tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67566085957615286832023-12-08T00:28:13.424-08:00Better Holmes & Gardensgoddessinsepiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14216346071787396697noreply@blogger.comBlogger118125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756608595761528683.post-37819267463981078622016-03-25T11:42:00.000-07:002016-04-07T05:21:31.240-07:00“You evidently don’t know me” (FINA): The Many On-Screen Incarnations of Moriarty<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I started thinking about
this topic when everyone was a little preoccupied <b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3845232/">discussing other things</a></b>.
I found that I didn’t want to talk about those things, but I wanted to talk
about Moriarty. Again. I’ve written <b><a href="http://betterholmesandgardens.blogspot.com/2011/01/some-thoughts-on-character-professor.html">about
the character before</a></b>, but now seems like a good time to revisit the
conversation. Let’s talk about Professor Moriarty and Mr. Moriarty, James
Moriarty and Jim Moriarty and No-First-Name-Given Moriarty, Moriarty in the
19th century and in the 21st, a Moriarty colluding with Nazis and one who wears
a crown. Let’s talk about the author of <i>The
Dynamics of an Asteroid </i>and a treatise on the binomial theorem. Let’s talk
about the spider and his web, the virus in the hard drive. Let’s talk about the
many faces of the Napoleon of Crime.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">And there have been so many
faces, and so many words written about a character that appears in
comparatively little source material. Moriarty is only directly mentioned in
two of the original stories: “The Final Problem,” and “The Valley of Fear,” and
is mentioned reminiscently in five others: "The Empty House,” “The Norwood Builder," "The Missing
Three-Quarter," "The Illustrious Client," and "His Last
Bow." When thinking in terms of words allotted in the Canon, Moriarty is a
minor character – but a minor character in the way of Inspector Lestrade, Irene
Adler (</span><b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://betterholmesandgardens.blogspot.com/2016/03/a-toast-to-woman-if-you-can-believe-it.html">ick</a></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">)
or Mycroft Holmes. He looms large and casts a long shadow. That is to say, he
is not minor at all.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The breadth and variety of
on-screen Moriartys speak to the complexities of the character. No truly minor
character would invite such panoply of interpretation. While many adaptations
have characteristics that overlap – threads that are common throughout the web –
each has a unique distinction that sets it apart.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Granada Television’s <i>Sherlock Holmes</i>:
Professor Moriarty (<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0692110/">Eric Porter</a>)<br />
</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Eric Porter was a Moriarty straight of
the Canon if there ever was one. Such was the case with so many things in the
Granada series, of course. In appearance, he was very nearly the epitome of Sir
Arthur Conan Doyle’s <b><a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/fina.htm">description</a></b>:<br /><br /><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">He
is extremely tall and thin, his forehead domes out in a white curve, and his
two eyes are deeply sunken in his head. He is clean-shaven, pale, and
ascetic-looking, retaining something of the professor in his features. His
shoulders are rounded from much study, and his face protrudes forward and is
forever slowly oscillating from side to side in a curiously reptilian fashion.
He peered at me with great curiosity in his puckered eyes.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Where Porter deviates from
the original, of course, is in terms of screen time. According to Granada’s
producer, Michael Cox: “…[Moriarty’s] one good scene and fight to the death
gives him only four minutes and funeral.” To expand Porter’s role beyond that
“four minutes and funeral,” Moriarty was included in the plot of Granada’s
version of “The Red-headed League,” even though the Professor plays no role in
the original story. At the end of the episode, it’s revealed that Professor
Moriarty was the mastermind behind John Clay’s attempted bank robbery, and the
Professor is obviously less than pleased to discover that he has been foiled by
Sherlock Holmes. In addition, Granada’s version of “The Final Problem” included
a subplot in which Moriarty has stolen the Mona Lisa, and is endeavoring to
execute a complicated conspiracy of art forgery and extortion – only to be thwarted
by Sherlock Holmes. Again. Footage featuring Porter from “The Final Problem” is
also used in “The Empty House” (1986) and “The Devil’s Foot” (1988), which
creates the reminiscent sense of the Professor that is present in the Canon.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Rathbone-Bruce Films: Professor Moriarty (<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0041172/">Lionel Atwill</a>, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0199787/">Henry Daniell</a>, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0958345/">George Zucco</a>)</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
Over the course of their fourteen Sherlock Holmes films between 1939 and 1946,
Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce would work with three different Moriartys – and
the actors would all appear in other roles in the franchise. The first was
George Zucco in the 1939 film, <b><i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031022/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_60">The Adventures
of Sherlock Holmes</a></i></b>. According to Alan Barnes, author of <i>Sherlock Holmes on Screen</i>, “The most
measured of crazies, [George] Zucco’s Moriarty makes a significant impression,
enjoying another standout scene in which he dares the bullied Dawes to let slip
a razor while shaving him: ‘You’re a coward, Dawes. If you weren’t a coward
you’d have cut my throat long ago…’” (21). Zucco would return to the franchise in
the 1943 film, <b><i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036349/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_40">Sherlock
Holmes in Washington</a></i></b>, not as Moriarty, but as the less memorable villain,
Heinrich Hinkel, a Nazi spy. He left his indelible mark on the character,
however, in that many future Moriartys either returned to or borrowed from
Zucco’s performance in some way. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Lionel Atwill first appeared
in the Rathbone-Bruce films as Dr. James Mortimer in the 1939 version of <b><i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031448/">The Hound of the Baskervilles</a></i></b><i>.</i> He would go on to play Professor
Moriarty in <b><i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0035317/?ref_=nm_knf_t3">Sherlock
Holmes and the Secret Weapon</a></i></b> (1942). According to Atwill in a 1933
interview with <i>Motion Picture</i>
magazine, "See, one side of my face is gentle and kind, incapable of
anything but love of my fellow man. The other side, the other profile, is cruel
and predatory and evil, incapable of anything but the lusts and dark passions.
It all depends on which side of my face is turned toward you—or the camera. It
all depends on which side faces the moon at the ebb of the tide.” With such
personal awareness, perhaps Atwill was the most equipped to capture the dual
nature of Moriarty – the academic and the criminal, the genius and the madman.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Finally, Henry Daniell (who
had previously appeared in the franchise in <b><i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0035318/">Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of
Terror</a></i></b><i> </i>(1942) as Sir
Alfred Lloyd, and <b><i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036349/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_69">Sherlock
Holmes in Washington</a> </i></b>(1943) as William Easter), starred as
Professor Moriarty in <b><i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038259/?ref_=nm_knf_i4">The Woman in Green</a></i></b>
(1945). Daniell’s take on the infamous Napoleon of Crime was Basil Rathbone’s
favorite of the fourteen films. “There were other Moriartys,” Rathbone wrote in
his autobiography <i>In and Out of Character</i>,
“but none so delectably dangerous.” It is, of course, Daniell’s iconic scene in
<i>The Woman in Green</i>, where Moriarty ominously
ascends the staircase to meet Sherlock Holmes, which was borrowed for the 2012
episode of BBC’s <i>Sherlock</i>, “The
Reichenbach Fall.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></i></b><b><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Sherlock Holmes – A Game of Shadows</span></i></b><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">: Professor James Moriarty (<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0364813/">Jared Harris</a>)</span></b></div>
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The Moriarty of the Guy Ritchie films began – appropriately enough – in shadow,
never actually appearing on screen in the first film, <b><i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0988045/">Sherlock Holmes</a></i></b> (2009).
The Professor kept to dark corners, with only a glove or hat brim visible.
Voiced by Ed Tolputt, the shadowy figure wasn’t even explicitly identified as
Moriarty until the end of the movie. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">However for the 2011 film, <b><i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1515091/?ref_=tt_rec_tt">Sherlock Holmes: A
Game of Shadows</a></i></b>, Jared Harris was cast as Moriarty (ultimately
going on to dub over Tolputt’s dialogue in the first film) and a new adaptation
came into full form. Harris’s Moriarty is shades of George Zucco’s
interpretation in terms of malevolence and single-minded ruthlessness. And he
is, without question, Holmes’s equal in terms of intelligence. “Come now,” he
says to Sherlock Holmes. “You really think you're the only one who can play
this game?” Contrary to other interpretations, Harris’s Moriarty is set on a
global domination that previous incarnations had not been – at least not to the
scale seen in the film. World war – that’s his goal – and he’s not all that
particular about how it comes to pass. As he says, “You see, hidden within the
unconscious, there is an insatiable desire for conflict. So, you're not
fighting me, so much as you are the human condition. All I want to do is own
the bullets and the bandages.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In his approach to the
character of Professor Moriarty, Harris said: “I didn’t want to do the bad-guy
monologue, and I didn’t want to say anything unless there was a really good
reason for it...I think that [Moriarty] doesn’t have that morality chip that
other people have. He just looks at things and says, ‘If I can do it and it can
be done, then why not?’”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">BBC’s <i>Sherlock</i>:
Jim Moriarty (<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0778831/">Andrew Scott</a>)</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
The BBC’s recent <b><i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1475582/">Sherlock</a></i></b>
Christmas special, “The Abominable Bride,” inspired a lot of conversation, but
it also inspired this post. I’ve always had an affinity for Andrew Scott’s
interpretation of Moriarty, as it is fascinating to watch the subtle (and
sometimes not-so-subtle) differences between an actor playing a <i>James</i> Moriarty and not a <i>Jim</i> Moriarty – which is what Andrew
Scott is doing. Scott’s Moriarty is malevolent and villainous, which are features
that should be considered fairly standard for the character. He’s also intelligent
in the same way that a boiling pot is considered hot. He’s intelligent until
something upsets the balance and tips him over into frenetic insanity. After
all, he once famously proclaimed that he would turn a contact into shoes if
they disappointed him. And therein is the difference between a James Moriarty
and a Jim Moriarty, between a Professor Moriarty and a Mr. Moriarty.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Transplanting Andrew Scott’s
Moriarty into the 19th century no more transforms him into Professor Moriarty
than putting him a waistcoat. Nevertheless, there are still some similarities.
After all, Scott’s Moriarty says to Holmes, “Shall we go over together? It has
to be together, doesn't it? At the end it's always just you and me!” The bit of
dialogue is somewhat reminiscent of George Zucco’s Moriarty, who once
commented, “Always Holmes until the end.” It’s a sentiment that is perhaps the
thesis statement for the pair’s entire relationship.</span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Elementary</span></i></b><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">: Jamie Moriarty (<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1754059/">Natalie Dormer</a>)</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
Says Joan Watson, "There is no Irene. There is only Moriarty, and Moriarty
is never going to change.” Jamie Moriarty began on CBS’s <b><i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2191671/">Elementary</a></i></b> as Irene
Adler, a former lover of Sherlock Holmes’s thought brutally murdered. She
reappears – very much alive – in the first season episode, “Risk Management,”
and Holmes believes that she has been Moriarty’s prisoner. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1bMucxnWkk3m2guTRhEPMGBhaA6QbD2q8sNb0B4ujvi-QCGU6nOlXtzzkhzKDn5ONsK50cisp2IlnFg_ZfjWnnO-Mw8ZMiPi7te7hq1B9OYZkAwCgsYUW1Pdc53x6YrGnTYLip2rbqlo/s1600/600px-Elementary_Moriaty_reveal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1bMucxnWkk3m2guTRhEPMGBhaA6QbD2q8sNb0B4ujvi-QCGU6nOlXtzzkhzKDn5ONsK50cisp2IlnFg_ZfjWnnO-Mw8ZMiPi7te7hq1B9OYZkAwCgsYUW1Pdc53x6YrGnTYLip2rbqlo/s320/600px-Elementary_Moriaty_reveal.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">She was, of course, no such
thing. Irene Adler was merely a cover for Jamie Moriarty – a criminal
mastermind. Like other Moriartys before her, she is ruthless, coolly
calculating, and possessed of a brilliant intellect. As she tells Sherlock
Holmes, “My first instinct was to kill you. Quietly. Discreetly. But then, the
more I learned about you, the more curious I became. Here, at last, seemed to
be a mind that... that rivaled my own, something too complicated and too
beautiful to destroy... at least without further analysis.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">However, as I’ve <b><a href="http://betterholmesandgardens.blogspot.com/2016/03/a-toast-to-woman-if-you-can-believe-it.html">commented
briefly elsewhere</a></b>, what sets Dormer’s Moriarty apart is not her gender,
but her triumphs. Jamie Moriarty succeeded where other Moriartys (and Adlers)
had not – in actually, genuinely deceiving Sherlock Holmes. He is so thrown by
her deception and the revelation of her true character that Watson is concerned
that Holmes may relapse into his old drug habits. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Dormer had hinted at the
dual nature of her character in a May 2013 interview: “The cool thing about
Irene Adler is you don’t really know who she is or where she comes from… If you
look into the novels or the incarnations of her — she’s a bit of a con woman, a
bit of a wily one herself, so she has an accent, but you can’t quite place it,
so I [thought], if I can do some kind of general American accent that is like,
‘What is that? Where is she from?’”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Moriarty has many faces –
young and old, male and female, some a little more intelligent than others,
some a little more unhinged than others. Nevertheless, if all roads lead to
Baker Street, all incarnations still lead to Moriarty. For Sherlock Holmes, at
the end it’s always Moriarty. Always Moriarty, until the end.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Sources:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Barnes, Alan. </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Sherlock Holmes on Screen: The Complete Film
and TV History.</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"> London: Titan Books, 2011. Print.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Cox, Michael. </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">A Study in Celluloid: A Producer’s Account
of Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes.</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"> Indianapolis: Gasogene Books, 2011.
Print.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Gettell, Oliver. “‘Sherlock
Holmes’: Jared Harris pulls Moriarty out of the shadows.” </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Los Angeles Times.</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"> Dec. 2011. n. pag. Web. 24 January 2013.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Lash, Jolie. “Natalie Dormer
Talks Irene Adler ‘Elementary’ Guest Arc, Play Margaery in ‘Game of Thrones.” </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Access Hollywood, </i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">16 May 2013. Web. 19
Feb. 2014.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />goddessinsepiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14216346071787396697noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756608595761528683.post-720542980350168152016-03-01T18:15:00.000-08:002016-03-01T18:15:43.201-08:00A Toast to the Woman: If You Can Believe It<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>[As presented as the February 2016 meeting of <a href="http://www.watsonstinbox.org/">Watson's Tin Box</a> in Ellicott City, Maryland.]</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I’m probably
one of the least likely of people to toast to the Woman. My feelings about Ms.
Adler are well known, and <b><a href="http://betterholmesandgardens.blogspot.com/2014/01/an-open-letter-to-mrs-godfrey-norton.html">well-documented</a></b>, and there is no love lost between us. Frankly, I think
she gets far too much credit.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For starters,
she didn’t <i>beat</i> Sherlock Holmes. He
knew exactly where that photograph was; she just managed to run away before he
could confront her. And if that is the metric by which we are now determining
winners – well, I was a much better athlete in high school than I originally
believed. If we're being honest, she merely committed the literary equivalent of taking her ball and going home.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As it was, I
was both pleased and excited when <b><i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2191671/">Elementary</a></i>
</b>premiered on CBS in 2012, primarily because I initially heard that Irene Adler
would not be appearing on the show. I was <i>ecstatic
</i>to learn that supposedly her character had been brutally, horribly murdered
off-screen. I was gleeful. I might not be a nice person.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Anyway,
imagine my disappointment at the end of the first season when it was revealed that
Irene Adler was alive, and that she would be played by <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1754059/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cl_t10"><b>Natalie Dormer</b></a>. But
there was a twist. <i>Elementary’s </i>Irene
eventually revealed herself as a female Napoleon of Crime, Jamie Moriarty. For
obvious reasons, they had my attention. I guess it doesn’t take much.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Elementary’s </i>Jamie Moriarty was coolly calculating.
She inspired both respect and fear. She was both shrewd and fiercely
intelligent. She did not suffer fools lightly. </span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhysxxme87KudXfh0HQxaFtqogyqSLv_GZaoHuCceCLjecW9ryoNeIJnsllcIgXVNpbWrsfgbXtgmmphQFUr1DE1ymjwXylykhLXjHOnE3lfGzFZzqPq6bH2OECFRRSRe7ALU7OsOW7tJE/s1600/600px-Elementary_Moriaty_reveal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhysxxme87KudXfh0HQxaFtqogyqSLv_GZaoHuCceCLjecW9ryoNeIJnsllcIgXVNpbWrsfgbXtgmmphQFUr1DE1ymjwXylykhLXjHOnE3lfGzFZzqPq6bH2OECFRRSRe7ALU7OsOW7tJE/s400/600px-Elementary_Moriaty_reveal.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">All right. I'm listening. You have my attention.</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But most
importantly, she actually, genuinely deceived Sherlock Holmes. For a time.
Which is fine, because no one can get past Sherlock Holmes forever. Nor should
they.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Here,
finally, was the Irene Adler I had been promised. The one everyone else had
seen, but I never had.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Please raise
a glass with me and toast to the Woman – may we all find the incarnation of
Irene Adler we need, if not the one we deserve.</span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">oOo</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"There is no Irene. There is only Moriarty, and Moriarty is never
going to change." (Joan Watson)</span></i></span></div>
goddessinsepiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14216346071787396697noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756608595761528683.post-17567466024918450222016-01-23T19:10:00.003-08:002016-01-23T19:10:50.826-08:00Sherlock Holmes on Screen: Mr. Holmes (2015)<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The Distinguished Speaker
Lecture during the most recent Baker Street Irregulars (BSI) Weekend in New
York City featured <b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0368774/?ref_=ttfc_fc_wr2">Jeffrey Hatcher</a></b>,
the screenwriter for the 2015 film “<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3168230/">Mr. Holmes</a></b>.” Hatcher was
erudite and funny, witty and insightful. On the other hand, I committed an
egregious error – I forgot to bring my notebook. For those who know me well,
this is akin to my walking into the Midtown Executive Club without trousers.
The lapse in my memory caused by the flurry of new activity and unfamiliar surroundings,
perhaps? Nevertheless, the lecture was one of the most enriching experiences of
the weekend, and I managed to survive without notebook and pen. Somehow. I
occasionally feel a little twitchy about it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“Mr. Holmes,” which starred <b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005212/?ref_=tt_cl_t1">Sir Ian McKellen</a></b>
in the title role was based on the 2005 novel <b><i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Slight-Trick-Mind-Mitch-Cullin/dp/1400078229">A
Slight Trick of the Mind</a> </i></b>by Mitch Cullin. Featuring an elderly
Sherlock Holmes beekeeping in Sussex Downs, the Detective struggles with the
increasingly undeniable deterioration of his mental faculties. In a </span><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2015/11/bombshell-interview-with-author-mitch.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+IHearOfSherlock+%28I+Hear+of+Sherlock+Everywhere%29&utm_content=FaceBook#.Vp2XqvkrLIU"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">recent
interview</span></b></a></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> with “<b><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/">I
Hear of Sherlock Everywhere</a></b>,” Cullin said:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The
novel was my way of dealing with my father's health issues as his sharp mind
started to unravel. It's a literary novel, really, and a highly metaphorical
yet personal one at that, touching on my own grappling with the definitive
ending of my childhood.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">It's
also a book about lost father figures, and a tribute to the late John Bennett
Shaw who had been another great benign father figure to me as a boy. I was
saying goodbye to a lot of things and a lot of people with that book, and that
was the function it served for me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The 2015 film adaptation
deals with many of the same themes. In the same way that Cullin’s novel was not
a Sherlock Holmes novel, “Mr. Holmes” is not a Sherlock Holmes movie. It is a
movie <i>about </i>Sherlock Holmes.
Audiences looking for the explosive antics of the 2009 and 2011 Robert Downey,
Jr. movies, or any of the modern adaptations, will be disappointed. There are
no over-the-top murders disguised as satanic rituals. There are no complex
criminal machinations or tightly wound villains. There is just an old man and
his bees. His housekeeper and her young son. His memories, which fade in and
out. And time, which keeps passing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">In his lecture, Hatcher
revealed that while Sir Ian had always been a top contender for the title role,
he had not been the <i>only</i> candidate.
Hatcher also gave the script to Ralph Fiennes, who declined the part upon
reading it. He felt that the character would require “too much makeup,” which
Hatcher had found ironic considering that Fiennes had no nose in his role has
Lord Voldemort in the <i>Harry Potter </i>films.
