The Red Circle: From "His Last Bow" - (Originally titled The Adventure of the Bloomsbury Lodger)

[Inspector Baynes]

Starting a thread on this for general discussion.  Our club will be discussing it in our next meeting, so I'm dissecting it at present. 

Certainly the first paragraph of this story may serve as a great testament to the depiction of Sherlock Holmes Benedict Cumberbatch was given to portray in the BBC series some time ago..

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“WELL, MRS. WARREN, I cannot see that you have any particular cause for uneasiness, nor do I understand why I, whose time is of some value, should interfere in the matter. I really have other things to engage me.” So spoke Sherlock Holmes and turned back to the great scrapbook in which he was arranging and indexing some of his recent material. 

  ------

How dismissive of him. 

Of course, the following paragraphs lead us to understand he had a basic outline of the seeming 'problem' at hand already--yet that hardly justifies his brusqueness.

@Chronologist of this forum dates the story to 1901, (though he stands alone in that year), center of most of the 14 leading Chronologists who put it between about 1895 and 1903, with just one putting it early at 1887. 

Certainly Sherlock should have learned something about normal human compassion by now one would think.  But, he IS Sherlock after all, and perhaps 'maturing' looks different for him than it does for others?  Or is maturing even a possibility for him? 

More on this story later as I dissect some of its contents.

p.s. - for those who may not know, the original Manuscript title for this one was The Adventure of the Bloomsbury Lodger, taken of course from one written comment, "the mysterious lodger of Bloomsbury," a phrase in the writing several paragraphs into Part II of the adventure.  
   This would have been more in keeping with the titling of his earlier cases, but obviously others had different opinions about what would be 'catchy' by this time in Doyle's writing career, and The Red Circle is mentioned regularly throughout this Adventure.  (It is also very likely an offshoot of a real organization...a point to be noted later.)

First real question for those who may review this story: 
Which of the adaptations of Sherlock do you think best represents the Sherlock depicted in the Canon in this case?

[Inspector Baynes]

Another small item I can not help but find amusing as I dissect this case. 
(Several of these sorts of things occur through the Canon, some few of which are significant for establishing probable time of day and even dating of case.  This particular one is just amusing.)

Beginning of Part II of The Red Circle:  "As we walked rapidly down Howe Street I glanced back at the building which we had left. There, dimly outlined at the top window, I could see the shadow of a head, a woman’s head, gazing tensely, rigidly, out into the night, waiting with breathless suspense for the renewal of that interrupted message." 

What a great deal Watson is able to discern from a "dimly outlined...shadow of a head."  One wonders at what magic he could perform in a clearly visible setting.

I can buy that PERHAPS he could distinguish it as a woman's head...though even hairdos are deceptive in the shadows.  As to the rest, I am left astonished.

[Carol the Dabbler]

On 12/29/2022 at 1:24 PM, Inspector Baynes said:

The Red Circle: From "His Last Bow" - (Originally titled The Adventure of the Bloomsbury Lodger)

I was confused for a bit -- I've read the story "His Last Bow" but there's nothing in it like what you describe.  Then I remembered that the story "His Last Bow" appeared in a book called His Last Bow (but the forum doesn't allow italics in thread titles).  And I see now that the book also contains a story called "The Red Circle" which I don't believe I'm familiar with.  It's truly a "short" story, though, so I plan to read it soon.

On 1/1/2023 at 10:58 AM, Inspector Baynes said:

There, dimly outlined at the top window, I could see the shadow of a head, a woman’s head, gazing tensely, rigidly, out into the night, waiting with breathless suspense for the renewal of that interrupted message." 

What a great deal Watson is able to discern from a "dimly outlined...shadow of a head."

Though I have no idea what the story is about, I suppose that Watson deduced (or perhaps I should say assumed) the tense, rigid gaze and the breathless suspense from the apparent fact that the shadow wasn't moving.  I'm also guessing that he assumed the shadow belonged to a particular woman, who he knew to be waiting for the rest of some message.

