I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere

Episode 81: Mycroft Holmes

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"Some of my most interesting cases have come to me in this way through Mycroft." [GREE]</h4>
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If asked, who would you say is the biggest Sherlock Holmes fan? Prior to January 2015, we would not have said Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. But when he made a surprise appearance at the 2015 BSI Dinner and we had a chance to speak with him we discovered it was in fact he.<br />
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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Anna Waterhouse have written a new book called <i><a href="http://amzn.to/1gp8psR" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mycroft Holmes</a></i>, due out next week. We won't give too much away, but it chronicles the early career of Sherlock Holmes's older brother, at the age of 23. You'll find the classic Oxford-Cambridge boat race, the grimy streets of London, cigars, a sea voyage and much more. It's a very interesting, insightful and surprising look into what went into the beginnings of this mystical figure from the original Sherlock Holmes stories.<br />
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If you think this book is worthy of a sequel, <a href="http://ctt.ec/Wedz1" target="_blank">please click to tweet</a> "I support @kaj33 and a sequel to Mycroft Holmes."<br />
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet tw-align-center" data-lang="en">
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My fans know I love books & that I live to write so I need your support so my publisher will let me do the sequel. <a href="https://t.co/y4ERJa6Qrc">pic.twitter.com/y4ERJa6Qrc</a></div>
— Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (@kaj33) <a href="https://twitter.com/kaj33/status/723154585834147840">April 21, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><br />
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We've got a couple of listener comments to share before getting to "Mental Exaltation," in which we welcome a listener to the show to play.<br />
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And please be sure to check out our <a href="http://patreon.com/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">Patreon</a>, which means you can become a regular supporter of our show.<br />
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We close out with an original Editor's Gas-Lamp, "The Softer Holmes" from Vol. 7, No. 1 of the <i>Baker Street Journal</i>, which reflects on the softer Mycroft we find in Abdul-Jabbar's book.<br />
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We've already been getting some photos in, but if you do purchase one of our <a href="http://ihose.co/221Bstickers" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">221B or 1895 oval stickers</a>, please <a href="mailto:comment@ihearofsherlock.com" target="_blank">send us a picture</a> of where you've put it.</div>
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Notes:</h3>
1:30 Introductory remarks and witty banter<br />
3:30 News (check out our new high-tech news theme music!)<br />
21:45 Ray Jessel performs at the 2010 BSI Dinner<br />
35:40 Interview with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Anna Waterhouse<br />
1:21:02 Sponsors - including one you shouldn't miss<br />
1:26:45 Announcing our <a href="http://patreon.com/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">Patreon</a> effort<br />
1:29:05 Listener comments<br />
1:32:21 Our quiz show "Mental Exaltation"<br />
1:41:47 The Editor's Gas-Lamp<br />
1:46:27 Final comments</div>
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And as usual, you might want to be sure you pay attention for a special <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_egg_(interaction_design)" target="_blank">Easter egg</a> somewhere in the show...<br />
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<a href="http://traffic.libsyn.com/ihearofsherlock/ihearofsherlock081.mp3" target="_blank">Download</a> [Save As] | File size 51.6 MB, 1:52:12</h4>
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Links:</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/events/egnrzc" target="_blank">Sherlock Holmes - a Musical Mind</a> - BBC Prom 41</li>
<li><a _blank="" href="http://sherlockholmes.io/%20target=" target="_blank">Sherlock Holmes and the Internet of Things</a></li>
<li><a href="http://variety.com/2015/biz/news/mr-holmes-lawsuit-settlement-arthur-conan-doyle-1201585667/" target="_blank">The Conan Doyle Estate, Ltd. has triumphed over Miramax</a></li>
<li>And the inevitable happened: <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2015/08/conan-doyle-sues-own-estate-from-beyond.html#.VfhtQ_lViko" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Conan Doyle Sues Own Estate From Beyond the Grave</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2015/09/remembering-ray-jessel.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Remembering Ray Jessel</a>, composer of <i>Baker Street</i> songs</li>
<li>The <a href="http://patreon.com/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere Patreon</a> page</li>
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Many more links, articles and images are available in our Flipboard and Scoop.it sites at <a href="http://ihose.co/flipsherlock" target="_blank">ihose.co/flipsherlock</a> and <a href="http://www.scoop.it/t/sherlock-holmes" target="_blank">ihose.co/scoopsherlock</a>, as well as on the <a href="https://plus.google.com/communities/114565123495685504221" target="_blank">The Sherlock Holmes Community</a> on Google+ (now over 2,800 members), as well as through our accounts on <a href="http://facebook.com/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">Twitter</a> and <a href="http://ihearofsherlock.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">Tumblr</a>.<br />
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Sponsors</h3>
This episode includes two sponsors that deserve your attention:<br />
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<a href="http://www.wessexpress.com/" target="_blank">Wessex Press</a> (check out the new <a href="http://wessexpress.com/html/newspaper.html" target="_blank"><i>Sherlock Holmes and Conan Doyle in the Newspapers Volume 1</i></a>)<br />
<a href="http://www.bakerstreetjournal.com/" target="_blank"><i>The Baker Street Journal</i></a>, where you should get <a href="http://www.bakerstreetjournal.com/itemsforsale/subscriptions.html" target="_blank">your annual subscription</a> in now to secure all four issues and a very special Christmas Annual about <i>The Seven Per-Cent Solution</i>.<br />
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Interested in becoming a sponsor? You can find <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/p/contact.html#.Vc1Qx7JViko" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">more information here</a>.</div>
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Episode 81: Mycroft Holmes

