However, while maintaining many of these qualities, one of the places where Mrs. Hudson does break out of the mold of her defined sphere as a female character is in the wealth of professional pastiche and fan fiction. In these expressions of the Sherlock Holmes fan world, we can explore fan adaptations from Mrs. Hudson’s point of view and even read tales that put Mrs. Hudson in the main investigative role. One such pastiche that tells the story through Mrs. Hudson’s voice while attempting to remain within the possibilities (or limitations) prescribed by the Arthur Conan Doyle canon is the novel Mrs. Hudson’s Diaries: A view from the landing at 221B, by Barry Cryer and Bob Cryer. This work is presented as the diaries of Mrs. Hudson, found and annotated by an original character, Mr. Oliver Philpott. This work very much fits the idea of fan work and pastiche attempting to fill a perceived gap in canon. It doesn’t change canon, at least not explicitly stated canon, only adds to it.

            As such there are many nods to the Arthur Conan Doyle works within the novel. For instance in His Last Bow, Holmes refers to “a dear old ruddy-faced woman in a country cap," and says “That is Martha, the only servant I have left" (Doyle, Annotated, 1430). While many have taken this as a reference to Mrs. Hudson—the BBC Sherlock in fact named their Mrs. Hudson Martha—in this work, Mrs. Hudson is given another common British name, Sarah. The character of Martha is explained as a younger servant in the house (Cryer and Cryer, 1). The authors also reference the few times Mrs. Hudson unambiguously appears in the canon, including Mr. Holmes’s mention of her breakfast being “as good as any Scotswoman’s” (Cryer and Cryer, 63; Doyle, Annotated,706); Mrs. Hudson’s distress at the Holmes’s apparent illness (Cryer and Cryer, 68; Doyle, Annotated, 1341-1361), and Mrs. Hudson’s help moving the bust of Holmes in the window (Cryer and Cryer, 100; Doyle, Annotated, 781-828). However, there are also nods to the BBCSherlock, not least that in the acknowledgements of Mrs. Hudson’s Diaries: “To Stephen Moffat and Mark Gatiss for raising the bar” (Cryer and Cryer, ix). These nods also appear in the text itself. When Holmes returns after his apparent death, the diary reads much like one might imagine the internal dialogue of Una Stubbs’s Mrs. Hudson might have been, including reference to her fainting (Cryer and Cryer, 98).

            However, while Mrs. Hudson’s Diaries takes a wider look at Mrs. Hudson as a character with personality and a life outside of the walls of 221B Baker Street than the canon does, her role is still housed within the narrow boundaries of the canon figure. Other works do not follow this practice, instead refocalizing the story and choosing to explore what Mrs. Hudson herself would be like as an investigative figure. For example, the three novels of A Sherlock Holmes and Mrs. Hudson Mystery series by Martin Davies place Mrs. Hudson alongside Sherlock Homes in the crime-solving unit. Meanwhile, the two novels of the Mrs. Hudson and Mary Watson Investigation series by Michelle Birkby gives us two female detectives in the spotlight, and the four book series Mrs. Hudson of Baker Street by Barry S. Brown has Mrs. Hudson setting off to solve mysteries on her own.

            Another large component of fan world exploration of the Mrs. Hudson character is through fan fiction stories and other media, such as photos, traditional artwork, memes, and gifs. The presence of this character in all these media forms is evident, but it tends to take two rather different shapes. In fan fiction, Mrs. Hudson runs the gamut from simply a landlady (or housekeeper), although with personality and often personal attachment to Holmes and Watson (The Disappearance of John Watson); to landlady and explicit mother figure (Mrs. Hudson; Landlady, Not-Your-Housekeeper and Mum); to wise mentor (Tea with Mrs. H); to investigative powerhouse (The Case Book of Mrs. Hudson); and even international undercover agent (The Unexpected Mrs. Hudson). Arguably, all of these works and many other represent similar attempts to fill ‘gaps’ in canon, such as the desire to explain more of Mrs. Hudson’s daily life within the world of canon Sherlock Holmes and the desire to explore strong female characters as an act of intervention in canon. The other interesting subset of Sherlock Holmes fan engagement is that of the many stories in which Mrs. Hudson appears as a character but is not tagged as a character therein (Confessions to a Coquelicot Cushion; Piano!lock AU: Keys on a String; The Private Journal of Dr. Watson; among others). In these it seems that the most logical explanation for this inclusion without recognition is that Mrs. Hudson has become so much a ‘part of the furniture’ in 221B and in Homes stories that she slips in without the author feeling the need to credit her in the character tags.

           However, this seems to be decidedly not the case in the representation of Mrs. Hudson in photos, memes, gifs, and other fan art, which are overwhelmingly based on the Una Stubbs characterization in the BBC Sherlock and are also overwhelmingly appreciative of her spunk and sass. This seems almost in direct contrast to the view of Mrs. Hudson as a hallmark, yet mundane, character. Still, each view seems to be acting to ‘complete’ a story world in their own way. While one places Mrs. Hudson as a necessary character in new stories exploring new adventures of Holmes and Watson, the other celebrates her individualized personality and strength as a female character in popular media.