I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere: Bonnie MacBird

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"full of spirits and energy" [GLOR] </h4>
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Bonnie MacBird returns to the show, this time to regale us with her own adventures that came with writing <i>Unquiet Spirits</i>, her latest Sherlock Holmes novel from HarperCollins.<br />
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The book is a sequel to the popular <i>Art in the Blood</i>, and follows Sherlock Holmes's adventures in England, Scotland and France in the months following <i>The Hound of the Baskervilles</i>. In preparing for this work, Bonnie did some traveling of her own and manages to weave her own tale of intrigue around whisky experts, old distilleries, a historical wine crisis, the inspiration for Hogwarts and much more.<br />
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And you'll want to stay tuned to make sure you can be part of a special drawing for a copy of <i>Unquiet Spirits</i>, available only to our Patreon subscribers. Be sure to listen to the entire podcast to discover how.<br />
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<b>Sponsors</b></h2>
This episode includes our two longtime sponsors, plus a new addition. Please support our sponsors by visiting their sites:<br />
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<li><a href="http://www.wessexpress.com/">Wessex Press</a>, where you can discover the joys of <i><a href="http://wessexpress.com/html/newspaper3.html">Sherlock Holmes and Conan Doyle in the Newspapers, Volume 3</a></i></li>
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<b>Notes</b></h2>
1:32 Our spirits will not be quieted<br />
4:13 Getting prematurely delighted<br />
5:34 Welcome to Bonnie MacBird<br />
8:12 Inspiration for <i>Unquiet Spirits</i><br />
10:52 The wine calamity of 1889<br />
15:31 Researching whisky is hard<br />
22:28 Sherlock Holmes's school<br />
28:26 Surprises along the way<br />
33:46 Looking at Holmes's past<br />
40:21 Creating situations in which Holmes's powers are conveyed<br />
42:21 A strong female character<br />
44:41 Watson was discrete, despite being a promoter of Holmes<br />
50:26 Don't forget the annotations<br />
54:38 Why the magic happens<br />
57:15 A couple of items in the news lately</div>
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<b>Links</b></h2>
<ul>
<li><i><a href="https://macbird.com/unquiet-spirits/">Unquiet Spirits</a></i></li>
<li>Bonnie MacBird on <a href="http://ihose.co/ihose83">Episode 83: Art in the Blood</a></li>
<li><a href="https://fettes.com/">Fettes College</a></li>
<li><a href="https://macbird.com/unquiet-spirits/notes/">Annotations to <i>Unquiet Spirits</i></a></li>
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Transcript<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Transcript not yet released</span></span><br />
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Episode 132: Unquiet Spirits

"full of spirits and energy" [GLOR] Bonnie MacBird returns to the show, this time to regale us with her own adv...

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by Scott Monty

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"what it is worth" [THOR] </h4>
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[<b><i>Editor's Note</i></b>: this is the sixth in a series of reviews we'll be sharing on Series 4 of <i>Sherlock</i>. And as is our custom, there are <b>spoilers</b> ahead.]<br />
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<span lang="EN-US">And I love what it is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That sums up <i>Sherlock</i> for me. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Before I begin, I respect your right to
“not like” some creative work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s
your prerogative and criticism is the risk that any creative person takes when
putting their work out. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But if you happen to be one of the vocal types hurling vitriol about <i>Sherlock</i>, exclaiming how violated and disappointed you are, may I
offer some thoughts to consider. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">As many of you know, I love <i>Sherlock</i> for
exactly what it is <i>— </i>a very
creative riff on canon, written and performed by some immensely talented guys.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I will never tire of watching the innately
likable Martin Freeman as John Watson struggle with his decency, his desire to
be a good man, his<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>bravery,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>his addiction to adrenaline, and his very
debilitating PTSD </span><i>—</i> not to mention the love he feels for his friend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Which is from time to time tried to the
limits due to his own, and especially to Sherlock’s flaws.</div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Many found John to have crossed some line
in "The Lying Detective" in a supposed affair and his attack on Sherlock. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I was very sympathetic to John’s struggle
with his attraction to the girl on the bus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So very human, so very poignant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An army surgeon married with a baby and craving adrenalin… well, of
course.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My heart ached for him watching
this. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">John is a man who examines his actions
regularly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And suffers<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>tremendous guilt for his mistakes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>To me that is human and heroic.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">There is, by the way, canonical inspiration
to be found in the way Watson describes women with more than a touch of
longing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>And of course, a parallel
exists with ACD who enjoyed many social occasions with Jeanne Leckie while
still married to the ailing Touie. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>A
human being, yet still worthy of our admiration.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Would Dr. John Watson of the original Sherlock Holmes stories have had an
affair?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not likely.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But would he </span><i>—</i> if he were alive now <i>— </i>perhaps
flirt a bit via text?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I buy it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Three continents, folks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> He didn't do more than text. That showed restraint. I love him for it.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Are you so above such a thought, such a