"Some of my most interesting cases have come to me in this way through Mycroft." [GREE] If asked, who would you say is th...

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by Scott Monty

Remembering Jeremy Brett 20 Years Later

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"the stage lost a fine actor" [SCAN] </h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5iWmSgUZreZuL31HY5pCKhOluWkdM0F_vDpzMTL6fWZ1Ok3giNygYlfedO5o7pBeKnVf5GwlDi-TWOjw9bSzsfi1tUFAW38J3A9wks0D7Ynu4-gpOR2jchN-rGsb-1sE38O0PXAttV3T6/s1600/Jeremy+Brett.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5iWmSgUZreZuL31HY5pCKhOluWkdM0F_vDpzMTL6fWZ1Ok3giNygYlfedO5o7pBeKnVf5GwlDi-TWOjw9bSzsfi1tUFAW38J3A9wks0D7Ynu4-gpOR2jchN-rGsb-1sE38O0PXAttV3T6/s640/Jeremy+Brett.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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On September 12, 1995, Jeremy Brett passed away at the age of 61 (although <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1995/09/14/obituaries/jeremy-brett-an-unnerving-holmes-is-dead-at-59.html" target="_blank">contemporary accounts gave his age as 59</a>). It's hard to believe that one of the most influential impersonators of Sherlock Holmes has been gone 20 years.<br />
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Many have hailed Brett as the definitive Sherlock Holmes, although it can be argued that each generation has its own definitive Holmes. In our estimation, the value of Brett's performance in the Granada series are due in part to two things: 1) the careful crafting of the Victorian setting and (in the earlier episodes mostly) the faithful adaptation of the Canon; and 2) Brett's own interest and expertise in the Canon and Sherlock Holmes.<br />
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In <a href="http://wessexpress.com/html/studyincelluloid.html" target="_blank"><i>A Study in Celluloid</i></a> (Wessex Press), Michael Cox, the producer of the Granada series, noted that often times in script readings, Jeremy would make suggestions to steer the writing toward the Canon, with entire paragraphs of dialog being lifted directly from the original writings. Indeed, the team even had their own reference guide that kept the production crew and cast well informed as to Holmes's appearance and habits called <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Baker-Street-File-Appearance/dp/1553100387/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=thebakerstree-20&linkId=5f8d2c46816d9f8dee1da87b0d047b79&linkCode=ktl" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Baker Street File</a><img border="0" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&t=thebakerstree-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=5f8d2c46816d9f8dee1da87b0d047b79&_cb=1442027544062" /></i>.<br />
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We personally remember the outpouring of grief and memories that Sherlock Holmes fans shared online in 1995 — the early days of the Internet — through discussion forums and listservs, and wonder just how the web would have exploded had his death occurred in the present day. Tumblr, Twitter and the like would have exploded with emotion.<br />
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Today, at Clapham Common in London, a number of people are gathering at the bandstand for <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1462453807302910" target="_blank">An International Celebration of Jeremy Brett's life, love and laugh</a>. That link will take you to the Facebook event page, where a number of comments and content related to the event and Brett are flowing in. Evidently, word is that David Burke, Brett's first Watson, will be in attendance.<br />