On the other hand, the film’s makeup team had conceded that it would a simple
job to transform Sir Ian (in his mid-seventies at the time) into the
93-year-old Great Detective, but they would <i>not
</i>be able to turn him into the 50-year-old Holmes featured in the flashback
portions of Cullin’s original novel. The best the team could do was a
60-year-old man, and so Hatcher agreed to accommodate the change. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR05YowhB4eVyb3vBHMnLU5-nV59MvWnJ8E0tpjl8RTzaZ8-RAYDsD78_YXGVDrnNxb5xWJK4Duc7-Ylec59lPl4sb7l2S2egv7-u8mkMO1ADwP6PCyUuuzqIuS5lhaS9wthxA1sJZOqk/s1600/mr_holmes_poster-600x889.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR05YowhB4eVyb3vBHMnLU5-nV59MvWnJ8E0tpjl8RTzaZ8-RAYDsD78_YXGVDrnNxb5xWJK4Duc7-Ylec59lPl4sb7l2S2egv7-u8mkMO1ADwP6PCyUuuzqIuS5lhaS9wthxA1sJZOqk/s320/mr_holmes_poster-600x889.jpg" width="215" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>Sir Ian does dapper pretty darn well.</b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Indeed, much as changed for
the Great Detective at the opening of “Mr. Holmes.” There is no more 221B Baker
Street, and there is no Mrs. Hudson. Holmes now lives in a country cottage and
is tended to by a middle-aged war widow named Mrs. Munro (played by <b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001473/?ref_=tt_cl_t2">Laura Linney</a></b>)
and enjoys an increasingly amicable relationship with her young son, Roger
(played by <b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm6057785/?ref_=tt_cl_t3">Milo Parker</a></b>).
Mrs. Munro is both very much like Mrs. Hudson, and also nothing like her at
all. Much like Mrs. Hudson, Mrs. Munro finds Holmes frustrating and
uncooperative, but much of his behavior could be explained as a product of the
man’s age. It would more surprising to find a 93-year-old without any
eccentricities (unlike Mrs. Hudson who was hard-pressed to find reasonable
explanations for her reasonably-aged tenant’s outrageous behavior). And unlike
Mrs. Hudson, Mrs. Munro has less to gain from her relationship with Holmes, and
as the audience soon learns – much, <i>much</i>
more to lose. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">More importantly, there is
also no Watson. The best the audience gets is a glance at a distance from a window,
and a shot of the Doctor’s back as he cares for Holmes when the Detective
reflects on his memories. Watson’s loss is felt early in the film, when Holmes
is in need of medical care and a village practitioner arrives to attend to him.
Holmes is clearly familiar with the man, and even acquiesces to the man’s
suggestions as to how to assess the Detective’s increasingly faulty memory.
Familiarity is not closeness, however, and this loss is only enhanced when
Holmes reveals later that Watson is long dead and worse yet – that the two had
been estranged at the time of Watson’s death. They never said goodbye. Holmes
has also suffered the losses of Mrs. Hudson and his brother, Mycroft. Their
absences are painful and undeniable, and Holmes does his best to avoid them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">There is Roger, of course –
Mrs. Munro’s young son. Roger’s father died in the Second World War and he has
little memory of him. He can’t distinguish between the stories his mother told
him and his actual memories – which is only one of many ways in which he
relates to Holmes. He is fascinated by Holmes, and assists him whenever he can
and whenever he is allowed. There is a childish charm in the way that he tries
to emulate Holmes, and an understanding in the way that he can’t quite achieve
it. For example, Roger mixes some of Holmes’s prickly ash extract into his porridge,
proudly eating it in front of his mother – only to spit it out the moment he is
out the door. Reminiscent, perhaps, of: “It
may be that you are not yourself luminous, but you are a conductor of light.” (<b><a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/houn-01.htm">HOUN</a></b>)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“Mr. Holmes” is the
self-indulgent character study that Sherlockians have always wanted, but never
thought they would get. It is a truly intimate picture. An introspective look
into the foibles and failings of the Great Detective is not something one
expects to see on the big screen, much less with a major distribution. While
not a Sherlock Holmes film in the traditional sense, “Mr. Holmes” was a gift to
Sherlockians nonetheless. The film makes us think about the Master Detective, to
spend time contemplating his most human characteristics. What makes him
ordinary, and not extraordinary.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">oOo<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><a href="http://www.wessexpress.com/html/curiouscollection.html">A Curious
Collection of Dates: Through the Year with Sherlock Holmes</a></span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">, written by myself and Leah Guinn of <b><a href="http://wellreadsherlockian.com/">The
Well-Read Sherlockian</a></b> is now available for purchase through <b><a href="http://www.wessexpress.com/">Wessex
Press</a></b>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj95Tsefoer9oOy3GN7lBoMMjcZQpi1a-2gwzhE_R3HCTpvnrdsyhyflI6koOskyJurs1viLcewF3Qv-oCZOZbqUNpkUArD4csYkPWRJ7rRzs6WWWTbE2CoOVftboJj52Vu0Cw5WoE9bLY/s1600/BookCover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj95Tsefoer9oOy3GN7lBoMMjcZQpi1a-2gwzhE_R3HCTpvnrdsyhyflI6koOskyJurs1viLcewF3Qv-oCZOZbqUNpkUArD4csYkPWRJ7rRzs6WWWTbE2CoOVftboJj52Vu0Cw5WoE9bLY/s320/BookCover.jpg" width="224" /></a></div>
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goddessinsepiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14216346071787396697noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756608595761528683.post-66323029144604313532016-01-01T18:41:00.001-08:002016-01-01T18:41:15.450-08:00My Favorite Sherlock Holmes Story: "The Adventure of the Six Napoleons" (SIXN)<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>[As presented at "A Saturday with Sherlock Holmes," in Baltimore, Md., on November 14, 2015.]</b></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">When
Beth first honored me with the invitation to be here today, and I heard the
theme for today’s presentations, I knew immediately and without hesitation that
my favorite story in the Canon is “<b><a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/sixn.htm">The Adventure of the Six Napoleons</a></b>.” What I
did not know immediately and without hesitation was <b><i>why</i></b>. And as I pondered
the topic for many weeks (and months, if I’m being truly honest), I began to
worry that maybe there wasn’t a <b><i>why</i></b>, that like the infamous
motiveless crime I simply loved SIXN <b><i>because.</i></b> Because of its own merits.
Because it was simply a great story. Because I said so. Because, end of
sentence. Because, because, because. And then, to my own mind, I started to
sound like a petulant child, unable or unwilling to complete the assignment
given to her. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">And
this, for some reason, made me think of my mother. Who knows why?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Those
who know me a little better know that my mother is the great reader of my life.
She’s the reason that I love books and writing and words. And if there is
anything my mother loves more than books and writing and words, it is <i><b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098844/">Law & Order</a></b></i>. Not the process, mind
you – the television show. The original flavor too, not the <b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0203259/">Special Victims Unit</a></b> persuasion or even the <b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0275140/">Criminal Intent</a></b> version with its pseudo-Holmesian
detective played by <b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000352/?ref_=tt_cl_t2">Vincent D’Onofrio</a></b> (but that’s a topic for another day and
another presentation). No, she loves the classic with <b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001832/?ref_=tt_cl_t2">Sam Waterston</a></b> as Jack
McCoy and its ever-cycling cast of district attorneys.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><b><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">So,
what does this have to do with Sherlock Holmes and his six busts of Napoleon,
you may be asking (or not)? Because it occurred to me – as I contemplated SIXN
and <b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0107950/">Jeremy Brett’s</a></b> facial expressions and <b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001651/">Basil Rathbone’s</a></b> <b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037168/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_65">creature-features</a></b>
and everything else peripherally related to this tale – that the reason I loved
this story is because it is <b><i>exactly</i></b> like an episode of <i>Law & Order</i>.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><b><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></b></span>
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFLoAXyP9hfYx9c34o0c1BMdO6Rn34DK3nx9f_61MCRYjQycLCSD_Z5gjTGhVXVmPEC1FvHdjUWewDk5QNrhDdOh_HVNJZY-EF8cbjOuEzJVo0VukAwQAhdJDo6hNPQccQxgSEbAUmbPo/s1600/Lawandorder01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFLoAXyP9hfYx9c34o0c1BMdO6Rn34DK3nx9f_61MCRYjQycLCSD_Z5gjTGhVXVmPEC1FvHdjUWewDk5QNrhDdOh_HVNJZY-EF8cbjOuEzJVo0VukAwQAhdJDo6hNPQccQxgSEbAUmbPo/s320/Lawandorder01.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Told you I was going somewhere with this.</b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Now
if you think about it (and I’m going to make you) – an episode of <i>Law & Order</i> typically opens with
banal, unassuming scene meant to distract: some kids playing basketball in a
park, two friends shopping for expensive clothing in a high-end boutique, a
young couple spending the night in a fancy hotel. Eventually, all these people
stumble upon something nefarious and gruesome (and usually dead). And SIXN has
a similarly inauspicious beginning: the reader learns that Inspector Lestrade
has taken to dropping in at Baker Street. To <b><i>chat</i></b>. And this particular
evening is no different. They are talking about newspapers and the weather.
Maybe even their macramé. There’s probably a fire going and brandy in snifters.
It’s as charmingly a domestic scene if there ever was one. But not for long,
because crime is about to drop from the sky, like a body falling right into the
middle of the Baker Street sitting room (a plot device which may or may not
have happened in an episode of <i>Law &
Order</i>, I can’t be sure). Lestrade has a case. An interesting case – “This
is certainly very novel,” says Sherlock Holmes. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Despite
the case’s novelty, however, Holmes and Watson don’t pursue it right away. In
fact after getting the initial details from Lestrade, Watson posits a theory
which ultimately bears no fruit, and Holmes decides to wait to investigate the
case until there are “fresh developments.” This brings us to our second element
of a <i>Law & Order</i> episode: the redirection
in the form of a <b><i>second</i></b> crime.<b><span style="color: red;"> </span></b>In any given episode, upon being given
their task, the detectives will set out on their investigation (this is, of
course, the “law” portion of the title). However, invariably they find that
this initial thread of investigation is nothing but a red herring, leading to a
dead end. Or even worse (and better television), while they have been giving
their energies to the first investigation, a second and related crime has been
committed. There is another victim. And it’s <b><i>this</i></b> crime that will
ultimately set the detectives on the right path towards solving the case. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">In
the case of SIXN, the second crime is the body found on the doorstep of Mr.
Horace Harker of the Central Press Syndicate. Aside from the dead body (a minor
difference), the crime at the Harker residence seems much like the others
before it – shattered busts of Napoleon and all. But now there’s a photograph
in the dead man’s pocket and a broken streetlamp, both of which are indicative
if not outright conclusive. From there, Holmes and Watson go to Harding
Brothers, and then to Mr. Morse Hudson, of the Kennington Road. It’s Morse
Hudson who provides a major breakthrough (interspersed with talk of Nihilists
and anarchists and red republicans). He knows the man in the photograph: it’s Beppo,
“a kind of Italian piece-work man,” he says. From there Holmes and Watson “make
for Gelder & Co., of Stepney, the source and origin of the busts.” And then
finally, based on the information they receive there, to Chiswick and the home
of Mr. Josiah Brown. This is where Beppo is apprehended with the fifth bust of
Napoleon and the <b><i>active</i></b> investigation draws to a close.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/images/sixn-05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/images/sixn-05.jpg" height="320" width="232" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>And...commercial break!</b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Now,
a typical episode of <i>Law & Order</i>
is usually split equally, with "law" bowing out of the way for
"order" at about the 30 minute mark. We'll find that the structure of
SIXN is definitely frontloaded with more law at the beginning and a briefer
order experience at the end. If SIXN were truly an episode of <i>Law & Order</i>, then the “order”
portion of the plot would probably only take up about 10-15 minutes of the
episode. However, the reader finds that the <b><i>impact</i></b> of Sherlock
Holmes's order more than makes up for its brevity. With Dr. Watson and Inspector
Lestrade acting as something tantamount to a jury, Holmes’s revelatory
theatrics are equal to any courtroom drama. With the reveal of the missing
pearl in the sixth bust, one can easily imagine Waterston’s Jack McCoy
unleashing the last damning piece of evidence against the accused, and all of
the pieces of the case falling neatly into place. I mean, Watson and Lestrade
even break out into applause for Sherlock Holmes, like they would for any actor
on the stage. Holmes then proceeds to outline the details of the case, which go
back over a year, and when he is done, it is obvious to the “jury” that Beppo
is guilty. Holmes has proclaimed it so, with every leap and twirl and dramatic
gesture. But more than that, Holmes has <b><i>proven</i></b> it so. And after all, what is
order if not that?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Finally,
every episode of </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Law & Order </i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">has
a summary scene. More often than not, it’s very brief. Sam Waterston shares
heated words with the prosecuting attorney on the steps of the courthouse. Or
there’s a poignant conversation amongst all the attorneys over Chinese food in
a darkened office. It’s a way to draw the episode to close quickly, and with
wit and pathos. And this, let’s be honest, the concluding scene of SIXN has in </span><b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i>spades</i></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">.
</span><b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </b></div>
<div .5in="" class="MsoNormal" margin-left:="">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">“Well,”
said Lestrade, “I’ve seen you handle a good many cases, Mr. Holmes, but I don’t
know that I ever knew a more workmanlike one than that. We’re not jealous of
you at Scotland Yard. No, sir, we are very proud of you, and if you come down
to-morrow, there’s not a man, from the oldest inspector to the youngest
constable, who wouldn’t be glad to shake you by the hand.”</span></i></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">End
of scene. Fade to black. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Dun dun. And the Great Detective goes so
far as to say, “Thank you! Thank you!,” as if he were at a curtain call, as if
he were taking a bow.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/-8lDYrvTILc/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-8lDYrvTILc?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">As if you didn't know what I meant by "dun, dun".</span></b><br />
<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Of
course, it’s more accurate to say that the structure of SIXN paved the way for
the episodic organization of <i>Law &
Order</i> than the other way around. And I wish I could say with certainty, as
Sherlock Holmes does in “The Empty House,” that “The parallel is exact.”
Because it’s not <b><i>exact</i></b>, of course, but it is very near. It is very near enough
to say that SIXN is my favorite Sherlock Holmes story because it reminds me of
another dearly beloved thing. Of another dearly beloved person. Or perhaps just
because. Because, because, because. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
goddessinsepiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14216346071787396697noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756608595761528683.post-28205173051029157652015-06-21T11:36:00.000-07:002015-06-21T11:37:25.558-07:00“A Man of an Honourable Stock” (SHOS): Sir Christopher Lee<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">For those of you who have
been following this blog for a long time (And have I thanked you for sticking
with me? <i>Thank you</i> for sticking with
me.), you know that I am not usually given to memorial tributes. This is primarily
because I have always found it beyond my meager skills to encapsulate the whole
of one person’s life – all its wonders and accomplishments – with just a few
words. I have always worried that whatever I wrote would come across as, at
best, inadequate, and, at worst, completely disingenuous. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">However, on the morning of
June 11 when I learned of Sir Christopher Lee’s death (Lee actually passed away
earlier on June 7, with the knowledge only becoming public on June 11), I
immediately went to share the news with my fellow “geek” colleague – a
co-worker with whom I share some mutual interests and with whom I had
commiserated over Leonard Nimoy’s death earlier this year. After a few moments
of some subdued sadness, my co-worker admitted that, beyond the <i>Lord of the Rings</i> series, she knew
little of Lee’s career. “Is that terrible?” she asked. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I didn’t answer at first. Of
course, it wasn’t terrible. There’s nothing terrible about not having an
investment in a particular actor’s filmography. However, I wanted to tell her
about my Christopher Lee.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbi43wBi6nSU5hNMVe2KtNSo_TPmgEEw0hjcX_tKNpV_heaQQMpNG7gq96quZgSwkYa46U7bxElp37t8A8UsWBv3LdYkLWlMZrK6Iin_8LZCTF6JtZPquSIL3YsgW5Heh6s_bgGpmqgqo/s1600/LeePriceCushing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbi43wBi6nSU5hNMVe2KtNSo_TPmgEEw0hjcX_tKNpV_heaQQMpNG7gq96quZgSwkYa46U7bxElp37t8A8UsWBv3LdYkLWlMZrK6Iin_8LZCTF6JtZPquSIL3YsgW5Heh6s_bgGpmqgqo/s320/LeePriceCushing.jpg" width="262" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>Christopher Lee with his friends Vincent Price and Peter Cushing</b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />“A Man of Some Substance” (<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/lion.htm">LION</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">My Christopher Lee was
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051554/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_222">Dracula</a>. And in his embodiment of the iconic vampire, he was perhaps only
second to <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000509/">one other actor</a>. He was as synonymous with the role as Basil Rathbone
with Sherlock Holmes, or Nigel Bruce with Dr. Watson. Although his Dracula films
would sometimes take ridiculous turns (<i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068505/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_153">Dracula A.D. 1972</a></i>, anyone?), the role would still cast a villainous pall over his
career and indeed, my Christopher Lee was also the <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053085/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_215">Mummy</a>, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050280/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_231">Frankenstein’s monster</a>, and <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059162/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_185">Fu Manchu</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“A Man of Remarkable Appearance” (<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/blac.htm">BLAC</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">My Christopher Lee was even
Count Dooku (or Darth Tyranus, if you are so inclined), unfortunately, in <i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0121765/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_42">Star Wars: Attack of the Clones</a></i> and <i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0121766/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_32">Star Wars: The Revenge of the Sith</a></i>. Typically
an anathema to true <i>Star Wars </i>fans, the
films are worth remembering, if only as a testament to Lee’s villainous
character acting.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“A Man of Iron Nerve” (<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/empt.htm">EMPT</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">My Christopher Lee was also Francisco
Scaramanga in the 1974 film, <i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071807/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_141">The Man with the Golden Gun</a></i>, opposite Roger Moore’s sometimes ludicrous turn as James
Bond. Lee was a relative of Bond creator Ian Fleming, and rather perfectly cast
as the erudite assassin. Despite the fact that Fleming had originally wanted
Lee for <i>Dr. No</i>, he was nonetheless
able to channel all his leanness, elegance and his unique razor-sharp keenness
to embody Scaramanga. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“A Grave and Taciturn Gentleman of
Iron-gray Aspect” (<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/blan.htm">BLAN</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">My Christopher Lee was
DEATH, voicing the late Sir Terry Pratchett’s (who also passed away earlier
this year) characterization in several dramatizations, including <i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1079959/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_22">The Color of Magic</a></i> (2008). Tapping into
the famous depth and timbre of his voice, his performance was equal turns
unlimited cosmic power and affable approachability, just as Pratchett wrote him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“A Man of Dreams” (<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/gold.htm">GOLD</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">And of course my Christopher
Lee was Saruman the White in Peter Jackson’s <i>Lord of the Rings</i> series, a masterpiece of film. How could he not
be? In addition to providing a vehicle for Lee’s unsurpassed ability to portray
malevolence and subtle deviousness, it also gave rise to what might be one of
my favorite <a href="http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/herocomplex/la-et-hc-christopher-lee-christopher-lee-dies-saruman-peter-jackson-20150611-htmlstory.html">Christopher Lee anecdotes</a>. Peter Jackson was preparing to shoot a
scene in which Saruman is stabbed in the back. Jackson provided Lee with a
long, detailed explanation of how he wanted the scene to go. To which Lee
replied, “Have you any idea what kind of noise happens when somebody’s stabbed
in the back? Because I do.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“A Man of Energy and Character” (<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/miss.htm">MISS</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">But perhaps, more than
anything, my Christopher Lee was Sir Henry Baskerville in the 1959 Hammer Film
adaptation of <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052905/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_218" style="font-style: italic;">The Hound of the Baskervilles</a>, starring opposite Lee's dear friend Peter Cushing as Sherlock Holmes. As the terrorized Sir Henry, Lee had to call upon <a href="http://bakerstreetdozen.com/lee.html">no acting skills at all</a> to show real fear:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Now there is one thing I’m really scared of…spiders. In
particular these ghastly bird-eating spiders from South America, with big, huge
hairy legs as thick as my fingers. I hate these things, and there was a
sequence in the film in which one of spiders comes out of a boot. I refused to
let them place it on my neck, but I did have it on one of my shoulders and I
was in such a state that I virtually went green, and sweat poured off my face.
Everybody said what a brilliant performance I gave. All I can say was that it
wasn’t acting at all. I was nearly sick with nausea and fear.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">And my Christopher Lee was
Mycroft Holmes in the 1970 film <i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066249/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_159">The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes</a></i>, starring opposite Robert Stephens as
Sherlock Holmes and Colin Blakely as Dr. John Watson. Lee was perhaps one of the
more sinister and uncanonically lean Mycrofts on record. Until Mark Gatiss’s
Mycroft in the BBC’s <i>Sherlock</i>, that
is. <a href="http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2012-05-15/mark-gatiss-mycroft-is-cleverer-than-sherlock">Gatiss has admitted</a> to using Lee’s interpretation of the elder Holmes
brother as the template for his own, calling him “cold” and “disdainful.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">And my Christopher Lee was
Sherlock Holmes. First in the 1962 German film, <i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056480/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_199">Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace</a></i>, in which Lee’s performance
was inexplicably dubbed over. And then later in <i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100597/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_75">Sherlock Holmes and the Leading Lady</a></i> (1991) and <i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102115/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_73">Sherlock Holmes and the Incident at Victoria Falls</a> </i>(1992), in which Lee plays a somewhat older, retired Great Detective.
