M. Vernet

Jude Law is a married Watson in "Game of Shadows." Sign of the four has so much to like in it. My favorite scene is at the end of chapter 8, when Watson is tired and Sherlock plays the violin until he falls asleep. And running around with Toby the dog. And the boat chase. And the mystery itself. It almost seems that Mary and John falling in love was added in, or at least the engagement part. I will always wonder why ACD married off Watson. I like Mary, but she could of said no, or had a long engagement, why on earth would you want to separate your main characters? And then kill off the poor girl? That's a mystery worthy of Holmes!

Thanks for the concern. Parts of Michigan are without power because of a severe ice storm. It hit hardest about 50 miles north of my area (Jackson) We lucked out with just a little snow and cooooold temps. We had some sunshine today, but the icicles are still hanging from the eaves outside my window.

I like that "Don't look through the keyhole." The stories were meant for entertainment. ACD really couldn't help it if his characters took on a life of their own. But I think Sir Arthur would love to come back from the dead, but wouldn't want to talk about Holmes!

That would be too easy. It was a terrier.

But this was Victorian men. They weren't able to show their emotions in public and were afraid to show them even to each other. The way Sherlock distanced himself from his emotions would have been something men would aspire to. But I think ACD was a warm emotional man. During most of the early stories his wife was dying from TB and many stories were written just to provide money for her care. He must of been trying to live a life like Sherlock while having all the passion of Watson. When SIGN was written ACD had the same publisher as Oscar Wilde. A picture of Dorian Gray was published at the same time. ACD was friends with Wilde and in SIGN The Tobias character is supposed to be Wilde. This is also the story where Watson suddenly falls in love and gets engaged. I think he originally wanted Holmes and Watson to be a Victorian platonic partners just hinting at being Gay. But it got to hot for him to handle so he had to marry Watson off. Remember Wilde was imprisoned for two years for being Gay. 3GAR was written in 1924 and Sherlock finally gets to call Watson "My Watson." Right out loud.

This is a very interesting topic! At first I wanted to vote for HOUN. But I wrote an article about VALL and had to read it several times. I really got into it. ACD knew Pinkerton, he met him on a sea voyage, and most of that story is based on Pinkerton's Book 'The Molly Maguires and the Detective" and stories Pinkerton told ACD. I really like Jack McMurdo. It reminds me of a fanfiction crossover like Sherlock meets Detective Pinkerton. I like it because it brings America and Sherlock together. (And it mentions Michigan) And it has the Book code and Moriarty. Yep, it's now my favorite. The "Bull Pup" discussion was fascinating. But I wonder... Watson is based on a real Doctor ( Surgeon Major Preston) who was wounded in the battle of Maiwand (same as Watson) and he had a rather famous little dog Bobbie, who stood by the soldiers. The dog was honored and there is a famous painting of him in the battle. I wonder if ACD was thinking of that little dog? Ahhhh, the virtual snow is falling, and the real snow is falling outside my window, and I must get some sleep! Thank you all!

Wow,just...Wow!

Not a problem. Thanks for being so polite most people just tell me to ...well, you know the rest!

My Brother and I would be honored if you stole the idea and ran with it.

It's used for writing about the stories so everyone can know what story you mean without you having to spell out the name.

The first story I read as a child was "The Speckled Band" Loved the snake. I guess "Hound" is my all time favorite. But closest to my heart is "The Three Garridebs" It's the only story where Holmes really shows his affection for Watson. "For the one and only time I caught a glimpse of a great heart as well as of a great brain." By the way do you know the the Jay Findley Christ Code? He's a professor who made up a code for all the stories in the canon and all Sherlockian writers use it. You ignore "The Adventure of the..." or "The case of the ..." And go to the first main word, and take the first four letters as the code. "The Adventure of the Copper Beeches" is COPP "A Study in Scarlet i" is STUD. If the first word has an abbreviation in English already Like Charles (CHAS) or Engineer (ENGR) you use it. If the story has a number "The 3 Garridebs" you use the number and three letters. (3GAR) I personally got very geekily excited when I found out there was a code.

Hello, my Dears! I am from Michigan, USA. We are called Michiganders or Wolverines. We actually have Wolverines in this State. Michigan is on the North side of the MidWest and is shaped like a mitten. Everyone in Michigan puts their hand up to show you were they live. I'm in the palm of the mitten. We have a upper peninsula also. (You have to turn your mitten hand sideways to show the UP.) Michigan is famous for cherries, cars, Kirkland Warblers and Looooooog Winters. And Jack McMurdo AKA Jack Douglas spent some time working in the lumber camps of Northern Michigan.(The Valley of Fear)

Sorry, Dear, no Watson. Sir Ian plays a Elderly Sherlock whose memories are fading. Sounds like a real tear-jerker.

I belong to a BSI scion group in Michigan US called McMurdo's Camp (at) wordpress (dot) com. I adore them and write for them, but sometimes a Sherlockian needs to talk. It's pretty easy to join a scion group, each one has membership rules, and if you live nearby, they have dinners and such. I think the original BSI in London is by invitation only. Ahhhh, someday to visit Baker Street. Oh, and you are familiar with the family already? Usually takes a while . I'm impressed.

I've also been a fan for 40+ years, read "The Adventures" at 9. I remember when I read "The final problem" I thought Sherlock really died and I was devastated. I returned the book to my Brother's room where I stole all my reading material at the time, and after yelling at me to keep my hands off his stuff, he told me "Sherlock doesn't die , you idiot, he never dies." I had a taste of what it felt like when ACD first wrote it. So sad. I like to think of Jeremy Brett as the perfect older Victorian Sherlock and B.Cumberbatch as the perfect young Holmes. You can't have too many Holmes and Watsons. I hear Ian McKellen is going to play a retired Sherlock. Yeah!