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Here are some happier memories of Brett, in his incarnation of Sherlock Holmes.<br />
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Anna Massey, Brett's ex-wife, wrote of his passing in her autobiography, <a amzn-ps-bm-asin="0099486946" class="amzn_ps_bm_tl" data-amzn-link-id="f322cbdcb87dbac416e871b740e54a43" data-amzn-ps-bm-keyword="Telling Some Tales" href="http://www.amazon.com/Telling-Some-Tales-Anna-Massey/dp/0099486946/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=thebakerstree-20&linkId=f322cbdcb87dbac416e871b740e54a43&linkCode=ktl" id="amznPsBmLink_3025115" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><i>Telling Some Tales</i></a><img alt="" border="0" height="0" id="amznPsBmPixel_3025115" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&t=thebakerstree-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=f322cbdcb87dbac416e871b740e54a43&_cb=1442028899302" style="border: none !important; height: 0px !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; width: 0px !important;" width="0" />, "A light went out in many people's lives when he died, for he was one of life's true originals."<br />
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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/AVvXsEjwyxGB3tDRdYqlKHOoLmQC0G1LfHiSdJNO-PAHUUIIuujr2nKBRsqWJg8MCLv2W-P3gNN_lPy4v8uj3zJwt9W-p1KT-c7PHNfRHZWVbYlYeIyF7U3-BIoJ5jMXJv9s41LXF7MVz83ciiFW/s1600/Jeremy+Brett+SIGN.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwyxGB3tDRdYqlKHOoLmQC0G1LfHiSdJNO-PAHUUIIuujr2nKBRsqWJg8MCLv2W-P3gNN_lPy4v8uj3zJwt9W-p1KT-c7PHNfRHZWVbYlYeIyF7U3-BIoJ5jMXJv9s41LXF7MVz83ciiFW/s640/Jeremy+Brett+SIGN.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Courtesy of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/FalkArchive?fref=ts" target="_blank">The Falk Archive - "KFA"</a></td></tr>
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Farewell again, Jeremy Brett. We appreciate you making the world of Sherlock Holmes the sweeter for your presence.<br />
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<i>Image credit: <a href="http://double-zero-agent-alison.tumblr.com/post/110362909075/original-still-of-jeremy-from-sign" target="_blank">Tumblr</a></i><br />
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<a href="http://wessexpress.com/html/studyincelluloid.html" style="background-color: white; color: #006f85; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22.4px; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="A Study in Celluloid - Michael Cox, producer of the Granada Sherlock Holmes series, takes readers behind the scenes with Jeremy Brett." border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQculGPSH9NlP6E-OGueAgqPyhYx63uOn1lN1zV4VnJ6OG-UtIms8O0b07DPWXmhoEPymZfMiIVoglU94utYUnYcPXvhLrJ3G7qbK56Faq4kXpuPb3J6u0RqNjR5XcXbXtWSsd2HHwSESp/s1600/celluloid350.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" title="A Study in Celluloid" width="128" /></a>    <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00L2YXV2W/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00L2YXV2W&linkCode=as2&tag=thebakerstree-20&linkId=EZ6WDYITZARHRE2G"><img border="0" src="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B00L2YXV2W&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=thebakerstree-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=thebakerstree-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00L2YXV2W" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />

Remembering Jeremy Brett 20 Years Later

"the stage lost a fine actor" [SCAN] On September 12, 1995, Jeremy Brett passed away at the age of 61 (although contemporar...

