I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere

Baker Street Elementary – Sherlock Holmes—His Limits

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"Philosophy, astronomy, and politics were marked at zero" [FIVE] </h4>
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In <i>A Study in Scarlet</i>, we're getting to know Sherlock Holmes through the eyes of Dr. Watson. The good doctor noted some of the peculiarities of his friend and fellow lodger Mr. Sherlock Holmes, and he put together that helpful list that has defined what Sherlock Holmes was capable of.<br />
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<i>Sherlock Holmes—his limits</i>.</h4>
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<li>Knowledge of Literature.—Nil.</li>
<li>Philosophy.—Nil.</li>
<li>Astronomy.—Nil.</li>
<li>Politics.—Feeble.</li>
<li>Botany.—Variable. Well up in belladonna, opium, and poisons generally. Knows nothing of practical gardening.</li>
<li>Geology.—Practical, but limited. Tells at a glance different soils from each other. After walks has shown me splashes upon his trousers, and told me by their colour and consistence in what part of London he had received them.</li>
<li>Chemistry.—Profound.</li>
<li>Anatomy.—Accurate, but unsystematic.</li>
<li>Sensational Literature.—Immense. He appears to know every detail of every horror perpetrated in the century.</li>
<li>Plays the violin well.</li>
<li>Is an expert singlestick player, boxer, and swordsman.</li>
<li>Has a good practical knowledge of British law.</li>
</ol>
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As an aside, isn't it interesting that Sherlockians somehow always come back to that famous list when analyzing Sherlock Holmes? As if that snapshot of life at Baker Street dictates how the Great Detective would forever exist, frozen in amber.<br />
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But we know for certain that such is not the case. Holmes became quite philosophical in his 'rose soliloquy' in "The Naval Treaty":<br />
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“There is nothing in which deduction is so necessary as in religion,” said he, leaning with his back against the shutters. “It can be built up as an exact science by the reasoner. Our highest assurance of the goodness of Providence seems to me to rest in the flowers. All other things, our powers our desires, our food, are all really necessary for our existence in the first instance. But this rose is an extra. Its smell and its color are an embellishment of life, not a condition of it. It is only goodness which gives extras, and so I say again that we have much to hope from the flowers.”</blockquote>
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Watson himself was taken aback, but ascribed it more as naturalism than philosophy, noting that it was "a new phase of his character to me, for I had never before seen him show any keen interest in natural objects."<br />
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Over the years, though, Holmes clearly became quite reflective. In the Preface to <i>His Last Bow</i>, Watson fills in the gaps from decades of their acquaintance:<br />
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"He has, for many years, lived in a small farm upon the downs five miles from Eastbourne, where his time is divided <b>between philosophy and agriculture</b>."</blockquote>
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So, once again it's that confluence of nature and philosophy we witnessed in "The Naval Treaty." Where did Holmes get it from. Perhaps it can be linked to an early experience at Baker Street Elementary...<br />
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><i>Baker Street Elementary</i></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: "verdana" , "geneva" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> follows the original adventures of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson, as they and their friends work through the issues of elementary school in Victorian London. An archive of all previous episodes can be viewed at </span><a href="http://www.bakerstreetelementary.org/" style="background-color: white; color: #006f85; font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold;">www.bakerstreetelementary.org</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: "verdana" , "geneva" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">.</span></div>
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Baker Street Elementary – Sherlock Holmes—His Limits

"Philosophy, astronomy, and politics were marked at zero" [FIVE] In A Study in Scarlet , we're getting to know Sherlo...

+ Read more »

by Scott Monty

Casting Holmes and Watson in "His Last Bow"

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<b>"a tall, gaunt man of sixty" [LAST] </b></h4>
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Here's an idea we saw on Facebook that might be interesting.<br />
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David Marcum posted a suggestion in the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/sherlockstreet/permalink/1749744501748825/">Sherlock Street Irregulars</a> discussion group on Facebook:<br />
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"...a new World War I-era film, with Holmes and Watson in their 60's, starring Daniel Day-Lewis and David Robb."</blockquote>
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We've always been impressed with the acting skills of Day-Lewis, and his physical appearance is near enough Holmes's. And <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0730191/?ref_=nv_sr_2">David Robb</a>, who played another doctor from the Edwardian/Georgian era – Dr. Clarkson in Downton Abbey – has the manner and bearing of a military doctor.<div>
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Recall that in "His Last Bow," which was set in 1914, Sherlock Holmes was described as "a tall, gaunt man of sixty," and that Watson – Holmes's peer – would have been approximately the same age. Here then, we have some examples of how Daniel Day-Lewis would appear as Holmes:</div>
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And we think we have an excellent Dr. Watson in David Robb:</div>
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We think these two would be perfectly cast in such an effort. What do you think?</div>
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Casting Holmes and Watson in "His Last Bow"

"a tall, gaunt man of sixty" [LAST] Here's an idea we saw on Facebook that might be interesting. David Marcum posted...

+ Read more »

