A Study in Sherlock (with SPOILERS) - the stories (and celebrating Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

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  • Posts: 4,622
    I am still stumped. Sherlock Holmes, I am not. :)
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,459
    Well, dear @timmer, we did try to make this one harder.
    But I supposed we could have been even more obscure - we could have said
    "Mrs. Hudson, London, John" or such. Hmmm.

    If you consider that "row" may have at least 2 meanings, does that help? :D
  • SandySandy Somewhere in Europe
    Posts: 4,012
    Can't we give an extra one @4EverBonded?
  • ggl007ggl007 www.archivo007.com Spain, España
    Posts: 2,535
    Sandy wrote:
    Can't we give an extra one @4EverBonded?

    Specially for us, non-English speakers...

    Row... sitting at the bow? on Thames, perhaps??
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    edited June 2013 Posts: 12,459
    Okay, yes let's give another hint!
    Coming soon ... after a quick conference with the other BSB (Baker Street Bibliophiles).
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,459
    All right, our extra hint is:

    Opera

    Guess away, dear Sherlockian comrades! ;)

  • edited June 2013 Posts: 4,622
    OK I will ponder this over the weekend. I am at a loss though, as I only have the titles to work with. The actual content is not top of mind, as it's been so long since I read the stories.
    Thanks to this thread though, I have been motivated to re-visit a random selection of short stories, about 7 total, along with A Study in Scarlett.
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,459
    Thanks for playing along. It is kinda fun, I think. The clues, though, do refer to things in the story, not the title. Hmmm. A three pipe problem, perhaps?

    sherlock1.gif
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    Well, I just ordered the remaining Holmes novels I needed on Amazon. The lovely collections are Wordsworth Classic editions, the same edition that my first Holmes collection was that introduced me to the literary Holmes a few years back. I thought I might as well thank Wordsworth Editions by purchasing these because they not only helped get me hooked on Holmes, but also create some absolutely brilliant literary collections for avid readers to enjoy. I have a Jules Verne printing of theirs, and the books are always stupendous and wonderfully assembled, always unabridged with wonderful cover art, introductions to the texts and sometimes they will toss in two novels in one! Such is the case for these editions I just ordered. One has A Study in Scarlet joined with The Sign of the Four, while the other compiles together The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Valley of Fear. While I already own Hound, the price was such a steal and the quality of the Wordsworth Editions printings so stupendous that I couldn't pass them up. As if I wasn't already dead set on them, they include Sidney Paget's masterful illustrations for the stories, a wonderful addition to the collections. All the Sherlock Holmes Wordsworth Collections have stunning covers painted by Jonathan Barry, a wonderful artist who captures the spirit of Doyle's characters and Victorian London extremely well. Here is a link to his work that includes all his covers for the Holmes editions I am referring to if any wish to see them firsthand:

    http://www.bridgemanart.com/search.aspx?key=prfx:jtb&filter=CBPOIHV

    Both collections also include introductions by Holmesian writer and editor extraordinaire David Stuart Davies, who also wrote the introduction to the first Holmes collection I ever bought, as mentioned above. He gives great history and insight on the characters, Doyle and more, and his introductions really expand on the overall enjoyment that can be had from reading these fantastic works. I can't wait to receive them, and will be ecstatic to finally get into them when they are next for us to read. It will be a joy to feel the pages as I turn them, to smell the glorious scents elicited by the paper and watch the pages grow smaller and smaller as I get through them, all attributes an inferior Kindle cannot begin to possess. Happy reading, all.

    holmesicon.png
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,459
    Thanks for sharing this, @0BradyM0Bondfanatic7! I want to stand up and be counted as a reader who is a huge fan of Wordsworth Editions. They are lovely books and thoughtfully produced with care. And a good price!

    And believe me, as handy as I think a Kindle or such would be (I don't have one yet), I will always prefer my reading of books on printed paper. It adds a good deal to the experience, which also reminds me why I love old books so much (the texture, smell, sense of history,on and on).

    Cheers!
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    Thanks for sharing this, @0BradyM0Bondfanatic7! I want to stand up and be counted as a reader who is a huge fan of Wordsworth Editions. They are lovely books and thoughtfully produced with care. And a good price!