Of his performance as Sherlock Holmes, Lee said:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">My portrayal of Holmes is, I think, one of the best
things I’ve ever done because I tried to play him really as he was written – as
a very intolerant, argumentative, difficult man – and I looked extraordinarily
like him with the make-up on…Everyone who’s seen it said I was as like Holmes
as any actor they’ve ever seen – both in appearance and interpretation.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikwD1hRpcZ_8UVtnUoivdnPV9VwTit_4J_cGYp4MWQHdZg8bwlNmx7TZMCLYGXJwItAO3Z8vtUQUZs7jHku3LCYNQa0CkkXmHXvX_0Ve369zdSA_JgVS3fTWDXXGS6VQ0XBL12NuGU2EI/s1600/CL_Holmes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikwD1hRpcZ_8UVtnUoivdnPV9VwTit_4J_cGYp4MWQHdZg8bwlNmx7TZMCLYGXJwItAO3Z8vtUQUZs7jHku3LCYNQa0CkkXmHXvX_0Ve369zdSA_JgVS3fTWDXXGS6VQ0XBL12NuGU2EI/s320/CL_Holmes.jpg" width="227" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“A Man of Deep Character, a Man with an
Alert Mind, Grim, Ascetic, Self-Contained, Formidable” (<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/miss.htm">MISS</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I wanted to say all these
things. I wanted to share my experience of Christopher Lee and who my
Christopher Lee was. But he also wasn’t <i>my</i>
Christopher Lee, no matter how many times I say it. He wasn’t <i>mine</i>, because he belonged to everyone.
He was everyone’s Christopher Lee. And he was also no one’s. For how can a
person such as Christopher Lee belong to anyone but himself?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">But I didn’t tell say any of
those things, of course. Who could? Instead, I simply said, “I know Christopher
Lee from a lot of things.”</span></div>
goddessinsepiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14216346071787396697noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756608595761528683.post-25823829743128099532015-01-08T18:20:00.000-08:002015-01-08T18:20:39.012-08:00“My power to surprise you” (EMPT): On Hiatuses <div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">“I moved my head to look at the
cabinet behind me. When I turned again, Sherlock Holmes was standing smiling at
me across my study table. I rose to my feet, stared at him for some seconds in
utter amazement, and then it appears that I must have fainted for the first and
the last time in my life. Certainly a gray mist swirled before my eyes, and
when it cleared I found my collar-ends undone and the tingling after-taste of
brandy upon my lips. Holmes was bending over my chair, his flask in his hand.”
(<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/empt.htm">EMPT</a>)</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/images/empt-02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/images/empt-02.jpg" height="320" width="263" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">It is
sometimes more difficult to return, than to leave.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">On May 4,
1891, Sherlock Holmes allowed the world to believe him dead. He abandoned
everything and everyone, only permitting his brother to know the truth. Holmes
didn’t leave a single clue that he still lived, not even the flimsiest scrap of
hope for those who cared most about him – unless one made a habit of looking
for subtext in newspaper articles about Norwegian explorers. (Don’t we all?) The
Great Detective was silent for nearly three years.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/images/empt-50.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/images/empt-50.jpg" height="320" width="288" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">It was a time
during which the criminal population of London grew more confident: </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“It is best that I should not leave the
country. Scotland Yard feels lonely without me, and it causes an unhealthy
excitement among the criminal classes.” (<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/lady.htm">LADY</a>)</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In which
Inspector Lestrade managed somewhat passable achievements in police work: </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Three undetected murders in one year won’t
do, Lestrade. But you handled the Molesey Mystery with less than your usual – that’s
to say, you handled it fairly well.” (<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/empt.htm">EMPT</a>)</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In which Mrs.
Hudson kept a strangely untouched room at 221 Baker Street: </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“…Mycroft had preserved my rooms and my
papers exactly as they had always been. So it was, my dear Watson, that at two
o’clock to-day I found myself in my old armchair in my own old room, and only
wishing that I could have seen my old friend Watson in the other chair which he
has so often adorned.” (<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/empt.htm">EMPT</a>)</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">And in which
Dr. Watson returned to his medical practice, his personal bereavements, and a
quiet, uneventful life: </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“As we drove away
I stole a glance back, and I still seem to see that little group on the step –
the two graceful, clinging figures, the half-opened door, the hall-light
shining through stained glass, the barometer, and the bright stair-rods. It was
soothing to catch even that passing glimpse of a tranquil English home in the
midst of the wild, dark business which had absorbed us.” (<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/2-sign.htm">SIGN</a>)</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">It can be
argued that Sherlock Holmes left under duress, certainly. He left in pursuit of
what remained of <a href="http://betterholmesandgardens.blogspot.com/2011/01/some-thoughts-on-character-professor.html">Professor Moriarty’s</a> criminal empire, dodging boulders
heaved at his person by <a href="http://betterholmesandgardens.blogspot.com/2013/01/some-thoughts-on-character-colonel.html">Colonel Sebastian Moran</a>, and the safety of the public
at the forefront of his mind. Neither was it three years of rest and relaxation.
He may have found ways to occasionally amuse himself, but Sherlock Holmes was rarely at ease
during this time, telling Watson:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The course of events in London did not
run so well as I had hoped, for the trial of the Moriarty gang left two of its
most dangerous members, my own most vindictive enemies, at liberty. I travelled
for two years in Tibet, therefore, and amused myself by visiting Lhassa, and
spending some days with the head lama. You may have read of the remarkable
explorations of a Norwegian named Sigerson, but I am sure that it never
occurred to you that you were receiving news of your friend. I then passed
through Persia, looked in at Mecca, and paid a short but interesting visit to
the Khalifa at Khartoum the results of which I have communicated to the Foreign
Office. Returning to France, I spent some months in a research into the
coal-tar derivatives, which I conducted in a laboratory at Montpellier, in the
south of France. Having concluded this to my satisfaction and learning that
only one of my enemies was now left in London, I was about to return when my
movements were hastened by the news of this very remarkable Park Lane Mystery,
which not only appealed to me by its own merits, but which seemed to offer some
most peculiar personal opportunities. (<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/empt.htm">EMPT</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">So, while it
may not have been a consensual parting, the Great Detective left, nonetheless.
And without a doubt there is a certain, sharped-edged cruelty to his departure,
both for the people he left behind and for Sherlock Holmes himself. Leaving is
difficult enough when you <i>want</i> to be found
and contacted during your time away, but to disappear completely, without a
trace? Well, that’s an extraordinary undertaking.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">What’s even
more extraordinary, however, is that Sherlock Holmes came </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">back</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">You may
wonder, what’s so difficult about returning? Wouldn't that be the easiest part?
Sherlock Holmes could just slip back into his old life, his old ways, his old
work. Even his flat was kept just as he left it. And his friends and
associates, once they got over the initial shock and sting of his deception, wouldn't they be grateful to have the Detective back? Wouldn't returning to his
old life in London feel positively relaxing compared to the trials of the past
three years?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">But three
years is a very long time, and things change. Mycroft Holmes may have done his
best to keep his brother informed, but there was truly no way for the Detective
to be certain of what awaited him in London. Perhaps Mrs. Hudson had grown
tired of the perpetual silence in her home and the morbid memorial to a man she
believed long dead – no matter what princely payments she was receiving for its
upkeep? Perhaps Inspectors Lestrade and Gregson had learned to cooperate, and
their combined forces meant the dawn of a new age of criminal investigation in
London? Perhaps the criminal masses of London had grown tired of a city without
Sherlock Holmes and had moved on to greener, more interesting pastures? Worst of
all, perhaps Dr. Watson had grown accustomed to his new quiet life – with
regular sleep, predictable meals, and no errant bullet holes piercing the walls
of his sitting room?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">None of these
things, of course, proved to be true, but there was always the risk that his
life was not as he left it. That there would be no well-worn rut to slip
unobtrusively into. That returning to his life would be just as much of a fight
as leaving it had been. Returning <i>was </i>just a risky as leaving, and Sherlock
Holmes knew it, as he knew most things. But he also knew it was worth it. He
knew – or perhaps only hoped – that there was still a place for him in London,
and that the world still needed its only consulting detective.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">My own hiatus
has a name. Her name is Morrigan Maeve, and when she was born this past April,
she weighed 7lbs, 5.5oz and was 20 inches long. She is an absolute joy and is
completely worth everything. Unequivocally, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">everything</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">.
Like the Great Detective in Tibet, however, I have observed my Sherlockian life
from a distance and hoped that there would still be a place for me when I
returned. So now I’m back and “I trust that age doth not wither nor custom
stale my infinite variety,” and that you all still have faith in “my power to
surprise you.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Now, there is
work to do. Let’s get to it.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoIhFSHqmpcmNiWiuFyxm-i_aBLUH0BglDMQ7UJ-5-VBFY29niJegdNRfIgpsEnDb3LT9-MrEw9uEi0CYrH63V0Ny6KuuIWesVOE7ZVYOvg8asyw88d8UIibD72YyyEHM9T8xAFU5YTHQ/s1600/Bunny_ACD.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoIhFSHqmpcmNiWiuFyxm-i_aBLUH0BglDMQ7UJ-5-VBFY29niJegdNRfIgpsEnDb3LT9-MrEw9uEi0CYrH63V0Ny6KuuIWesVOE7ZVYOvg8asyw88d8UIibD72YyyEHM9T8xAFU5YTHQ/s1600/Bunny_ACD.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">oOo</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Stand with
me here upon the terrace…” (<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/last.htm">LAST</a>)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">For Trevor:
You played the game for the game’s own sake. May it be 1895 wherever you are,
my friend. </span></div>
goddessinsepiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14216346071787396697noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756608595761528683.post-73799862502824831652014-01-19T12:56:00.001-08:002014-01-20T12:47:13.666-08:00An Open Letter to Mrs. Godfrey Norton (Née Adler)<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dear Mrs. Norton,</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm the first person to admit that I don't always understand the appeal of some things. I've never been particularly fashionable or cutting-edge, and so I often find myself on the outskirts of what is popular. Parkour, for example, is something I don't particularly understand. Wearing tights as pants is another. Pretty much anything involving John Mayer. And <i>you</i>, Mrs. Norton. I just have never been able to bend my brain around your incomprehensible, interminable appeal. Perhaps I'm uncharitable – there are certainly enough people who have called me such for this opinion – but I tremendously dislike you. In fact, despite the numerous warnings I have received over the course of my life about the strength of this word, I would go so far as to say that I hate you.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/02/Irene_Adler.png/516px-Irene_Adler.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/02/Irene_Adler.png/516px-Irene_Adler.png" height="320" width="275" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Ick.</b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I hate you whether you exist in black and white, in the printed word, or as a disembodied voice on the radio. And I certainly hate you when you are live and in full color on my television or cinema screen. I hate you whether you are played by </span><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001648/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Charlotte Rampling</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> or </span><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1046097/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rachel McAdams</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. I even hate you when you are played by </span><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0402281/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Gayle Hunnicutt</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> opposite the incomparable </span><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0107950/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jeremy Brett </a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(which is really saying something, because even though I consider all of Mr. Brett's performances sacrosanct, your episode remains the least viewed one from my copy of the </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherlock_Holmes_(1984_TV_series)" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Granada Television collection</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">). I hate you whether you are an opera singer, an adventuress, a single mother to a young boy who loves music and puzzles, or even just an unapologetic thief. And I especially hate you in one of your most </span><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3091498/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">recent incarnations as a dominatrix</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> (your hairstyle, to be frank, was utterly confounding). I hate you whether you are a redhead, a brunette, or a blonde. In fact, one of the things that I liked best about the recent television series, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2191671/">Elementary</a></i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, is that I was promised that you were <i>dead</i>. Even better, I was promised you had been <i>brutally murdered</i> off-screen, before the series even began. The mere idea of it was delicious. I was thrilled. I was ecstatic. I promise you that I was beside myself with joy. And while it appears that the rumors of your death have been greatly (and cruelly) exaggerated, I assure you that CBS Television still owes me a rotting corpse. Yours, preferably, but I’m not picky. I will wait. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfGSMiBH_nYhikE7b-zdHWkgDCToLKXCfukIKF3_QZuo603Ypchkilyb4LILlXvWkeXctfxZGWHCF1lRf0h4I1hb8DimpDjHPFZw3hc9YLRW-2haIAC-lp7A-BYyUDJN01sBgmI5fkGXI/s1600/Dormer_IA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfGSMiBH_nYhikE7b-zdHWkgDCToLKXCfukIKF3_QZuo603Ypchkilyb4LILlXvWkeXctfxZGWHCF1lRf0h4I1hb8DimpDjHPFZw3hc9YLRW-2haIAC-lp7A-BYyUDJN01sBgmI5fkGXI/s1600/Dormer_IA.jpg" height="303" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Natalie Dormer as Irene Adler in CBS Television's <i>Elementary.</i><br />They promised me that you were <i>dead.</i></b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But mostly I hate you because you simply will not go away. Must you stick your perfectly powdered nose into every plot that calls for a XX chromosome? The mere mention of your name is often enough to make me put down whatever pastiche I may be reading – no matter how much I paid for it or how difficult it was to obtain – and use the pages of the book as a liner for my cat’s litter-pan. And my goodness, you do turn up so very often, don't you? A <a href="http://www.schoolandholmes.com/irene.html">popular website</a>, which catalogues historical and fictional characters appearing in Sherlockian pastiches, lists dozens, if not hundreds, of references to your person in non-canonical fiction. It’s really too many. Having only appeared in one original story, you are just as prolific – but not nearly as interesting as – the late, lamented <a href="http://bakerstreet.wikia.com/wiki/James_Moriarty">Professor Moriarty</a>. Does the plot call for a uniquely feminine touch? There you are. Has a member of royalty found himself in some sort of moral morass? Up pops your name. Has Sherlock Holmes, heaven forbid, found himself in some sort of romantic imbroglio? You’re involved, Mrs. Norton. And, even more offensive, does the Great Detective need to be brought down a peg? Of course you show up. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8IH3CcUBcXot00W2VcisUlL7V3OKHtVIeRhskGfEHXIcKXhdoIDXLqoZsAeVuRI7KS6KXt_Yqt0jiQLbvN3DflIehYI7TyGYd6lG8dWPLRu10IlXcXkmDiBj7xR-wtvOEJ0_ErC4Y39I/s1600/McAdams_IA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8IH3CcUBcXot00W2VcisUlL7V3OKHtVIeRhskGfEHXIcKXhdoIDXLqoZsAeVuRI7KS6KXt_Yqt0jiQLbvN3DflIehYI7TyGYd6lG8dWPLRu10IlXcXkmDiBj7xR-wtvOEJ0_ErC4Y39I/s1600/McAdams_IA.jpg" height="320" width="254" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And your hat is stupid.</span></b></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But to be honest, you get more credit than you really deserve, don’t you think? While Sherlock Holmes once claimed, “I have been beaten four times – three times by men, and once by a woman,” (<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/five.htm">FIVE</a>) I think he was being a little generous. Let’s assume, first of all, that Holmes is referring to <i>you</i> in that passage, even though he doesn’t mention you by name, does he? A well-timed escape is not the same as beating someone. That would be like saying that the Worthingdon bank gang (<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/resi.htm">RESI</a>) beat Sherlock Holmes because they managed to drown before their capture. Or the murderers of John Openshaw (<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/five.htm">FIVE</a>) beat Sherlock Holmes for the same reason, ironically. It would be like saying that Sherlock Holmes was bested in “<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/lion.htm">The Lion’s Mane</a>,” because the murderer turned out to be a jellyfish and not a human being as originally assumed. Could you imagine the Great Detective saying, “I have been beaten <b><i>five</i></b> times – three times by men, and once by a woman… and once by an invertebrate creature”? </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiavV1mQcj-CEBwb9S5Rs4AzHoBR_ca2TpJ_twml3v3gryTMGpsxiqCtKS9GOkzEyGskROFRQulROUVGR8QgELYo9-K1NFna6JTUpusdkHPujkCuD0Aj4VQ3acMtrnsEr0K2MeBRUwzY4c/s1600/Pulver_IA.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiavV1mQcj-CEBwb9S5Rs4AzHoBR_ca2TpJ_twml3v3gryTMGpsxiqCtKS9GOkzEyGskROFRQulROUVGR8QgELYo9-K1NFna6JTUpusdkHPujkCuD0Aj4VQ3acMtrnsEr0K2MeBRUwzY4c/s1600/Pulver_IA.png" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yup, I don't know what to say either, madam.</span></b></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sherlock Holmes caught you out, madam. He devised a trap, and you fell into it precisely as he imagined: </span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"The smoke and shouting were enough to shake nerves of steel. She responded beautifully. The photograph is in a recess behind a sliding panel just above the right bell-pull. She was there in an instant, and I caught a glimpse of it as she half-drew it out. When I cried out that it was a false alarm, she replaced it, glanced at the rocket, rushed from the room, and I have not seen her since." (<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/scan.htm">SCAN</a>)</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You did exactly what he thought you were going to do. Far from being clever, you were <i>predictable</i>, madam. When Sherlock Holmes tells the iniquitous King of Bohemia, “From what I have seen of the lady she seems indeed to be on a very different level to your Majesty,” I feel it was intended more as a slight at the king, than any compliment of you. And while I’m at it, donning a disguise for an evening stroll and a verbal jab doesn’t confirm any supposed cleverness either. If anything, it makes you appear childish, unable to admit you had been run to ground. “Good-night, Mister Sherlock Holmes,” indeed. It was almost like a rude gesture, don’t you think? And I should mention that even then you didn’t even have the man completely baffled. “I’ve heard that voice before,” Holmes said. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/images/scan-09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/images/scan-09.jpg" height="320" width="205" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Don't look so smug. You haven't earned it.</b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have also heard your voice before, Mrs. Norton, and it seems I am condemned to hear it over and over again. I find myself lamenting, as Dr. Watson did in “<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/copp.htm">The Adventure of the Copper Beeches</a>,” that Sherlock Holmes expressed no interest in Miss Violet Hunter and her luxuriant, chestnut hair once she ceased to be the focus of a case. Not because I feel that the Great Detective is in any particular need of a female companion, but because it means I would be rid of you. I find myself constantly on the alert for your presence, looking for mentions of your name, just as one would scan a dark alleyway for danger. I fear you will always be there, on the outskirts, claiming a cleverness that isn’t deserved and isn’t yours, but believe me, madam, you don’t have me fooled. I’m on to you.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yours very truly (and honestly),</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jaime Mahoney</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">oOo</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The above tongue-in-cheek piece first appeared </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">–</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> ironically </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">–</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> the 11th (2013) edition of <i>Irene's Cabinet</i>, a Sherlockian publication by <a href="http://www.watsonstinbox.org/">Watson's Tin Box</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Better Holmes & Gardens” has its own Facebook page. Join by “Liking” the page </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/BetterHolmesandGardens" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">here</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, and receive all the latest updates, news, and Sherlockian tidbits.</span><br />
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goddessinsepiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14216346071787396697noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756608595761528683.post-23241137359787757032013-11-06T15:30:00.000-08:002013-11-06T15:30:20.443-08:00Currently on Twitter...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/images/bosc-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/images/bosc-01.jpg" width="251" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As part of an ongoing project on my <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/goddessinsepia">Twitter feed</a>, I'm delivering stories from <a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/index.html">the Sherlock Holmes canon</a> in tiny installments of 140 characters or less. I recently finished up </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/veil.htm">The Adventure of the Veiled Lodger</a>," in which Sherlock Holmes advises: "Your life is not your own...Keep your hands off it...</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The example of patient suffering is in itself the most precious of all lessons to an impatient world."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The current story is "<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/bosc.htm">The Boscombe Valley Mystery</a>," in which Sherlock Holmes tells Dr. Watson: "It makes a considerable difference to me, having someone with me on whom I can thoroughly rely."</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Check out <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/goddessinsepia">my Twitter feed</a> for a daily installment, although I am usually inspired to post more than once a day. And don't forget you can read through the original canon <a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/index.html">online</a>.</span>goddessinsepiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14216346071787396697noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756608595761528683.post-54432630937094990272013-09-25T15:50:00.000-07:002013-09-25T15:50:20.779-07:00Currently on Twitter...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/images/veil-03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/images/veil-03.jpg" width="226" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As part of an ongoing project on my <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/goddessinsepia">Twitter feed</a>, I'm delivering stories from <a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/index.html">the Sherlock Holmes canon</a> in tiny installments of 140 characters or less. I recently finished up </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"</span><a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/chas.htm" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Charles Augustus Milverton</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">," in which the reader is introduced to "the worst man in London" and learns that "...there are certain crimes which the law cannot touch, and which therefore, to some extent, justify private revenge."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The current story is "<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/veil.htm">The Adventure of the Veiled Lodger</a>," in which Sherlock Holmes advises: "Your life is not your own...Keep your hands off it...</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The example of patient suffering is in itself the most precious of all lessons to an impatient world."</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Check out <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/goddessinsepia">my Twitter feed</a> for a daily installment, although I am usually inspired to post more than once a day. And don't forget you can read through the original canon <a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/index.html">online</a>.</span>goddessinsepiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14216346071787396697noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756608595761528683.post-85362815110124471482013-08-15T04:01:00.000-07:002013-08-15T04:01:04.761-07:00Currently on Twitter...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/images/chas-02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/images/chas-02.jpg" width="303" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As part of an ongoing project on my <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/goddessinsepia">Twitter feed</a>, I'm delivering stories from <a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/index.html">the Sherlock Holmes canon</a> in tiny installments of 140 characters or less. I recently finished up </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"</span><a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/lion.htm" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Adventure of the Lion's Mane</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">," in which a retired Sherlock Holmes informs us, "I am an omnivorous reader with a strangely retentive memory for trifles."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The current story is "<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/chas.htm">Charles Augustus Milverton</a>," in which the reader is introduced to "the worst man in London" and learns that "...there are certain crimes which the law cannot touch, and which therefore, to some extent, justify private revenge."</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Check out <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/goddessinsepia">my Twitter feed</a> for a daily installment, although I am usually inspired to post more than once a day. And don't forget you can read through the original canon <a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/index.html">online</a>.</span>goddessinsepiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14216346071787396697noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756608595761528683.post-70454992269115460072013-07-27T14:16:00.000-07:002013-07-27T14:16:44.617-07:00BOOK REVIEW: “The Annals of Sherlock Holmes”
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">P</span>aul D. Gilbert;
Publisher: Robert Hale (April 1, 2013)</strong></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgknjQzRJWriN2-VP9KHHawMBvy5tLCfmJdZpLYUBX1o2rpQDilq_-Lgt2yqlBJzmAPMDgFP3ZU3PeJ2CY70Kj2nSvzpaMaNPk_ZM6DnXB0K5O6oV9EhwYdJsTG_fcjt8y-Xx8yLLNi-U4/s1600/Brett_Hat_DEVI.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgknjQzRJWriN2-VP9KHHawMBvy5tLCfmJdZpLYUBX1o2rpQDilq_-Lgt2yqlBJzmAPMDgFP3ZU3PeJ2CY70Kj2nSvzpaMaNPk_ZM6DnXB0K5O6oV9EhwYdJsTG_fcjt8y-Xx8yLLNi-U4/s320/Brett_Hat_DEVI.png" width="217" /></a></div>
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“[<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0107950/">Jeremy Brett’s]</a>
exuberance while filming ‘The Devil’s Foot’—an exuberance that to some extent
was a result of his illness—led him to make additions to the story, some not
always in keeping with either Conan Doyle’s Holmes or his previous
performances. It was that great enthusiasm and thrill at developing the character
that was responsible for us seeing Holmes wearing a bandana around his head, as
Brett had worn one in the swinging ‘sixties. He also draped his scarf around
his trilby hat in a strange way. Bohemian, maybe; risible, certainly. A still
in ‘The Sunday Times’ which featured Holmes with this scarf/hat concoction was
captioned: ‘Sherlock Holmes as a teapot!’” (David Stuart Davies, “<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Bending-Willow-Jeremy-Sherlock-Holmes/dp/1553100352">Bending the Willow</a>”)</span></i><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Sherlock Holmes of Paul Gilbert’s books is immediately recognizable.
