I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere

More Suggestive Phrases from the Sherlock Holmes Stories

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"my surprise reached a climax" [STUD] </h4>
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You may recall our list of <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2013/09/the-top-10-most-suggestive-lines-from.html#.VCBUw_ldWSo" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Top 10 Most Suggestive Lines from the Sherlock Holmes Stories</a>. It was one of the most popular posts, and as such, we thought we'd revisit it.<br />
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A rather unorthodox arrangement in "The Speckled Band":<br />
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"In the first place, both my friend and I must spend the night in your room."<br />Both Miss Stoner and I gazed at him in astonishment.</blockquote>
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And perhaps some creative use of implements while in Miss Stoner's bedroom:<br />
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Holmes had brought up a long thin cane, and this he placed upon the bed beside him.</blockquote>
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Dr. Watson, questioning his voyeuristic tendencies in <i>The Hound of the Baskervilles</i>:<br />
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I was deeply ashamed to have witnessed so intimate a scene without my friend's knowledge</blockquote>
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In <i>The Valley of Fear</i>, we're reminded not to go down to the city...</div>
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"strange things had happened to him in that great city, so strange and so intimate that they might not be spoken of."</blockquote>
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Mrs. St. Clair caught off guard in "The Man With the Twisted Lip":<br />
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"she suddenly heard an ejaculation or cry, and was struck cold to see her husband looking down at her"</blockquote>
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If you can identify any other suggestive phrases in the Canon, please share them in a comment below.<br />
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More Suggestive Phrases from the Sherlock Holmes Stories

"my surprise reached a climax" [STUD] You may recall our list of The Top 10 Most Suggestive Lines from the Sherlock Holmes S...

+ Read more »

by Scott Monty

Episode 113: Dancing to Death

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" dancing across the paper" [DANC] </h4>
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The opportunity to see an original Conan Doyle manuscript up close and to transcribe it word for word is a rare one. Which is why Ray Betzner, BSI ("The Agony Column") jumped at the opportunity and buttonholed David Morrill, BSI ("Count Von Kramm") to assist with the editing <i><a href="http://bakerstreetjournal.com/dancingdeath.html" target="_blank">Dancing to Death</a></i>, the latest volume in the Baker Street Irregulars Manuscript Series, which covers "The Adventure of the Dancing Men."<br />
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Ray tells us about his budding interest in Sherlock Holmes and how it began with his discovery of Vincent Starrett — and a twice-failed driving test. And he continues with the origin story of this long-unseen manuscript, the choice of authors and topics — from an authority in ciphers to the first BSI to see the manuscript, to the role of sound, to the "manuscript police" — and an admiration for the ingenuity, creativity and expertise for their work.<br />
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But it goes deeper than that: Ray shares his misgivings about this story, which is one that it is actually a failure for Sherlock Holmes. He broke the code, but he also let his client down, ultimately resulting in the Hilton Cubitt's death. Even the story itself is one that focused on the puzzle rather than on the people.<br />
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Plus, a new Sherlock Holmes brand ad and a very special visit from <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2014/05/one-of-best-features-of-jeremy-brett.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">a longtime favorite of ours</a>.</div>
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Sponsors</h3>
This episode includes our two longtime sponsors. Please support our sponsors by visiting their sites:<br />
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<a href="http://traffic.libsyn.com/ihearofsherlock/ihearofsherlock113.mp3" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Download</a> [Save As] | File size 26.7 MB, 55:58</h4>
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<b>Notes</b></h3>
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1:33 Recovering from the recovery from the New Year<br />
3:17 Teasing a new feature: Elementary comic strip, courtesy of Steve and Rusty Mason<br />
4:05 Wessex Press<br />
5:19 For peat's sake!<br />
5:55 Welcoming Ray Betzner, BSI ("The Agony Column")<br />
7:10 A little bit about Vincent Starrett<br />
10:53 The selection of the editors of <i>Dancing to Death</i></div>
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13:43 The backstory on the discovery of the manuscript<br />
18:30 John Jones / Hilton Jones / Hilton Cubitt and a Mary Morstan Watsonism<br />
21:24 Ten essays cover a wide range of topics about the story<br />
25:33 Misgivings about "The Dancing Men"<br />
29:02 A story designed around the puzzle<br />
30:40 Conan Doyle's pin cipher in WWI and the attraction of ciphers to literary types<br />
37:17 Chicago just can't shake its reputation<br />
46:05 Baker Street Journal<br />
47:35 Sherlock Holmes Brand Codemaster 3000<br />
48:34 Wrapping up and an important announcement<br />
51:42 The game's afoot!<br />
52:29 An extra</div>
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Links</h3>
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<li>Ray's blog <a href="http://www.vincentstarrett.com/" target="_blank">Studies in Starrett</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.sherlockholmespodcast.com/" target="_blank">Trifles</a>, our new podcast</li>
<li><a href="http://ihose.co/ihose61" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Episode 61: The Private Life of Vincent Starrett</a></li>
<li><i><a href="http://bakerstreetjournal.com/dancingdeath.html" target="_blank">Dancing to Death</a></i> available on the <i>Baker Street Journal</i> website</li>
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Episode 113: Dancing to Death