desire, such a gesture?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If so, I do not
find the world so black and white as you do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> 
</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Bigger question:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>would John Watson beat the up an
ailing canonical Holmes? That set off some of you. Not in the Canon, surely. But<i>
Sherlock </i> ratchets up both the rawness of these characters’ emotions and the
extremity of Sherlock’s hubris and John’s PTSD to a point that, to me, became 
believable and tragic and moving.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
brought me to tears.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I could understand
both points of view so well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, both.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Those characters, those vulnerabilities, have
been carefully constructed, consistently built throughout the series.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s not the Canon, it’s a version of these
characters which is consistent within the longer arc of the <i>Sherlock</i> series. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And Sherlock himself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like his canonical counterpart, this Sherlock
is damaged goods with a fragile and inflated ego (it’s all in the stories),
manic behavior and the propensity<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to self
medicate to alleviate depression and boredom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Except </span></span><i>— </i>Sherlock goes farther than the canonical Holmes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Much, much farther, and suffers all the more
from it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Again, I feel sympathy, not
derision. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is an extreme man living in
extreme times.</div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I will never tire of watching Benedict
Cumberbatch play the genius of immense intellect and emotion – and yes, Mrs.
Hudson was dead on right about this – for all his reasoned brilliance and passion for
the scientific method, Sherlock is primarily an emotional man, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">and I hold him to be so in the Canon as well.</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Though in the spirit of the Victorian era, this
element is very much understated on the page.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> 
</span>But it peeks through the words, most definitely.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">In both Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's original stories and <i>Sherlock</i> this character
is hurting, alone, somewhat of a tragic figure, and all the more heroic for
it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The world applauds his achievements
while he privately collapses. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">In the show, for John and Sherlock, bad
stuff happens when their lesser natures briefly overcome them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To me, that is the stuff of powerful
storytelling. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I think some haters, particularly those who
have only recently switched sides to Camp Vitriol where </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><i>Sherlock</i> is concerned, come to the show with
expectations <i>—</i> expectations that it cleave more closely to the Canon, that it
show John and Sherlock as very much who Watson and Holmes were in the original stories, that
it mimic the Conan Doyle formula they think they remember (and are almost always wrong) concerning the amount of deductions, how accurate was the logic, how active/ inactive, physical/emotional, etc.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Several problems come with that expectation.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">First, many get these breakdowns,
percentages, perceptions wrong (though granted, fewer of you who are reading IHOSE).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2017/01/to-sherlock-critics-discerning-and.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Gatiss’s recent rhyming rebuttal</a> to
“there’s too much action” in <i>Sherlock</i>.  Hell, no, it's quite canonical. Just depicted in the style of its current medium. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Second: recreating the Canon is not what the creators set
out to do, or ever promised. This is a
riff, not an adaptation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> A pastiche, not a faithful retelling. </span>They are
creative, imaginative, inspired, and did what they wanted to do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why is so much ego ascribed to their work by
the haters?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are artists.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">   </span>This is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">their
</i>portrait.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I went into an exhibit of Expressionist
painting recently in London.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t
much care for this genre; it does not speak to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My companion was riveted and spent an hour
and a half studying these while I did a quick tour and sat down to write.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had a fascinating takeaway and couldn’t wait
to try some things in her own painting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was unimpressed but I can assure you that I did not find myself
thinking – what an utter a^*hole for using that much yellow in the corner of
the painting, how is <b><i>that</i></b> a bridge, and how dare he call that f%^-ing  blob a human
being?</span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-US">No. This painting is that artist’s take.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We can partake, admire, savor, or move
on to what we like better.  </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I will never paint in this style.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t hate or deride these artists for
doing so. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">To punitively ascribe "ego" to an artist for
daring to disagree with you by virtue of their choices is just plain wrong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The act of writing, performing, any art form
requires ego, requires a point of view, and requires the creator <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to reveal him/herself by<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>appearing on the page or canvas or screen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The work itself <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>also <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">has