Beyond the features that automatically mark the character as the Great
Detective, there is a more specific quality in every turn of phrase, sharply
raised eyebrow and peculiar idiosyncrasy. Gilbert’s Sherlock Holmes is
unquestionably and unmistakably <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0107950/">Jeremy Brett</a>. The author of four collections of
Sherlockian pastiche – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Lost-Files-Sherlock-Holmes-ebook/dp/B0099RT786/ref=sr_1_2_title_1_kin?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1374956513&sr=1-2">The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes</a>,</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Chronicles-Sherlock-Holmes-ebook/dp/B00550QO4G/ref=sr_1_3_title_1_kin?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1374956513&sr=1-3">The Chronicles of Sherlock Holmes</a></i>, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://betterholmesandgardens.blogspot.com/2011/05/book-review-sherlock-holmes-and-giant.html">Sherlock Holmes and the Giant Rat of Sumatra</a></i>, and most recently, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Annals-Sherlock-Holmes-Paul-Gilbert/dp/0709093462">The Annals of Sherlock Holmes</a></i> – Gilbert said in <a href="http://www.harrowobserver.co.uk/west-london-news/local-harrow-news/2010/10/15/author-brings-to-life-a-new-sherlock-holmes-adventure-116451-27478303/">a 2010 interview</a>:<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"He was a great actor and when
I write, Jeremy Brett is my Sherlock. His family have read my books and I
believe they have gone down well with them… I owe a lot to Jeremy Brett. I
never met him but my interpretation of Holmes owes a lot to his character."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi45d3HbnoK_TTJ5c9OmoLHVx9AP15RinVSCbokg_Yf-9SGsvSCMKvUnQAlYdGs6dvZfu-JT94ESgHORTQpcajY1D3HzHIfOi2S0tLbJPV-OzjcBzGK6jS6jZvzdtUXesFAzCRedF0n1jA/s1600/Annals_SH.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi45d3HbnoK_TTJ5c9OmoLHVx9AP15RinVSCbokg_Yf-9SGsvSCMKvUnQAlYdGs6dvZfu-JT94ESgHORTQpcajY1D3HzHIfOi2S0tLbJPV-OzjcBzGK6jS6jZvzdtUXesFAzCRedF0n1jA/s320/Annals_SH.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And that debt to Jeremy Brett is present within even the
first few pages of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Annals-Sherlock-Holmes-Paul-Gilbert/dp/0709093462">The Annals of Sherlock Holmes</a></i>, a collection of three stories inspired by canonical references (to both
unpublished cases in Dr. Watson’s dispatch box at Cox and Co., at Charing Cross,
and fringe characters from published stories). In the very first tale, as
Holmes and Watson keep a frigid vigil on Christmas Eve, Watson remarks:<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“I could not help but wonder at my
friend’s effrontery. After all, he was sitting comfortably in the corner of
this tiny stable with his muffler tied down about his hat while a large brown
blanket was draped over his shoulders forming the shape of a teepee (13).”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The passage evokes an almost instantaneous recollection of
Jeremy Brett’s puzzling wardrobe choices from the Granada Television adaptation
of “<a href="http://betterholmesandgardens.blogspot.com/2011/03/meaning-of-this-extraordinary.html">The Devil’s Foot</a>.” Gilbert’s Sherlock Holmes is a vivid and sharply painted
portrait, recognizable in every word and gesture. It is a remarkable tribute.
Likewise, his Watson seems to be equal shades of <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0121651/">David Burke</a> and <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0362570/">Edward Hardwicke</a> – although there appears to be a little bit more of Hardwicke’s interpretation
in his Watson’s frustration and exasperation: “Really, Holmes, on this occasion
you have surely surpassed yourself. Your shabby treatment of me displays a
wanton lack of respect that I surely don’t deserve!” (51) Over the course of
three separate stories, Gilbert successfully achieves cohesiveness and
consistency, allowing the collection to be appreciated as a whole – as well as for
the merits of its parts.</span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Wingdings;">vvv</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Wingdings;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Wingdings;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Dundas Separation
Case: </b>In “<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/iden.htm">A Case of Identity</a>,” as he attempts to explain to Dr. Watson just
how infinitely strange life can be, Sherlock Holmes makes reference to some
papers, saying: </span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“This is the Dundas separation
case, and, as it happens, I was engaged in clearing up some small points in
connection with it. The husband was a teetotaller, there was no other woman,
and the conduct complained of was that he had drifted into the habit of winding
up every meal by taking out his false teeth and hurling them at his wife, which
you will allow is not an action likely to occur to the imagination of the
average story-teller.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While the canonical reference makes it sound as if Watson
was unaware of this peculiar case, Gilbert’s readers soon learn that this just
simply isn’t so. When Holmes and Watson are contacted by Miss Edith Swinton – a
friend of Miss Violet Hunter (<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/copp.htm">COPP</a>), she asks their help in deciphering the excessively
bizarre behavior of her employer, Sir Balthazar Dundas. Since the arrival of a
mysterious visitor, Dundas has begun to treat his wife in an appallingly
abusive fashion, and is now cloistering himself in the attic of his home in Dungeness.
Readers soon learn that this case is also the explanation behind Watson’s oblique
canonical reference to “the whole story concerning the politician, the
lighthouse, and the trained cormorant” (<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/veil.htm">VEIL</a>). </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Abernetty Mystery:
</b>During “<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/sixn.htm">The Adventure of the Six Napoleons</a>,” Sherlock Holmes tells
Inspector Lestrade:<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“The affair seems absurdly
trifling, and yet I dare call nothing trivial when I reflect that some of my
most classic cases have had the least promising commencement. You will
remember, Watson, how the dreadful business of the Abernetty family was first
brought to my notice by the depth which the parsley had sunk into the butter
upon a hot day.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The unpublished case of the Abernetty family has always stimulated
curiosity. What could be a better example of Sherlock Holmes’s keen deductive
reasoning than his observations on something as seemingly insignificant as a
sprig of parsley? When Holmes and Watson are invited to visit the Collier
family (a reference to Gilbert’s previous work, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://betterholmesandgardens.blogspot.com/2011/05/book-review-sherlock-holmes-and-giant.html">Sherlock Holmes and the Giant Rat of Sumatra</a></i>), Watson suggests that
they make a brief visit to his friend, Montague Abernetty, along the way. But
where Holmes and Watson go, trouble is sure to follow. When the men arrive,
Abernetty is already dead of cyanide poisoning – and every member of his family
is a suspect! </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Adventure of the
Reluctant Spirit: </b>"I have come to you, Mr. Holmes," <a href="http://betterholmesandgardens.blogspot.com/2011/08/some-thoughts-on-character-miss-mary.html">Miss Mary Morstan</a> told Sherlock Holmes in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/2-sign.htm">The Sign of Four</a></i>, "because you once enabled my employer, Mrs. Cecil Forrester,
to unravel a little domestic complication. She was much impressed by your
kindness and skill." While it has been some time since the passing of his
wife, Dr. Watson still maintains contact with the woman who once employed her,
Mrs. Cecil Forrester. Unfortunately, Mrs. Forrester is recently bereaved and
under the influence of a medium who claims he can make contact with her
deceased daughter, Evangeline. As such, she turns again to the man who once
impressed her with his “kindness and skill”. But with Sherlock Holmes
supposedly engaged in the investigation of a sapphire gone missing from a
locked room, Watson appears to be on his own in assisting his old acquaintance.
However, the two cases begin to intersect, and Langdale Pike (<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/3gab.htm">3GAB</a>) arrives,
with his own peculiar set of skills, to aid them both.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Wingdings;">vvv</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Wingdings;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Wingdings;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Gilbert has summoned a Sherlock Holmes who is in full
possession of his powers, and does not hesitate to use them completely. His
Watson is at equal turns admiring and exasperated, but always at the Detective’s
side. Everything about them is authentic and familiar, as comfortable as a
visit to Baker Street and an old dressing gown. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Annals-Sherlock-Holmes-Paul-Gilbert/dp/0709093462">The Annals of Sherlock Holmes</a></i> is the latest contribution to Paul
Gilbert’s fine collection of Sherlock Holmes pastiche, and he remains exacting
in his details and faithful in his execution.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">oOo</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Annals of Sherlock
Holmes</i> is available in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Annals-Sherlock-Holmes-Paul-Gilbert/dp/0709093462">hardback</a> and for the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Annals-Sherlock-Holmes-ebook/dp/B00AHNIWIM/ref=tmm_kin_title_0">Kindle</a> from Amazon, and in
<a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-annals-of-sherlock-holmes-paul-d-gilbert/1113110863?ean=9780709093466">hardback</a> and for the <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-annals-of-sherlock-holmes-paul-d-gilbert/1113110863?ean=9780719808005">Nook</a> from Barnes & Noble. Paul D. Gilbert is available
on <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/PaulDGilbert">Twitter</a>, and <a href="http://www.facebook.com/#!/home.php?sk=group_139164884005&ap=1">Facebook</a>.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Better Holmes & Gardens” has its own
Facebook page.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Join by “Liking” the page
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/BetterHolmesandGardens">here</a>, and receive all the latest updates, news, and Sherlockian tidbits.</span></span></div>
goddessinsepiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14216346071787396697noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756608595761528683.post-85503638964894362162013-07-03T04:01:00.000-07:002013-07-03T04:01:08.398-07:00Currently on Twitter...<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/images/lion-51.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/images/lion-51.gif" width="233" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As part of an ongoing project on my <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/goddessinsepia">Twitter feed</a>, I'm delivering stories from <a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/index.html">the Sherlock Holmes canon</a> in tiny installments of 140 characters or less. I recently finished up </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/spec.htm">The Speckled Band</a>," in which Dr. Grimesby Roylott introduces the reader to: "</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Holmes, the meddler... Holmes, the busybody... Holmes, the Scotland Yard Jack-in-office!"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The current story is "<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/lion.htm">The Adventure of the Lion's Mane</a>," in which a retired Sherlock Holmes informs us, "I am an omnivorous reader with a strangely retentive memory for trifles."</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Check out <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/goddessinsepia">my Twitter feed</a> for a daily installment, although I am usually inspired to post more than once a day. And don't forget you can read through the original canon <a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/index.html">online</a>.</span>goddessinsepiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14216346071787396697noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756608595761528683.post-13475986018557271122013-06-29T06:05:00.000-07:002013-06-29T06:05:45.597-07:00“The Meaning of This Extraordinary Performance” (COPP): Granada Television’s “The Man with the Twisted Lip”<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0107950/">Jeremy Brett</a>
particularly enjoyed the next stage of the story, the construction of the divan
and Holmes’ enormous consumption of tobacco as he thinks the problem through
while Watson snatches an hour or two of sleep. We decided that Holmes had
brought his mouse-colored dressing gown with him rather than borowing [sic] a
blue one, thus adding our contribution to one of the minor mysteries of <a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/index.html">the Canon</a>. Jeremy also enjoyed finding new aspects of Holmes and he relished the
meditative stillness of this sequence, although inspiration does not strike
until he washes his face at dawn.” (From </i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://www.wessexpress.com/html/studyincelluloid.html">A Study in Celluloid: A Producer’s Account of Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes</a></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">, by Michael Cox)</i></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgaG4XEP14pXej4P1nmMeYleQ48y3Y1VONqbEyjI-cGO39P3_uLbrkwGnii8KdJl3ldQaxpWYzgu8Qwm8Nqp84BThAUcnwaweQLRT_y5JxGx9cS5Nb-bEsKE5tStnmHlQBNefXAdBBUlk/s480/TWIS_3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgaG4XEP14pXej4P1nmMeYleQ48y3Y1VONqbEyjI-cGO39P3_uLbrkwGnii8KdJl3ldQaxpWYzgu8Qwm8Nqp84BThAUcnwaweQLRT_y5JxGx9cS5Nb-bEsKE5tStnmHlQBNefXAdBBUlk/s400/TWIS_3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s original short story, “<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/twis.htm">The Man with the Twisted Lip</a>,” Mrs. Kate Whitney actually arrives at Dr. Watson’s home
looking for, not the doctor himself, but <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">his
wife</i>. “Folk who were in grief came to my wife like birds to a light-house,”
he says. But in the <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0685624/">1986 Granada Television adaptation</a> of the story, Dr. Watson
is the lighthouse. This is, of course, because the marriage between <a href="http://betterholmesandgardens.blogspot.com/2011/08/some-thoughts-on-character-miss-mary.html">Mary Morstan</a> and Dr. Watson was written out of the Granada series. According to
Jeremy Brett, “[Mary Morstan] would have got in the way. Watson was more in
love with Holmes – in a pure sense – than he could have been with a woman. He
wouldn’t want to give up the excitement, the danger. As for Holmes, if Watson
had gone off and left him for a woman he wouldn’t know what to do. He’d be
stoned out of his mind every night.” And so, in Granada’s version, Mrs. Kate
Whitney arrives at Baker Street, hoping that Dr. Watson (played by <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0362570/?ref_=tt_cl_t2">Edward Hardwicke</a>) might help her find her missing husband, Isa Whitney. But the hour
is late, and Mrs. Whitney tells Mrs. Hudson that she is concerned that she will
only be in the Doctor’s way. “He won’t mind, I’m sure,” says Mrs. Hudson. “He’s
the kindest of men.”</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The audience has already seen Mr. Isa Whitney in the opening
sequence of the episode, walking distractedly past the beggar, Hugh Boone.
Whitney attracts Boone’s attention momentarily, if only because he fails to
give him any change before disappearing down a shadowy alleyway. “Yours is the
Kingdom of Heaven, sir,” Boone mumbles after Whitney’s retreating figure.
Whitney walks past a group of workmen, who lift a burlap sheet in the course
of their labors, but when the sheet falls again, Whitney is gone – vanished
completely. It is an effortless bit of cinematic magic, but nevertheless
effective. Whitney has evaporated as completely as the smoke from an opium
pipe, gone the audience knows not where, but the tone of the episode has been
set. Existence and identity are insubstantial notions, and both ideas are at
odds in this episode. A person can dissipate into nothing, with an ill-timed
word or a thoughtless action. A person can vanish completely, but they can also
vanish deliberately. “Mr. Holmes disappears without a trace at regular
intervals,” Watson tells Kate Whitney, and such is the episode’s common thread.
The audience finds characters that are tasked with the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">effort</i> of identity and the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">burden</i>
of existence. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dr. Watson eventually leaves Baker Street to retrieve our
vanished man, leaving Mrs. Whitney to take tea with Mrs. Hudson. The two women
muse philosophically as to whether “men ever really truly grow up, or if they
remain little boys forever,” over a shot of Dr. Watson running to catch a cab
and arriving in <a href="http://betterholmesandgardens.blogspot.com/2011/07/some-thoughts-on-setting-bar-of-gold-in.html">Upper Swandam Lane</a> – a vile alley of disrepute if there ever
was one, and brought to vivid life out of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s story. As
the Doctor arrives, a well-dressed man is discussing trade with two women of
ill-repute (who then turn their attentions to Watson), then a scream as a fight
breaks out, and Watson narrowly avoids being struck down by a shattering
bottle. Watson locates the vanished Whitney inside The Bar of Gold, the opium
den, but he also finds Sherlock Holmes, “merge[ed] with the surroundings,” and
artfully disguised as an opium addict – complete with grizzled wig and beard, false
eyebrows, a prosthetic nose, and tattered clothing. It’s a masterful
camouflage, and so the effect is rather singular, therefore, when Holmes
removes the disguise once in a cab with Watson. Each piece of his false face is
removed to reveal the refined, patrician features of Jeremy Brett underneath.
He has already exchanged his ratty addict’s costume for his traditional black
suit, all crisp lines and sharp angles, and the transformation is complete.
Sherlock Holmes himself has shown the audience how simple it is to assume the
persona of another person – and also how effortless it is to dispose of one. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson arrive at the Cedars, near
Lee, in Kent, where Mrs. Neville St. Clair is waiting and eager to attest to
her husband’s character. Of interest, in this adaptation Mrs. St. Clair is
played by <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0202870/?ref_=tt_cl_t4">Eleanor David</a>, who would take another Sherlockian turn in the 2004
film <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://betterholmesandgardens.blogspot.com/2011/04/sherlock-holmes-on-screen-hound-of.html">Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Silk Stocking</a></i> as Mary Pentney (with <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0404993/?ref_=tt_cl_t12">Jonathan Hyde</a>, as George Pentney, who
appears in Granada’s 1994 adaptation of “<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0646183/">The Dying Detective</a>”). She describes her
dramatic ordeal in detail, including how she found her (also vanished) husband’s
garments behind a curtain in the opium den. Neville St. Clair’s clothing has
been discarded like a snakeskin, disposed of like so much trash, but Mrs. St.