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by Scott Monty

Groombridge Place, a Sherlock Holmes Inspiration, Celebrates Conan Doyle Month

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"The only approach to the house was over a drawbridge" [VALL]</h4>
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If you happen to be in or near Royal Tunbridge Wells in Kent, by all means make your way to Groombridge Place. Any time will do, but particularly in September, 2015 when it's <a href="http://www.groombridgeplace.com/news-index/celebrate-conan-doyle-month-at-groombridge-place" target="_blank">Conan Doyle Month</a> there.<br />
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Conan Doyle was a Crowborough resident and was friends with the owners of Groombridge Place during the early 1900s.  He visited the house frequently as a guest and used it as inspiration for <i>The Valley of Fear</i> in 1914.</div>
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According to the <a href="http://groombridgeplace.com/events-at-groombridge-place/" target="_blank">Groombridge Place website</a>, here are the details for the month's celebrations:</div>
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Every Tuesday, Thursday and Friday throughout September tickets will be available for "Sherlock Holmes and <i>The Valley of Fear</i>" guided tour (1pm and 2pm). Tickets £2.50 per person, available in advance or on the day.<br />
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<li>Saturday 19 September ‘The Homecoming’ Sherlock Holmes Murder Mystery and Dinner (7pm – 10:30pm) £40 per person *Booking essential*</li>
<li>Saturday 19 September  ‘Sherlock Holmes: The myth and the facts’ Illustrated talk with Dr Antony Richards 4pm – 5pm £2 per person, pay on the door or in advance  *Booking essential*</li>
<li>Friday 25, Saturday 26, Sunday 27 September ‘Remembering Sir Arthur…’</li>
<li>Theatre Evening – includes tapas and wine in our café and a performance in the adjacent Conan Doyle Theatre.  Choice of performances at 7:45pm and 8:45pm, with tapas available from 7pm until 10pm.  Tickets £20 per person, includes choice of 3 tapas, and a glass of wine. *Booking essential* </li>
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"A Case of Identity"</h4>
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Aside from the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groombridge_Place" target="_blank">fascinating history of Groombridge Place</a>, the property should be of interest to Sherlockians because of its associations with the Manor House of Birlstone in <i>The Valley of Fear</i>. But first a little history in the identification.<br />
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H.W. Bell, BSI ("<i>The Valley of Fear</i>") was one of the early and great Sherlockian scholars and Baker Street Irregulars. Bell was a Bostonian (being an inveterate member of The Speckled Band of Boston) who carried on correspondence with a number of other Sherlockians, including Dorothy Sayers and Edgar Smith. Smith was impressed with Bell's <i>Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson: The Chronology of Their Adventures</i> (1932) and he included Bell's "Three Identifications" in <i>Profile by Gaslight</i> in 1944. It was in this monograph that Bell determined that Birlstone Manor was based on The Moated House at Brambletye. In 1945, the year after the BSI began issuing investitures, Bell received his — "The Valley of Fear" — specifically because of this (and it should be noted that the four novels — STUD, SIGN, HOUN and VALL — were considered uber-investitures and were given to some of the earliest and most significant Sherlockians of the day: Vincent Starrett, Christopher Morley, Edgar Smith and Bell, respectively).