" dancing across the paper" [DANC] The opportunity to see an original Conan Doyle manuscript up close and to tran...

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by Scott Monty

The Bostonian with the Twisted Lip

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<b>"The poetic and contemplative mood which occasionally predominated in him." [REDH] </b></h4>
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<a href="http://sherlockian.net/societies/gregory.html" target="_blank">The ranks of the Baker Street Irregulars</a> have included both a Wrigglesworth and a Wigglesworth. Doug Wrigglesworth, BSI ("The Retired Colourman") is a Toronto-area Sherlockian and Doylean; this note, however, is about the 12-letter Wigglesworth, the first of four BSIs who have held the title "The Man with the Twisted Lip."<br />
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[<b><i>Editor's Note:</i></b> a small mystery, in looking at the list of Baker Street Irregulars — Wigglesworth died in 1977 and is listed as having received his investiture in 1944. However, another Irregular (Edward Bartlett) was invested as "The Man with the Twisted Lip" in 1952. Traditionally, investitures are only reused when Irregulars are finished with them (i.e. deceased). The same investiture was then granted to Stanley MacKenzie in 1967 and this year to <a href="http://ihose.co/ihose57" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Charles Prepolec</a>. What might the circumstances have been that caused Wigglesworth's investiture to be recycled <i>twice</i> in his lifetime?]<br />
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I never met Belden Wigglesworth — and most Sherlockians now alive have probably never heard of him — but something got me thinking about him the other day, and the debt we owe him. I hope the Mycroft Holmes Society of Syracuse, New York, makes occasional pilgrimages to <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=42711517" target="_blank">his grave site in that city</a>.<br />
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He was descended from a notable New England family, though born (1901) in New York, and apparently in some sense coming from Arkansas. Educated at Harvard, class of 1923, he must have been familiar with the landmark <a href="http://hcl.harvard.edu/libraries/widener/history.cfm" target="_blank">Widener Library</a>, though not the newer <a href="http://hcl.harvard.edu/libraries/houghton/" target="_blank">Houghton Library</a> where the archives of the <a href="http://bsitrust.org/" target="_blank">BSI Trust</a> are now housed. Because the files of Harvard's newspaper <i><a href="https://www.thecrimson.com/" target="_blank">The Crimson</a></i> are online, we can know easily that he played squash, rowed crew, and organized a charity clothing drive during his undergraduate years.<br />
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He took up employment briefly with the Bank of New York, spent (an obituary mysteriously says) "several years abroad," worked for the Boston and Maine Railroad, and somehow ended up editing a newspaper in southern California. Sherlockians, and Harvard graduates, are versatile folks. He was married twice, first to Olive Brogan and later to Doris Drake. He lived in Arkansas again in retirement, and died there in 1977.<br />
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When he first came to Sherlockian notice in 1941, he had just moved "from Arkansas to Boston", according to a letter written by James Keddie of the <a href="http://ihose.co/ihose77" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Speckled Band of Boston</a>, where Wigglesworth was apparently a new member (and would be a mainstay for long afterwards). This letter is on the public record because it is transcribed in one of <a href="http://www.bakerstreetjournal.com/itemsforsale/bsihistoryseries.html" target="_blank">Jon Lellenberg's books about the early years of the BSI</a>, a stunningly detailed archive of information about the great ones of past generations. His <i><a href="https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?sts=t&an=&tn=Irregular+Records+of+the+Early+%27Forties&kn=&isbn=" target="_blank">Irregular Records of the Early 'Forties</a></i> shows Wigglesworth on the attendance list of the <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/03/the-1942-bsi-dinner.html" target="_blank">BSI dinner in January 1942</a>. Indeed, he contributed to the program, reading a poem he had written, "Ballade of Baker Street". (This verse is not the same as the better-known "Ballade of Baker Street" by mystery author Carolyn Wells, which first appeared in 1908. When the Wigglesworth verse was eventually published, it was given a new title: "Ballade of Watson in the Morning.")<br />
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Ballade of Watson in the Morning</h3>
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Whether Baker Street was foggy or fair,<br />
Snow-bound or by autumnal rains washed clean,<br />
Paradoxically life ran smoothly there,<br />
Because Sherlock Holmes had no set routine.<br />
But Watson indulged in slumber serene<br />
'Till ungodly hour (he gave due warning—<br />
A Study in Scarlet). Yet one truth I'd glean:<br />
When did Watson get up in the morning?<br />
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Taking cocaine or filling the air<br />
With violin-chords to conquer his spleen,<br />
Time between problems he found a night-mare<br />
Because Sherlock Holmes had no set routine.<br />
Army and medical training between<br />
Them made Watson (both professions adorning)<br />
"A seasoned campaigner," but doubts intervene:<br />