by Scott Monty

Episode 144: The Chronologies of Sherlock Holmes

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“The date being—?” [CREE] </h4>
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We all owe a debt of gratitude to the more clever, adventurous, and tireless among us – because this is the profile of the Canonical chronologist. The most famous among them is certain William S. Baring-Gould ("The <i>Gloria Scott</i>"), but he was flanked by other greats such as Bell, Christ, Blakeney, Zeisler, Dakin and more.<br />
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Add to that list one of our contemporaries: Vincent Wright. Hailing from Indianapolis, this intrepid researcher and proprietor of Historical Sherlock joins us to tell us why the dating of the Sherlock Holmes stories never gets old. He brings us along on the journey of a true researcher, shares a stumbling block, and posits how the future of Sherlockian chronology may lie in the standard template of a teenage book genre from the early 1980s.<br />
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Vincent's speaking engagements are far and wide, and he's always ruminating on a variety of topics, either in private or on his blog. The passion he brings to this hobby is infectious.<br />
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And don't forget to try your hand at the latest <b>Canonical Couplet</b> and win a prize – now you don't need to be a<b><i> </i></b><a href="http://ihose.co/ihosepatron" style="font-weight: bold;">Patron of the Arts</a> <i>– </i><b style="font-style: italic;">every </b>listener is eligible to participate!<br />
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<a href="http://traffic.libsyn.com/ihearofsherlock/ihearofsherlock144.mp3">Download</a> [Save As] | File size 27.3 MB, 58:49</h4>
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<h2>
<b>Notes</b></h2>
<div>
1:38 Hey hey hey!<br />
4:10 Drunken crab alert<br />
5:01 Wessex Press<br />
6:41 Welcome Vincent<br />
8:15 First meeting with Sherlock Holmes<br />
11:15 First exposure to Sherlock Holmes chronologies<br />
13:30 Famous chronologists<br />
19:05 Vincent begins his own chronology<br />
23:08 A major problem with Watson's marriages that is gumming things up<br />
24:42 <i>The Baker Street Journal</i><br />
26:15 Irregular approach to a chronology<br />
29:27 Research, research, research<br />
32:12 How much is enough? And will chronologies ever end?<br />
38:45 The choose your own adventure approach<br />
40:33 The Sherlockian convention circuit<br />
46:00 The Canon as a canvas<br />
47:45 The Sherlockian news<br />
54:46 Canonical Couplet<br />
58:44 Outtake<br />
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<h2>
<b>Links</b></h2>
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<ul>
<li>This episode: <a href="http://ihose.co/ihose144">ihose.co/ihose144</a></li>
<li><a href="http://historicalsherlock.blogspot.com/">Historical Sherlock: Examining the Chronology of the Sherlock Holmes Canon</a> </li>
<li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Historical-Sherlock-314567048570655/">Historical Sherlock Facebook Page</a></li>
<li>Brad Keefauver's <a href="https://basictimelineterra221b.blogspot.com/p/a-basic-timeline-of-terra-221b.html">A Basic Timeline of Terra 221B</a></li>
<li><a href="http://scintillation.org/">A Scintillation of Scions</a></li>
<li><a href="http://ihose.co/ihose77">Episode 77: The Speckled Band</a></li>
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Transcript</h3>
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Episode 144: The Chronologies of Sherlock Holmes

“The date being—?” [CREE] We all owe a debt of gratitude to the more clever, adventurous, and tireless among us – because...

+ Read more »

by Scott Monty

Baker Street Elementary — Our Solemn Duty

<h4 style="text-align: center;">
"Some preposterous practical joke" [FIVE] </h4>
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Who among us doesn't like a good practical joke? Well, the obvious answer to that <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2018/04/baker-street-elementary-rhetorically-my.html#.WvBzYYiUvb0">rhetorical question</a> would be the one upon whom the joke is played. But let's stick to the other end of it for present. For we feel it is our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPxiXGr9nFM">duty</a> to share our findings with you.<br />
<br />
Practical jokes are typically pranks that are played on an unsuspecting individual, in the hopes to embarrass them or cause them some level of societal discomfort. So they're different and separate from jokes that are told for a laugh, where we find common humor and stories to bring us together.<br />
<br />
<h3>
The Canon was Hilarious</h3>
While we don't think of the Sherlock Holmes stories as being the place where we might find such humor, there are a few instances of characters mentioning this form of joke. For example, in "<b>The Red-Headed League</b>," Jabez Wilson was put out after learning that the League was dissolved and that he had been bamboozled.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"...I want to find out about them, and who they are, and what their object was in playing this prank—if it was a prank—upon me. It was a pretty expensive joke for them, for it cost them two and thirty pounds.”</blockquote>
James Windibank claims that his turn as Hosmer Angel in "<b>A Case of Identity</b>" was merely a bit of fun: "It was only a joke at first."<br />
<br />
In "<b>The Five Orange Pips</b>," Elias Openshaw dismissed a threatening note and orange pips as "some preposterous practical joke." Similarly, in "<b>The Dancing Men</b>," Elsie Cubitt tried to assuage her husband's fears by pooh-poohing the stick figures as "some senseless practical joke, and that [he] should not take any notice of it."<br />
<br />
When his hiding place was discovered in "<b>The Norwood Builder</b>," and his scheme regarding John Hector McFarlane was laid bare, Jonas Oldacre feigned innocence, claiming, "I am sure sure, it was only my practical joke." And then later: "It was a joke, my good sir, a practical joke, nothing more.”<br />
<br />
John Scott Eccles, after waking in an empty house in "<b>Wisteria Lodge</b>," thought he "had been the victim of some absurd practical joke." And though he perceived that to be "grotesque," as he shared with Sherlock Holmes, the truly grotesque could be found inside "<b>The Cardboard Box</b>," as this newspaper article indicated:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Miss Susan Cushing, living at Cross Street, Croydon, has been made the victim of what must be regarded as a peculiarly revolting practical joke unless some more sinister meaning should prove to be attached to the incident."</blockquote>
Meanwhile, for the truly revolting practical joke, we turn to Baker Street Elementary...<br />
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><i>Baker Street Elementary</i></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: "verdana" , "geneva" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> follows the original adventures of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson, as they and their friends work through the issues of elementary school in Victorian London. An archive of all previous episodes can be viewed at </span><a href="http://www.bakerstreetelementary.org/" style="background-color: white; color: #006f85; font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold;">www.bakerstreetelementary.org</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: "verdana" , "geneva" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">.</span></div>
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Baker Street Elementary — Our Solemn Duty

"Some preposterous practical joke" [FIVE] Who among us doesn't like a good practical joke? Well, the obvious answer t...

