Sherlock Holmes Short Stories Read Along!

[Bee]

Wow I completely forgot about this weekend’s reading, sorry

Will read and comment when after church!

[thiskurt]

Wow I completely forgot about this weekend’s reading, sorry

Will read and comment when after church!

I got halfway through the audiobook until I realised I wasn't paying attention, will post on monday.

[InspectorCaracal]

Well I'm going to hold you two to that and post my own notes now. ;P

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Ah, the Five Orange Pips. One of those stories that I am sure was much more mysterious and exotic if you were a nineteenth century British fiction reader and not a twenty-first century American. A lot of the intended impact is lost by knowing exactly what "K. K. K." means from the beginning.

Honestly it makes a good highlight example for the whole system of how the stories work, which is to maintain an aura of mystery by having Holmes act based on knowledge that he refuses to share until he's sure of his theories - because it is, as he says, exceedingly simple once you know how it's done. And the whole story is very unsatisfying, even more than A Case of Identity.

(I feel bad for Holmes, with Watson choosing to write out one of his more frustrating failures so early on, lol)

One of the things I do like about this story is how it sets up the meta-universe and Holmes having an active practice beyond the stories Doyle wrote. e.g.

... and finally of the Camberwell poisoning case. In the latter, as may be remembered, Sherlock Holmes was able, by winding up the dead man’s watch, to prove that it had been wound up two hours before, and that therefore the deceased had gone to bed within that time—a deduction which was of the greatest importance in clearing up the case.

I think this one in particular is Doyle having an interesting idea for how to solve a mystery but not enough of an idea to make a full story of it so he references a fake story that he doesn't have to write. Although the "as may be remembered" bit is of particular note. Is he attempting to portray that it would've been in the papers, or what? I did some cursory research and confirmed that Doyle never actually wrote the case, although people have written at least one story based on it since.

Oh, I almost forgot: the saddest moment of the whole story

“Who could come to-night? Some friend of yours, perhaps?”

“Except yourself I have none,” he answered.

[Bee]

Th Five Orange Pips is definitely unsatisfying, whoa

Do you think Doyle regretted marrying Watson off so early? He's already staying at Baker Street again, lol. (Yes, it's super sad that Watson is Holmes' only friend and visitor ;-;)

I'm sad now, actually. Bluh

[InspectorCaracal]

Do you think Doyle regretted marrying Watson off so early? He's already staying at Baker Street again, lol.

Oh absolutely lol that's why he stops being married.

[InspectorCaracal]

Also if it makes y'all feel any better he is totally friends with Lestrade even though neither of them realize it and you'll never change my mind.

[Bee]

Do you think Doyle regretted marrying Watson off so early? He's already staying at Baker Street again, lol.

Oh absolutely lol that's why he stops being married.

Absolutely tragic imho

Also if it makes y'all feel any better he is totally friends with Lestrade even though neither of them realize it and you'll never change my mind.

awww

[InspectorCaracal]

Do you think Doyle regretted marrying Watson off so early? He's already staying at Baker Street again, lol.

Oh absolutely lol that's why he stops being married.

Absolutely tragic imho

ikr, there's some bits in the earlier stories that actually give Watson's wife (and he always says "my wife" never her name) an actual speaking role and such and I wish he'd stuck with it but I guess it was too hard or something

[thiskurt]

There is, however, one of these last which was so remarkable in its details and so startling in its results, that I am tempted to give some account of it, in spite of the fact that there are points in connection with it which never have been, and probably never will be, entirely cleared up.

I like the idea of a partially unsolved Holmes case

"That you are never beaten."

"I have been beaten four times—three times by men, and once by a woman."

The woman is Irene Adler, but do we get all the three men in the stories? Not up to this point anyway.

Ah, the Five Orange Pips. One of those stories that I am sure was much more mysterious and exotic if you were a nineteenth century British fiction reader and not a twenty-first century American. A lot of the intended impact is lost by knowing exactly what "K. K. K." means from the beginning.

Yeah, the KKK as the big mystery hasn't really aged through no fault of Doyle, most of it is about a mystery that is very obvious to us now, so there's not a lot to say about most of this story. Yep, yep, mysterious secret society that's neither mysterious nor secret to us, not much of a society either I suppose.

Although the "as may be remembered" bit is of particular note. Is he attempting to portray that it would've been in the papers, or what? I did some cursory research and confirmed that Doyle never actually wrote the case, although people have written at least one story based on it since.

Yes I think this implies that the papers, as in the actual papers have published some of Holmes' cases, as regular newspaper articles I assume not a specific focus on Holmes, outside of Watson's accounts.

Some, however, have already gained publicity through the papers, and others have not offered a field for those peculiar qualities which my friend possessed in so high a degree, and which it is the object of these papers to illustrate.

Do you think Doyle regretted marrying Watson off so early? He's already staying at Baker Street again, lol.

Oh absolutely lol that's why he stops being married.

She dies at some point, right? Death by boredom from having nothing to do in the stories, I reckon.

They're having a sleepover pajama party and that's a fact.

Also if it makes y'all feel any better he is totally friends with Lestrade even though neither of them realize it and you'll never change my mind.

Holmes and Watson are best buds, but Holmes and Lestrade have at least some old bickering couple energy going on.

[thiskurt]

To carry the art, however, to its highest pitch, it is necessary that the reasoner should be able to utilise all the facts which have come to his knowledge, and this in itself implies, as you will readily see, a possession of all knowledge, which, even in these days of
"HIS EYES BENT UPON THE GLOW OF THE FIRE."

free education and encyclopædias, is a somewhat rare accomplishment. It is not so impossible, however, that a man should possess all knowledge which is likely to be useful to him in his work, and this I have endeavoured in my case to do.

I think me and Holmes have a different definition of 'likely to be useful to him in his work.'

Although this does lend to the idea that the whole beekeeping in retirement is just part of one big last case.

If I remember rightly, you on one occasion, in the early days of our friendship, defined my limits in a very precise fashion."

"Yes," I answered, laughing. "It was a singular document. Philosophy, Astronomy, and Politics were marked at zero, I remember. Botany variable, Geology profound as regards the mud-stains from any region within fifty miles of town, chemistry eccentric, anatomy unsystematic, sensational literature and crime records unique, violin player, boxer, swordsman, lawyer, and self-poisoner by cucaine and tobacco. Those, I think, were the main points of my analysis."

Did Watson give Holmes a report card on his general knowledge? That's an elaborate friendly ribbing.