Discussion Post: The Musgrave Ritual

[spacemutineer.livejournal.com]

Welcome back and hello! After a little bit of a slow patch, we have a classic here with The Musgrave Ritual. What did you think? As always, here are some of my thoughts and questions about it. Please add your own!

- Now this is a good one! The Musgrave Ritual is a canon high note. With both an interesting case, Holmes history and fun Holmes and Watson interaction in 221B, MUSG has it all.

- Lots of Sherlock Holmes and Baker Street goodness here. The Persian slipper! The letters jack-knifed to the fireplace! The VR shot into the wall! The experiments everywhere! In fact, there's so much goodness, it's almost overwhelming. Maybe it's just coming off a few lesser stories in a row, but I would almost prefer the (delicious, wonderful) character bits be spread out more across the stories in a way. Probably just me on that one.

- Watson is "more lax than befits a medical man", but even he has his limits. I love that only Watson has the power to make Holmes concede an argument to clean, but at the same time, Holmes finds a way out of it, telling this story instead. And the best part is that Watson was excited for it. Their friendship adds so much to these stories.

- As for the case itself, there's one big question: Did Rachel kill Brunton intentionally or was his death an accident? Even Holmes isn't completely sure. What do you think?

The Musgrave Ritual: V. R.

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

Canon Story: The Musgrave Ritual
Title: V. R.
Author: thesmallhobbit
Rating: G

“Holmes, what have you done this time?”

“Don’t you think it’s patriotic?”

“That’s as maybe, but a picture of Her Majesty would have been just as patriotic and I suspect would be rather more acceptable to Mrs Hudson.”

“You don’t think it improves the appearance of the room?”

“No, neither the appearance nor the atmosphere.”

“Some people have no imagination.”

The Musgrave Ritual: Bohemian, He Says

[hardboiledbaby]

Canon Story: The Musgrave Ritual
Title: Bohemian, He Says
Author: hardboiledbaby
Rating: PG
Warnings: none
A/N: Implied H/W

---

It amuses me to see Watson refer to himself as Bohemian in disposition. In truth, he is entirely conventional in most respects: a gentleman of impeccable character, the embodiment of an upstanding British citizen.

Still, there are aspects of his life that are quite Bohemian, hidden aspects known only to me. Just as well. The citizenry would be highly appalled.

The Musgrave Ritual: Hours

[spacemutineer.livejournal.com]

Canon Story: The Musgrave Ritual
Title: Hours
Author: spacemutineer
Rating: G

The pages turned and I learned. Anatomy, physics, ballistics, chemistry. Anything I thought I may need. The hours in the reading room developing my index of pertinent knowledge were long and rewarding.

The long hours after the library doors closed, however, I spent alone in the candle-lit stillness of my small rooms at Montague Street. They were another thing entirely.

The Musgrave Ritual - Early Impressions

[methylviolet10b]

Author: methylviolet10b
Rating: PG
Character(s): Sherlock Holmes, Dr. John Watson
Summary: Early impressions are often the most lasting ones.
Warnings: Mild spoilers for MUSG.
Word Count: 60
Author's Notes: 60 words of my own inspired by one of the canon stories.
Disclaimer: I don't own them.

MUSG -- The Musgrave Ritual

It was one of the few cases Holmes actively encouraged me to document. It was a tale full of mystery and brilliant deductions.

I realized even then how that case shaped his future career. Years later, I learned how deeply his early triumph had marked him, when he chose to retire to the same Sussex that saw his early success.