Clair fervently announces the name of her husband’s tailor – as if that were
somehow an integral part of his identity and the mention of it will somehow summon him
into being. Later on the episode, as Holmes recounts a discussion with
Inspector Bradstreet, the audience sees those same clothes in Bradstreet’s
office. In this instance, however, the clothes are laid out neatly, as if
trying to replicate the man who should be occupying them. And at the end of the
episode, when St. Clair emerges from his Bow Street cell in his gentleman’s
persona, he arranges the remaining scraps of Hugh Boone in a similar, tidy
fashion, perhaps in the hopes of bidding the beggar into his own separate,
independent existence – so that he won’t have to destroy him completely by
casting him into the fire. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the original short story, after a few hours of sleep at
the St. Clair residence, Watson (and therefore, the reader) is awoken by
Holmes’s shout of revelation, to find the Detective still smoking and in much
the same contemplative position as he was before the Doctor drifted off. Holmes
has solved the case, but the readers do not get to witness the actual epiphany.
Granada’s adaptation remedies this omission by having the audience witness
Sherlock Holmes while in the midst of his method. Immersed in the golden light
of a slowly rising sun and subtle clouds of tobacco smoke, the Detective sits in a
meditative state. The camera angle moves in gradually and narrows into a tight
shot of Jeremy Brett’s face, his eyes opening slowly and his brow subtly arched.
With his pipe in hand, perhaps we see a slight echo of Holmes as he appeared
earlier – as the ragged opium addict in the Bar of Gold. And in this version,
Watson sleeps through the moment of grand understanding, because it takes place
elsewhere. In front of a mirror, Holmes washes his face only in
waistcoat and shirtsleeves, and understanding slowly dawns, resulting in a
boisterous clap instead of a verbal cue. As he wakes Watson in the next scene,
Holmes is suddenly fully dressed – including overcoat and hat – his detective
identity fully assumed and ready for battle.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At the end of the episode, Inspector Bradstreet makes
Neville St. Clair promise that they will see no more of Hugh Boone. “I swear it
by the most solemn oath that a man could take,” St. Clair replies. But the
understated smirk and downturned expression on Holmes’s face suggest that the
Detective doesn’t think much of St. Clair’s promises. Perhaps it is simply
because the end of Hugh Boone doesn’t necessarily preclude St. Clair from
taking up some other beggar persona, in another part of London. The man had a
gift for disguise, after all. Or perhaps he understands that St. Clair and
Boone are inexorably intertwined, and that untangling the two will be no mean
feat. Because as the audience has already seen, Sherlock Holmes knows better
than anyone how simple it is to assume an identity, dispose of one, and begin
the whole process anew.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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</span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">oOo</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: left;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sources:</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">• </span></strong>Stuart Davies, David. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Starring-Sherlock-Holmes-Century-Detective/dp/1845765370">Starring Sherlock Holmes: A Century of the Master Detective on Screen</a></i>
(January 2006).</span></div>
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Better Holmes & Gardens” has its own
Facebook page.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Join by “Liking” the page
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/BetterHolmesandGardens">here</a>, and receive all the latest updates, news, and Sherlockian tidbits.</span></span></div>
goddessinsepiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14216346071787396697noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756608595761528683.post-61792612480150848962013-05-25T13:56:00.000-07:002013-05-25T13:56:55.402-07:00BOOK REVIEW: “The Amateur Executioner: Enoch Hale Meets Sherlock Holmes”<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dan Andriacco and
Kieran McMullen; Publisher: <a href="http://mxpublishing.com/index.html">MX Publishing</a> (April 2013)</span></b><br />
<br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Hale had read the
Sherlock Holmes stories as a boy, of course; everybody had. But even though
Hale knew that Holmes was a real person, like America’s Alan Pinkerton in the
last century and William J. Burns in this one, he had viewed the world’s first
consulting detective as a remote and almost legendary figure. And to think that
Wiggins had known him! What had Pound said? It was too bad that Holmes was
retired. Hale was inclined to agree. But it seemed that the detective’s old
friend, his ‘Boswell,’ was still keeping his eye on crime news” (73).</span></i><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxy0EjOuZOnrPW81702Aqtp_YacdZ7N8mrLFhXi1tvxp4CrhzfZAoIEF1Mrv0etCVRqBtukNZqUVkazOSStcszdePCvkMoBVd5QJCsf7TMMiTOkYZZgf1HTvXCpjyeajQZ1BCpHjIr05A/s1600/Amateur+Front+Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxy0EjOuZOnrPW81702Aqtp_YacdZ7N8mrLFhXi1tvxp4CrhzfZAoIEF1Mrv0etCVRqBtukNZqUVkazOSStcszdePCvkMoBVd5QJCsf7TMMiTOkYZZgf1HTvXCpjyeajQZ1BCpHjIr05A/s400/Amateur+Front+Cover.jpg" width="258" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The year is 1920, and the world hasn’t stopped moving simply
because Sherlock Holmes has retired. Time has marched relentlessly and
ruthlessly forward, and no one has come away unscathed. The Baker Street
Irregulars are no longer little boys; familiar canonical characters are now old
men with a propensity to ramble; London is filled with an entirely new
generation of dizzying intellects and untapped creative potential; and Sherlock
Holmes can no longer be found easily with a telegram to the Baker Street flat. And
it’s against the background of this complex historical tapestry that Dan
Andriacco and Kieran McMullen weave together their new collaborative novel: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://mxpublishing.com/product/9781780924014/The+Amateur+Executioner%3A+Enoch+Hale+Meets+Sherlock+Holmes">The Amateur Executioner: Enoch Hale Meets Sherlock Holmes</a>.</i> But despite all that has changed in the years since 1895, some
things endure. The criminal class remains active and evergreen, as do those who
work in the pursuit of justice. And the art of deduction, as journalist Enoch
Hale proves, is still very much in fashion. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Amateur Executioner
</i>is the first collaborative work between Sherlockian authors <a href="https://www.facebook.com/DanAndriaccoMysteries?fref=ts">Dan Andriacco</a>
and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sherlock-Holmes-and-the-Irish-Rebels/212079442201695?fref=ts">Kieran McMullen</a>. Andriacco is the author of several Sherlockian writings,
including <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://mxpublishing.com/product/9781908218926/Baker+Street+Beat">Baker Street Beat</a></i>, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://mxpublishing.com/product/9781780922065/No+Police+Like+Holmes">No Police Like Holmes</a></i>, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://mxpublishing.com/product/9781780921402/Holmes+Sweet+Holmes+-+Sebastian+McCabe+Mystery+Two">Holmes Sweet Holmes</a></i>, and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://mxpublishing.com/product/9781780922379/The+1895+Murder">The 1895 Murder</a></i>. McMullen’s works include
a trio of military-themed Sherlockian pastiches: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://mxpublishing.com/product/9781907685934/Watsons+Afghan+Adventure">Watson’s Afghan Adventure</a></i>, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://mxpublishing.com/product/9781780920535/Sherlock+Holmes+and+The+Irish+Rebels">Sherlock Holmes and the Irish Rebels</a></i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://mxpublishing.com/product/9781780923062/Sherlock+Holmes+and+The+Mystery+of+The+Boer+Wagon">Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of the Boer Wagon</a></i>, as well as an insightful survey
of actors who have portrayed Dr. Watson on stage and screen throughout the
years entitled, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://mxpublishing.com/product/9781780923031/The+Many+Watsons">The Many Watsons</a></i>. The
authors’ combined talents and respective areas of expertise are well-matched,
in addition to being well-balanced. The resulting effort is a triumph of
historical fiction – well-researched, engaging, and supremely entertaining.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Journalist Enoch Hale of the Central Press Syndicate, an
American expatriate in London, is not a detective – although like most
reporters, he certainly has the makings of one. And while Hale himself is not
particularly illustrious (although the prominent Wall Street family he left in
America would likely beg to differ), his circle of friends and acquaintances
more than exceeds the definition of the word. They include poets and
politicians, actors, directors and musicians, as well as some characters that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">seem</i> tantalizingly familiar, but remain stubbornly
on the wrong side of recognition until almost the very end of the novel. Well-known
canonical faces are also present in abundance. Horace Harker, who readers
should know from “<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/sixn.htm">The Six Napoleons</a>,” is a regular feature at Hale’s day job,
and on separate occasions, Hale turns to both Langdale Pike (<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/3gab.htm">3GAB</a>) and Shinwell
Johnson (<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/illu.htm">ILLU</a>) for information. To investigate a series of murders, whose
common theme is that the victims are executed with a hangman’s noose, Hale even
works in close concert with a Chief Inspector Henry Wiggins, whose eye for detail
and methods of investigation should be instantly recognizable, as if this
character has spent his life studying at the feet of some master instructor. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But the mystery at the heart of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Amateur Executioner</i> is more than just a device meant to propel
Enoch Hale from one familiar face to another. The machinations behind the
series of murders (and their seemingly unrelated victims) are intricately and
expertly plotted, and as complex as any of the <a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/danc.htm">one hundred and sixty separate ciphers</a>
in Holmes’s monograph. It is a mystery of hidden dimensions and international implications,
but with a local flavor not unlike one of the Great Detective’s own cases. The
novel stays satisfyingly grounded in the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">world
</i>of Sherlock Holmes – even if the man himself is not a constant presence. Enoch
Hale is as doggedly persistent as Sherlock Holmes is known to be, and when his
managing director at the Central Press Syndicate (one <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Nigel</i> Rathbone, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basil_Rathbone">recently arrived from South Africa</a>) tells the
journalist, “Get the story, Hale!” – there is almost certainly an echo of “Come,
Watson, come! The game is afoot."</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But there is no denying that the strength of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Amateur Executioner</i> is in the
effortless manner in which it evokes historical figures, fictional characters,
and famous places. It’s certainly entertaining to read that a fortune-teller
(one of the executioner's victims) told <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">both</i> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Bernard_Shaw">George Bernard Shaw</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._B._Yeats">W.B.Yeats</a> that they will win the Nobel Prize (the former is dismissive of the
prediction, while the later seems eager to believe). And as for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winston_Churchill">Winston Churchill</a>, who met with the same fortune-teller? “She said I would be Prime
Minister some day. What politician wouldn’t want to hear that” (54)? Later
during a visit to a moving picture studio, Hale encounters “<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitchcock">Hitch</a>,” the studio’s
art director. Short, balding, and chubby, he is described dismissively: “Hitch
here designs title cards, but he harbors a not-so-secret desire to be a
director” (119). The cavalcade of famous faces culminates in the arrival of
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Gillette">William Gillette</a>, the American actor so famous for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes.
But the actor seems to be more than a little immersed in his most famous role –
despite being nearly 70-years-old – and Hale begins to fear for the actor’s
well-being after a round of insightful deductions aimed at the journalist:</span><br />
<br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“I’ve also never met a
journalist who wears Brooks Brothers suits. That takes more money than Fleet
Street pays out, until you’re the boss, if then. Your family can hardly be
pleased that you’ve become a scribbler, which may explain why you’re pursuing
that trade in old England instead of the New England your accent comes from.
Yet it’s obvious that they haven’t cut off your allowance since you’re wearing
the very latest style and a new fabric that Brooks Brothers has just begun to
import from India called Madras. By the way, that notebook in your hand is as
indicative of your profession as Chief Inspector Wiggin’s two-and-a-half inch
barrel weapon and handcuffs are of his” (125). </span></i><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A good novel should endeavor to surprise its readers on
every page, and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Amateur Executioner</i>
is the best kind of surprise – the subtle wink and nudge to – not just fans of
Sherlock Holmes – but those who enjoy a wide variety of topics, from poetry to
politics to popular culture. The novel is not unlike a treasure hunt, and you
wonder just who or what is going to turn up next. It’s a fast-paced and
immersive read, barely allowing the reader to take a breath from page to page. But
it’s also a remarkable and masterful undertaking – suggestive of something new
and fresh, while remaining true to the source that shaped it.</span><br />
<br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“The essence of lying
is in deception, not in words.” (John Ruskin)<o:p></o:p></span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">oOo</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Amateur
Executioner: Enoch Hale Meets Sherlock Holmes</i>, by Dan Andriacco and Kieran
McMullen is available in paperback from <a href="http://mxpublishing.com/product/9781780924014/The+Amateur+Executioner%3A+Enoch+Hale+Meets+Sherlock+Holmes">MX Publishing</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/1780924011">Amazon</a>, and <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-amateur-executioner-dan-andriacco/1114988928?ean=9781780924014">Barnes & Noble</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is also available for the
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Amateur-Executioner-ebook/dp/B00CF27KPO/ref=tmm_kin_title_0">Kindle</a>. You can follow the authors on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/SherlockHolmesandEnochHale?fref=ts">Facebook</a>.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Better
Holmes & Gardens” has its own Facebook page.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Join by “Liking” the page <a href="https://www.facebook.com/BetterHolmesandGardens">here</a>, and receive all
the latest updates, news, and Sherlockian tidbits.</span></span></div>
goddessinsepiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14216346071787396697noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756608595761528683.post-30115926251886743062013-05-14T04:11:00.000-07:002013-05-14T04:11:11.499-07:00Currently on Twitter...<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/images/spec-04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/images/spec-04.jpg" width="247" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As part of an ongoing project on my <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/goddessinsepia">Twitter feed</a>, I'm delivering stories from <a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/index.html">the Sherlock Holmes canon</a> in tiny installments of 140 characters or less. I recently finished up </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"</span><a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/nobl.htm" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">," in which Sherlock Holmes professes his affinity for all things American: “It is always a joy to meet an American, Mr. Moulton, for I am one of those who believe that the folly of a monarch and the blundering of a minister in far-gone years will not prevent our children from being some day citizens of the same world-wide country under a flag which shall be a quartering of the Union Jack with the Stars and Stripes.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The current story is "<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/spec.htm">The Speckled Band</a>," in which Dr. Grimesby Roylott introduces the reader to: "</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Holmes, the meddler... Holmes, the busybody... Holmes, the Scotland Yard Jack-in-office!"</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Check out <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/goddessinsepia">my Twitter feed</a> for a daily installment, although I am usually inspired to post more than once a day. And don't forget you can read through the original canon <a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/index.html">online</a>.</span>goddessinsepiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14216346071787396697noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756608595761528683.post-25386609542153186892013-05-04T14:23:00.000-07:002013-05-04T14:23:38.278-07:00Some Thoughts on Setting: The Tranquil English Home<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“As we drove away I
stole a glance back, and I still seem to see that little group on the step –
the two graceful, clinging figures, the half-opened door, the hall-light
shining through stained glass, the barometer, and the bright stair-rods. It was
soothing to catch even that passing glimpse of a tranquil English home in the
midst of the wild, dark business which had absorbed us.” (<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/sign-07.htm">SIGN</a>)</span></i><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">221B Baker Street was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">not</i>
a tranquil English home. Life with Sherlock Holmes was not tranquil. The <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">world</i> with Sherlock Holmes in it was not
tranquil. An existence punctuated by indoor pistol practice, unpredictable and
uncontrollable chemical experiments, and an assorted cast of unsavory
characters arriving at irregular hours was not a tranquil one. But there <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">were</i> moments of tranquility. For
instance, the conclusion of “<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/blue.htm">The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle</a>,” in which the
reader finds Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson enjoying a peaceful, seasonal meal
together. <a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/sign-08.htm">The passage in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Sign of Four</i></a>
in which Holmes lulls a tense and exhausted Watson to sleep with his violin. Or
even the opening lines of “<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/sixn.htm">The Adventure of the Six Napoleons</a>,” in which the
reader finds that Inspector Lestrade has acquired the habit of dropping in at
Baker Street of an evening, just to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">chat.</i>
But, by and large, the Baker Street flat was a rambunctious residence.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But that doesn’t mean, necessarily, that all other canonical
residences were tranquil ones, either.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An
address off of Baker Street did not guarantee a peaceful life. The eponymous
residence of “<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/copp.htm">The Copper Beeches</a>,” for all its efforts at the appearance of
normalcy, turned out to be – for Miss Violet Hunter especially – as dark and
dangerous a residence as any alley of ill-repute in London. The Trevor
residence in Donnithorpe, seen in “<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/glor.htm">The ‘Gloria Scott’</a>”, is certainly more than
peaceful enough in the beginning. As Sherlock Holmes said, “…he would be a
fastidious man who could not put in a pleasant month there,” but unfortunately
the “old-fashioned, widespread, oak-beamed brick” dwelling quickly becomes the
site of high drama, when the elder Trevor’s previous transgressions follow him
home. And of course, in “<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/abbe.htm">The Adventure of the Abbey Grange</a>,” no number of
ivy-covered walls or pillared front facades can conceal the dark business that
took place inside – the monstrous cruelty of Sir Eustace Brackenstall and his
violent end. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
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<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nevertheless, in “<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/croo.htm">The Crooked Man</a>,” Sherlock Holmes arrives
at the home of Dr. and Mrs. Watson, seeking sanctuary. The Watsons have only
been married a few months, and the hour is late – Watson informs the reader
that his wife had already gone to bed – but there is no question that Sherlock
Holmes would be welcome, that his hat can fill the vacant peg on the hatstand.
So, if a tranquil English home doesn’t necessarily mean “anywhere outside of
Baker Street,” then what was Dr. Watson longing after as he gazes back at the Forrester
residence in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/sign-07.htm">The Sign of Four</a></i>? Was it
necessarily the tranquility? Was it the sense of stability? Was it the woman standing
on the doorstep (you know, the one he would eventually marry)? Or was it
something else, some more intangible quality, something that perhaps escaped
even Watson’s implicit understanding?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
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<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s worth noting that, in the passage from <a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/sign-07.htm">SIGN</a>, Watson is
neither <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">coming from</i> nor <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">returning to</i> the flat at Baker Street.
He is coming from Pondicherry Lodge – returning Miss Mary Morstan to the home
where she currently resides as a governess – and their evening has been long and
dark, punctuated by theft, murder, and the revelation of secrets horrible and
long-harbored. After leaving Miss Morstan with the Forresters, Watson does not
immediately return to Pondicherry Lodge, but instead embarks on an errand for
Sherlock Holmes, and goes to Pinchin Lane. It is an unlovely place. As Watson
says, “Pinchin Lane was a row of shabby, two-storied brick houses in the lower
quarter of Lambeth. I had to knock for some time at No. 3 before I could make
any impression.” He is then subjected to a variety of abuse at the hands of the
resident, Mr. Sherman, before mentioning Sherlock Holmes and thus gaining
entrance, and Sherman’s deference. The interior of No. 3 Pinchin Lane is no
better than the exterior: “In the uncertain, shadowy light I could see dimly
that there were glancing, glimmering eyes peeping down at us from every cranny
and corner. Even the rafters above our heads were lined by solemn fowls, who
lazily shifted their weight from one leg to the other as our voices disturbed
their slumbers.”</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, what was Watson really <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">seeing</i> in that passage from <a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/sign-07.htm">SIGN</a>, what were the particular items
that drew his eye? The first thing he mentions is Miss Morstan and Mrs.