    And believe me, as handy as I think a Kindle or such would be (I don't have one yet), I will always prefer my reading of books on printed paper. It adds a good deal to the experience, which also reminds me why I love old books so much (the texture, smell, sense of history,on and on).

    Cheers!

    Indeed! Wordsworth Editions are always wonderfully assembled. I will probably always choose them over other publishers when thinking of getting a literary work. :)
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,459
    I do try to choose them, but in a pinch sometimes I buy a Penguin edition here (which is always available). Penguin are good too, but I do favor Wordsworth. That reminds me, I am overdue going to my bookstore (20 min. train ride away). So that goes on my To Do list for this weekend, for sure!
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    edited June 2013 Posts: 28,694
    I do try to choose them, but in a pinch sometimes I buy a Penguin edition here (which is always available). Penguin are good too, but I do favor Wordsworth. That reminds me, I am overdue going to my bookstore (20 min. train ride away). So that goes on my To Do list for this weekend, for sure!
    I love Penguin too. My Fleming Bond novels are all Penguin, and they are wonderful. :) I also buy Signet Classics for classic novels like The Three Musketeers, The Count of Monte Cristo, Treasure Island and more. Wordsworth, Penguin and Signet are my go to publishers for quality printings of literature without a doubt.

    And I am glad you put a bookstore trip on your list, as it is always a joy to go to one. Most years when I visit family near Pittsburgh I go to a Barnes and Noble an hour out and spend eons in there. It is bookstore perfection. :) That is actually the place where I got most of my graphic novels, all the Fleming novels I have and some sketchbooks too. They even have a cafe where you can buy coffee and stuff like that while you sit and read, and you don't even have to purchase the book. I am not a coffee or pastry guy, but that is still cool for the majority that enjoy them. And there has hardly ever been a better smelling location than a bookstore, with all the wonderful smells of all the pages mixed together into one sweet aroma.

    By the way, I was thinking today, when we have all the Holmes stories read we could do a thread like this for the Fleming novels in the far future as well, as I really want to read all of them and get in touch with the literary Bond beyond CR, LALD and MR.
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    Well, some great news. I got my Holmes novels in the mail, and now have all four in two collections!

    Also, I finished a BBC Sherlock art piece today, which I submitted for another contest. The artwork focuses on John Watson post-Reichenbach Fall. I will only link to it because it contains mild spoilers about the ending of series two:
    http://bradymajor.deviantart.com/art/John-Believes-381632338?q=gallery:bradymajor/41938068&qo=2

    And here is another version of the piece, with more of a blue theme added to it:
    http://bradymajor.deviantart.com/art/John-Believes-Blue-version-381636737?q=gallery:bradymajor/41938068&qo=1