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim1g8rrtvsAO5gkQ0Eu5JCede-xjmKjvEJ1Yjabs2IlT30IUUu1TvR92Ef6v_e7waf8l6gK3uJL6eTRQMFUS3NYnD8J2JAkeTJ3UWMNJ6eBBn_kdZYjFJD0oJHM78_9pWGbSInLQhU5Td8/s1600/Brambletye.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="H.W. Bell's identification of Birlstone Manor" border="0" height="441" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim1g8rrtvsAO5gkQ0Eu5JCede-xjmKjvEJ1Yjabs2IlT30IUUu1TvR92Ef6v_e7waf8l6gK3uJL6eTRQMFUS3NYnD8J2JAkeTJ3UWMNJ6eBBn_kdZYjFJD0oJHM78_9pWGbSInLQhU5Td8/s640/Brambletye.jpg" title="The Moated House at Brambletye" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Moated House at Brambletye</td></tr>
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However, in <i><a amzn-ps-bm-asin="B000MPFJWW" class="amzn_ps_bm_tl" data-amzn-link-id="430d0d373faf6cb79323b6e4075dd45d" data-amzn-ps-bm-keyword="Montgomery's Christmas Annual 1955" href="http://www.amazon.com/MONTGOMERYS-CHRISTMAS-ANNUAL-1955-IDENTITY/dp/B000MPFJWW/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=thebakerstree-20&linkId=430d0d373faf6cb79323b6e4075dd45d&linkCode=ktl" id="amznPsBmLink_5185228" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Montgomery's Christmas Annual 1955</a><img alt="" border="0" height="0" id="amznPsBmPixel_5185228" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&t=thebakerstree-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=430d0d373faf6cb79323b6e4075dd45d&_cb=1441856427386" style="border: none !important; height: 0px !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; width: 0px !important;" width="0" /></i>, James Montgomery, BSI ("The Red Circle") took up another investigation — "A Case of Identity," as he called his entry — and respectfully corrected Bell's misinformation after having lunch with James Keddie, Jr., BSI ("The Crooked Man"), Cheetah of The Speckled Band, in 1954. Keddie had with him three leaves from a second printing of <i>The Valley of Fear</i>, published in 1915 — one of which included this inscription from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle himself:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2_otDhZh-6aVTqecA0hljY8OVzGcRP6s2MO0YohUmDQHoCTB0jCSluuw8P3YppjhpCJ7YngkioYpQNjj89euR8uxdO6EUxcdAX9Y361i1uZU7mJH_MeJ2D71e9GB6TSUJ9rRI1d59iIBk/s1600/Brambletye-VALL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="412" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2_otDhZh-6aVTqecA0hljY8OVzGcRP6s2MO0YohUmDQHoCTB0jCSluuw8P3YppjhpCJ7YngkioYpQNjj89euR8uxdO6EUxcdAX9Y361i1uZU7mJH_MeJ2D71e9GB6TSUJ9rRI1d59iIBk/s640/Brambletye-VALL.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"With all kind remembrance from Arthur Conan Doyle who hopes you have pleasant memories of Groombridge House which is the old house herein described. June 22/21."</td></tr>
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That settled the matter nicely.<br />
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But what of the "old house" itself? Here we have the description of Birlstone Manor from VALL:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
About half a mile from the town, standing in an old park famous for its huge beech trees, is the ancient Manor House of Birlstone. Part of this venerable building dates back to the time of the first Crusade, when Hugo de Capus built a fortalice in the centre of the estate, which had been granted to him by the Red King. This was destroyed by fire in 1543, and some of its smoke-blackened corner-stones were used when, in Jacobean times, a brick country house rose upon the ruins of the feudal castle. The Manor House, with its many gables and its small, diamond-paned windows, was still much as the builder had left it in the early seventeenth century. Of the double moats which had guarded its more warlike predecessor the outer had been allowed to dry up, and served the humble function of a kitchen