work by Nancy and Benedict Freedman, as a touchstone from childhood that she was eager to share with her own daughter. “There are all these great books that people hold onto and pass along to their children. I don’t know what it is about that book, but my daughter and I can swap lines back and forth from it,” she said.

Barrett has achieved balance between her two careers – that of Vanderbilt scholar and successful author – through careful time management and organization. She reserves class preparation for her Vanderbilt office and does her book writing at home.

“I can’t write here,” she said of her office in Furman Hall. “I’ve done a ‘Pavlov’s dog’ on myself or something. When I’m in these four walls, I can’t write – it’s really interesting. So I divide my attentions very clearly and I’m efficient with my time.” Barrett said she’s fortunate to have a literary agent who’s a former college professor and understands the demands of university life, and a teaching schedule at Vanderbilt that allows her time to promote her books and make visits to schools. She also serves as a regional adviser for the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators, a large and growing group that sponsors an annual conference, newsletters and a listserve for industry professionals.

The downturn in the economy is affecting the children’s book market like any other, but Barrett has faith in it long-term. “The people who always buy a book or two for their kids at Christmas or on a birthday will continue to do so,” she said. Next up for Barrett is the May release of The Beast of Blackslope, book two of The Sherlock Files, as well as at least two more in the series scheduled to be published through 2011.

What about the mystery genre so appeals to young readers?

“I think kids in general like to solve puzzles,” Barrett said. “It’s fun and satisfying for them.

“There’s something innate in humans that makes us want to solve mysteries. It’s part of how we understand the world.”

Posted 01/01/09