 

[Van Buren Supernova]

On 12/30/2022 at 2:24 AM, Inspector Baynes said:

“WELL, MRS. WARREN, I cannot see that you have any particular cause for uneasiness, nor do I understand why I, whose time is of some value, should interfere in the matter. I really have other things to engage me.” So spoke Sherlock Holmes and turned back to the great scrapbook in which he was arranging and indexing some of his recent material. 

How dismissive of him. 

Of course, the following paragraphs lead us to understand he had a basic outline of the seeming 'problem' at hand already--yet that hardly justifies his brusqueness
@Chronologist of this forum dates the story to 1901, (though he stands alone in that year), center of most of the 14 leading Chronologists who put it between about 1895 and 1903, with just one putting it early at 1887. 

Certainly Sherlock should have learned something about normal human compassion by now one would think.  But, he IS Sherlock after all, and perhaps 'maturing' looks different for him than it does for others?  Or is maturing even a possibility for him? 

Interesting. I actually have an opposite take on this. While I understand that it could sound dismissive to some, it sounds like something I would say when I was interrupted at work by someone I know well could contribute nothing but be disruptive. This depends on Holmes's previous experiences with this particular Mrs. Warren, to give him the benefit of the doubt.

That person in my real life would come to share story-gossips, or to cry her eyes out on her daily problems. Don't get me wrong, I listened to her the first few times, trying to help, but soon I learned that everything was overdramatized, and my sympathy went out of the window. I was in worse place than her. I know, different people need different support, and then again, it's not a defense, some friends and acquaintances do have complaints about me.

 

Mrs. Warren: " But he would never cease talking of it-your kindness, sir, and the way in which you brought light into the darkness."

Holmes was accessible upon the side of flattery, and also, to do him justice, upon the side on kindliness.

Back to Holmes, to add to that, if we look at the subsequent paragraphs above, Holmes was swayed very easily by flattery and the image of kindliness. Which is, upon reading, was a surprise to me because the one I know 'well' from BBC Sherlock would not react that way, even though he might secretly like it.

I wonder why we didn't see more on this from Moffiss.

 

Holmes leaned forward and laid his long, thin finger upon the woman's shoulder. He has an almost hypnotic power of soothing when he wished.

And this! Did we see this? My mind goes to Mrs. Hudson's scene in SIB, but then again, Mrs. Hudson was a tough cookie and played it to the abductors. Soo Lin? My mind is rusty.

 

 

 

[Van Buren Supernova]

And...

I am stealing this:

Bleat, Watson--unmitigated bleat!

 

I have a lot more to say but I was supposed to lie half-dead on my bed. Had an exhausting day, non-stop bleats and meeting with humans again for hours, it wears me down a bit harder than it used to. Instead of doing that, I read this because I can't resist not-face-to-face good discussion.

One more thing to add: 

The Red Circle could be inspired by The Black Hand, a real Italian-American criminal organization around that time.

 

Brb after recharging.

[Inspector Baynes]

You are, of course, 'correct' on all points.
That said, I'm of that kind of person who seemingly can 'never' find an excuse for being blunt and abrupt with people, regardless of my own circumstances.
For me, life is not a matter of caring for, or giving reign to, the self... but what we do and how we treat others - at all times.

So though I well see and note the subsequent statements about Holmes "at times", I also note an all too frequent tendency to be the stern, disciplined, and dare I say 'selfish' "Holmes"... the one most seem to focus on and certainly BBC Sherlock takes to excess. 

Thus the reason I address only the very first paragraph as a potential testament to the character presented by Cumberbatch (and a few others, I do believe.)

It's very likely Red Circle is based on a very real organization.  Doyle routinely dealt with such things in his writing.  I will be bringing that out in more depth soon, but I want to do some independent research yet before I write it up.