garden. The inner one was still there, and lay, forty feet in breadth, though now only a few feet in depth, round the whole house. A small stream fed it and continued beyond it, so that the sheet of water, though turbid, was never ditch-like or unhealthy. The ground floor windows were within a foot of the surface of the water. The only approach to the house was over a drawbridge, the chains and windlass of which had long been rusted and broken. The latest tenants of the Manor House had, however, with characteristic energy, set this right, and the drawbridge was not only capable of being raised, but actually was raised every evening and lowered every morning. By thus renewing the custom of the old feudal days the Manor House was converted into an island during the night - a fact which had a very direct bearing upon the mystery which was soon to engage the attention of all England."</blockquote>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGcl9eSsuT4dW78areUT1M9S3sySZxjILidzlPWhm_fsi28eFEB9xibixkCCm451HdQHPbdXLTG4Eytim4xwxVx8AuS1BpzZxaK3WZY7fwcSV18JE4YwUlyc0XHqJri9UV4WOHBm8tHHBa/s1600/img008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGcl9eSsuT4dW78areUT1M9S3sySZxjILidzlPWhm_fsi28eFEB9xibixkCCm451HdQHPbdXLTG4Eytim4xwxVx8AuS1BpzZxaK3WZY7fwcSV18JE4YwUlyc0XHqJri9UV4WOHBm8tHHBa/s640/img008.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Map of Groombridge Place, Plate IX from <i>Montgomery's Christmas Annual 1955: A Case of Identity</i></td></tr>
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So let's take a look at some of the grounds and the house that inspired Conan Doyle to create Birlstone Manor. All images are plates from <i>Montgomery's Christmas Annual 1955: A Case of Identity</i>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz30PQfp7XYehzIlI7PNrJ7JWLLdSQ90rmmegCFzaMgQCDld0rFPzX0CNr1_3Q4cbqtik-9TPmcfouq8furCHlRozyJloU_tkjLR51NVy2-vGQ_VD4160cWPas2Gvvj-QHnQgZhaIP96d9/s1600/Groombridge004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="414" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz30PQfp7XYehzIlI7PNrJ7JWLLdSQ90rmmegCFzaMgQCDld0rFPzX0CNr1_3Q4cbqtik-9TPmcfouq8furCHlRozyJloU_tkjLR51NVy2-vGQ_VD4160cWPas2Gvvj-QHnQgZhaIP96d9/s640/Groombridge004.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Plate XII: "The long, low, Jacobean house of dingy, liver-coloured brick lay before us."</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyYASfxtpfcuk6zjpREqNt-FwAWsPnxR5Ou5oYK9dP6WrVuWj9x6MDk1F7bMUAvQbtNtZNRHoOMPPjXNDierJKDTe8HEL8VYIReXtJIZLtHR3hmUFx8r7vcMplV8xCGSwmZH6a8zEPloav/s1600/Groombridge003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="408" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyYASfxtpfcuk6zjpREqNt-FwAWsPnxR5Ou5oYK9dP6WrVuWj9x6MDk1F7bMUAvQbtNtZNRHoOMPPjXNDierJKDTe8HEL8VYIReXtJIZLtHR3hmUFx8r7vcMplV8xCGSwmZH6a8zEPloav/s640/Groombridge003.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Plate XIII: "The long sweep of the dull-coloured, water-lapped front."</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOSVF6hyphenhyphenX6zypLhsa8yVXass66WTOFIHalSZm76JOXT2cInnYfRPpX9SHISYNp5w7RooDx57HVuYcALjlJOVDWAF4hjJa6HpYE4A80o09odFDcryVYfOSorfE_yHp1CsMEjrlvDw9FWnNK/s1600/Groombridge002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="416" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOSVF6hyphenhyphenX6zypLhsa8yVXass66WTOFIHalSZm76JOXT2cInnYfRPpX9SHISYNp5w7RooDx57HVuYcALjlJOVDWAF4hjJa6HpYE4A80o09odFDcryVYfOSorfE_yHp1CsMEjrlvDw9FWnNK/s640/Groombridge002.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Plate XIV: "The Manor House, with its many gables and its small, diamond-paned windows."