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sherlock60This week we’re having a look at The Stock-broker’s Clerk. I’ve typed up a few thoughts to get the discussion going—please leave your own ideas in the comments!
...the high, somewhat strident tones of my old companion's voice. Is this the only description we get of Holmes’ voice? I have to say it sounds entirely unappealing…
“I trust that Mrs. Watson has entirely recovered from all the little excitements connected with our adventure of the Sign of Four." Bit of an odd thing for Holmes to lead with. SIGN must have happened several months ago. (This is June, and SIGN took place September 1888.) It’s not as though Watson cleared off immediately and this is the first time they’ve seen each other since.
"And the practice?" “I do my neighbour's when he goes. He is always ready to work off the debt." Watson neglects his practice in order to assist on cases. I wonder what the neighbour is off getting up to when he asks Watson to take over his…
“Whip your horse up, cabby, for we have only just time to catch our train." Well, perhaps you shouldn’t have been showing off to Dr. Watson with your deductions then. Holmes does seem terribly relaxed in the opening scene—as though he’s forgotten his client is outside waiting for him.
"Your neighbour is a doctor," said he, nodding at the brass plate. Yes, Holmes. That’s why Watson told you his neighbour would be looking after his practice. Was Holmes just not listening earlier..? Already thinking about the case?
“But this gentleman in the cab is my client, Mr. Hall Pycroft…” “Pycroft” is rather reminiscent of “Mycroft”... Could both names be pseudonyms supplied by Watson? Perhaps Holmes’ brother is actually called something dull and ordinary.
“...with a touch of the sheeny about his nose…” Oh, not terribly comfortable about this word being used. Though I suppose the fact that Holmes and Watson just let it go doesn’t necessarily mean that they approve.
“You remember Parker, who used to be Coxon's manager? He can never say enough about it." So has “Arthur Pinner” actually spoken to Parker? And how did Pinner know that Pycroft had been taken on at Mawson’s?
"You have a good memory?" said he. "Pretty fair," I answered, modestly. I always feel some sympathy for Victor Hatherley in ENGR—his desperation for work overrides his common sense. But here I think it’s Pycroft’s ego that overrides his common sense.
"And you can come up to-morrow evening, at seven, and let me know how you are getting on.” It’s The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes that makes the point Holmes is wasting time by travelling to Birmingham first thing in the morning. He can’t do anything there until the evening—it would have been more sensible to have begun his enquiries at Mawson’s.
Hall Pycroft shook his clenched hands in the air. "Good Lord!" he cried, "while I have been fooled in this way, what has this other Hall Pycroft been doing at Mawson's?” So what becomes of Hall Pycroft? Seems unlikely that Mawson’s would want to take him on after all this, even though it wasn’t his fault.
Next Sunday, 31st May, we’ll be having a look at The ‘Gloria Scott’. Hope you can join us then.
...the high, somewhat strident tones of my old companion's voice. Is this the only description we get of Holmes’ voice? I have to say it sounds entirely unappealing…
“I trust that Mrs. Watson has entirely recovered from all the little excitements connected with our adventure of the Sign of Four." Bit of an odd thing for Holmes to lead with. SIGN must have happened several months ago. (This is June, and SIGN took place September 1888.) It’s not as though Watson cleared off immediately and this is the first time they’ve seen each other since.
"And the practice?" “I do my neighbour's when he goes. He is always ready to work off the debt." Watson neglects his practice in order to assist on cases. I wonder what the neighbour is off getting up to when he asks Watson to take over his…
“Whip your horse up, cabby, for we have only just time to catch our train." Well, perhaps you shouldn’t have been showing off to Dr. Watson with your deductions then. Holmes does seem terribly relaxed in the opening scene—as though he’s forgotten his client is outside waiting for him.
"Your neighbour is a doctor," said he, nodding at the brass plate. Yes, Holmes. That’s why Watson told you his neighbour would be looking after his practice. Was Holmes just not listening earlier..? Already thinking about the case?
“But this gentleman in the cab is my client, Mr. Hall Pycroft…” “Pycroft” is rather reminiscent of “Mycroft”... Could both names be pseudonyms supplied by Watson? Perhaps Holmes’ brother is actually called something dull and ordinary.
“...with a touch of the sheeny about his nose…” Oh, not terribly comfortable about this word being used. Though I suppose the fact that Holmes and Watson just let it go doesn’t necessarily mean that they approve.
“You remember Parker, who used to be Coxon's manager? He can never say enough about it." So has “Arthur Pinner” actually spoken to Parker? And how did Pinner know that Pycroft had been taken on at Mawson’s?
"You have a good memory?" said he. "Pretty fair," I answered, modestly. I always feel some sympathy for Victor Hatherley in ENGR—his desperation for work overrides his common sense. But here I think it’s Pycroft’s ego that overrides his common sense.
"And you can come up to-morrow evening, at seven, and let me know how you are getting on.” It’s The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes that makes the point Holmes is wasting time by travelling to Birmingham first thing in the morning. He can’t do anything there until the evening—it would have been more sensible to have begun his enquiries at Mawson’s.
Hall Pycroft shook his clenched hands in the air. "Good Lord!" he cried, "while I have been fooled in this way, what has this other Hall Pycroft been doing at Mawson's?” So what becomes of Hall Pycroft? Seems unlikely that Mawson’s would want to take him on after all this, even though it wasn’t his fault.
Next Sunday, 31st May, we’ll be having a look at The ‘Gloria Scott’. Hope you can join us then.
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Date: 2015-05-24 01:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-05-24 03:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-05-24 07:37 pm (UTC)I like the suggestion Mycroft is an alias. It does sound a bit aliaic.
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Date: 2015-05-24 08:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-05-28 04:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-05-28 05:12 pm (UTC)If it helps, I've already given blanket permission for the comm's discussion posts to be linked to (as long as they've been posted by me) - your colleague said that the info had been put into your spreadsheet ^^
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Date: 2015-05-29 05:24 pm (UTC)