When did Watson set up in the morning?<br />
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"Come, Watson, the game is afoot!" The flare<br />
Of a candle at dawn illuminates the scene,<br />
As Watson's awakened by his confrere<br />
(Because Sherlock Holmes had no set routine),<br />
But this is the rule's exception, I ween—<br />
Watson, the laggard, his record scorning.<br />
The problem's still with me, as always it's been:<br />
When did Watson get up in the morning?<br />
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          L'ENVOI</center>
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With Baker Street's master no mystery's seen,<br />
Because Sherlock Holmes had no set routine.<br />
I ask, though reply dies ever a-borning:<br />
When did Watson get up in the morning?</blockquote>
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He was also at the <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/03/the-1943-bsi-dinner.html" target="_blank">BSI's 1943 dinner</a>, and presented a paper about Sherlock Holmes's possible coat of arms. Sherlockians had so little to argue over in those days — though the first shadow of Johnlock had come with Rex Stout's "<a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2014/02/watson-actually-was-woman.html" target="_blank">Watson Was a Woman</a>" bombshell in 1941 — that the subtleties of heraldry became a dearly cherished controversy. When Wigglesworth's paper was published in 1944 in <i><a href="https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?bi=0&bx=off&ds=30&recentlyadded=all&sortby=17&sts=t&tn=Profile+by+Gaslight&yrh=1944&yrl=1944" target="_blank">Profile by Gaslight</a></i>, it was accompanied by <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2014/02/that-was-no-lady.html#.WI2KavkrLb1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">a rebuttal from another respected Sherlockian</a>, Julian Wolff. <br />
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Belden Wigglesworth came to national fame also in 1944, when <i>Life</i> magazine published <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=BlAEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA77#v=onepage&q&f=false" target="_blank">a piece about the continuing popularity of Sherlock Holmes</a>, with a few words about the BSI. Photographs of Sherlockians included one of Wigglesworth showing off a (possibly not authentic) swamp adder. That picture was probably taken at a Speckled Band meeting in Boston, since Wigglesworth was not at the January <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/03/the-1944-bsi-dinner.html" target="_blank">1944 BSI dinner</a>. He did, however, get to New York for the so-called "Trilogy Dinner" in March, when the BSI helped launch three Sherlockian books and, for the first and last time, held two formal dinners in a single year. <br />
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Belden Wigglesworth is sometimes described as being among the first class of Irregulars to receive investitures, but the reality is that he was not in the list of those assigned titles in 1944; his Twistedness came in April 1945, at a Speckled Band gathering in Boston. Much more could be said about him and his continuing contributions to the Sherlockian world, up to and including a role in founding the Arkansas Valley Investors of Little Rock in 1969. <br />
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One other detail guarantees his immortality: when the <i><a href="http://www.bakerstreetjournal.com/" target="_blank">Baker Street Journal</a></i> began publication in 1946, the very first item in the first issue, apart from the editor's introductory note and trumpet-blast, was a piece of verse by Wigglesworth. Titled "Cum Laude: <i>The Baker Street Journal</i>", it was a formal sonnet, and an acrostic sonnet at that: the initial letters of the eight lines in the octet and the six lines in the sestet spelled out the name "Sherlock Holmes."<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">S</span></b>irs, here we have the medium that we<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">H</span></b>ave long desired, through which we can express,<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">E</span></b>ach one of us, with fervent eagerness . . .<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">R</span></b>eluctantly . . . or otherwise with free<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">L</span></b>ogicians’ minds, the truth of truths we see<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">O</span></b>nce overlooked in Baker Street. Ah yes,<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">C</span></b>onfession’s good, and here we’ll all confess<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">K</span></b>ing, prince and commoner, religiously.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">H</span></b>ere we will give our Watson his full due;<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">O</span></b>r, seeking other avenues, explain<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">L</span></b>ess happily for Scotland Yard the crimes<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">M</span></b>ishandled by Lestrade and Gregson: clue<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">E</span></b>ngenders clue to end in Sherlock’s gain,<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">S</span></b>ince he remains the master of our times.</blockquote>
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The Bostonian with the Twisted Lip

"The poetic and contemplative mood which occasionally predominated in him." [REDH] The ranks of the Baker Street Irregulars...