54 minutes ago, Van Buren Supernova said:

Had an exhausting day, non-stop bleats and meeting with humans again for hours, it wears me down a bit harder than it used to.

At my age, certainly agree.  I find my resistance to the gnawing human intervention with peace more difficult each year now.  Yet I do hope still not to let my guard down and be dismissive or rude and abrupt with people.  Everyone has enough troubles of their own without my additions, I fear.

[Carol the Dabbler]

2 hours ago, Inspector Baynes said:

I do hope still not to let my guard down and be dismissive or rude and abrupt with people.  Everyone has enough troubles of their own without my additions, I fear.

Yes, I'm sure we all have our troubles.  I just wish that everyone were as cognizant of that as you are!

[Van Buren Supernova]

19 hours ago, Inspector Baynes said:

Yet I do hope still not to let my guard down and be dismissive or rude and abrupt with people.  Everyone has enough troubles of their own without my additions, I fear.

Certainly, it's great to have people like you around and I second Carol. Maybe it's not the right word, but it's intriguing for me to see various reactions to people like Sherlock. I read the book and thought about how polite he is (ha) and stroke my chin when others say otherwise. I think Cumberbatch's Sherlock is brash, but then again, I relate a lot to him and many times I wish I could get away with his attitude. But rest assured I believe I am decent to people, especially to strangers and service staff, until some point when I think I know them enough or have enough because they are disruptive, and as a story twist, disrespectful and giving me trouble, in my opinion. I also find it heartbreaking to see my kindest friend being taken for granted because he is way too nice. 

I also want to add, for some people it's not their intention to be rude, it's just a different way to handle social interaction. When one prefers to be left alone and doesn't bother to mingle, for example, it could be interpreted as rude too. To me, it's social anxiety.

Back to Red Circle.

I like the story, and don't feel that it ends abruptly because we don't need to resolve everything. But I do have some nitpicking.

The couple was aware of their dire situation, so let's imagine this. Was it necessary for the husband to signal Beware three times? Anyone would be suspicious to see that, no?

ATTENTA three times! 1 20 20 5 15 20 1 times three. In total, someone could see 243 flashings without the message even going anywhere! That is a lot of flashings and I am sure there are other people living opposite. I don't even think he needed to say it one time because their situation was clear. I also don't understand why he didn't just say it through the newspaper. He could have suspected that the enemy had found out the method. Still, it would be quite foolish to send that code. High red house with white stone facings. Third floor. Second window left.

I believe, please correct me if I'm wrong, brick was a common building material since 1850s, and the houses commonly stood at two-three stories. So, it could be difficult to identify the specific location mentioned therefore the husband felt safer doing so. But that would depend on why he needed to warn his wife about, especially after his previous message that the path is clearing. Did he see the enemy lurking around (just like what his wife saw?) Giving a warning would be counter-effective. As an influential organization, it's also very possible that the enemy just sent people around to watch out for three-story brick houses that have some residential opposite.

Another thing, Sherlock deduced the occupant of the flat was different because of the language for orders sent to Mrs. Warren. I am wondering if it would be more intriguing if Sherlock deduced it from the newspaper ads.

In the 80s, I often watched my father send 'encrypted' telegrams. They were not spy messages, but it was a significant effort to save money and time. It was (and still, in today's communication) common to use abbreviations to substitute longer words. 

I don't know about Victorian times, but as recently as three years ago, I placed an ad in the newspaper and even though it was no way as extensive as telegram, I used the same method, because it was still expensive. Every word and every space counts.

So, instead of identifying weird messages in the paper, Sherlock thought it was odd that there was one message that didn't use abbreviations (for reason that it would be difficult for his wife to pick it up because of limited English). What do you think? Just for fun discussion.

 

[Inspector Baynes]

1 hour ago, Van Buren Supernova said:

What do you think? Just for fun discussion.

Yes, you touch on several of the issues with this particular case.
I'll get back to you 'soon' with some thoughts and comments. Life is at hand at the moment.