"A Study in Emerald" is a short story written by British fantasy and graphic novel author Neil Gaiman. The story is a Sherlock Holmes pastiche transferred to the Cthulhu Mythos universe of horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. Gaiman describes it as "Lovecraft/Holmes fan fiction". It won the 2004 Hugo Award for Best Short Story. The title is a reference to the Sherlock Holmes novel A Study in Scarlet. "A Study in Emerald" first appeared in the anthology Shadows Over Baker Street, a collection of stories combining the worlds of Arthur Conan Doyle and H. P. Lovecraft; it has subsequently been available as part of Gaiman's short story collection Fragile Things, in the collection New Cthulhu: The Recent Weird, and is available online. The online version takes the form of a Victorian periodical or newspaper, which includes various advertisements that reference characters such as Vlad Tepes, Victor Frankenstein, Spring Heeled Jack, and Dr. Jekyll. In the introduction to Fragile Things, Gaiman cites Philip José Farmer's Wold Newton Universe, Kim Newman's Anno Dracula series (which Gaiman helped create), and Alan Moore's The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen as being the major influences of "A Study in Emerald". When asked if Gaiman had any plans to make a follow-up set in the world of the story, Gaiman said: "I hope so. I know the title and the protagonist of the next story in it". Plot summary The unnamed narrator, a veteran of a bloody war against the "gods and men of Afghanistan", whose arm has been gravely injured by torture, is seeking lodgings upon his return to "Albion"; he becomes the roommate of a man of extraordinary deductive skills who puts them to use as a 'consulting detective'. Early in their acquaintance, Inspector Lestrade of Scotland Yard arrives at their lodgings in Baker Street, hoping to hire the narrator's roommate to solve "a matter of national importance". The roommate insists on bringing the narrator; they investigate the murder scene, and the detective correctly deduces that the victim is of German royal blood, having an inhuman number of limbs. Lestrade confirms his identity: a guest and nephew of the Queen of Albion. They puzzle over the word Rache scrawled onto the wall in the victim's blood. After leaving the scene, they are taken to the Palace. The Queen, one of the Great Old Ones who defeated humanity 700 years ago and now rule the world,