</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho9NbdH82ljpdRrcWjKReGrVc5bJHDZd4JWuXwidbp-beD8yP_W8XDECWuT_kDA4rS33xBRFuJkDx69g4fdlPzVvwN199Pydf-dy0JrEMZlSmHK74yX-nQTlaM92jHiToSdcs-BEMWoS27/s1600/Groombridge001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="408" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho9NbdH82ljpdRrcWjKReGrVc5bJHDZd4JWuXwidbp-beD8yP_W8XDECWuT_kDA4rS33xBRFuJkDx69g4fdlPzVvwN199Pydf-dy0JrEMZlSmHK74yX-nQTlaM92jHiToSdcs-BEMWoS27/s640/Groombridge001.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Plate XV: "The only approach to the house was over a drawbridge."</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4hH9ZBmxL3NTVNVCwMjsGZmC7DRgqqlzdmwa53i_WDmPDpzos3kEb6vYkH98P3b2gk_F3-tsLAf1-Jju_ad6el7UOszawyKfzmrNeqb0NFKXrEdN_ksIvtOVZ_8vmVMbDOPeTCiKy-iNy/s1600/Groombridge007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="414" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4hH9ZBmxL3NTVNVCwMjsGZmC7DRgqqlzdmwa53i_WDmPDpzos3kEb6vYkH98P3b2gk_F3-tsLAf1-Jju_ad6el7UOszawyKfzmrNeqb0NFKXrEdN_ksIvtOVZ_8vmVMbDOPeTCiKy-iNy/s640/Groombridge007.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Plate XVI: "Those strange peaked roofs and quaint overhung gables were a fitting covering to grim and terrible intrigue."</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC0s65PD65GTUAYfDsjd_n9KSed9i9MHGb1HJXRi_O3jwjvh93pzZLz6bQCMzqATtw388ZdJsssPpF1cP2cLABWIPOnwPblDJDIbE8QEg2zRJa2lVkFjIHEgzdj48UqpcBro_HktY4ayYH/s1600/Groombridge008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="452" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC0s65PD65GTUAYfDsjd_n9KSed9i9MHGb1HJXRi_O3jwjvh93pzZLz6bQCMzqATtw388ZdJsssPpF1cP2cLABWIPOnwPblDJDIbE8QEg2zRJa2lVkFjIHEgzdj48UqpcBro_HktY4ayYH/s640/Groombridge008.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Plate XVII: "Forty feet in breadth, though now only a few feet in depth."</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh5NZoCsaoJj3mmFkZadKrsfKwW5vruGpVkHJDyMmFakcgOFAyHMe6pO_AXD03x-s_cGMqLsLT37hrbMugYJjzD7TF7QxSYW90l_S-uoJwf6_xxWWu3ypgXEdM0OcQg7IoCQWF-yHhzq4V/s1600/Groombridge005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh5NZoCsaoJj3mmFkZadKrsfKwW5vruGpVkHJDyMmFakcgOFAyHMe6pO_AXD03x-s_cGMqLsLT37hrbMugYJjzD7TF7QxSYW90l_S-uoJwf6_xxWWu3ypgXEdM0OcQg7IoCQWF-yHhzq4V/s640/Groombridge005.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Plate XVIII: "The beautiful broad moat, as still and luminous as quicksilver."</td></tr>
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As Montgomery wrote, "Pitifully few are the shrines made forever sacred to us by Sherlock Holmes and his faithful companion." Groombridge Place is a poignant and clear one that should be enjoyed by all. Particularly this month.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoHVSbUKLfDH8Pq5kd3-0YZ6FuMM1FDxGlzZMQciyGJbpMGr-uHsjE8gT9bRwFER5hAI7jbxBzbkEKn31CY4ynfNU_dYnno579xQYe5CzGpmyNGmYZXXRyN79sg34csIv3wG4zYTl1_LSo/s1600/img027.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoHVSbUKLfDH8Pq5kd3-0YZ6FuMM1FDxGlzZMQciyGJbpMGr-uHsjE8gT9bRwFER5hAI7jbxBzbkEKn31CY4ynfNU_dYnno579xQYe5CzGpmyNGmYZXXRyN79sg34csIv3wG4zYTl1_LSo/s200/img027.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
[<b><i>Editor's note:</i></b> we have an extra copy of <b><i>Montgomery's Christmas Annual 1955</i></b>. There were only 300 copies printed, and they were distributed by James Montgomery's widow Constance following his sudden death on November 9, 1955. If you are interested in purchasing it from us, please <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/p/contact.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">get in touch</a>.]<br />
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<i>Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons (<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Groombridge02.jpg#/media/File:Groombridge02.jpg" target="_blank">"Groombridge02" by Hans Bernhard (Schnobby)</a>).</i><br />
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Groombridge Place, a Sherlock Holmes Inspiration, Celebrates Conan Doyle Month