    And here is the text I wrote up that goes along with the visuals (again, spoilers!):
    Well, I was going to make this a post on the blog, but I thought it wouldn’t be in good taste. Still, I had to find some way to vent my feelings because keeping it all inside isn’t healthy for me. What’s that, Sherlock? How am I? Well how the bloody hell do you think I am? I watched you fall to your death right in front of my eyes. My best friend, breathing one second, gone forever the next… Ever since that day-no-ever since that moment, I have felt an emptiness in the pit of my stomach like I haven’t eaten in months and no matter how much I scarf down, it still remains. If that isn’t bad enough the silence in Baker Street is nearly unbearable, and Mrs. Hudson doesn’t even bother to yell at me anymore for keeping the place a cluttered mess. I tell her that’s what you would’ve wanted. This sounds kind of stupid, Sherlock, but sometimes when Mrs. Hudson is away I will pluck at the strings of your violin and try to play a melody. And if I close my eyes real tight it is almost like you are alive again and back here where you belong, strumming away trying to think hard about a case you are working on. Yeah, I thought you’d find it more than a tad daft.
    Now, Sherlock, let’s talk about that great insomnia you’ve given me, shall we? I try to sleep night after bloody night, but all I do is toss and turn, with images of you lying dead in a pool of your own blood haunting me every single time I shut my eyes. I haven’t had such nightmares since I was over in Afghanistan, and I would rather take an eternity of the explosions and gunfire noises over what I am feeling inside me now. Hell, I figured going to my shrink would help, but guess what, Sherlock? She just sat me there for an hour twice a week and kept telling me to accept that you were a fraud and move on the best I can. “The sooner you forget his lies, the sooner you can move on,” she says. “Write on your blog, it will be cathartic,” she says… Two weeks ago I finally snapped at her, we had a row and I stormed out not long after, so I guess I won’t be going back there again. I wasn’t going to have anyone tell me you were a fake, because no matter how many bloody people tell me you were, I will never in a million years believe them. I won’t even believe you, Sherlock.
    From the first moment I met you I knew that you were way too genuine to be a fake. The way you looked me in the eyes and told me about yourself, Mycroft, your work, all the laughs we shared in Baker Street… I could see it in your eyes, in your mannerisms that you were telling me fact, not fiction; that we were sharing genuine moments with each other. I still remember that night when you knew Moriarty was trying to burn you, and you thought he had gotten to me too. You smacked your hand off the table, and shouted while staring right into my eyes with complete and sincere intensity. Your expression in that moment couldn’t ever be faked; not even by the greatest actors alive today, Sherlock. On your face was the look of a man who knew just how good he was and couldn’t stand being lied about and turned against by everyone he trusted. I could see plain as day that it was all genuinely getting to you, that you were all you said you were and more. You showed me in that moment that Moriarty wasn’t a bloody actor you paid to make yourself look cool. You were too arrogant and self-assured in your own abilities to be desperate enough to need to pay for attention, Sherlock. No, that night, more than ever was when I knew you were the real deal.
    Even the way your voice choked when you tried to tell me you were a fraud before you jumped gave you away. I could hear it in your voice that you didn’t mean any of what you were saying and that you couldn’t bear trying to convince me that you weren’t genuine. I was your proudest audience member from the very start, Sherlock, and it ate at you that you had to lie to me. Though, did you ever think I would believe you? There is no possible way you could fake all those amazing feats, all those clever deductions and plans, like how you showed me that you memorized all of London’s streets when we were hunting down the cabbie killer. So, whether your lie was made up to protect me or to make me think you weren’t who you said you were, I’ll never know. All I do know is that it didn’t work, and I will never let anyone spread slander about you as long as I live. Not the news on the telly, the press, or even Anderson and Donovan.
    And so I will stand all across London, my sign in hand, and I will speak the truth about the Sherlock Holmes I knew so well. I will shout loud and proud that you were the most brilliant man I will ever know, the greatest detective who ever shall live and the best friend a man could ask for. With my sign I will stand tall against the media who paint you as a fool, even if I am standing all alone in the pouring rain, speaking to nothing but the raindrops cascading off of me. I will stand soaked but in the hopes that my words affect just one, just one single person passing by me, because even that would mean what I was doing wasn’t all for nil. You may find all this to be a rather pointless crusade, but when I was nothing but a broken soldier you didn’t give up on me, so I won’t ever give up on you, not for anything, Sherlock.
    I don’t really know where to move on from here though, but I am trying, day by day to grow a little stronger, to be a little less cynical about everything. I think it is about time I try to kick some of my worst habits, and hopefully I will get better because of it. I’ll try not the stare at your empty chair, try to stop visiting your website, and instead try and clean up the mess at the apartment… I might even try taking a walk every now and then and have some nice thoughts for a change. Yeah, some nice thoughts would be good, I think. Don’t you, Sherlock?
    My most recent happy thought was a few nights back, actually. I fell asleep in the chair and for just a brief few minutes I dreamed of a happy moment for once in all this darkness. And it wasn’t about the war, or your fall, or one of our cases or anything remotely morbid. It was just us, Sherlock; just you and I, meeting again, right here in 221B. I was heading towards the door to the apartment after exchanging words and payment with a cabbie, and I slowly started making my way up the stairs. Then, I heard the faint sound of your violin being played upstairs, the strings being lightly manipulated and playing a melody you would’ve loved. At the notice of it I speed up the rest of the stairs, almost burst through the door, and by the light of the window I see your silhouette and for the first time in a long time I can’t help but smile. It was a strange dream, Sherlock. There wasn’t anger, or pain or anything like that in my eyes. You, there in the flesh, breathing before me was enough for me to forgive anything you have done. Then, your head turns almost in slow motion to meet my gaze, and just when I am about to run to you, I wake up in a sweat. Though it felt like my brain was teasing me, trying to make me think you were alive again, and though I know we will never meet again in this life, it was a nice break from the nightmare my life has turned into. And, it is nice to dream about the impossible for a change. That you will someday walk in our door again and everything will finally return to normal.
    And so, Sherlock, until fantasy becomes reality, here I will be. Mourning your absence, saluting you like a fallen soldier, and carrying the message to anyone that will listen that I believe in Sherlock Holmes, that Moriarty was real and that Richard Brook was a lie. I’ll do it not for Lestrade, not for Mrs. Hudson, not for your fans and not even for myself. I’ll do it because standing for a few hours in the pouring rain with my sign, defending your memory with my chin held high is the least I can do for all that you have given me. And until the world believes, I won’t stop, and I’ll keep up the hope that all of this is just one bad dream and that you are still alive out there, somewhere.

