The Retired Colourman
Jul. 28th, 2018 10:55 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sarahthecoatFor this week’s @astudyincanon I found this lovely reading of RETI by Sir Christopher Lee, it’s almost like having it read to me by Holmes himself.
As others have noted, Holmes and Watson are a solid team here, each one absolutely relying on and trusting the other, though their talents do not duplicate each other. That’s part of what makes them such a good team.
Another thing that struck me in this story, when Watson describes the fellow he noticed following him, and Holmes supplied more details, I expected it to have been Holmes in disguise, but instead it was a different detective. Here we are late in the partnership, when Holmes has achieved the fame that he seemed to want way back in STUD, but which now perhaps hampers his ability to investigate quietly. Even though his name is excised from official reports in the newspapers, Holmes is sought out. He seems to have mixed feelings about this, on the one hand he appreciates the recognition of his unique gifts, on the other hand he recognizes the necessity of letting public credit go to the official forces. Is this a reflection of the tension between public and private in his personal life as well? He mustn’t let the public have too complete a picture of his private self.
Another contrast I noticed, Holmes takes Watson out to a concert, as in several other stories, while Amberley only pretended to have taken his wife out to the theater. (If this case took place in late July (according to Baring-Gould), did Holmes and Watson go to a Proms concert? I have been enjoying them again this summer on the BBC’s web site.)
astudyincanon acd reti reti acd public vs private someday the true story may be told
19 notes
Jul 28th, 2018
As others have noted, Holmes and Watson are a solid team here, each one absolutely relying on and trusting the other, though their talents do not duplicate each other. That’s part of what makes them such a good team.
Another thing that struck me in this story, when Watson describes the fellow he noticed following him, and Holmes supplied more details, I expected it to have been Holmes in disguise, but instead it was a different detective. Here we are late in the partnership, when Holmes has achieved the fame that he seemed to want way back in STUD, but which now perhaps hampers his ability to investigate quietly. Even though his name is excised from official reports in the newspapers, Holmes is sought out. He seems to have mixed feelings about this, on the one hand he appreciates the recognition of his unique gifts, on the other hand he recognizes the necessity of letting public credit go to the official forces. Is this a reflection of the tension between public and private in his personal life as well? He mustn’t let the public have too complete a picture of his private self.
Another contrast I noticed, Holmes takes Watson out to a concert, as in several other stories, while Amberley only pretended to have taken his wife out to the theater. (If this case took place in late July (according to Baring-Gould), did Holmes and Watson go to a Proms concert? I have been enjoying them again this summer on the BBC’s web site.)
astudyincanon acd reti reti acd public vs private someday the true story may be told
19 notes
Jul 28th, 2018