a form – to a greater or lesser degree – imposed upon it.</i> That’s the challenge of art.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Putting out your "take" on an idea, an image, a story — that is what artists do, and it is the height
of vulnerability.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many of you know
this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You put your work out there and
then stand naked before the crowd.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span>
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">All creative art forms have rules and guidelines. Some tight, some loose. </span>A
classical sonnet is a tight form, an expressionist painting a loose one, but
both are forms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As you put yourself and
your ideas and your story and what it is you want to say into this form, you
also help define the form. And you speak your piece. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">It's a leap of faith to do this. </span>That’s not ego, that’s what creating is. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">A long form drama series is long
form film.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A novel is long form print.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They require very different things in terms
of plotting and character development than short form. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Moffat and Gatiss took a pass at their creative riff on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">longform </i><i>filmed</i> Sherlock Holmes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Conan Doyle wrote <i>short form print</i> Sherlock Holmes. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I frankly love <i>Sherlock </i>though not every minute
of it. Sometimes there is a little too much yellow in the corner of the
painting: dialogue too fast, and less inventive villains than I’d like.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But do I need to write angrily about this,
detailing with outrage what they woulda, shoulda, coulda done? </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I’ve been a screenwriter and a producer and
a development executive for 30 years in Hollywood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have written one movie that’s been made and sold many scripts and won Emmys
for TV writing. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am published in longform print
Holmes. (<i>Art in the Blood,</i> and the upcoming <i>Unquiet Spirits</i>)  <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>So maybe I’m somewhat “qualified” as a
critic, but I will not take the bait and second guess Moffatt and Gatiss and
Cumberbatch and Freeman.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">   </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">This is an artwork.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>And I have too much respect.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span></span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-US">Let me reiterate: you don’t have to like any
given artwork, I’m not saying that. But
don’t be like that nurse in "The Lying Detective," casually dissing John’s blog in passing, almost as an
afterthought. Maybe she glanced at it on the Tube.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe she would have written it differently. Please. Don't be that woman.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">A final word on the phrase “it is what it
is ”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> which tags this episode.This was derided as a platitude by some critics. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">This is not a platitude. “Everything happens for a
reason”is a platitude.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Say that to me and don't stand too close. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">"It is what it is" …<i>is </i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><i>zen.  </i>It is the hard won lesson of the adult</span>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is the serenity prayer<i>,</i> the part about <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>knowing what “things you cannot change” and
understanding and accepting those things.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Mary is dead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sherlock and John are flawed human
beings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Horrible people who kill others
exist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is what it is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sadly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But it is.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Now, that being said, the other part of the
serenity prayer about knowing the difference between what you can and cannot change is crucial.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> At this precise moment there is a rising panic about what is happening in our country, a malaise that is difficult to endure. </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">We are hoping and praying that "what it is" can be changed. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Some things  require action. They require battle gear and courage
and resilience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Despots and liars must
be confronted. Murders must be investigated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Criminals brought to justice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Children
must be taught.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Babies must be
nurtured.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Art must be created to shine
lights into dark corners and open us to beauty and truth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is hard, scary work.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And some things require acceptance and
accommodation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like illness. Like death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are what they are.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">When friends join hands and agree on these
painful things, there is love. And understanding. I love these two men, this particular John
and Sherlock,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and their expression in
this crazy form in our crazy times.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>I
can’t wait for "The Final Problem."  </span><br />
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<i><b>Editor's Note:</b> Bonnie MacBird recently received her investiture "Art in the Blood" in the Baker Street Irregulars. The watercolor portrait above is her work.</i><br />
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