Carol the Dabbler

Maybe I should have checked it out a few years back when I needed to use my cellphone most of the time! Welcome to Sherlock Forum!

Hello, Brian, and welcome to Sherlock Forum! If you're looking for the exact same edition that you had before, I'd suggest you look in some used-book stores, especially those quirky old places with an eclectic assortment of books for sale. And keep re-checking those stores every now and then (because their stock is likely to change considerably over time). You can also check some online used-book sellers, some of whom list their wares on Amazon, so that could be a good place to start (though you'll probably need to wade through an awful lot of newer editions in the process). If you're looking for any collection with the same contents as that one, Ouidis has some good info above. And if some other criteria are important to you, please elaborate and we'll do our best to help.

The dollar sure ain't what it used to be! But I don't think that's the whole story -- when I was born, my parents didn't have medical insurance, even though my father had a union job -- apparently insurance wasn't a "thing" yet. But even with just that single blue-collar job, they paid the hospital and the doctors themselves -- without going broke! I'm pretty sure the current high cost (even adjusted for inflation) of medical care is largely due to the prevalence of insurance -- because A} people feel like the care is "free" so they often go to the doctor even when they could easily have cared for themselves at home (so the cost of insurance goes up to cover that), and B} every time insurance starts covering something new, the doctors and hospitals start pushing it. For example, most hospital rooms in the US used to be "semi-private" (two beds/patients per room), but once insurance companies started covering private (one-bed/patient) rooms, the hospitals remodeled, because they could get paid more per square foot with private rooms, even though the cost per patient was higher. And of course the patients didn't complain, because they were now getting what had been a luxury at no extra cost to themselves (except for higher insurance costs). Been years since I saw a semi-private room (and I don't even remember wards).

Thanks for that historical reminder! Watson's write-up is historical in another way, too. I can't speak for the UK, but here in the US, doctors haven't made house calls since the 1960s.

Hello, maharrashid, and welcome to Sherlock Forum! Thanks for the detailed information, and please make yourself at home.

Presumably -- assuming she's the female client (Mary Morstan) in "Sign of the Four." Or maybe she was simply absent-minded (like ACD). Dorothy Sayers (who wrote the Lord Peter Wimsey stories) had an interesting explanation: Although Watson's middle name is never divulged, the initial is "H" -- which she conjectured stands for Hamish, which is the Scottish equivalent of James. So maybe Mary didn't like the name John, but she thought it was silly for an English man to have a Scottish name, so she just translated it. Now that you mention it, I agree. He does *not* seem to assume (as Holmes often does assume) that women are ipso facto ignorant and illogical -- nor does he write women as just like men except for the obvious. His female characters are generally quite believable individuals. Maybe that comes from his years as a physician and/or from his acquaintance with Dr. Joseph Bell, the med-school professor whose astute observations inspired ACD to invent Holmes. I, too, like the women you mentioned and the stories they were in (with the last two being "Scandal in Bohemia" and "Copper Beeches").

Hi there, Crazycat, and welcome to Sherlock Forum! My own best guess regarding why Holmes made that comment in "Empty House" is that when ACD submitted the story to his publisher, he had totally forgotten that Watson was married (presumably because, as you point out, the stories always focussed on Holmes & Watson). So the publisher said wait a minute, you can't just have Watson moving back in with Holmes -- what about Mrs. Watson?! At which point ACD stuck in that one reference to Watson's bereavement (and promptly forgot about it, I suspect). The late Mrs. Watson was apparently the female client from "Sign of the Four," who became engaged to Watson by the end of that story. Been a while since I read any of the original Holmes stories, so the only other reference to a wife that I recall just offhand is the one who addresses him as "James" at the beginning of "Man with the Twisted Lip" -- do you recall whether that was before or after "Empty House"?

Thanks, J.P.! If you happen to come across any online videos from that event, please let us know.

You got it! You can also quote your own earlier posts. If you ever want to quote just a part of an earlier post, rather than all of it, that's easy too. Highlight the part you want to quote, and a little button will pop up, saying "Quote selection" -- if you click on that button, the part you've selected (by highlighting it) will be quoted. Alternatively, if you want to quote most of an earlier post, you can use the Quote button (as Caya explained) and then delete the parts you don't want.

You just did!

Poor fellow -- I don't feel sorry for him! I hardly know any Chinese. Do you know if an English translation is available?

Hello, Lisa, and welcome to Sherlock Forum! As Caya said, your English is fine. What part of China are you from?

Life seems to be pretty much a series of trial and error. In other words, see what works for you -- and what doesn't. During an awkward phase of my life, I had frequent panic attacks and near-constant anxiety, which I assumed were caused by stress. Counseling sessions helped me develop coping techniques, which helped me a lot, just being able to deal with it better, but I still had the basic problem. Some years later, I discovered quite by accident that the panic and anxiety occurred because I had developed a chemical sensitivity to a common household substance. Since then I've avoided that substance, and have been mercifully panic free. Best of luck in learning how to deal with your depression.

Watson does look interesting, though it's apparently available only via streaming: Those interested in catching season one's conclusion can stream the Watson season finale for free through Fubo, DirecTV Stream or Paramount Plus. All three streaming services offer free trials for new subscribers to enjoy before committing to a paid subscription. Apparently Netflix is also carrying it now. You can see the trailer plus a few clips on IMDb. According to IMDb, there are a few other canon (or in some cases, perhaps nod-to-canon) characters in the show: Sherlock Holmes (presumably in flashbacks, as the series is set after his death), Dr. Mary Morstan, Moriarty, Detective Lestrade, and Mycroft Holmes.