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by Scott Monty

Trifling Issues in April

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"you'll excuse my troubling you about such a trifle" [HOUN] </h4>
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<br />
If you frequent this site, you're certainly familiar with our nearly <a href="http://ihose.co/ihoseshows">11 year-long show</a>, in which we interview notable Sherlockians who are doing their part to keep the memory of Sherlock Holmes green. The program <b>I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere</b> has evolved over that decade, but we're on a steady cadence of long-form interviews on the 15th and 30th of every month.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, over on <a href="http://www.sherlockholmespodcast.com/">Trifles</a>, we're engaged in something different: we have short discussions of about 15 minutes in length every week in which we talk about one or two issues that we've noticed within the Sherlock Holmes stories. It's an approach that we hope brings more people into our fold who are new to Sherlock Holmes and are fascinated with the details within the story, or who may have some questions about what they read.<br />
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And now, on with the recap of <a href="http://www.sherlockholmespodcast.com/2018/04/">our April shows</a>.<br />
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<h3>
<b>April Update</b></h3>
Season 2 continues with some of the topics we mention in each show's introduction. Have you even noticed the rotation of introductions? The first week of April began with <a href="http://ihose.co/trifles66">Sherlock Holmes's Honorifics</a>, in which we tallied the handful of non-monetary payments he received in the form of awards or titles.<br />
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And then in Episode 67, we continued our monthly feature "<b>Inside 221B</b>" that looks at some of the physical objects we find in the flat at 221B Baker Street. And so we got technical this time around and investigated <a href="http://ihose.co/trifles67">Chemistry</a>, considering that Holmes was profoundly informed on that subject.<br />
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Our next monthly feature "<b>Unpublished Cases</b>" has to do with tales that didn't make it to the public and that Watson kept in his famous tin box. In this case, we decided to <a href="http://ihose.co/trifles68">See What V Has To Say</a> from some of the cases mentioned in "The Sussex Vampire."<br />
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Finally, we notched <a href="http://ihose.co/trifles69">Occupations in the Canon, Part 1</a>, in which we delved into a few of the more unlikely jobs mentioned in the stories. When will Part 2 be published? You'll have to subscribe to see.<br />
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<b>Here's an Idea</b></h3>
Why not take along an episode of Trifles to your next scion society meeting? Or use one of the topics as a basis of discussion yourselves. Go ahead, see what it sparks. And by all means, let your fellow Sherlockians know about the show. If you like what you hear, please subscribe to <a href="http://sherlockholmespodcast.com/">Trifles</a> via the podcast provider of your choice, or to the email updates.<br />
<br />
<br />
And if you'd like to learn more about Tom Richmond, the talented artist behind the show's logo, check out <a href="http://ihose.co/ihose65">Episode 65: Art in the Blood</a>.<br />
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Trifling Issues in April

"you'll excuse my troubling you about such a trifle" [HOUN] If you frequent this site, you're certainly familiar wit...

+ Read more »

by Scott Monty

Episode 143: P.G. Wodehouse and Sherlock Holmes

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"fixed like a plum" [SIXN] </h4>
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The casual reader wouldn't necessarily associate Sherlock Holmes with P.G. Wodehouse. Or P.G. Woodhouse with Sherlock Holmes. Fortunately, we're more of the formal types.<br />
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And so are our guests!<br />
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Three – count 'em, three – guests join us this time around. They are Curtis Armstrong, Elliot Milstein, and Ashley Polasek, and they are the two authors and editor of <b><i>A Plum Assignment: Discourses on P.G. Wodehouse and His World</i></b>. They are Wodehouse experts who also happen to (mostly) have more than a passing familiarity with Sherlock Holmes.<br />
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We spend some time with them looking at the intersection of Plum and Conan Doyle's works, and also look at why Wodehouse was so universally enjoyable and why we keep returning to his stories again and again. And how Sherlockians and Wodehousians are remarkably similar in their interactions. The book itself has a survey of opening lines from Wodehouse works, where you'll find such gems as:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
I reached out a hand from under the blankets and rang the bell for Jeeves.<br />
"Good evening, Jeeves."<br />
"Good morning, sir."</blockquote>
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<br />
And don't forget to try your hand at the latest <b>Canonical Couplet</b> and win a prize – now you don't need to be a<b><i> </i></b><a href="http://ihose.co/ihosepatron" style="font-weight: bold;">Patron of the Arts</a> <i>– </i><b style="font-style: italic;">every </b>listener is eligible to participate!<br />
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Please do consider becoming a <a href="http://ihose.co/ihosepatron">Patron of the Arts</a>. Your support helps us to ensure we can keep doing what we do, covering file hosting costs, production, and this year, transcription services.</div><div style="orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; widows: 2;"><br /></div><div style="orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; widows: 2;"><h3 style="text-align: center;">Listen <a href="https://episodes.fm/258126625/episode/OTEwNjMyMDcyNDQ4M2ExMWQ0NTA5ZWY3YzkyOWY5NzM" target="_blank">wherever you get podcasts</a></h3>
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<h2><b><br /></b></h2><h2>
<b>Sponsors</b></h2>
This episode includes our two longtime sponsors. Please support our sponsors by visiting their sites:<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.wessexpress.com/">Wessex Press</a><i></i></li>
<li><a href="http://www.bakerstreetjournal.com/" style="font-style: italic;">The Baker Street Journal</a></li>
<li>A third sponsor that will remain nameless</li>
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Would you care to become a sponsor? You can find <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/p/contact.html#.Vc1Qx7JViko">more information here</a>.<div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>
<h2><b>Links</b></h2></div>
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<ul>
<li>This episode: <a href="http://ihose.co/ihose143">ihose.co/ihose143</a></li>
<li>Curtis Armstrong on <a href="http://ihose.co/ihose125">Episode 125</a> and <a href="http://twitter.com/curtisisbooger">on Twitter</a></li>
<li>Ashley Polasek on <a href="http://ihose.co/ihose70">Episode 70</a> and <a href="http://twitter.com/SherlockPhD">on Twitter</a></li>
<li>Elliott Milstein <a href="https://twitter.com/ElliottMilstein">on Twitter</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.wodehouse.org/">The Wodehouse Society</a> (TWS)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.pgwodehousesociety.org.uk/">The PG Wodehouse Society</a> (UK)</li>
<li><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/7963.P_G_Wodehouse">Some classic P.G. Wodehouse quotes</a></li>
<li><b><i>A Plum Assignment</i></b> by Curtis Armstrong and Elliot Milstein, edited by Ashley Polasek (<a href="https://amzn.to/3vgKjuC">Amazon</a> | <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-plum-assignment-curtis-armstrong/1128206694?ean=9780692086315">Barnes and Noble</a> | <a href="https://www.booktopia.com.au/a-plum-assignment-curtis-armstrong/prod9780692086315.html">Booktopia</a> | <a href="http://www.foyles.co.uk/witem/humour/a-plum-assignment-discourses-on-p,curtis-armstrong-elliott-milstein-ashley-d-polasek-9780692086315">Foyles</a>)</li>
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Transcript</h3>
We still need your help to reach <a href="http://patreon.com/ihearofsherlock">the $100 level on Patreon</a> to make this process possible!<br />
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<a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/379274891/Transcript-I-Hear-of-Sherlock-Everywhere-Episode-143-PG-Wodehouse-Sherlock-Holmes#from_embed">Transcript - I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere Episode 143: PG Wodehouse & Sherlock Holmes</a> <iframe class="scribd_iframe_embed" data-aspect-ratio="0.7729220222793488" data-auto-height="false" frameborder="0" height="600" id="doc_28633" scrolling="no" src="https://www.scribd.com/embeds/379274891/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&access_key=key-2RTHnR0fK82ccC7z7wLy&show_recommendations=true" title="Transcript - I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere Episode 143: PG Wodehouse & Sherlock Holmes" width="100%"></iframe><br />
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Episode 143: P.G. Wodehouse and Sherlock Holmes

"fixed like a plum" [SIXN] The casual reader wouldn't necessarily associate Sherlock Holmes with P.G. Wodehouse. Or P.G....