    You know, I meant with all my heart what I said to you at your grave that day, Sherlock. And I am still waiting for that one last miracle.

    -John H. Watson

    I loved doing some creative writing again for the first time in ages. :)
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    edited June 2013 Posts: 12,459
    This is really great, @0BradyM0Bondfanatic7! Thanks very much for sharing these.
    :-bd
    I think I like the blue version just a tad better.
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    edited June 2013 Posts: 12,459
    And a reminder of our now 4 clues, to guess the next story we are reviewing:

    Row
    Calligraphy
    Station
    Opera


    Come one, come all - all guesses welcome!
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    This is really great, @0BradyM0Bondfanatic7! Thanks very much for sharing these.
    :-bd
    I think I like the blue version just a tad better.

    Thanks. :) I think the blue one adds a bit more mood/emotion to the piece, and the color reflects John's sadness.
  • edited July 2013 Posts: 4,622
    If one wants to vote on how Holmes survived the fall, there is a poll here:

    http://www.sherlock-holmes.org.uk/world/cinema.php

    I assume they are talking about the BBC series. I voted Molly Hooper.

    ==I'm almost done reading The Sign of Four. Watched the film on the weekend too - the 1931 film starring Arthur Wontner.
    It's included in my 2008 St. Clair Entertainment Group dvd release of 10 old Holmes films - really old, from the '30s and '40s, along with one "more recent" title, 1962's Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace starring Christopher Lee as Holmes - same year as Dr. No. Might make a good double-bill opener for the Connery classic.
    Also in this collection are The Speckled Band, 1931 with Raymond Massey and A Study in Scarlett, 1933, with Reginald Owen, plus 4 Basil Rathbone features and two other Arthur Wontners.
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    edited July 2013 Posts: 12,459
    Thanks for mentioning this, @timmer. I'll check out the poll in a moment ...
    Edit: yes, I just clicked on it and saw it was the same poll I mentioned pages ago. It is the Sherlock Holmes Society of London's poll.
    I thought it was interesting and fun; they added time lord to the options to vote for ... ;) I also voted for Molly.

    As for Sherlock movies, I have never seen the 1931 film - I'd like to! I love The Sign of Four; it is one of my favorites. I enjoyed Jeremy Brett's BBC series version very much. I think I'll see if I can order some old movies on dvd. I do enjoy them, in general. And I like to see the different Holmes stories, with different actors.



  • edited July 2013 Posts: 4,622
    Edit: yes, I just clicked on it and saw it was the same poll I mentioned pages ago. It is the Sherlock Holmes Society of London's poll.
    I thought it was interesting and fun; they added time lord to the options to vote for ... ;) I also voted for Molly.

    As for Sherlock movies, I have never seen the 1931 film - I'd like to! I love The Sign of Four; it is one of my favorites. I enjoyed Jeremy Brett's BBC series version very much. I think I'll see if I can order some old movies on dvd. I do enjoy them, in general. And I like to see the different Holmes stories, with different actors.