No idea how long it's been since I watched any of it -- well, *some* idea, actually, since I was clearly watching the 4th season in 2017. But I haven't cranked up my courage sufficiently to watch it recently. (For one thing, Alex would insist that we watch the whole shebang.) Please feel free to post any comments you might have about the show or about certain episodes (either on existing threads or roll your own). That might stir up some actual discussions about the show.

Artie!!! How ya doin'? Yeah, "no news" is good news, right?

Thanks, guys -- so this is all part of the same thing that's behind the novel The Da Vinci Code, which I have actually read -- but was not terribly impressed by, since it seems to focus on what I felt were extraneous matters (e.g., orgies).

Bit odd for a game to be named in Latin, isn't it? I'm totally ignorant about the matter, but guessing that its name came from one of the sources that Frank mentioned -- what do you think, Frank?

Several articles have been mentioned (and I'm easily confused) -- so I'm not sure which one you're referring that has the links.

This may be irrelevant, but I just reread the second article that Enigma posted above. It's got a nice close-up shot of the inscription, and now I'm not so sure that the final "dot" isn't just a natural freckle in the stone. It's a bit further away from its letter than any of the others (even though that M is the widest letter of the bunch), plus it's right next to a cluster of smaller freckles.

And it's got its own thread already! Welcome, Frank, and please feel free to stick around. Even if you don't happen to be interested in Sherlock Holmes, we have a lot of miscellaneous topics that you may enjoy. I haven't read your book, of course (having only heard of it just now), but my current best guess is that the letters are the initials of a sentence. I'll admit that wouldn't shed much light on the meaning, though!

Came here to post some news and coincidentally happened upon that post, which I had completely forgotten about. Well, they're apparently back to considering a "bridge movie." Don't offhand recall where I heard about it, but here's the IMDb page. It's said to cover "Aragorn's quest to capture Gollum between The Hobbit and Fellowship of the Ring ... to keep the Ring's location [a secret] from Sauron," Philippa Boyens is listed among the writers, and so far, looks like they also have Andy Serkis onboard (as both Gollum and Director), plus Ian McKellen and Elijah Wood (yes, as Frodo) -- but no mention of Viggo Mortensen. They also say "The film explores Aragorn's early adventures as a ranger," so maybe they're hoping to avoid the dreaded Elrond-Legolas Syndrome, where a character looks older as you go back in time. Mortensen hasn't been in a Tolkien movie since 2003's Return of the King, and has meanwhile aged from his mid-40s to to his late 60s, a bit old to be playing a "young" Aragorn. I'd guess they're looking to cast a Mortensen-type actor who's somewhere around 30. As for the three actors listed, Serkis will doubtless be doing Gollum via motion-capture again, McKellen can simply forgo some of the aging makeup he used last time -- and I have absolutely no idea what Frodo would be doing in this story.

Then again, I recall when Brett was being compared to Rathbone. And presumably Rathbone started out being compared to somebody before that. But as you say, maybe in a few more years. Well, I could probably imagine it, but Moffat & Gatiss have been quite adamant that they would never recast either Cumberbatch or Freeman. If when you say "them" however you mean "somebody" in the relatively distant future -- who knows? I guess if the original show (hopefully as typified by the first couple of seasons) has made a sufficiently positive impression on the current younger generations, the concept might well outlive Cumberbatch & Co. So do I. Wasn't McKellen's Holmes struggling with the early stages of dementia? Barring the imminent development of a cure (yes, please!), I don't see how they could explain him being able to remember the case long enough to investigate it. Though -- hmm -- I'm pretty sure they "aged" him with makeup for that movie. If so, then perhaps (without the "old" makeup) they could do a prequel. He's only in his mid-80s and according to IMDb, currently has several projects lined up (including something called The Hunt for Gollum). Now that you mention it, so am I. (Though according to Wikipedia, "In 2000, Monica Dolan starred as Russell in a 4-part BBC Radio drama of The Beekeeper's Apprentice, with James Fox playing Holmes.") Apparently King is continuing to write the books (with the most recent one published just six months ago, in June 2025). A while back I did sort through several boxes of attic books, and now have one large boxful that I probably wouldn't mind giving away (but I want to look through once more, just to be sure), just need to grit my teeth and follow through. Then I can triage some more boxfuls. Fortunately I don't seem to be acquiring books very often nowadays (and I do hope that Alexander McCall Smith will wrap up his No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series pretty soon). My big quandary is finding a good home for the books that I don't keep. When Mom died, I took several boxes of perfectly good, interesting books to the local used-book chain, but they were interested in only two (!) of the newer books. The charity shops and the library book sales are a lot more open-minded, I think, but I wish I knew how many donated books they actually find new homes for -- vs. how many they umm, don't.

Hmm, good question! Well, there are several published cases where the initial consultation enables him to see that the client is mistaken about certain aspects of the situation, thus saving him the time it might have taken to ferret out this information in the field. But I don't offhand recall any where he never leaves Baker Street, even though there may be some (especially considering that I haven't read all of them). As you mention though, he does say in A Study in Scarlet that "Now and again a case turns up which is a little more complex. Then I have to bustle about and see things with my own eyes." So, as Caya suggests, perhaps those complex cases are mostly the ones that Watson finds interesting enough to submit for publication. Each of those cases would clearly take more of his time, including travel, whereas he could presumably handle something like ten mere consultations per week when he's at home.

Yes, indeed, me too. Though I suspect the technique is actually far older than either.