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by Scott Monty

Remembering William Gillette

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"the actors have passed for ever out of our busy lives" [SOLI]</h4>
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William Hooker Gillette, widely known for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes on stage, died on this date in 1937 in Hartford, CT.<br />
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It was Gillette<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span>who, at the turn of the previous century, achieved matinee idol status and awoke the consciousness of theatergoers in the United States and Great Britain to the stage presence of one Mr. Sherlock Holmes, and continued to do so for the next thirty-eight years.<br />
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While he had no formal training, early on Gillette developed his stage manner of talking, not reciting:<br />
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“The idea is that we are not reciting literature – not reciting anything that has ever been said or written before; we are talking, saying the first things that come into our heads, thinking them out as we say them, hesitating and wondering and sometimes blundering over it all.” </blockquote>
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This sentiment made him one of the first American actors to speak rather than declaim his lines, giving him a wonderful ability to underact.<br />
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His play, <i>Sherlock Holmes</i>, enjoyed universal success from 1899 when it debuted, through many revivals – Gillette himself appeared as Sherlock Holmes over 1,300 times. When it was finally turned into a film in 1916, <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2014/10/breaking-long-lost-william-gillette.html#.WnVYi6inHb0">the film was lost for nearly a century before being discovered</a>, restored, and shown across the globe.<br />
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Gillette is also remembered for the remarkable home he built for himself on a cliff overlooking the Connecticut River in Hadlyme, Connecticut. Gillette Castle is as unique as the man himself, and he put in secret doors, special hardcarved locking mechanisms, and surrounded the property with a special narrow-gauge railroad. In recent years, Baker Street Irregulars Tyke ("The Man on the Tor") and Teddie ("Carina") Niver have become William and Helen Gillette, and have welcomed visitors to the Castle. We interviewed them on <a href="http://ihose.co/ihose126">Episode 126</a>.<br />
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William Gillette finally parted this world on April 29, 1937, at the age of 83.  He was buried in Farmington, Connecticut next to his wife, Helen.  His last will and testament was clear on his wishes for his property:<br />
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I would consider it more than unfortunate for me – should I find myself doomed, after death, to a continued consciousness of the behavior of mankind on this planet – to discover that the stone walls and towers and fireplaces of my home… my railway line with its bridges, trestles, and tunnels… my locomotives and cars…that these and many other things of a like nature should reveal themselves to me as in the possession of some blithering saphead who had no conception of where he is or with what surrounded.</blockquote>
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Gillette might have been amused to know that his home entered the hands of Connecticut state government in 1943. Because we all know there are no blithering sapheads in government...<br />
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Shortly after his death, Gillette's lifelong friend Richard Burton penned the following poem to remember his friend.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">Asleep at <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Farmington</st1:place></st1:city><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Sleep well, dear Lad – yes still to me<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">You are a lad of eighty-three!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Of all the lads beneath the sun<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The most to be depended on.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Beneath the sun, beneath the sod<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">What matters it?  Leave that to God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Sleep well at <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Farmington</st1:place></st1:city>, old town<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Of peace and beauty.  To lie down<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">In such a spot, for quiet rest<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Surely were good, surely were best<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Of fates for any man whose sleep<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Would be content and long and deep.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Your kin are there beside you, so<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Whether hot sun or winter snow<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Visit the place there shall abide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">A sense of kindred at your side; <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Whate’er the legend cut in stone,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">You are not lost or left alone;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">And though no word escape your lip<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Tranquil in that ripe fellowship<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Yours is a happy end ----- ‘Tis we<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Who mourn you, lack felicity!</span></div>
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The world – certainly the Sherlockian world – is richer for having had William Gillette in it. From the curved pipe to the phrase "Elementary, my dear Watson," the enduring image of Sherlock Holmes exists thanks in large part to him. His performance lives on in the restore 1916 film, and millions of tourists have seen his home.<br />
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Sleep well, dear lad.<br />
<br />
--<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>

Remembering William Gillette

"the actors have passed for ever out of our busy lives" [SOLI] William Hooker Gillette, widely known for his portrayal of She...

