Discussion Post: The Reigate Squires

[spacemutineer.livejournal.com]

Welcome back, friends! Today we're looking at The Reigate Squires (or Squire or Puzzle...), and it's another where a sickly Holmes stumbles upon a mystery during a convalescence a la The Devil's Foot. What did you think of it? As always here are a few of my thoughts and questions to get you started. Please add your own!

- So who do you think sent for Watson to tell him Holmes was ill in Lyons? Holmes himself? Was he really sick at all? Or was he just tired and depressed? Or lonely?

- Watson says Holmes and Hayter have much in common. Do you see the similarity he describes? What do you think he means?

- Has anyone ever been as lucky as Holmes to have a friend like Watson? The good doctor comes running to another country at the drop of a hat when he is needed, he keeps an eye on Holmes' health when Holmes can't be bothered, he is willing to cover and take the blame in Holmes' schemes, trusting the detective implicitly, and he is admiring and impressed rather than insulted and furious when he discovers Holmes faked his dramatic fainting spell. He is an extraordinary companion.

- "I was sorry to cause you the sympathetic pain which I know that you felt." Is he really? Certainly doesn't seem like it. And this is just the first time (I think) Holmes scares the hell out of Watson in this way. He has even worse things in store for his friend and everyone else later, as we know.

- One thing that is very curious about the Reigate affair here is that at the end of it, we still don't really know what was going on. Who is Annie Morrison? What was she doing with Alec Cunningham and William Kirwan?

Comments

[wytchcroft.livejournal.com]

LOL! ah, the plot...well...er...

Ignore it - probably for the best.

It's very rare that i say this but Holmes is clearly wired out of his gourd here.

All that being said, it's a rare case that gets this brutal and i like it a lot.

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

I think Holmes probably was ill, but due to a combination of things: having pushed himself so hard his body needs to stop and recuperate, which combined with Holmes' tendency to blackness when not occupied would leave him in a bad way.

[hisietari.livejournal.com]

I don't doubt that Holmes really was severely ill, on his scale at least. It doesn't matter if it was physical exhaustion or depression, as both usually come as a couple, cause and increase each other.

Yes, Watson's heart must really be made out of liquid gold. He's so very understanding, isn't he? To me, the most wondrous thing is that we see the stories from his perspective, which tells, I think, a lot about the writer behind the character, as he'd have to understand best what's going on in Watson. I think I'd have loved to get to know Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in person.
I am quite sure that Holmes appreciates Watson a lot, but does not always find the means to express his fondness that largely. But it's clear that he trusts him like no one else, and that is a huge gift, too.

Alright, speculation. *rubs hands* Obviously Annie is part of the whole scheme, she might even play a big role in the lawsuit. A witness? A bribed one? Maybe having an affair with the younger Cunningham? Or maybe she is a burglar herself, or has assisted in burglary in the past, the break into Acton's library for example. However, as she was only mentioned in the note to Kirwan, I think that she is someone Kirwan cared about, a lover maybe, or a relative. Blackmailing here?