Discussion Post: Wisteria Lodge

[spacemutineer.livejournal.com]

Okay, let's get down to some canon business, shall we? What did you all think of Wisteria Lodge? It has quite a bit going on in it, making it feel almost like elements of several different cases thrown in a blender. As always, I've written up a few of my thoughts and questions about the case. Please add your own!

- Holmes laments the lack of "audacity and romance" in the criminal class, and the phasing stuck out to me. What a perfect way to describe why I love stories about Sherlock Holmes: the audacity and the romance, in all their forms.

- There is a temporal paradox here. Watson claims very clearly that this occurred in March of 1892. But Sherlock Holmes wasn't technically alive in 1892. So what causes the discrepancy? A mistake? Holmes does mention Carruthers, which would place it later, after the Solitary Cyclist. Maybe it could be a cover? One fun theory says that Watson was attempting this investigation alone, after Holmes' death and wrote him into it later. Holmes doesn't really do much here -- Baynes does most of the real detecting and action. He's always one step ahead, one of the only police investigators to get the jump on Sherlock Holmes. Any other ideas? Which do you like?

- This one may be just me, but my slash goggles were on full blast with the people involved in the case. There's Henderson, who lived inseparably with his "close and confidential friend" Lucas, and his (their?) two daughters. And then there's Eccles, who met "as good-looking a man as ever I saw in my life" in Garcia. Immediately, Garcia "took a fancy" to him, "one thing led to another" and before you knew it, Eccles was in Garcia's bed for the weekend. Oh, slash goggles, you're getting me into trouble again...

- What about Henderson's little girls, by the way? What happens to them now?

- At the end, Holmes tells Watson that "it will not be possible for you to present" the tale of Wisteria Lodge to readers. He must have taken that as a challenge. (Oooh, sudden thought -- maybe he's telling him it's impossible -- because it's impossible for Holmes to have been there at all! Oh, I like that one!)

Modpost: We're on for another 60 weeks of canon at Sherlock60!

[spacemutineer.livejournal.com]

The ballots are in from the poll, and overwhelmingly you said you'd like to keep going here at sherlock60 for another go through the canon. I'm thrilled -- let's do it!

Now the first question is, should we change the order we read in for the next time around? methylviolet10b and I went with alphabetical order to mix things up a bit rather than reading them in the usual publication order. But several people have expressed interest in a chronological order, and that sounds very appealing to me as well. The disadvantage with that change, though, is that writers wanting to catch up with the stories they missed from the beginning of our first run won't be able to do that without waiting or posting catch-ups.

Also, if we go to a chronological order, we have a few choices because the history of Sherlock Holmes is only interpreted, and interpretations vary. One that has been around since the fifties and frequently used is the Baring-Gould chronology. We could also pick a newer analysis from one of the internet Sherlockian groups, such as this one suggested by bwblack.

Once we've decided on an order, should we add anything else? Several of you expressed interest in having optional extra challenges, such as a theme or format or point of view. That sounds interesting too -- how would you want to work that? Should I spin a wheel every week or something? Whatever we choose, I definitely want to keep it optional, because more than anything we want more canon fic in whatever manner it comes.

Do you like these ideas? Favor something else? Please leave a comment with your thoughts and opinions! We'll try to come to a bit of a consensus and next week, I'll post the instructions for our next go-round. Thank you so much for your help, everyone! Let's go for another terrific 60 weeks of Sherlock Holmes canon fiction!

Edited to add: Oh, almost forgot! flawedamythyst, tweedisgood and I are going to be watching the Granada episodes (available on YouTube and Netflix) along with the 60 schedule and discussing them, which will be terrific fun. For my money, Jeremy Brett is the finest Holmes of all time, paired with two of the best Watsons. We hope you will join us for that as well!

The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge: Ritual

[tweedisgood.livejournal.com]

The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge

Title: 'Ritual'

Author: tweedisgood

Rating: G


Before attempting anything of importance, potent herbs are smoked; sacred music may be played; holy texts consulted. Symbolic but willing sacrifice of self and companion to danger and death is pledged.

Magic and the 'scientific' art of detection, the pursuit of true justice beyond the eye of man, are not so far apart as you might think, Sherlock Holmes.

The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge: Bent

[hisietari.livejournal.com]

Canon: The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge
Author: hisietari
Title: Bent
Rating: G

It is the nature of the funny, the strangely grotesque and exotic, to be built on cruelty. Yet, maybe, this point of view is just as upside down as Watson’s writings. The terrible is too much for the average human mind to handle. Cover it in theory, the mundane, or even the joke, and terror will make way for reason.

Wisteria Lodge: Definition

[spacemutineer.livejournal.com]

Canon Story: Wisteria Lodge
Title: Definition
Author: spacemutineer
Rating: PG
Author's Notes:1) This is based on the theory from the discussion post that since Holmes was a bit dead during this case, Watson actually tried to investigate it himself. And yes, I admit I can never resist a Reichenbach reference. I'm an addict, I know it.
2) I'm way behind on comments, I know, I'm sorry! So distracted with Olympics and Curiosity on Mars! Fun times for Mr. SM and me.


Eccles came in to see me blustering as much as the spring wind outside, complaining of palpitations, clearly less angina than just acute agitation.

"Singular." "Incredible." "Grotesque."

Words have meaning. I knew that well as a writer even before I was a... detective's trailing assistant? Occasional attempted bodyguard? Well-meaning, incapable friend? What? That was a definition I could not find.

The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge: Dispatched

[methylviolet10b]

Author: methylviolet10b
Rating: PG
Character(s): Sherlock Holmes, John Watson
Summary: Watson's thoughts on the case as it appeared in The Strand magazine.
Warnings: Mild spoilers for WIST, including a quote from the text.
Word Count: 60, plus a quote from WIST in italics.
Author's Notes: 60 words of my own inspired by one of the canon stories. This week's story was inspired by a specific passage in the story and the original publication date (1908) and title.
Disclaimer: I don't own them.

WIST -- The Adventure of the Wisteria Lodge

"I'm sure, Watson, a week in the country will be invaluable to you," he remarked. "It is very pleasant to see the first green shoots upon the hedges and the catkins on the hazels once again. With a spud, a tin box, and an elementary book on botany, there are instructive days to be spent."

“A Reminiscence of Mr. Sherlock Holmes” was the original – and truthful – title in The Strand. Yes, he based it off of the notes gleaned from my old dispatch-box, but he took great liberties with the material.

As a story, it was a patchwork full of oddities and errors. As an attempt to amuse me during my recovery, it was priceless.