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by Scott Monty

Remembering Roger Llewellyn

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<b>"The stage lost a fine actor" [SCAN] </b></h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwai1bnJ4LOxVYPBHRdNbpKU09ld-HeCn7p4xiZJrDtBBcUSRePjLCACiRXsofMN9dLXBfLVgb_oGBndJyMHPHwMIWHCREvsF4yDoVUrljJtPXYCWBzHcLxkf4yDNw5ospKApq4qIOERfP/s1600/Roger+Llewellyn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="825" data-original-width="1600" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwai1bnJ4LOxVYPBHRdNbpKU09ld-HeCn7p4xiZJrDtBBcUSRePjLCACiRXsofMN9dLXBfLVgb_oGBndJyMHPHwMIWHCREvsF4yDoVUrljJtPXYCWBzHcLxkf4yDNw5ospKApq4qIOERfP/s640/Roger+Llewellyn.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">We're sad to report that actor <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0515754/">Roger Llewellyn</a> has passed away on April 17. We don't have details on his death, other than reports on Twitter that emerged last week.</span><br />
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</span><span style="font-weight: normal;">To Sherlockians, Llewellyn was best known for his work in the one-may plays </span><b><i>Sherlock Holmes: The Last Act</i></b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> (1999-2014) and </span><b><i>Sherlock Holmes: The Death and Life</i></b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> (2014), both written by </span><b>David Stuart Davies, BSI</b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> ("Sir Ralph Musgrave"). According to <a href="http://www.davidstuartdavies.co.uk/sherlock-holmes">Davies' website</a>, the former premiered at Salisbury Playhouse in 1999 and won an award at the Edinburgh Festival that same year. The latter was commissioned by Llewellyn and opened at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in Guildford.</span><br />
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</span><span style="font-weight: normal;">A summary of <i>Sherlock Holmes: The Last Act</i>:</span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
It is 1916 and Sherlock Holmes has returned to his rooms in Baker Street after attending the funeral of his long time associate, Dr John H Watson. Holmes reflects on the old days and comes to realize that not only was there so much that he had shared with Watson in his lifetime but also there was so much that he had not revealed to him: things he had kept hidden, including his deep affection for his friend. Imagining that Watson is present, Holmes addresses this failing and touches on aspects of past cases and the various characters he encountered during his investigations, including ‘The Woman’ Irene Adler and of course Professor Moriarty. </blockquote>
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As Holmes delves deeper into the darker aspects of his own history, he reveals a shocking secret. Realizing now how lonely and isolated he is without his old comrade, and adrift in a new modern and war-ravaged age, he comes to wonder whether, like Watson, he too has come to the end of his time…</blockquote>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">We had a chance to see Llewellyn in this role in a theater in New York City during a BSI Weekend some 15 or so years ago. And you can get a sense of what his approach was like, thanks to a YouTube video capturing some of <a href="https://youtu.be/ZG7U7y-OUZg">Sherlock Holmes and the Last Act</a>:</span><br />
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<iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZG7U7y-OUZg?rel=0&showinfo=0" width="560"></iframe><br /></div>
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Audio performances of <a href="https://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/sherlock-holmes-the-last-act-4?range=27" target="_blank">The Last Act</a> and <a href="https://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/sherlock-holmes-the-death-and-life-15?range=27" target="_blank">The Death and Life</a> are available from Big Finish. In <i><a href="https://www.thehistorypress.co.uk/publication/the-sherlock-holmes-miscellany/9780752471525/" target="_blank">The Sherlock Holmes Miscellany</a></i>, <b>Roger Johnson, BSI</b> ("<i>Pall Mall Gazette</i>") and <b>Jean Upton, BSI</b> ("Elsie Cubitt") wrote: "Thanks to Llewellyn's superb performances, Davies's inspired scripts, and to the careful supervision of Nicholas Briggs, these are productions to treasure."<br />
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Did you ever have the chance to see Roger Llewellyn perform? Please leave a comment below to share your thoughts.<br />
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Remembering Roger Llewellyn

"The stage lost a fine actor" [SCAN] We're sad to report that actor Roger Llewellyn has passed away on April 17. We d...

+ Read more »

by Scott Monty

Baker Street Elementary – Rhetorically, My Dear Watson

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"You are very welcome to put any questions that you like to me now" [STUD] </h4>
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When it comes to teaching and learning, one of the first methods adopted by the western world, thanks largely to Aristotle, was <b>rhetoric</b>. Simply put, it is the art of discourse in which an individual seeks to inform, motivate or persuade an audience.<br />
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Rhetoric is the realm of the expert, the lawyer, or the public speaker. It is designed more toward lecturing rather than interaction. Which is why a <i>rhetorical question</i> typically requires no answer. Early practitioners of rhetoric included Cicero, who as a Roman lawyer, senator and consul was one of the all-time great public speakers. His mantra was "If you wish to persuade me, you must think my thoughts, feel my feelings and speak my words." He was a masterful rhetorician.<br />
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Often times, we've witnessed Sherlock Holmes carrying on in this manner. Indeed, in "The Adventure of the Dancing Men," Watson relates this scene:<br />
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“You see, my dear Watson”—he propped his test tube in the rack and began to lecture with the air of a professor addressing his class—“it is not really difficult to construct a series of inferences, each dependent upon its predecessor and each simple in itself.</blockquote>
Holmes himself viewed his work as being the perfect subject matter for teaching, as he scolded Watson in "The Copper Beeches":<br />
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"Crime is common. Logic is rare. Therefore it is upon the logic rather than upon the crime that you should dwell. You have degraded what should have been a course of lectures into a series of tales.”</blockquote>
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And it isn't only Watson who is subject to the lectures. Holmes was only too glad to sit down and tell Scotland Yard exactly what they were missing. Athelney Jones recalled him thusly in <i>The Sign of Four</i>:<br />
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“It’s Mr. Sherlock Holmes, the theorist. Remember you! I’ll never forget how you lectured us all on causes and inferences and effects in the Bishopgate jewel case."</blockquote>
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But on occasion, it went beyond pure rhetoric as Sherlock Holmes allowed for question and answer time. While this isn't purely the Socratic method—because his questioners are merely looking for answers rather than engaging in debate or trying to disprove him—it does give Holmes's audience an opportunity to ask him questions.<br />
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For example, in "The Adventure of the Norwood Builder," Inspector Lestrade suddenly realized that he might not have all of the answers when it came to the disappearance of Jonas Oldacre:<br />
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“Wonderful!” said Lestrade. “Wonderful! It’s all as clear as crystal, as you put it. But what is the object of this deep deception, Mr. Holmes?” It was amusing to me to see how the detective’s overbearing manner had changed suddenly to that of a child asking questions of its teacher. </blockquote>
Probably even more stark is the final scene in Part 1 of <i>A Study in Scarlet</i>, when Sherlock Holmes, seemingly out of nothing, conjures up the murder, introduces him to Watson, Gregson, and Lestrade, and the accused leaps partially through the window of the sitting room of 221B Baker Street. Then Holmes says: <br />
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“And now, gentlemen, we have reached the end of our little mystery. You are very welcome to put any questions that you like to me now, and there is no danger that I will refuse to answer them.”</blockquote>
So once again, the expert sits at the front of the classroom, ready to inform and dazzle his students. One could only wish for such a conclusion at Baker Street Elementary...<br />
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><i>Baker Street Elementary</i></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: "verdana" , "geneva" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> follows the original adventures of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson, as they and their friends work through the issues of elementary school in Victorian London. An archive of all previous episodes can be viewed at </span><a href="http://www.bakerstreetelementary.org/" style="background-color: white; color: #006f85; font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold;">www.bakerstreetelementary.org</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: "verdana" , "geneva" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">.</span></div>
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Baker Street Elementary – Rhetorically, My Dear Watson

"You are very welcome to put any questions that you like to me now" [STUD] When it comes to teaching and learning, one of...