"The only approach to the house was over a drawbridge" [VALL] If you happen to be in or near Royal Tunbridge Wells in Kent,...

+ Read more »

by Scott Monty

British Monarchs in the Sherlock Holmes Stories

<h4 style="text-align: center;">
"<i>Some Observations upon the Segregation of the Queen</i>" [LAST]</h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibKb6ig_YnUkg1IXFV7w9mk0m50a4lCi4Te2UpA7MKXYnvciQy6hZGxOK6X_tF-bqAojHwCAONNgv8NpocUBgjinmux_r26peRAYvLN9oht5ZjqIVEsmg4qR_TkWDIfP5VB93zaV6WiaeP/s1600/Queen_Victoria_by_Heinrich_von_Angeli.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="390" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibKb6ig_YnUkg1IXFV7w9mk0m50a4lCi4Te2UpA7MKXYnvciQy6hZGxOK6X_tF-bqAojHwCAONNgv8NpocUBgjinmux_r26peRAYvLN9oht5ZjqIVEsmg4qR_TkWDIfP5VB93zaV6WiaeP/s640/Queen_Victoria_by_Heinrich_von_Angeli.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Queen Victoria is still "a certain gracious lady", as Watson calls her in "The Bruce-Partington Plans", but she loses an important historical distinction today. She is no longer the longest-reigning British monarch; Elizabeth II, who has been Queen since February 6, 1952, <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2015/09/queen-elizabeth-ii-surpasses-queen.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">has now been on the throne for longer</a>.<br />
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Victoria reigned for 63 years 216 days (or 23,226 days, as Buckingham Palace prefers to calculate it), from June 1837 to January 1901. Sherlock Holmes "began his adventures in the very heart of the later Victorian era," as Arthur Conan Doyle wrote in the introduction to <i><a amzn-ps-bm-asin="B005LI3H4C" class="amzn_ps_bm_tl" data-amzn-link-id="45c77ccaff0a0e9a620369a74c78c9a4" data-amzn-ps-bm-keyword="The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes" href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Case-Book-Sherlock-Holmes-ebook/dp/B005LI3H4C/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=thebakerstree-20&linkId=45c77ccaff0a0e9a620369a74c78c9a4&linkCode=ktl" id="amznPsBmLink_5075984" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes</a><img alt="" border="0" height="0" id="amznPsBmPixel_5075984" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&t=thebakerstree-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=45c77ccaff0a0e9a620369a74c78c9a4&_cb=1441813983225" style="border: none !important; height: 0px !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; width: 0px !important;" width="0" /></i>, and Sherlockians are among those who know something of the respect and affection she inspired. Holmes himself felt patriotic sentiments towards the Queen-Empress, with the "VR" for Victoria Regina that he inscribed on Mrs. Hudson's wall in bullet-pocks. <br />
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The present Queen is Victoria's great-great-granddaughter, which may seem like a very great gap, but consider this: Winston Churchill, who was Elizabeth's first prime minister, was already a Member of Parliament while Victoria was still on the throne. Christopher Morley, Basil Rathbone, Edith Meiser, Sir Sydney Roberts, Dorothy Sayers, Raymond Massey and Mary Louise Conan Doyle are among people with Sherlockian connections who were alive in both reigns.<br />
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Queen Victoria's Golden and Diamond Jubilees (1887 and 1897 respectively) seem to have an attraction for pastiche authors, but the canon itself has only one casual mention, in "The Dancing Men", when Hilton Cubitt "came up to London" for the celebrations. He is not clear which Jubilee that was, but most chronologists seem to favour the latter. Queen Elizabeth marked her Golden Jubilee in 2002 and her Diamond Jubilee in 2012. <br />
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In case anyone is wondering who holds third place in the standings, behind Elizabeth and Victoria in length of service on the British throne, that would be George III, who reigned from October 1760 to January 1820. And he certainly figures in the canon, with that memorable line in "The Noble Bachelor" about "the folly of a monarch in far-gone years".<br />
<div>
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<h3>
<b>Giveaway</b></h3>
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At least nine other British or English monarchs are also mentioned in the Canon: William I, William II, Edward I, James I, Charles I, Charles II, Anne, George II, and George IV. We have a prize from the I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere Grab-Bag of Gifts (IHOSE GBG) for anyone who<b style="font-style: italic;"> can name the stories in which these nine monarchs appear</b>. Leave your answer in the form of a comment below, on our <a href="http://facebook.com/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">Facebook page</a>, or tweet us (<a href="http://twitter.com/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">@ihearofsherlock</a>) with the hashtag #9monarchs and use the <a href="http://ihose.co/ABREV" target="_blank">Jay Finley Christ abbreviations</a> for the story names.<br />
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Good luck and God save the Queen!<br />
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