    Ah, so you had that poll posted already. Consider this a bump then. ;)
    That website ( Sherlock Holmes Society) does recommend some of the better restored film collections at least.
    The 10-film collection that I have does not provide the best quality for the '30s films. The Rathbone '40s films are quite watchable though.
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,459
    Plus the society has fantastic gatherings, events, etc. I sure wish I lived in England, as I would be attending some of these and definitely join as a member.
  • SandySandy Somewhere in Europe
    edited November 2020 Posts: 4,012
    Nice artwork @0BradyM0Bondfanatic7!

    So, nobody would like to take a guess? Perhaps another clue? But not for now, not from me /:)

    I had the chance to watch an episode of Elementary during my flight back to Europe. I didn't know what to expect but was excited to see how it was. I was, I'm afraid, deeply disappointed. Of course it was only one episode but Johny Lee Miller's (whom I usually enjoy) character lies something between autistic and schizophrenic, but Sherlock Holmes he ain't. There is a fine line between genius and lunatic, Cumberbatch nails the former while Miller fails even with the latter. Watson? Well, let's just say that Lucy Lu lacks the subtlety and talent required for the role. The worst part, however, is that it left me with a soap opera taste in my mouth, and I say this in the worst possible sense. Can't say I will be eagerly tracking this series to watch.

    On a side note, although I hated LA I did manage to find a few interesting "stars" to photograph, but unfortunately only one Holmes-related:
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    edited July 2013 Posts: 12,459
    Great! Thanks for sharing, @Sandy. I do love Basil Rathbone - he was a very memorable Holmes and, if I remember correctly, the first Holmes I saw on screen.

    So ... please let us know, folks: would you like another clue? I think so!
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,459
    And here is our next clue: (a little violin music, please ...) ~

    Portrait

    There you are, folks: 5 nice clues to guess our next Holmes story.
    In all, they are:

    Row
    Calligraphy
    Station
    Opera
    Portrait


    What Sherlock story could it be?

    sherlock1.gif
  • ggl007ggl007 www.archivo007.com Spain, España
    Posts: 2,535
    A Scandal in Bohemia?
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,459
    Oh - that is a very fine guess indeed!
  • SandySandy Somewhere in Europe
    Posts: 4,012
    ggl007 wrote:
    A Scandal in Bohemia?

    Drums roll....................




    You're right @ggl007! Congratulations. It is indeed A Scandal in Bohemia, a favourite amongst so many Sherlock Holmes fans (me included).
  • ggl007ggl007 www.archivo007.com Spain, España
    Posts: 2,535
    The Woman.

    One of the smallest characters to become bigger in the world imaginarium...

    (I love Lara Pulver, by the way, is she the best Irene ever?)
  • SandySandy Somewhere in Europe
    Posts: 4,012
    ggl007 wrote:
    The Woman.

    One of the smallest characters to become bigger in the world imaginarium...

    (I love Lara Pulver, by the way, is she the best Irene ever?)

    I think so, she is amazing.

    Some more things about Scandal:

    - The first Sherlock Holmes short story, and third Sherlock Holmes story to be published (after A Study in Scarlet and The Sign of Four). It appeared in the Strand in 1891.

    - Has one of the most iconic secondary characters in the canon, Irene Adler aka The Woman. She is also one of the most interesting female characters in literature, in my opinion, because of the way she is described. She must have been a literary scandal in those days.

    - Currently published as part of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.

    - Here is an original illustration by Sidney Paget that accompanied the short story:

    A_Scandal_in_Bohemia-04.jpg
  • Posts: 4,622
    Sandy wrote:
    ggl007 wrote:
    A Scandal in Bohemia?

    Drums roll....................




    You're right @ggl007! Congratulations. It is indeed A Scandal in Bohemia, a favourite amongst so many Sherlock Holmes fans (me included).

    That is too funny. That is one of the seven short stories that I recently read, like a month ago, and I still wasn't hip to the clues. I had myself convinced that not having read the stories for such a long time, that clue details would escape me.
    Maybe the cluemeister could explain the clues.
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