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by Scott Monty

Manuscript of 'The Dancing Men' Sold at Auction

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<b>"took out his manuscript to check my calculation" [MUSG] </b></h4>
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It is a rare occurrence when an original manuscript for a Sherlock Holmes story goes up for sale. The fastidious and neat writing of Arthur Conan Doyle make it fairly easy to read, and the dearth of corrections and edits are a wonder – demonstrating that the final product was often also the first draft.<br />
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The BSI Press created the <a href="https://ihose.co/BSIMS">Baker Street Irregulars Manuscript Series</a> in 2001 "to bring to public view hidden treasures—namely, manuscripts of important works related to Sherlock Holmes, Dr. John H. Watson, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle." And since that time, the series has resulted in no fewer than 12 books (click on the link above for a full list).<br />
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So, when an original manuscript makes its way to an auction house, it's something of note. And Randall Stock, BSI ("South African Securities") has been keeping tabs on <a href="http://www.bestofsherlock.com/conan-doyle-manuscripts.htm">the provenance and ownership of Sherlock Holmes manuscripts</a> for some time. When "The Adventure of the Dancing Men" came to auction recently, Randall assembled <a href="http://www.bestofsherlock.com/mss/dancing-men-2018.htm">all of the pertinent facts</a>. [<b><i>Note:</i></b> Randall also wrote an entry for <i><a href="https://ihose.co/DANCDeath">Dancing to Death</a></i>, the BSI Press entry in its MS Series.]<br />
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Heritage Auctions featured the <a href="https://historical.ha.com/itm/autographs/authors/arthur-conan-doyle-autograph-manuscript-the-adventure-of-the-dancing-men-signed-three-times/a/6196-47156.s">Autograph Manuscript for "The Adventure of the Dancing Men</a>" on April 18, 2018. In this case "autograph" is particularly interesting, as there are three places where Conan Doyle signed it.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA3ylz4pw6DqZxHOQivdkdbnWWYit49lmPnjpCU_X-n5S-YPCqaCSbsqT0nhiz2pq0RQbid7FsWEM6Pfur1JE79U4Vb2E6-TAzH8VdfRnl-PQ-pB3EEVj-XobEbWU-n4epdoZ_lD6grdhS/s1600/DANC+MS+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1255" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA3ylz4pw6DqZxHOQivdkdbnWWYit49lmPnjpCU_X-n5S-YPCqaCSbsqT0nhiz2pq0RQbid7FsWEM6Pfur1JE79U4Vb2E6-TAzH8VdfRnl-PQ-pB3EEVj-XobEbWU-n4epdoZ_lD6grdhS/s400/DANC+MS+2.jpg" width="311" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiykwP6YMJj650fXIDoPIXAgqekFsjSuEQ0nIgfEnT1p8whlRC7GLAsTYgmDoR-uANGSz1taQ7_tzHaRBtZKC6R52Q7_q072hz-Z7TaFrL4HWU5bWohf5oh1r907bXIl_bo71dwGsVyP660/s1600/DANC+MS+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1221" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiykwP6YMJj650fXIDoPIXAgqekFsjSuEQ0nIgfEnT1p8whlRC7GLAsTYgmDoR-uANGSz1taQ7_tzHaRBtZKC6R52Q7_q072hz-Z7TaFrL4HWU5bWohf5oh1r907bXIl_bo71dwGsVyP660/s400/DANC+MS+3.jpg" width="305" /></a></div>
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Written in 1903, the tale involves a client, Hilton Cubitt, who arrived at 221B Baker Street with a series of drawings that had been left in notes around his estate. The drawings consisted of little stick figures in various poses. Sherlock Holmes determined that this was a code and the drawings were actually messages. He and Dr. Watson raced to the countryside to prevent their client from coming to any harm, but were too late. Holmes then used the code to track the criminal.<br />
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According to Randall,<br />
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"Conan Doyle got the idea for the dancing men cipher in May 1903. He signed a young woman's autograph book while staying at the Hill House Hotel in Norfolk (England). The book also contained drawings on another page by two children: Gilbert John Cubitt and Edith Alice Cubitt."</blockquote>
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"Although the manuscript is not dated, Conan Doyle's diary and other sources suggest he finished the story in early June 1903. Written as the fourth story in <i>The Return</i>, it was published as the third tale in order to give a stronger start to the new series. It first appeared in the December 1903 <i>Strand Magazine</i> and in the December 5, 1903 issue of <i>Collier's Weekly</i>, and was later collected in <i>The Return of Sherlock Holmes</i> (1905)."</blockquote>
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This is one of the few Sherlock Holmes manuscripts that contains more than simply text. "The Golden Pince-Nez" and "The Priory School" (interestingly, both part of <i>The Return</i>) each featured sketches – one of the layout of a house, the other of the topography of the land around the school and Holderness Hall – but both were on separate sheets of paper. In this case, the dancing men were part of the MS.<br />
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The manuscript is in very good shape, as Conan Doyle had it bound in vellum ten years after writing the story. It was presented at auction housed in full leather clam shell case with author and title gilt-stamped on the front and on the spine.<br />
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<b>History of the Manuscript</b></h3>
The provenance of the manuscript and its rich history are fascinating. During World War I, Christies organized auctions of items donated by prominent citizens to raise money for the British Red Cross. Conan Doyle donated three manuscripts: <i>The White Company</i>, "The Norwood Builder," and "The Dancing Men" in 1918. The London dealer Maggs Brothers purchased the manuscript at auction for <b>£10 10s.</b> on April 22, 1918 – 100 years ago, nearly to the day! They sold it to collector David Gage Joyce, who owned at least 10 Conan Doyle manuscripts during his lifetime.<br />
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Joyce sold the manuscript from his collection at the Anderson Galleries on February 13, 1923 for $105. It then traveled back to England and was sold at auction by Hodgson's on January 28, 1925, along with manuscripts for "The Priory School" and "The Solitary Cyclist" for £66. Its whereabouts was unknown for 40 years. It was purchased by Brian Perkins in Texas circa 1974 and subsequently given to Laura Perkins Mercer in 2012.<br />
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Its discovery at a construction site is a story worth reading. For more details, see "Tracking 'The Dancing Men': Its History and Manuscript" by Randall Stock in <a href="https://ihose.co/DANCDeath" target="_blank"><i>Dancing to Death</i></a> (2016).<br />
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Interestingly, in his 1927 <a href="http://www.openculture.com/2015/10/arthur-conan-doyle-names-his-19-favorite-sherlock-holmes-stories.html">list of the best Sherlock Holmes stories</a>, Conan Doyle placed this story at #3, and resulting surveys have placed it in the top 10.<br />
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<b>SOLD at Auction</b></h3>
The item <a href="https://historical.ha.com/itm/autographs/authors/arthur-conan-doyle-autograph-manuscript-the-adventure-of-the-dancing-men-signed-three-times/a/6196-47156.s">listed on the Heritage Auctions site</a> for an opening price of <b>$250,000</b>. When the hammer finally fell at 11:00 am in Dallas, the manuscript for "The Dancing Men" sold for a total of <b>$312,500</b>, including the buyer's premium. The identity of the winning bidder was not disclosed.<br />
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The full story of the manuscript alone is worth purchasing <i><a href="https://ihose.co/DANCDeath" target="_blank">Dancing to Death</a></i>. But consider the large display of the complete manuscript itself, the text version, and the many essays, about the story and its associated topics, both personal and insightful, and there's no excuse not to buy this book.<br />
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<h3>
<b>Other sources of interest</b></h3>
<ul>
<li>Randall Stock's article "Dancing Men: An Inspired Choice" in the Winter 2016 <i><a href="http://www.bakerstreetjournal.com/">Baker Street Journal</a></i>.</li>
<li>I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere <a href="http://ihose.co/ihose113">Episode 113: Dancing to Death</a> with editor Ray Betzner, BSI</li>
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</i> <i>Thanks to Heritage Auctions for use of the images</i>.<br />
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Manuscript of 'The Dancing Men' Sold at Auction