Forrester on the doorstep – “the two graceful, clinging figures.” Mary Morstan
didn’t just <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">arrive</i> at the place where
she lived; she was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">welcomed home</i> by
Mrs. Forrester: “…it gave me joy to see how tenderly her arm stole round the
other’s waist and how motherly was the voice in which she greeted her. She was
clearly no mere paid dependant but an honoured friend.” And hasn’t Watson
received similarly warm welcomes from Sherlock Holmes? In “<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/nava.htm">The Naval Treaty</a>,” the
Doctor is informed, “You come at a crisis, Watson” and “I will be at your
service in an instant... You will find tobacco in the Persian slipper.” In “<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/empt.htm">The Adventure of the Empty House</a>,” Holmes tells his friend: “So it was, my dear
Watson, that at two o’clock to-day I found myself in my old armchair in my own
old room, and only wishing that I could have seen my old friend Watson in the
other chair which he has so often adorned.” It’s really very simple. What more
can one want from a home than to just to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">know</i>
that you are welcome, and that all the comforts are at your disposal? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And speaking of those comforts, that is the second thing
that draws Watson’s eye in the passage from <a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/sign-07.htm">SIGN</a>: “the half-opened door, the
hall-light shining through stained glass, the barometer, and the bright
stair-rods.” These items are all meant to be indicators of home – things that
are comforting and familiar. So, how are these articles any different that the
tobacco in the toe-end of a Persian slipper (or the cigars in the coal-scuttle,
for that matter), correspondence eternally fixed under a jack-knife, or the
bullet-marks in the wall. In “<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/cree.htm">The Adventure of the Creeping Man</a>,” Watson
practically equates <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">himself</i> with
these items: “As an institution I was like the violin, the shag tobacco, the
old black pipe, the index books, and others perhaps less excusable.” If
bullet-marks and jack-knifes are perhaps less graceful than “hall-light shining
through stained glass,” does that make them any less effective as objects of
comfort? They are still indicators of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">home</i>,
no matter what kind of home that might be. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Perhaps what Dr. Watson was longing for in that passage from
<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/sign-07.htm">SIGN</a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>was not necessarily a different
type of home. Is it possible that he just wanted <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">to go home </i>– no matter where that home was, or what it might be? It
had already been a long night, with the promise of it being even longer, and
maybe all he wanted to do was feel welcomed, and surround himself with the
items that comforted him (and most likely <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">sleep</i>,
of all ridiculous notions). This is, after all, what Watson does for Holmes
when the man arrives on his doorstep, on that long dark night in <a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/croo.htm">CROO</a>. He
welcomes him in, offers him a familiar creature comfort (in the form of his
tobacco pouch), and shares his company with a man that knew his habits even
better than himself. The tranquil English home might be, after all, not a
necessarily a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">place</i>, but a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">place of being. </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">oOo</span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Better Holmes & Gardens” has its own
Facebook page.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Join by “Liking” the page
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/BetterHolmesandGardens">here</a>, and receive all the latest updates, news, and Sherlockian tidbits.</span></span>goddessinsepiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14216346071787396697noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756608595761528683.post-31244385654772200742013-04-06T18:45:00.000-07:002013-04-06T18:45:02.816-07:00Sherlock Holmes on Screen: “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes” (1939)<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Professor Moriarty:
“My whole success depends upon a peculiarity of Holmes’s brain, its perpetual
restlessness, its constant struggle to escape boredom. </span></i><br />
<br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bassick: “Holmes
again?”</span></i><br />
<br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Professor Moriarty:
“Always Holmes until the end.”</span></i><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The man is a music hall singer – a vaudeville performer in a
gaudy jacket, adorned with large stripes in an array of undoubtedly
ostentatious colors. A straw boater with a large brim, adorned with a ribbon
that coordinates with his jacket, is clutched between his gloved hands, and he
uses it in a variety of theatrical flourishes during his performance. He sports
a handlebar mustache – complete with extravagantly curled, upturned ends – and
slickly-styled hair with a pronounced side-part and subtle fingerwave along the
brow. He prances energetically about the stage at a garden party, clicking his
heels and leaping at appropriate intervals, as he sings a rather
nasally-pitched version of the popular British music hall song, “<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmJVXHLjVhk">I Do Like to Be Beside the Seaside</a>.” The singer trills and trumpets, and drums upon his boater
when the moment calls for it. As a performer, he is utterly outlandish, wildly
outrageous, and completely entertaining. He is also Sherlock Holmes – sporting
one of his best disguises in his long career on film. </span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9xc6CI1STYfn4nTXbqI3s6m9OViUzJeRiSS0XDpkoKzwytoTEf68aRTeitt0Ioven5ueMfmvp_aB0_Rb8XeqBW1ZRxD-WNAQqraTaWO71qsxagpAxqVCEM4-Moy0aKIcXweRB68tM8PM/s1600/Rathbone_Vaudeville.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9xc6CI1STYfn4nTXbqI3s6m9OViUzJeRiSS0XDpkoKzwytoTEf68aRTeitt0Ioven5ueMfmvp_aB0_Rb8XeqBW1ZRxD-WNAQqraTaWO71qsxagpAxqVCEM4-Moy0aKIcXweRB68tM8PM/s320/Rathbone_Vaudeville.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Photo Credit: </span></strong><a href="http://www.basilrathbone.net/"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">www.basilrathbone.net</span></strong></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However, the song itself, “<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Do_Like_To_be_Beside_the_Seaside">I Do Like to Be Beside the Seaside</a>,” is an anachronism. Opening credits date the plot of the film as
opening on May 9, 1894, but the song Sherlock Holmes so energetically performs
was not written by John A. Glover-Kind until 1907, and was not popularized by
the music hall performer Mark Sheridan until 1909. Likewise the 1939 film, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031022/">The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes</a></i>,
starring <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001651/?ref_=tt_cl_t1">Basil Rathbone</a> as Sherlock Holmes and <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0115558/?ref_=tt_cl_t2">Nigel Bruce</a> as Dr. John Watson,
is filled with moments that, while not necessarily anachronistic, certainly
seem out of place or inconsistent. The film opens with Professor Moriarty on
trial for the murder of a man named “Lorait,” but he is ultimately acquitted,
much to the courtroom’s dismay. Moments later, Sherlock Holmes races into the
courtroom, proclaiming that he has found incontrovertible evidence of
Moriarty’s guilt. He is trailed closely by a man who never speaks a word,
and is never introduced. According to Alan Barnes of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sherlock-Holmes-Screen-Updated-Barnes/dp/085768776X">Sherlock Holmes on Screen</a></i>, the man was supposedly chief astronomer
Dr. Gates (played by <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0801034/">Ivan Simpson</a>), who was meant to provide the evidence about
which Holmes was so adamant. However it appears that the explanation, along
with many other contextual scenes, was cut from the picture (20). According to
Barnes:</span><br />
<br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“The first of three
possible endings has Holmes explaining how the vengeful Mateo believed that
Ann’s father had been responsible for the death of his own, and had stolen the
mine that had made the Brandons rich; meanwhile, Brandon family lawyer
Jerrold’s shifty behaviour had been caused by his desire to shield Ann from the
truth about her dead father. None of this crucial background information is
conveyed in the finished piece” (21).</span></i><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are other contextual anomalies in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031022/">The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes</a>.</i> Dr. Watson is inexplicably
antagonistic toward the young page, Billy (<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0452953/">Terry Kilburn</a> – who, for some
reason, receives top billing over <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0958345/">George Zucco</a>, the actor portraying Professor
Moriarty), beginning by mocking the frilly, feminine apron that Mrs. Hudson has
forced the boy to wear while doing chores. When Holmes good-naturedly points
out the deficiencies in the boy’s housework (that Billy has swept the dust
under the rug, rather than into the dustbin), the Doctor gives him an
intimidating, unforgiving stare, while Billy stares back defensively. Watson is
then positively hostile when Billy is able to provide a bit of opportune insight
into a piece of evidence: “I’ve listened to seashells that made better sense.” The
hostility isn’t solely confined to the Doctor, however. Sherlock Holmes behaves
in an equally unfriendly fashion towards Watson, at one point calling him “an
incorrigible bungler.” The Detective frequently interrupts his companion’s
sentences, often providing his own piercing expression. At one point, Watson
says, “You pushed me out of the room as if I were a child. What am I to make of
this, Holmes?” And the audience may find themselves wondering the same thing. What
are we to make of this?</span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But that doesn’t mean that the film is without its
highlights. For every discordant note in the film, there is a harmonious one. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031022/">The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes</a></i> was
the second of the fourteen Sherlock Holmes films made by the Rathbone-Bruce
team. It was also the first film it which <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001651/?ref_=tt_cl_t1">Rathbone</a> and <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0115558/?ref_=tt_cl_t2">Bruce</a> received top
billing. For their first film, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031448/">The Hound of the Baskervilles</a></i> (also in 1939), <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001651/?ref_=tt_cl_t1">Rathbone</a> and <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0115558/?ref_=tt_cl_t2">Bruce</a> were given second
billing to their co-star, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0338901/?ref_=tt_cl_t1">Richard Greene</a>, who portrayed Sir Henry Baskerville. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031022/">The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes</a></i> was
also the last film in the series made by 20<span style="font-size: small;"><sup>th</sup> Century Fox, as afterwards the
franchise would be acquired and produced by Universal Studios. It was also the
last “period” film from the franchise; afterwards, a series of three Sherlock
Holmes films set in World War II-era Britain, Europe, and the United States,
were made, and followed nine contemporary films in non-wartime settings
(sometimes embellished with gothic, not but strictly period, elements). </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031022/">The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes</a></i> features <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0958345/">George Zucco</a> in the role of Professor James
Moriarty (the 1942 film, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0035317/">Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon</a></i> would feature <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0041172/?ref_=sr_1">Lionel Atwill</a> in the role). <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0958345/">Zucco’s</a>
Moriarty is sedately evil, with undercurrents of roiling menace. He is not a
villain that chases after his victims; he waits for them to come to him – as
they inevitably do. According to Alan Barnes, “The most measured of crazies,
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0958345/">[George] Zucco’s</a> Moriarty makes a significant impression, enjoying another
standout scene in which he dares the bullied Dawes to let slip a razor while
shaving him: ‘You’re a coward, Dawes. If you weren’t a coward you’d have cut my
throat long ago…’” (21).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The film also contains an iconic scene.
Watson arrives at Baker Street to find Sherlock Holmes in the sitting room,
playing scales on his violin to a glass of trapped houseflies. He tells Watson
that he is “observing the reaction of the common housefly on the chromatic
scale,” and that once he is successful, homeowners will only need to play the
correct note to rid the house of flies. The scene is replicated in the 2009
film <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0988045/">Sherlock Holmes</a></i> with <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000375/?ref_=tt_cl_t1">Robert Downey, Jr.</a>, as Sherlock Holmes and <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000179/?ref_=tt_cl_t2">Jude Law</a> as Dr. Watson. Of course, Law’s
Watson ultimately releases the carefully trapped flies as recompense for all
the trouble his flatmate inflicts upon him. In another interesting contrast,
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0958345/">George Zucco’s</a> Moriarty is an avid horticulturist – even making murderous
threats at his butler for failing to water one of his plants – while Guy
Ritchie’s Professor Moriarty’s (played by <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0364813/?ref_=tt_cl_t5">Jared Harris</a> in the 2011 film, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1515091/">Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows</a></i>) inattention
to his box of flowers is a critical part of Moriarty’s downfall.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Fw4ovT77LNP2stq-juJDcx5TpUSfkAtNJPu43PrqAWzWfwMD40cIiyL2vgg_vkg0Zx61UTUjDHn0HC69JBYzhqy2TwRgQ2QovRn7STgZMMIStpUUWaQ07WJC2rhdctQRUvsHlNsDL3Q/s1600/Ritchie_Downey_Flies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Fw4ovT77LNP2stq-juJDcx5TpUSfkAtNJPu43PrqAWzWfwMD40cIiyL2vgg_vkg0Zx61UTUjDHn0HC69JBYzhqy2TwRgQ2QovRn7STgZMMIStpUUWaQ07WJC2rhdctQRUvsHlNsDL3Q/s400/Ritchie_Downey_Flies.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031022/">The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes</a></i> was supposedly based on the play
by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Gillette">William Gillette</a>, although little – if anything – of the original plot was
carried over for the film. Instead the audience is treated to a series of
notable scenes, often irreverent, but not without purpose. After all, what
could be more memorable than Dr. Watson laying in an empty street – playing at
a dead body for Sherlock Holmes’s investigation – and snidely calling a
well-meaning, if persistently inquiring stranger a “Stupid fellow”?
Anachronisms, contextual problems, and incomplete plotlines aside – much of
Sherlock Holmes’s film legacy is owed to the Rathbone-Bruce films, and to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031022/">The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes</a></i> in
particular. The film’s moments are renowned, and transcend whatever small
clumsiness may assert itself, leaping easily into the twenty-first century. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">oOo</span></div>
<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sources:</span></b><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><strong><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Barnes, Alan. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sherlock-Holmes-Screen-Updated-Barnes/dp/085768776X">Sherlock Holmes on Screen</a></i>. (September 2011). </span></span></strong></li>
</ul>
<strong><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></strong><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Better Holmes & Gardens” has its own Facebook page.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Join by “Liking” the page <a href="https://www.facebook.com/BetterHolmesandGardens">here</a>, and receive all the latest updates, news, and Sherlockian tidbits.</span></span>goddessinsepiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14216346071787396697noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756608595761528683.post-15623174627847899952013-04-03T04:18:00.000-07:002013-04-03T04:18:09.767-07:00Currently on Twitter...<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As part of an ongoing project on my <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/goddessinsepia">Twitter feed</a>, I'm delivering stories from <a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/index.html">the Sherlock Holmes canon</a> in tiny installments of 140 characters or less. I recently finished up </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"</span><a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/redh.htm" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Red-Headed League</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">," in which Sherlock Holmes investigates a seemingly irreverent case, with rather more sinister designs, and in which the Great Detective reminds the reader: “I begin to think, Watson, that I make a mistake in explaining. ‘</span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Omne ignotum pro magnifico</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">,’ you know, and my poor little reputation, such as it is, will suffer shipwreck if I am so candid."</span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/images/nobl-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/images/nobl-01.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The current story is "<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/nobl.htm">The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor</a>," in which Sherlock Holmes professes his affinity for all things American: “It is always a joy to meet an American, Mr. Moulton, for I am one of those who believe that the folly of a monarch and the blundering of a minister in far-gone years will not prevent our children from being some day citizens of the same world-wide country under a flag which shall be a quartering of the Union Jack with the Stars and Stripes.”</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Check out <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/goddessinsepia">my Twitter feed</a> for a daily installment, although I am usually inspired to post more than once a day. And don't forget you can read through the original canon <a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/index.html">online</a>.</span>goddessinsepiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14216346071787396697noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756608595761528683.post-5058578850153357572013-03-30T15:14:00.001-07:002013-03-30T15:14:05.485-07:00“I should very much like to have a word with Mr. Holmes.” (3GAR): Some Thoughts on the Dichotomy of Sherlock Holmes<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"It was 'The
Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.' I opened the book with no realization that I
stood, or rather sat, on the brink of my fate. I had no inkling, no
premonition, that in another minute my life's work, such as it is, would be
born... I finished 'The Adventures' that night... As I closed the book, I knew
that I had read one of the greatest books ever written. And today I realize
with amazement how true and tempered was my twelve-year-old critical sense. For
in the mature smugness of my present literary judgment, I still feel
unalterably that 'The Adventures' is one of the world's masterworks."
(<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellery_Queen">Frederic Dannay</a>)</span></i><br />
<br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"The best
literary work is that which leaves the reader better for having read it. Now
nobody can possibly be the better – in the high sense in which I mean it – for
reading Sherlock Holmes, although he may have passed a pleasant hour in doing
so. It was not to my mind high work, and no detective work ever can be, apart
from the fact that all work dealing with criminal matters is a cheap way of rousing
the interest of the reader." (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Conan_Doyle">Sir Arthur Conan Doyle</a>)</span></i><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sherlock Holmes ruined my life. But he also saved it. Because
of Sherlock Holmes, I now know more about the world, the people in it, and
myself. Previously a curious and avid student, Sherlock Holmes has made me
compulsive about learning to an obsessive degree. I think differently, and more
often, but to be fair, I’m usually thinking about a particular subject. And the
things I know aren’t always something everyone would find particularly
interesting, useful or necessary to everyday life. Some people would call it
superfluous knowledge. These aren’t always scholarly or erudite facts, either. But
some of them are. Nor has it always been a lofty or cerebral education. But
some of it has been. And now as I stand at the precipice of 100 blog posts
(well… sit, really, as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellery_Queen">Frederic Dannay</a> was sitting… I’m sitting at my
computer), I’m prepared to admit to the dichotomy. I’m here with hat in hand
(not a deerstalker, rather more like a homburg, as we all know) and confess
that the Great Detective is both the best and worst thing that ever happened to
me.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/images/stud-02.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/images/stud-02.gif" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’m sure that some of Sherlock Holmes’s canonical clients
would say much the same thing. While Holmes might have been able to solve
whatever mystery they first approached him with, the explanation may have
ultimately exposed something that they would rather the world have not known, something
that they would never have willingly revealed to others, or simply something
that they would rather have not realized about themselves. In <a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/glor.htm">“The ‘Gloria Scott’”</a>, one of Holmes’s very first cases, <a href="http://betterholmesandgardens.blogspot.com/2012/01/some-thoughts-on-character-victor.html">Victor Trevor</a> undoubtedly felt
relief that Holmes was able to explain what happened to his father – the real
identity of Hudson and the reason for the shadow he cast over the elder Trevor’s
life – and the reason for his father’s fatal reaction to a seemingly innocuous letter. But
ultimately Holmes’s explanation revealed uncomfortable facts about his father’s
past – things that would be even more unsettling and disturbing now that
Victor’s father was no longer alive to discuss them. There may been a solution
for Victor Trevor, but there would never be any closure. Likewise <a href="http://betterholmesandgardens.blogspot.com/2012/06/mere-random-sketches-of-children-danc.html">Violet de Merville</a> of <a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/illu.htm">“The Adventure of the Illustrious Client”</a> probably felt no joy that
her fiancé, the villainous Baron Gruner, was unquestionably revealed as an
utter blackguard by Sherlock Holmes – but eventually there must have been
relief at the disastrous future that she so narrowly avoided. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And no one was more versed in the disparity of life and human
nature than Sherlock Holmes. As he said to Dr. Watson: “I assure you that the
most winning woman I ever knew was hanged for poisoning three little children
for their insurance-money, and the most repellent man of my acquaintance is a
philanthropist who has spent nearly a quarter of a million upon the London poor”
(<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/2-sign.htm">SIGN</a>). But being aware of that disparity doesn’t mean he was always able to
correctly assess it. In <a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/yell.htm">“The Yellow Face,”</a> the Detective is quite convinced of
his own theory: that Mrs. Munro’s first husband is the occupant of the mysterious
cottage and he is an unscrupulous blackmailer. The climax of the story reveals
both Sherlock Holmes’s failings, and that the occupant of the cottage is Mrs.
Munro’s daughter from her first marriage. The Detective had assumed the worst,
and Mr. Munro neatly assesses the situation in saying: “I am not a very good
man, Effie, but I think that I am a better one than you have given me credit
for being.”</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Detective himself is a study in contradictions. Who
among Sherlockians doesn’t know that “…although in his methods of thought he
was the neatest and most methodical of mankind, and although also he affected a
certain quiet primness of dress, he was none the less in his personal habits
one of the most untidy men that ever drove a fellow-lodger to distraction”
(<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/musg.htm">MUSG</a>)? The actors who have portrayed Sherlock Holmes over the years have
usually been rather adept at capturing both sides of the Detective’s
personality. Most recently in his turn as the Great Detective, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1212722/">Benedict Cumberbatch</a> sports immaculately tailored suits and coats (and, for some reason,
shirts that that appear expensive, if a size too small) – but keeps severed
heads and other assorted body parts in the refrigerator. And who can forget the
incomparable <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0107950/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1">Jeremy Brett</a> crawling through an ever-growing sea of papers in the
Baker Street sitting room – his hair sleeked back into a sharp widow’s peak,
his cuffs and collars spotlessly white, his suit somehow inexplicably remaining
wrinkle-free despite his exertions? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxzVq9V5asjpAYHHEtmxqq6yQ8dXxeISczUNAzXfBLi8jbdZB0xRL-YrlwfDYtGnov_0unTK0CFFaXSmPePPIIWGl5ChAV9DNpkhHVifuj5UZ4JIgmyZGbgXdU7bafPpvecAeua_28aOo/s1600/Brett_RESI.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxzVq9V5asjpAYHHEtmxqq6yQ8dXxeISczUNAzXfBLi8jbdZB0xRL-YrlwfDYtGnov_0unTK0CFFaXSmPePPIIWGl5ChAV9DNpkhHVifuj5UZ4JIgmyZGbgXdU7bafPpvecAeua_28aOo/s400/Brett_RESI.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In addition, Holmes was ever inconsistent when it came to
personal relationships. In <a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/scan.htm">“A Scandal in Bohemia,”</a> Watson says, “Grit in a
sensitive instrument, or a crack in one of his own high-power lenses, would not
be more disturbing than a strong emotion in a nature such as his.” And in <a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/five.htm">“The Five Orange Pips,”</a> Holmes pronounces that he has no friends, except for Dr.
