what lies beneath
Mar. 13th, 2010 02:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
inmyriadbitsJudging by the utter lack of response to my post on the context Watson left out when he describing his time as an Army doctor (seriously, how lucky is that guy even to be alive, much less successful? And he makes for excellent h/c fodder...), I get the feeling I am alone in my obsession with Sherlock Holmes' historical context. But I will inflict this on you all anyway. :D
I'm reading an excellent book on mid-Victorian London (check out the limited preview on Google Books; the contents page alone is drool-worthy, and the writing is lively, engaging, and well-researched), and ran across this in the endnotes:
If Conan Doyle didn't know about that incident, I'll eat my hat (or at the very least declare it a remarkable coincidence). I mean, waiting in a bank vault full of gold for a guy who comes up through the floor in the middle of the night? That sounds pretty familiar...
I'm reading an excellent book on mid-Victorian London (check out the limited preview on Google Books; the contents page alone is drool-worthy, and the writing is lively, engaging, and well-researched), and ran across this in the endnotes:
There is an intriguing story in the annals of the Bank of England relating to the sewers: the Directors had ignored an anonymous letter warning them of an imminent raid on the Bank's bullion, but they finally agreed to meet their informer, at night, in the vault where the bullion was stored. Sure enough, the miscreant emerged through the floor, before their very eyes. The Bank's records include – 'in May 1836, having reason to apprehend danger from our sewers, it was discovered that an open and unobstructed sewer led directly from the gold vaults down to Dowgate'. The informant, a working man who had heard of the plot while he was repairing the sewers, was awarded £800.Does this remind anyone else of "The Adventure of the Red-Headed League", or what?
If Conan Doyle didn't know about that incident, I'll eat my hat (or at the very least declare it a remarkable coincidence). I mean, waiting in a bank vault full of gold for a guy who comes up through the floor in the middle of the night? That sounds pretty familiar...
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2010-03-13 09:15 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-03-13 09:36 pm (UTC)You should read them! You can find a lot of them online; Google Books has a BUNCH of options, from full texts of older editions to limited previews with full stories, and they're free and on the convenient intarwebs. :D?
(no subject)
Date: 2010-03-13 09:15 pm (UTC)I am also interested in the historical context! I have been longing for this for YEARS.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-03-13 09:50 pm (UTC)Ooh, that is shiny. *covets*
(aww, icon! Katie and I are planning to watch the Jeremy Brett version -- which is streaming on Netflix atm -- just as soon as we make our way through the canon. :D)
(no subject)
Date: 2010-03-13 10:59 pm (UTC)I love the Jeremy Brett version SO MUCH. It's so faithful! Ahahaha, I am so old and cranky and stickler-ish.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-03-14 07:57 am (UTC)I expect I will like it! I can't think of anyone I know who doesn't like his version.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-03-13 10:42 pm (UTC)*fails so hard at life*
(no subject)
Date: 2010-03-14 08:26 am (UTC)Anyway, I'm glad you liked it! I love Holmes lots, but I find myself wanting to talk about Watson all the time instead. Possibly because he won't talk about himself and acts all mild-mannered and everyone takes him for granted, but then he goes and does things like shoot a mastiff who's ripping some guy's throat out, or deal calmly with a random guy who is missing his thumb, or, um, react like he does when Holmes shows up back from the dead (I will not describe it here because Katie is unspoiled, and I want to keep her that way so I can see her reaction when we get there, but omg I love that scene SO MUCH). And then all I want to do is figure out why Watson ticks and what he's not saying and basically keep him around forever. (Which I imagine is something like what Holmes feels. ♥)
I really should finish that Study In Emerald piece I started...
immediately after I read it I had to go scour the ENTIRE INTERNET for PTSD!Watson fic
Soooooo...did you find any? :D?
Also, feel free to link if you like.
Maybe it will inspire people to write me/us more fic!*whistles innocently*(no subject)
Date: 2010-03-14 12:46 am (UTC)It's just that I'm uber-busy right now to comment :)
(no subject)
Date: 2010-03-14 08:02 am (UTC)I'm glad to know now that you're reading, though. I was just worried I was inflicting a lot of rambling historical blather on people. But apparently you all like rambling historical blather. I really should've known better. :D
(p.s. I love your icon! Very pretty.)
(no subject)
Date: 2010-03-15 01:16 am (UTC)