"took out his manuscript to check my calculation" [MUSG] It is a rare occurrence when an original manuscript for a Sherlock ...

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by Scott Monty

Episode 142: The Criminal Mastermind of Baker Street

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"he was a young schoolmaster" [MUSG] </h4>
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We're constantly impressed at the onion-like tendencies of Sherlockians. That's not to say that they're pungent or make you cry, but rather that like the genus <i>Allium</i>, when peeled, has a surprising number of layers.<br />
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So it is with Rob Nunn, a relatively recent Sherlockian who has come blazing into our sites. Rob has been a contributor here on the I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere site and has created his own blog. But his involvement with the Beacon Society (including being a recipient of the Beacon Award) and a unique Sherlock Holmes novel have propelled him into the realm of other Sherlockians as well.<br />
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Rob takes us on a journey that helps frame how he managed to conceive of Sherlock Holmes not as the master detective, but as <i>The Criminal Mastermind of Baker Street</i>.<br />
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And don't forget to try your hand at the latest Canonical Couplet and win a prize, <b><i>as long as you're a </i></b><i><a href="http://ihose.co/ihosepatron" style="font-weight: bold;">Patron of the Arts</a>, supporting us on PayPal or Patreon</i>.<br />
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<b>Sponsors</b></h2>
This episode includes our two longtime sponsors. Please support our sponsors by visiting their sites:<br />
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<b>Notes</b></h2>
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1:38 Hello there!<br />
5:22 Wessex Press<br />
6:44 Undergraduate pagan rituals<br />
8:30 Welcome Rob Nunn<br />
12:27 Finding other Sherlockians around St. Louis<br />
22:00 Holmes in the Heartland<br />
28:16 <i>The Baker Street Journal</i><br />
29:49 Rob's book <i>The Criminal Mastermind of Baker Street</i><br />
39:22 Interesting Though Elementary<br />
43:03 Involvement with the Beacon Society<br />
48:10 Teaching Sherlock Holmes to different age levels<br />
53:27 Pardon us<br />
58:35 Canonical Couplet<br />
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<b>Links</b></h2>
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<ul>
<li>This episode: <a href="http://ihose.co/ihose142">ihose.co/ihose142</a></li>
<li>Rob's <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2015/10/my-first-night-among-sherlockians.html#.WtAQuYgbPb0">first night among Sherlockians</a></li>
<li>Sherlockian societies in St. Louis: </li>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://harpooners.wordpress.com/">The Harpooners of the Sea Unicorn</a> (website and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Harpooners.MO/">Facebook Page</a>)</li>
<li><a href="https://parallelcasestl.wixsite.com/home">The Parallel Case of St. Louis</a> (website and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/parallelcasestl/">Facebook Page</a>)</li>
</ul>
<li><a href="http://parallelogramstl.blogspot.com/2018/02/the-noble-bachelors-of-st-louis.html">St. Louis Research Collection</a> of Sherlockiana</li>
<li>St. Louis Event: <a href="https://parallelcasestl.wixsite.com/home/holmes-in-the-heartland">Holmes in the Heartland</a></li>
<li><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Criminal-Mastermind-Baker-Street-ebook/dp/B075RDHN2Z">The Criminal Masterimind of Baker Street</a></i></li>
<li><a href="http://interestingthoughelementary.blogspot.com/">Interesting Though Elementary</a> (Rob's blog)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.beaconsociety.com/">The Beacon Society</a> - including <a href="http://www.beaconsociety.com/additional-resources-for-educators-students-by-age-group.html">lesson plans</a></li>
<li><a href="http://ihose.co/ihose134">Shannon Carlisle, Beacon Award Winner on IHOSE</a></li>
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Episode 142: The Criminal Mastermind of Baker Street

"he was a young schoolmaster" [MUSG] We're constantly impressed at the onion-like tendencies of Sherlockians. Tha...