+ Read more »

by Chris Redmond

Molly Hooper and the Romanticizing of Emotional Abuse

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"You have been cruelly used" [SPEC] </h4>
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When I first started watching <i>Sherlock</i>, I was of course taken by Benedict Cumberbatch’s portrayal. Sherlock was mysterious, outwardly a jerk, and otherwise unappealing, but there were little touches, little hints, that indicated he might be redeemable, at least on the inside. I was able to completely gloss over his obviously manipulative treatment of Molly Hooper, and I think that was the desired effect. Molly was a sort of awkward little mouse of a woman, Sherlock was conniving and an admitted sociopath, so their interaction was bound to not be ideal. <br />
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After watching "The Final Problem," however, I began to reconsider the treatment of the character of Molly Hooper from the beginning of the series to the unsatisfying and dismal end, and I realized that in effect, Gatiss and Moffat created a scenario in which viewers were tricked into lusting after what was actually an emotionally abusive dynamic between Sherlock and Molly. <br />
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<h3>
"Holmes had, when he liked, a peculiarly ingratiating way with women" [SECO] </h3>
Throughout the first season, you can see clear evidence of this facet of emotional abuse between Sherlock and Molly.  In case you  are not well-versed in the verbiage of emotional abuse, “love bombing” (which can also be called the honeymoon stage) is when the abuser will offer compliments, often directly tied to wanting something. After they get what they want they cycle back to devaluing/demoralizing their victim.<br />
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Perhaps the best example of this occurs in the episode “The Blind Banker.” Sherlock asks Molly to “wheel out” Eddie Van Coon and Brian Lukis so he can reexamine the cadavers, but Molly informs him the paperwork on the bodies has already been completed. At that point, Sherlock notes that Molly has changed her hair and he encourages her by saying, “No it’s good. It suits you better this way.” Molly then proceeds to do what Sherlock wants.<br />
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Sherlock perpetually insults Molly as part of the devaluing cycle. He tells her, for example, that talking is not her strong suit. In “The Great Game,” the episode directly following “The Blind Banker,” Sherlock insinuates that Molly has gained weight since she started dating her new boyfriend “Jim.” This, incidentally, is another tact emotionally abusive people use to keep their victims off guard. Sherlock drops little treats for Molly but never fulfills her wishes. However, he gives her an equally hard time when she tries to form relationships with other men.<br />
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<h3>
"no ghosts need apply" [SUSS]</h3>
Another aspect of emotional abuse that appears in Sherlock is what is known as ghosting. In “The Empty Hearse,” Sherlock asks Molly to work with him, but throughout almost the entire time they work together, he continues to call her John. One could argue that this simply is to re-establish how close he is with John, but in the context of the entire dynamic between Sherlock and Molly, that feature in the episode takes on more disturbing undertones.<br />
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“I am bound to say” [WIST] </h3>
This all takes us to that now much-discussed part of the finale, where Sherlock must make Molly tell him she loves him. There are almost too many problems with these scene to explain. To put it succinctly, Molly is encouraged by Sherlock to finally make herself fully vulnerable, even though she knows, after all of the abuse he has heaped upon her and all of the manipulation he has done, that she will not get anything out of it. He forces her to voice her feelings, but she gets no reward for being emotionally brave. Instead, he hangs up, and she is left with the final proof that he does not have the same feelings for her. Her hopes are crushed as just a minor part of the episode, which almost feels like emotional abuse from the writers themselves.<br />
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Molly Hooper is an obviously clever woman, sweet, thoughtful, and caring. She is the perfect target for a sociopath like Sherlock, but viewers are led to be forgiving, and even sympathetic, of Sherlock. “That’s just how he is.” In the process, we are saying that treating women in this manner is acceptable and something to be shrugged off, especially if the abuser is attractive and clever.<br />
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Do we really want to perpetuate that way of thinking?<br />
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<i>Image credit: <a href="https://flic.kr/p/FEftYi" target="_blank">Zuza Ritt (Flickr)</a></i><br />
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