Watson. All of this proves to be profoundly untrue. During 56 short stories and
4 novels, the reader learns of the Detective’s other friends, such as Victor
Trevor (<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/glor.htm">GLOR</a>), a companion from Holmes’s university days. Even more
significantly, over the course of <a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/index.html">the Canon</a>, the Detective’s relationship with
Inspector Lestrade evolves and eventually he comes to refer to the Scotland
Yard inspector as “Friend Lestrade” (<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/nobl.htm">NOBL</a>, <a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/card.htm">CARD</a>, <a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/empt.htm">EMPT</a>, <a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/norw.htm">NORW</a>, <a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/3gar.htm">3GAR</a>). And of
course, all readers remember how in <a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/3gar.htm">“The Adventure of the Three Garridebs,”</a> Watson
sees all his “years of humble but single-minded service culminated” in a grand
moment of revelation.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/images/3gar-05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="253" src="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/images/3gar-05.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As such, I’ve found many Sherlockians to be the same – not
inconsistent, but definitely contradictory. I include myself in that lot, of
course. We pursue endlessly obscure topics, isolate ourselves during our researches,
and hold fast to our theories when we believe ourselves to be right. We wait
for our grand moment of revelation, a sign that all of our efforts have not
been in vain. But in the end, we seek each other out. And such relationships are
unique unto Sherlockiana, and often profound, because as C.S. Lewis said, “Friendship
is born at that moment when one person says to another: What! You too? I
thought I was the only one.” </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I say that Sherlock Holmes is both the best and worst thing
that ever happened to me, because he’s revealed the best and worst things about
me. Surely my husband, who no longer remembers the color of our carpet, so
covered in books it has become, would tell you that the Great Detective has
revealed my slightly more compulsive and obsessive tendencies (and for the
record, the carpet is grey… no, beige… taupe?). But I have also learned the
most spectacular things, met some of the best and wisest people, and my life
has been profoundly changed. I’m not the person I was before I met Sherlock
Holmes, but I am the person I was meant to be. Such as I am. </span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">oOo</span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Better Holmes & Gardens” has its own Facebook
page.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Join by “Liking” the page <a href="https://www.facebook.com/BetterHolmesandGardens">here</a>,
and receive all the latest updates, news, and Sherlockian tidbits.</span>goddessinsepiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14216346071787396697noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756608595761528683.post-23297928981458262372013-03-10T09:11:00.001-07:002013-03-10T09:11:55.446-07:00BOOK REVIEW: “The Hound of the Baskervilles”<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Martin Powell, Jamie
Chase, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; Publisher: <a href="http://www.darkhorse.com/">Dark Horse</a> (February 2013)</span></b><br />
<br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Watson won't
allow that I know anything of art, but that is mere jealousy, because our views
upon the subject differ. Now, these are a really very fine series of
portraits." (<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/6-houn.htm">HOUN</a>)</span></i><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I come by my uniquely passionate personality honestly – at
least, that’s what I like to tell myself. When I was growing up, my mother was
(and still is, actually) an ardent devotee of all things Arthurian. My
childhood home was resplendent with reproductions of medieval tapestries and
framed prints of dragons. The shelves of my mother’s not insignificant library
overflowed with a wide and unique array of literature in her chosen field,
including a rather beautifully illustrated children’s edition of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sir Gawain and the Green Knight</i>, which
she had to keep on her own shelves because the vivid sketches of the beheaded
green knight (complete with bloody stump – trust me, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I remember</i>) made my sister and I scream in unholy terror. I myself
am now the owner of two of her favorite Arthurian swords, which she had to give
up when she moved into a smaller living space (her immense library was also one
of the casualties of the move). And while she would never admit it outright, I
imagine she must have felt a speck of disappointment that neither of children
ever shared her interest.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But what she must have recognized in her children was
elements of her own personality – and all of its obsessive, ardent nuances – and
she was good at planting seeds. I remember vividly being a teenager – my
discovery of Sherlock Holmes and his world still fresh and new – and being
excited to learn that the 1959 version of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052905/">The Hound of the Baskervilles</a> </i>(starring <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001088/?ref_=tt_cl_t1">Peter Cushing</a>) was going to be on
television that afternoon. “No,” my mother said, taking the remote from my
hand. “You can’t watch that one. It’s too scary. It gave me nightmares as
a child.” Well, saying something like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">that</i>
to a teenager is essentially like waving red at a bull, and my mother must have
known it. She only put up the most cursory of arguments when I protested. I
didn’t find the movie even <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">remotely</i>
frightening – heaven knows that I had seen infinitely more gruesome things by
the time I was a teenager – but watching that film with my mother has always
been a very sweet memory. </span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://images.darkhorse.com/covers/600/22/22090.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://images.darkhorse.com/covers/600/22/22090.jpg" width="255" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As such, it was a thrill to open <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Hound-Baskervilles-Martin-Powell/dp/1616551100">Martin Powell’s and Jamie Chase’s new graphic novel adaptation of <em>The Hound of the Baskervilles</em></a> and be instantly reminded of that time. There’s
more than a little bit of Hammer Horror’s Hugo Baskerville about Chases’s
rendition. The iconic blood-red riding jacket and distinctive eighteenth
century hairstyle of the famous villain are immediate visual cues. Suddenly, I’m
watching <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0654588/?ref_=tt_cl_t5">David Oxley</a> chase an unfortunate young woman across the moor, with the
moon highlighting his silhouette as he lays eyes on the Hound for the very
first time. And a few pages on, with the slope of his brow and the curve of his
hawk-like nose, it is Peter Cushing ensconced in the Baker Street sitting room,
draped in the famous purple dressing gown and wielding his eyebrow like a
weapon. However, it’s not just the Hammer Horror version of HOUN that leaps
from the pages of this novel. There is also a Dr. Mortimer whose thin mustache
and distinctive, round spectacles are more reminiscent of the Mortimer seen in
the <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031448/">1939 film version of HOUN</a> starring <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001651/?ref_=tt_cl_t2">Basil Rathbone</a>, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0115558/?ref_=tt_cl_t4">Nigel Bruce</a> and <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0041172/?ref_=tt_cl_t5">Lionel Atwill</a> (as the late Sir Charles’s closet friend). In the strikingly
handsome features of Chase’s Sir Henry, there is more than a little of <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0338901/?ref_=tt_cl_t1">Richard Greene’s</a> face and all his classic, movie star qualities. And in the single
panel in which Sherlock Holmes answers Dr. Watson’s question about the
existence of the Hound, (saying simply, “It does.”) it is difficult for the
reader not to hear <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0107950/?ref_=sr_1">Jeremy Brett’s</a> delivery of that iconic line, complete with
his sonorous timbre.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Chase’s illustrations are atmospheric and impressive, but
not just for the way in which they harken back to some of the most famous
cinematic adaptations of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s most famous novel. The color
palette is striking and mesmerizing. Dominated by a dark, sometimes harsh,
selection of hues, the occasional pinpoints of color have just <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">that</i> much more impact: the rosy blush of
sunlight coming through a window, the golden glow of a single candle, or – as
mentioned previously – the ominously, maliciously red jacket on Sir Hugo. In
his illustrations, Chase uses color with a stunningly magnificent expertise,
and to the fullest, most profound impact. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For his part, Martin Powell has managed to craft a gorgeous
adaptation of Doyle’s original novel. As an adaptation, not a duplication,
there are elements of the story that are missing. For instance, readers who
tend to skip over Dr. Watson’s lengthy, sometimes tedious, descriptions of
landscape and setting will be pleased; there is none of that present – the
drawings certainly give voice to those elements on their own. <a href="http://wellreadsherlockian.com/2013/02/12/powell-martin-and-jamie-chase-sir-arthur-conan-doyles-the-hound-of-the-baskervilles-milwaukie-or-dark-horse-comics-2013/">As another reviewer has pointed out</a>, the famous phrenological exchange between Sherlock
Holmes and Dr. Mortimer is also missing. The story is streamlined, with much of
the exposition and introspection omitted. What remains, however, practically
vibrates with intensity. Many of Watson’s reports to Holmes (whom he believes
is back at Baker Street) are written across the background of a panel, while
the action plays out in the foreground. It’s a powerful and evocative way of
showing the complexity of Watson’s role, and the depth and intricacy of the
story that Doyle wove together. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Powell wields his chosen dialogue for
maximum emotional effect. When Watson speaks to a shadowy figure off-panel,
saying simply: “You! I thought you were still in London!” There is a frisson of
fear, even if readers already know that they will turn the page to find the
Great Detective as the man being addressed. When Holmes tells his friend: “Your
reports did it justice, Watson. The house does, indeed, have a menacing
personality all its own” – that personality is practically tangible, as the
reader sees Sherlock Holmes as a small, isolated figure standing in the grand
hall of the Baskerville estate. Martin Powell’s story and Jamie Chase’s artwork are
symbiotic, and they likewise do more than justice to a story that is more than
a classic – Doyle’s HOUN is as immortal as the Hound itself.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Occasionally I’m asked by someone new to <a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/index.html">the Canon</a> about
where they should start – what short story or novel is a great introduction the
Great Detective? Invariably, they wonder if it shouldn’t be <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/6-houn.htm">The Hound of the Baskervilles</a> </i>– it is
the most recognizable, after all, and the one that most people seem to have on
their bookshelves, even if they have never read it. I usually shy away from
that suggestion – explaining that Sherlock Holmes is actually absent for the
majority of the story and that the lengthy and frequent descriptive passages
are often tiresome. Powell and Chase’s adaptation of HOUN alleviates both of
those issues. With Powell moving Dr. Watson’s activities and the related action
into the foreground, Holmes’s absence really seems secondary. And Chase’s
artful illustrations mitigate the need for prolonged descriptions and
soliloquies on landscape. The resulting work is the version of HOUN that
readers visualize when they pick-up the original novel, that they take away
with them with they watch one of the many film or television adaptations. It is,
in many ways, the best possible version of HOUN and does justice to the story's
enduring nature.</span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">oOo</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>The Hound of the Baskervilles</em>, adapted by Martin Powell and Jamie Chase, can be found on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Hound-Baskervilles-Martin-Powell/dp/1616551100">Amazon</a> and <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hound-of-the-baskervilles-martin-a-powell/1100726826?ean=9781616551100">Barnes & Noble</a>. Martin Powell can be found online at: <a href="http://martinpowell221bcom.blogspot.com/">http://martinpowell221bcom.blogspot.com/</a>. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span> </div>
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goddessinsepiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14216346071787396697noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756608595761528683.post-34352883304530710322013-02-19T04:19:00.000-08:002013-02-19T04:19:52.307-08:00Currently on Twitter...<br />
<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/images/redh-06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/images/redh-06.jpg" width="267" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As part of an ongoing project on my <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/goddessinsepia">Twitter feed</a>, I'm delivering stories from <a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/index.html">the Sherlock Holmes canon</a> in tiny installments of 140 characters or less. I recently finished up </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"</span><a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/reti.htm" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Retired Colourman</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">," in which Sherlock Holmes investigates the disappearance of Mrs. Josiah Amberley, and offers a bleak outlook on human existence: "But is not all life pathetic and futile? Is not his story a microcosm of the whole? We reach. We grasp. And what is left in our hands at the end? A shadow. Or worse than a shadow – misery.”</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The current story is "<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/redh.htm">The Red-Headed League</a>," in which Sherlock Holmes investigates a seemingly irreverent case, with rather more sinister designs, and in which the Great Detective reminds the reader: “I begin to think, Watson, that I make a mistake in explaining. ‘<i>Omne ignotum pro magnifico</i>,’ you know, and my poor little reputation, such as it is, will suffer shipwreck if I am so candid."</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Check out <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/goddessinsepia">my Twitter feed</a> for a daily installment, although I am usually inspired to post more than once a day. And don't forget you can read through the original canon <a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/index.html">online</a>.</span>goddessinsepiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14216346071787396697noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756608595761528683.post-11513175588657436322013-02-02T18:35:00.001-08:002013-02-02T18:35:42.743-08:00“The Meaning of This Extraordinary Performance” (COPP): Granada Television’s “The Six Napoleons”<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Now let me endeavour
to show you the different steps in my reasoning. To begin at the beginning.” (“<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/1-stud.htm">A Study in Scarlet</a>”)</span></i><br />
<br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"It has long been
an axiom of mine that the little things are infinitely the most important.” (“<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/iden.htm">A Case of Identity</a>”)</span></i><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There is no better place to begin a discussion of <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0685629/">Granada’s adaptation of “The Six Napoleons”</a> than at the beginning. The episode opens on
an odd note: a young woman sensually washes herself at an open window while an
old man watches lecherously from across the way. The camera pulls back from the
depraved onlooker to reveal a young man (Pietro Venucci, played by <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0630405/?ref_=tt_cl_t6">Vincenzo Nicoli</a>) and a young woman (his sister, Lucrezia, played by <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000642/?ref_=tt_cl_t9">Marina Sirtis</a> of “<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092455/">Star Trek: The Next Generation</a>” fame) arguing heatedly in Italian. The argument
takes a sudden, violent turn as the man strikes the woman across the face, but
their argument carries on without pause. The elderly voyeur finally intercedes,
but the young man eventually devolves into hysterical screaming before he runs
from the room – the young woman chasing after him, sobbing, her hair falling
out of its neat arrangement and blood running from her lip. The first five
minutes of <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0685629/">Granada Television’s adaptation of SIXN</a> could be quite accurately
described as bizarre, with dialogue almost entirely in un-translated Italian
and the opening sequence ending with the episode’s <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0938492/?ref_=tt_cl_t10">main antagonist</a> laughing
maniacally while being taken away in a straitjacket. Topped off with a well-filmed
fight scene and a strange ritualistic moment involving a photograph and a
jewel-encrusted dagger, these opening scenes are indeed odd, but are also punctuated
with perfect, memorable moments.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These perfect moments carry over throughout the episode and
the first scenes at Baker Street (nearly six minutes into the production, but
chronologically a year later) are no exception. The viewer finds Inspector Lestrade
(<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0420010/?ref_=tt_cl_t4">Colin Jeavons</a>) comfortably ensconced in the sitting room of 221B, drinking
brandy and smoking cigars with Dr. Watson (<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0362570/?ref_=tt_cl_t2">Edward Hardwicke</a>) while Sherlock
Holmes (<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0107950/?ref_=tt_cl_t1">Jeremy Brett</a>) peruses a tattered folio. According to Richard Valley, “A
man of considerable reticence where companionship is concerned, Sherlock Holmes
has no close friends save Dr. John H. Watson, which perhaps explains why it’s
so utterly charming and delightful to find, at the start of this episode of THE
RETURN OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, that Inspector Lestrade of Scotland Yard is given to
dropping by 221B Baker Street every now and then to pass the time.” The casual
intimacy between the three men is only reinforced by perfect, punctuating moments,
like those already seen in the episode’s prologue. The knowing way in which
Holmes lowers the folio to encourage Lestrade to “tell us about it,” understanding
intuitively that the man has something of interest to share, but is restraining
himself. Or Lestrade’s pleased expression when Holmes rubs his hands together
and admits that the Inspector’s story “is certainly very novel.” Or the way in
which the Great Detective laughingly tells Watson that the Doctor’s theories “will
not do” – dismissively, but without any real venom.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA7APT6NMdIygOoUuyv0QRpm3zaz_yR09oQJHhlTMFtxehyphenhyphenzduQq6WXRVCbnSphY1IE9KeFXbPqUruxqBf9Anf3zNEzFOCpwoaolInkl9ZobIOFzHa10Zpbiha7sbbVB-I2gsU_yAlCgY/s1600/SIXN_Holmes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="325" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA7APT6NMdIygOoUuyv0QRpm3zaz_yR09oQJHhlTMFtxehyphenhyphenzduQq6WXRVCbnSphY1IE9KeFXbPqUruxqBf9Anf3zNEzFOCpwoaolInkl9ZobIOFzHa10Zpbiha7sbbVB-I2gsU_yAlCgY/s400/SIXN_Holmes.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Granada’s adaptation of <a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/sixn.htm">SIXN</a> is also a demonstration of how
well Dr. Watson and Inspector Lestrade know their dear friend, the lengths to
which they will go to in order to accommodate him, and how deeply they admire
him. While in the morgue, Sherlock Holmes closely inspects the corpse of Pietro
Venucci, paying no mind to his proximity to the dead man or the appropriateness
of examining him with a magnifying glass. Once the Detective leaves, Lestrade
leans down to inspect the corpse himself, his actions a pale imitation of
Holmes’s own, before pulling the sheet back over poor Venucci. Later, when
Holmes insists that a visit to Chiswick would be timelier than Lestrade’s plan
to visit the Italian Quarter, the Inspector actually protests the change in
plan very little, and compliantly takes up space upon 221B’s sofa until Holmes
tells him that it is time to go. And while waiting in the dark and cold at two
o’clock in the morning (we know, because Watson dutifully checks his pocket
watch), his only question is “I don’t suppose we can smoke, can we?” Watson
offers Lestrade a hard candy so as to ease some of the Inspector’s suffering,
only to be told (in another one of those perfectly memorable moments) by
Sherlock Holmes: “This is no time for humbugs!” Lestrade’s apparently blind
faith in Holmes is soon validated, however, by the appearance of Beppo (the
raving lunatic from the opening sequence). </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Holmes’s mutual admiration for Watson and Lestrade is also
present. When Holmes reveals to Watson how he has baited the journalist <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0843059/?ref_=tt_cl_t3">Horace Harker</a> into writing a sensational (though inaccurate) article for his
newspaper, Watson is visibly pleased with his friend’s cunning and tells him
so. The Detective’s reply of thanks is both sincere and enthusiastic (with a mannered
tip of his cane to set off his words). Moments later when Holmes and Watson
return to Baker Street and approach their sitting room, they find that Lestrade
is already present and unaware of their arrival. The Inspector is trying to
surreptitiously view the folio that Holmes left on an end table (presumably the
same one Holmes was reading at the beginning of the episode). The Detective is
more amused by these actions than anything else, and rather than embarrass the
Inspector by catching him in the act of prying, he instructs Watson to quietly walk
away from the sitting room door – and return a moment later, much more loudly, giving
Lestrade a moment to jump out of his seat and away from suspicion.</span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3m7jxmvP27j73JqdNnWORGNOluHP8Kq1LFJ-YE5kjPYAhr6xBUZRFM_ukHNhA5X-wfvbADcZMcERv8hiT3s8hBaCGotz1S41v5m10KYZNVN34_H86rzdHWagNfZgfmNRZ8RoQK7ddIwg/s1600/SIXN_Lestrade.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3m7jxmvP27j73JqdNnWORGNOluHP8Kq1LFJ-YE5kjPYAhr6xBUZRFM_ukHNhA5X-wfvbADcZMcERv8hiT3s8hBaCGotz1S41v5m10KYZNVN34_H86rzdHWagNfZgfmNRZ8RoQK7ddIwg/s400/SIXN_Lestrade.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Inspector Lestrade in close examination of his shoes.</span></strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In his role as Sherlock Holmes, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0107950/?ref_=tt_cl_t1">Jeremy Brett</a> never wasted a
gesture, a facial expression, or a well-timed inflection on a word of import.
And so, whether Holmes chokes on his coffee at Watson’s command to be ready in “two
minutes,” lowers his head to stare meaningfully but silently at Mr. Horace
Harker, or trills slightly over the letter “R” in the word “morgue,” the viewer
knows that these are moments of consequence and therefore they take notice.
Although some moments may seem hyperbolic to almost the point of overacting –
such as when Holmes greets <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0306764/?ref_=tt_cl_t13">Mr. Sandeford of Reading</a> (and the sixth Napoleon
bust) with an exaggerated turn and flourish from his dramatic posture at the
fireplace mantel – the actions are not without purpose. For Sherlock Holmes is
a theatrical man, with dramatic sensibilities, and the instance lays the
framework for the scene just moments later when Holmes takes a cane to the
plaster bust of Napoleon – violently and without warning. And instead of being
shocked by the sight of the shattered bust, Watson and Lestrade are merely
surprised, greeting with delighted astonishment the priceless pearl the Detective
finds within – because they know their friend’s nature. They understand what he
is made of. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The episode ends, as so many viewers already know, with one
more perfectly punctuated moment, with Colin Jeavons delivering Inspector
Lestrade’s memorable monologue from <a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/sixn.htm">SIXN</a>:</span><br />
<br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“I’ve seen you handle
a good many cases, Mr. Holmes, but I don’t know that I ever knew a more
workmanlike one than that. We’re not jealous of you at Scotland Yard. No, sir,
we are very proud of you, and if you come down to-morrow, there’s not a man,
from the oldest inspector to the youngest constable, who wouldn’t be glad to
shake you by the hand.”</span></i><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhceqljPldPkLECcy8aw4FZykVVvEn-xgQWXC3RB3ztJZj8H3whvg_HlV4Ejys6L3MEQVIpXPE0DU2SF2SBqKPXf_-9-drirnM7V_Erq60ELXZgX4nDulv2ZFFturplarRkhpR5ETVP93o/s1600/Six+Napoleons+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhceqljPldPkLECcy8aw4FZykVVvEn-xgQWXC3RB3ztJZj8H3whvg_HlV4Ejys6L3MEQVIpXPE0DU2SF2SBqKPXf_-9-drirnM7V_Erq60ELXZgX4nDulv2ZFFturplarRkhpR5ETVP93o/s400/Six+Napoleons+1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But even more remarkable than the words, delivered exactly
as written in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s original story, is the way in which
Jeremy Brett’s Sherlock Holmes <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">reacts</i>
to the words. Something that a reader of <a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/index.html">the Canon</a> had only supposed, but had
never before seen, is the way in which the Detective is moved by the Inspector’s
compliment. As Watson says, “[Holmes] was more nearly moved by the softer human
emotions than I had ever seen him,” but Granada’s presentation has the visual
appeal that the written word sometimes does not. The camera angle is tight on
Holmes’s face, rarely breaking away, and the subtly evolving emotions are
viewed in full – a slightly more open and softer expression, a dropped lip, and
eyes that seem instantly, impossibly brighter. And when Sherlock Holmes thanks
the Inspector twice – once with passion and once more as his rational side
asserts itself – the scene is perfectly punctuated, the episode perfectly
executed.</span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">oOo</span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Better Holmes & Gardens” now has its own
Facebook page.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Join by “Liking” the page
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/BetterHolmesandGardens">here</a>, and receive all the latest updates, news, and Sherlockian tidbits.</span></span>goddessinsepiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14216346071787396697noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756608595761528683.post-7649149190772631792013-01-21T10:44:00.000-08:002013-01-21T10:45:08.335-08:00Some Thoughts on Character: Colonel Sebastian Moran<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Moran, Sebastian,
Colonel. Unemployed. Formerly 1st Bangalore Pioneers. Born London, 1840. Son of
Sir Augustus Moran, C. B., once British Minister to Persia. Educated Eton and
Oxford. Served in Jowaki Campaign, Afghan Campaign, Charasiab (despatches),
Sherpur, and Cabul. Author of </i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Heavy
Game of the Western Himalayas</b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> (1881);
</i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Three Months in the Jungle </b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">(1884). Address: Conduit Street. Clubs: The
Anglo-Indian, the Tankerville, the Bagatelle Card Club… The second most
dangerous man in London. ("<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/empt.htm">The Adventure of the Empty House</a>")</i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the 2011 film, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1515091/">Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows</a></i>, Professor James Moriarty signs copies of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Dynamics of an Asteroid</i> in Paris.