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by Scott Monty

The Cookie Monster at Baker Street

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"within an hour there arrived a confectioner's man" [NOBL]</h4>
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While raiding the cookie jar in our butler's pantry (don't worry, we don't have a butler), our thoughts turned to the Sherlock Holmes stories. Having completed an interview with <a href="http://ihose.co/ihose103">Al and Julie Rosenblatt</a> for I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere (<a href="http://ihose.co/ihose103" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Episode 103</a>), we yearned for more feasts <i>pro corpore</i>, as their wonderful CIA dinners made possible.<br />
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But it also struck us as an opportunity for a feast <i>pro mente</i>. That is, a little cerebral exercise around a food topic in the Canon.<br />
<br />
Julie indicated that the foods mentioned in the Sherlock Holmes stories are very few. And they typically confine themselves to more of the main courses; there's very little mention of anything that would do in the way of a dessert. Sherlock Holmes had "two tins of preserved peaches" with him in his stone hut hideout in <i>The Hound of the Baskervilles</i>, but that's hardly an epicurean feast for a final course following the loaf of bread and tinned tongue that accompanied them.<br />
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The only mention we could find of something sweet in the way of a dessert treat was biscuits, and only in three stories:<br />
<ol>
<li>In "<b>The <i>Gloria Scott</i>,"</b> the crew that chose to abandon ship was given "<i>a suit of sailor's togs each, a barrel of water, two casks, one of junk and one of biscuits, and a compass</i>."</li>
<li>When Thorneycroft Huxtable, M.A., Ph.D., etc. fainted on the hearthrug in Baker Street in <b>"The Priory School,"</b> he apologized profusely upon coming to and said that if he "<i>might have a glass of milk and a biscuit I have no doubt that I should be better.</i>"</li>
<li>And after he tricked Smith in <b>"The Dying Detective,"</b> Sherlock Holmes "<i>refreshed himself with a glass of claret and some biscuits.</i>"</li>
</ol>
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While Americans may see the word biscuit and immediately think of the quick baked bread variety — breakfast entrees such as biscuits and gravy or breakfast sandwiches like sausage, egg and biscuits come to mind — the British use of the word biscuit is something very different indeed.<br />
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According to Wikipedia, in the Commonwealth, biscuits "may be hard, and may be savoury or sweet, such as chocolate biscuits, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digestive_biscuit">digestives</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hobnobs">hobnobs</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ginger_nuts">ginger nuts</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rich_tea">rich tea</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bourbon_biscuit">bourbons</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Custard_cream">custard creams</a>."<br />
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With such a wide variety, let's take a deeper look at the meaning behind the three biscuits mentioned in the Canon.<br />
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<h3>
<b>InGLORious Biscuits</b></h3>
The "biscuits" that were given to the boatload of convicts and non-mutinous crew were certainly not digestives or custard creams. In fact, they really didn't fall into the category of confectioneries at all.<br />
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What the rag-tag group of sea urchins received was a ration of sea biscuits, or, as it's more commonly known, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardtack" target="_blank">hardtack</a>. Because there were precious few perishable goods that are available for long-range transport, sailors would make due with hardtack, a simple type of biscuit or cracker, made from flour, water, and sometimes salt. It was inexpensive and long-lasting, it was and is used for sustenance during long sea voyages, land migrations, and military campaigns.<br />
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Egyptian sailors and Roman soldiers carried a form of hard grain-based loaf with them. And In 1588, the daily allowance on board a Royal Navy ship was one pound of biscuits plus one gallon of beer. According to the Royal Navy Museum,<br />
<blockquote>
"Royal Navy hardtack during Queen Victoria's reign was made by machine at the Royal Clarence Victualing Yard at Gosport, Hampshire, stamped with the Queen's mark and the number of the oven in which it was baked. Biscuits remained an important part of the Royal Navy sailor’s diet until the introduction of canned foods; canned meat was first marketed in 1814, and preserved beef in tins was officially introduced to the Royal Navy rations in 1847."</blockquote>
So, no one who escaped the <i>Gloria Scott</i> was chowing down on sweets during the remainder of their voyage.<br />
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<h3>
<b>'B' is for Biscuit, That's Good Enough for Me</b></h3>
 When a scholar so learned in Horace faints in one's sitting room and awakes, one doesn't expect his request to be milk and cookies. Unless...<br />
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By that time, Holmes and Watson had already made observations about their unannounced guest's appearance:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"...so large, so pompous, and so dignified that he was the very embodiment of self-possession and solidity...whence he slipped down upon the floor, and there was that majestic figure prostrate and insensible upon our bearskin hearthrug."</blockquote>
Watson also noted Dr. Huxtable's "heavy white face" with its "lines of trouble" and the unshaven "rolling chins."<br />
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Given that Dr. Huxtable turned out to be the founder and principal of the Priory School, "the best and most select preparatory school in England," he was necessarily in the company of the boys under his charge. And we all know that boys enjoy milk and cookies. Further, given his rather generous figure, it's not too much of a stretch to imagine that Dr. Huxtable enjoyed the sweet treats along with them. Hence, his seemingly unorthodox refreshment request becomes quite elementary when we begin to connect the threads.<br />
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So we have the Cookie Monster of Baker Street, who takes up with another furry being upon entering — the bearskin hearthrug.<br />
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<h3>
<b>DYIN for Some Food</b></h3>
Here we have the most puzzling one in the collection of biscuit mentions. When Holmes revealed his ruse to Inspector Morton (and to Watson, whom he had forgotten behind the headboard), his first request was red wine (claret) and some biscuits.<br />
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Sherlock Holmes indicated that he had undergone "three days of absolute fast" during which he pretended to be dying and applied belladonna, beeswax and rouge to heighten the effect of his supposed wasting away.<br />
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A biscuit would certainly have been a natural quick-fix of sugar and grain to boost Holmes's energy. But the selection of claret over milk? We have to question that. Typically, biscuits are served with sherry, a fortified wine. A sweet snack is the perfect complement to a fortified wine such as port or sherry. But claret is the British term for Bordeaux wine, and although some wine produced in Bordeaux can be sweet white wine (Sauterne), a claret is typically a red.<br />
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Why would Holmes ask for red wine with his biscuits? One theory is that he was still suffering from a bit of delirium and misspoke (or Watson misheard him), asking for a claret rather than a sherry. But another is that he simply was no connoisseur of sweet treats like the good Dr. Huxtable. The real Cookie Monster of Baker Street is simply a visitor, not a resident.<br />
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<i>Image credit: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TboaiMfMHvo" target="_blank">YouTube</a></i><br />
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