His signature is an elegant scrawl from a fountain pen as he speaks in
effortless French to those who have come to praise him. A man in an inconspicuous
tweed suit slides into the empty seat next the Professor, a pair of opera
tickets in his hands. There is a long pause as he waits for Moriarty to address
him. Finally, the Professor turns, only slightly, to look at the man at his
side: “My ticket?” The man nods, gesturing with the object in question. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Unfortunately,” the Professor says, “you
won’t be needing yours.” The man’s expression is largely unreadable as he looks
back down at the tickets in his hands, but his sardonic tone is telling: “It’s
a shame, Professor. I was looking forward to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Don Giovanni</i>.” The identity of the man in the unprepossessing suit
isn’t officially revealed as Colonel Sebastian Moran until a bit later in the
film, but there are enough clues in even that brief scene for the viewer to
make the logical deduction on his or her own. For is that not how we always
picture Colonel Moran – the slightly uncouth man on Moriarty’s right hand?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBgTG0yn1RVKlfJqvcw7sVOen_rawvYIyJ7lO7TotXwxto3qhZNbdQujXXpguDEqBdf-3h6wM8Eg1IQlP6_xfBjdBXTfCuMRDC5lgIJLq55kzWcL1WAdipjJyJD3YOLjGsZ9tiInqC6j8/s1600/MoranMoriarty_GoS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBgTG0yn1RVKlfJqvcw7sVOen_rawvYIyJ7lO7TotXwxto3qhZNbdQujXXpguDEqBdf-3h6wM8Eg1IQlP6_xfBjdBXTfCuMRDC5lgIJLq55kzWcL1WAdipjJyJD3YOLjGsZ9tiInqC6j8/s400/MoranMoriarty_GoS.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Paul Anderson as Colonel Sebastian Moran and <br />Jared Harris as Professor James Moriarty </span></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Colonel Sebastian Moran was first introduced to readers in
“<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/empt.htm">The Adventure of the Empty House</a>,” but like many of the minor characters in
the <a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/index.html">Canon</a>, he has taken on a life of his own, appearing in numerous pastiches
and television and film adaptations. In <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1515091/">A Game of Shadows</a></i>, mentioned above, he was played by <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2167957/">Paul Anderson</a>, and in
the <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0685622/">Granada television adaptation of EMPT</a>, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0019996/">Patrick Allen</a>. In the 1946 <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001651/">Basil Rathbone</a> film, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0039017/">Terror by Night</a></i>, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0610253/">Alan Mowbray</a> took on the role of the Colonel (inexplicably masquerading as Major
Duncan Bleek). In a recent episode of the new television series, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2191671/">Elementary</a></i> (simply entitled, “<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2579692/">M</a>.”),
actor <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005068/">Vinnie Jones</a> takes a turn as Moran – a slightly more bloodthirsty, more
unhinged version. And while the Colonel has not yet appeared in the BBC series,
“<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1475582/">Sherlock</a>” (although who can say who was on the other end of those sinister red
laser sights at the end of “The Great Game”?), don’t tell that to the legions
of fans who have already imagined <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0309693/">Mark Gatiss</a> and <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0595590/">Steven Moffat’s</a> 21st century
version of Professor Moriarty’s trusted assassin in full. Several pastiche
writers have also imagined their own versions of Colonel Moran. Kim Newman’s
Moran of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Professor-Moriarty-Hound-DUrbervilles-Novels/dp/0857682830">The Hound of the D'Urbervilles</a></i>
is every bit as vulgar, crass, ruthless and merciless as so many have imagined
(I fully recommend The Well-Read Sherlockian’s excellent review of the novel
<a href="http://wellreadsherlockian.com/2013/01/18/newman-kim-professor-moriarty-the-hound-of-the-durbervilles-london-titan-2011/">available here</a>). In John Gardner’s novel, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Return-Moriarty-Sherlock-Nemesis/dp/B00ANYLY8A/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_1">The Return of Moriarty</a></i>, Moran’s appearance is pitifully, though logically and
necessarily, brief – and raises a host of questions. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii0tWEsF3pgWVN7FrKSt59-RsxmGkLa48SBtvfsxOzbIgt009jPOyq7iLDev8KdocIU2q0K-Hyyfd5Mn60aXlMPepwuuhcLJF_JI5K2-g1xS3sHmtt4fx4EM1PjCGsarW_FOBtXGXnRAA/s1600/RatofSumatra.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii0tWEsF3pgWVN7FrKSt59-RsxmGkLa48SBtvfsxOzbIgt009jPOyq7iLDev8KdocIU2q0K-Hyyfd5Mn60aXlMPepwuuhcLJF_JI5K2-g1xS3sHmtt4fx4EM1PjCGsarW_FOBtXGXnRAA/s400/RatofSumatra.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes and Patrick Allen as Colonel Moran</b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But what do readers <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">really</i>
know about Colonel Sebastian Moran? The above description – found in <a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/empt.htm">EMPT</a> and
taken from Sherlock Holmes’s own “index of biographies” – is concise and
informative enough, providing details of birth and ancestry, education and military
career, even his current address and preferred recreational spots, but the
apparent glut of explicit knowledge ends there. Prior to <a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/empt.htm">EMPT</a> (chronologically
speaking), Moran is mentioned alongside Professor Moriarty in their brief cameo
in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/7-vall.htm">The Valley of Fear</a></i>: “[Moriarty’s]
chief of the staff is Colonel Sebastian Moran, as aloof and guarded and
inaccessible to the law as himself.” So readers can add those three remarkable
descriptors (aloof, guarded, inaccessible) to what they already know about the
man. To put Moran on the same level as Moriarty in terms of demeanor and
position is quite a lofty compliment indeed. But it is also contrary to the man
that readers know from <a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/empt.htm">EMPT</a>. The Colonel found there is a man of barely
contained rage, snarling, savage and “wonderfully like a tiger himself.” As
Watson recounts, “The fury upon [Moran’s] face was terrible to look at.” This
is a man impulsive and hotheaded enough to murder a man because he could expose
the Colonel’s unethical card practices, but patient and methodical enough to be
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">really </i>clever about how he did it. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">There</i> is the “man of iron nerve,” that
Sherlock Holmes describes, a man ruthless enough to relentlessly pursue a
man-eating tiger, but possessing of the necessary quietness of disposition to
be successful. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/images/empt-06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/images/empt-06.jpg" width="387" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At the end of <a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/empt.htm">EMPT</a>, the Great Detective seems more than
confident that the Colonel will no longer be a concern, but Moran doesn’t
disappear from the <a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/index.html">Canon </a>entirely. In “<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/illu.htm">The Illustrious Client</a>,” which according
to <a href="http://www.diogenes-club.com/hoybaringgould.htm">William Baring-Gould’s chronology</a> takes place in 1902, Holmes comments: “If
your man is more dangerous than the late Professor Moriarty, or than the living
Colonel Sebastian Moran, then he is indeed worth meeting.” And in “<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/last.htm">His Last Bow</a>,” which according to the <a href="http://www.diogenes-club.com/hoybaringgould.htm">same chronology</a> takes place in 1914: “The old
sweet song… How often have I heard it in days gone by! It was a favourite ditty
of the late lamented Professor Moriarty. Colonel Sebastian Moran has also been
known to warble it.” This means that Moran was most <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">definitely</i> alive as of 1902, and most probably alive as of 1914
(Holmes refers to the Colonel in the present tense, but a life of international
espionage is a busy one, so it might be worth arguing that Holmes’s information
could be outdated). Surviving an incarceration of twenty years or more
certainly shows a certain resilience of character, or perhaps just a mulish
intractability.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At the end of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Game
of Shadows</i>, Moran covertly executes Professor Moriarty’s undercover
assassin (discreetly, with a blowgun) and then walks out of the Swiss chateau,
into the shadows, and away from Professor Moriarty, who is currently engaged in
a cerebral battle out on the balcony with Sherlock Holmes. Dr. Watson runs <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">towards</i> his friend, while the Colonel
just simply walks <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">away</i>, his intended
direction unknown. It is a curious divergence, but not entirely unexpected. As
Holmes himself points out in <a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/empt.htm">EMPT</a>: </span><br />
<br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"There are some
trees, Watson, which grow to a certain height, and then suddenly develop some
unsightly eccentricity. You will see it often in humans. I have a theory that
the individual represents in his development the whole procession of his
ancestors, and that such a sudden turn to good or evil stands for some strong
influence which came into the line of his pedigree. The person becomes, as it
were, the epitome of the history of his own family... Whatever the cause,
Colonel Moran began to go wrong."</span></i><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Great Detective refers to Colonel Moran as a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">shikari</i>, which is a Persian word in two
parts: the main “Shikar,” meaning “of hunting” and the suffix “i” denoting
possession. And it would seem that Moran too was a character in two parts. He
comprises a certain cold reservation that made him equal to sit beside
Professor Moriarty, but also a contrary savagery that made him effective in his
role. Like so many remarkable characters, it is the dichotomy that makes Moran
interesting, makes him memorable. Sherlockians return to Colonel Sebastian
Moran not simply because he sits beside Professor Moriarty, but because he
stands on his own, and cuts his own path. </span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">oOo</span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Better Holmes & Gardens” now has its own
Facebook page.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Join by “Liking” the page
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/BetterHolmesandGardens">here</a>, and receive all the latest updates, news, and Sherlockian tidbits.</span></span>goddessinsepiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14216346071787396697noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756608595761528683.post-71950262692312484152013-01-21T06:35:00.000-08:002013-01-21T06:35:41.192-08:00Currently on Twitter...<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As part of an ongoing project on my <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/goddessinsepia">Twitter feed</a>, I'm delivering stories from <a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/index.html">the Sherlock Holmes canon</a> in tiny installments of 140 characters or less. I recently finished up </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"</span><a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/bery.htm" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Beryl Coronet</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">," in which Watson imparts some sage advice about the treatment of madmen, and Holmes shows that even the most damning evidence does not necessarily indicate a concrete conclusion.</span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/images/reti-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="232" src="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/images/reti-01.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The current story is "<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/reti.htm">The Retired Colourman</a>," in which Sherlock Holmes investigates the disappearance of Mrs. Josiah Amberley, and offers a bleak outlook on human existence: "But is not all life pathetic and futile? Is not his story a microcosm of the whole? We reach. We grasp. And what is left in our hands at the end? A shadow. Or worse than a shadow – misery.”</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Check out <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/goddessinsepia">my Twitter feed</a> for a daily installment, although I am usually inspired to post more than once a day. And don't forget you can read through the original canon <a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/index.html">online</a>.</span><br />
goddessinsepiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14216346071787396697noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756608595761528683.post-11612311082432359872013-01-13T18:46:00.000-08:002013-01-13T18:46:37.002-08:00“At four yards, I could deceive you.” (DYIN): The Art and Necessity of Deception in the Stories of Sherlock Holmes<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“The relations between
us in those latter days were peculiar. He was a man of habits, narrow and
concentrated habits, and I had become one of them. As an institution I was like
the violin, the shag tobacco, the old black pipe, the index books, and others
perhaps less excusable. When it was a case of active work and a comrade was
needed upon whose nerve he could place some reliance, my role was obvious. But
apart from this I had uses. I was a whetstone for his mind. I stimulated him.
He liked to think aloud in my presence. His remarks could hardly be said to be
made to me – many of them would have been as appropriately addressed to his
bedstead – but none the less, having formed the habit, it had become in some way
helpful that I should register and interject. If I irritated him by a certain
methodical slowness in my mentality, that irritation served only to make his
own flame-like intuitions and impressions flash up the more vividly and
swiftly. Such was my humble role in our alliance.” (“<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/cree.htm">The Creeping Man</a>”)</span></i><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Most of us, if we’re honest with ourselves, wouldn’t have
been able to live with Sherlock Holmes for very long. I’m sure there would
always be a stalwart few who would soldier on under any circumstance –
convinced that the benefits of living with the Great Detective would far
outweigh any “minor” annoyances. But I’m not one of them. When I was in
college, I had a roommate that inexplicably began leaving the peanut butter in
the refrigerator and the resulting animosity nearly ended our now decades-long
friendship. (Sorry Claire, but have you ever tried to spread cold peanut
butter? <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Have you?</i>) So, if I’m clearly
that sensitive about my sandwiches, can you imagine how I feel about my personal
possessions, my living space, my <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">life</i>?
The first time I arrived at Baker Street to find the sitting room filled with
papers and noxious chemical fumes, 221B would suddenly be minus one tenant.</span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/images/nava-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/images/nava-01.jpg" width="327" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Clean. Up. NOW.</span></strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But Dr. John Watson was no such person. He seems to find
certain behaviors charming when most other people would find them intolerable.
He mentions the Detective’s numerous, dangerous chemical experiments
off-handedly, merely describing them as “weird” (<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/dyin.htm">DYIN</a>) and “malodorous” (<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/2-sign.htm">SIGN</a>),
when others would have expressed more palpable concern. “My flatmate <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">might</i> kill me,” some might have said.
Even Holmes’s indoor pistol practice doesn’t seem to bother the Doctor too
much: “I have always held, too, that pistol practice should be distinctly an
open-air pastime” (<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/musg.htm">MUSG</a>), he says flippantly, when for others this would have
been serious cause for renegotiating the terms of the lease. “My flatmate is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">going</i> to kill me,” would have certainly
been a logical deduction. But Dr. Watson certainly seems to take most of
Holmes’s eccentricities in stride.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But certainly some eccentricities are more serious than others.
It is one thing, for example, to cleverly execute a disguise in the semblance
of a wizened, old sailor (<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/2-sign.htm">SIGN</a>) or elderly woman (<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/maza.htm">MAZA</a>). Watson, after all, is
always so amused when Holmes sheds a disguise to reveal himself beneath it.
Amused, and often charmingly befuddled. As in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/2-sign.htm">The Sign of Four</a></i>, when the cantankerous sailor in the Baker Street
sitting room is replaced with the Detective, Watson says, “Holmes! […] You
here! But where is the old man?” Is it a tribute to <a href="http://betterholmesandgardens.blogspot.com/2011/04/i-never-can-resist-touch-of-dramatic.html">Sherlock Holmes’s skill in the art of disguise</a>, or to Dr. Watson’s guilelessness that he cannot, at first,
conceive that his friend might have played a lighthearted trick on him? On the
other hand, Watson does get angry with Holmes, earlier in the same story, when
he presents Holmes with a pocket watch and asks him to deduce what he can of
the watch’s former owner. Holmes is successful, of course, in divining the
existence of Watson’s unfortunate older brother. At first Watson is furious –
convinced that Holmes already somehow knew about his sibling and is trying to
play him for a fool – but once Holmes reveals precisely how he made his deductions,
Watson is contrite: “It is as clear as daylight… I regret the injustice which I
did you. I should have had more faith in your marvellous faculty.”</span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/images/sign-15.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="398" src="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/images/sign-15.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Holmes, quit waving that fake beard at me. I need to figure out where that old man went!</span></strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But neither of these ruses is quite on the same level as,
say, a long and protracted ploy in which Watson is led to believe that Holmes
is dying of a rare tropical illness. Even worse, Holmes does not want Watson to
help treat him or even assist him beyond bringing Culverton Smith to Baker
Street – a man who isn’t even a doctor (<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/dyin.htm">DYIN</a>). A clever disguise can hardly be
equated with leaving Watson to his own devices in Dartmoor, where he conducts a
supposedly solitary investigation into the “ugly, dangerous business” and
unknowingly cavorts with the most sinister of villains – all while Holmes
watches on, but does not act, only revealing his presence when he finds Watson
sitting in his den (<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/6-houn.htm">HOUN</a>). Oh, and of course, there was the time that Sherlock
Holmes let Dr. Watson, and the world, believe he was dead. For three years. And
then shows up on Watson’s doorstep – in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">disguise</i>,
yet again – making only a passing reference to the Doctor’s late wife, instead
suggesting dinner and a quick skirmish with an assassin (<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/empt.htm">EMPT</a>). It’s enough to
make the reader feel angry on Dr. Watson’s behalf, even if it seems he can’t
quite manage the emotion on his own. </span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/images/empt-02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/images/empt-02.jpg" width="328" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"I'm not dead! Let's have dinner."</span></strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And there’s the rub – Dr. Watson doesn’t really seem to be
bothered by any of these things, from the most innocent disguises to the most
devious, emotionally-charged deceptions. In <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/6-houn.htm">The Hound of the Baskervilles</a>, </i>Watson is positively <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">relieved</i> that Holmes has arrived (“…a crushing weight of
responsibility seemed in an instant to be lifted from my soul,” he says),
rather than put-out that the Detective has apparently had him running through
hoops while he watched. In “<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/empt.htm">The Empty House</a>,” Watson’s initial response to
Holmes’s apparent resurrection is to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">faint</i>,
and when he comes back to himself, he announces, “My dear chap, I’m overjoyed
to see you. Sit down, and tell me how you came alive out of that dreadful chasm”
– as if it were no small thing for a previously dead friend to be alive and
well and standing before him in his consulting room. Fans of the BBC’s “<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1475582/">Sherlock</a>,”
can expect a different scene from the modern adaptation’s take on <a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/empt.htm">EMPT</a>. According
to series’ creator <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0309693/">Mark Gatiss</a>, "I always found it a little unlikely that
Dr. Watson's only reaction was to faint for instance – as opposed to possibly a
stream of terrible swear words." The only exception from the examples
above is "<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/dyin.htm">The Dying Detective</a>" – where the reader doesn’t get to experience Watson’s reaction to
Holmes’s deception at all. The story ends with Holmes explaining his process,
and one supposes it’s too much to imagine that Watson slugged the Detective
once the story closed.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There’s a range of trickery and deception present in the
<a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/index.html">Canon</a>, but for the most part, Dr. Watson’s reactions to those instances don’t
seem to vary. Rather than turning to a discussion about <a href="http://betterholmesandgardens.blogspot.com/2011/05/sequence-of-events-as-narrated-nobl.html">the reliability of Watson as a narrator</a> (perhaps he <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">did</i>
slug Holmes at the conclusion of <a href="http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/dyin.htm">DYIN</a>, but if he left it out of the manuscript,
how would the reader ever know?), is it equally as likely that Watson merely
understood Holmes’s process even more than he would ever let himself realize?
The deductive steps may have always been a mystery to him in varying degrees
(such as his reaction to Holmes’s pocket watch analysis), but that didn’t mean
he didn’t appreciate the result. Watson could have wasted valuable time and
energy getting upset when Holmes let him run about Dartmoor to seemingly little
end, or he could just skip right to being relieved that Holmes had arrived. What
is the benefit in arguing whether or not Watson <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">should</i> have been angry about Holmes’s three-year deception, when
the fact remains that he <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">was</i>, in
fact, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">overjoyed</i> to see his friend? Whenever
Holmes managed to mislead Watson, whether it was a small trick of disguise or a
large-scale deception, the Doctor was always able to move right to the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">necessity</i> of it. And he was invaluable
to the Detective’s process by always appreciating the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">art </i>of it.</span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">oOo</span></div>
<br />
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