#acd houn

[strange-as-it-may-seem]

- The Hound of The Baskervilles (ch. 12, ”Death on The Moor”), Arthur Conan Doyle 

[ID: a screenshot of a text that reads: “I stooped under the rude lintel, and there he sat upon a stone outside, his gray eyes dancing with amusement as they fell upon my astonished features. He was thin and worn, but clear and alert, his keen face bronzed by the sun and roughened by the wind. In his tweed suit and cloth cap he looked like any other tourist upon the moor, and he had contrived, with that cat-like love of personal cleanliness which was one of his characteristics, that his chin should be as smooth and his linen as perfect as if he were in Baker Street.”/end of ID]

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hound of the baskervilles, ch 9-end

I never really got around to writing up any notes on week 3 and now it’s week 4 so, here goes.

One thing that struck me, this time round with this story, is how it’s made up of at least three stories that could have each been cases on their own. Dr Mortimer brings Sir Henry’s case to Holmes; one could imagine the officials at Princetown prison maybe coming to Holmes to help find their escapee if that went on long enough; and Laura Lyons, the abandoned woman, is a lot like other women clients Holmes has helped. She even has a typewriting business like Mary Sutherland in IDEN. Then there are truly unconnected elements, but which add so much depth to the characters and overall story: Dr Mortimer’s archaeology hobby, Frankland’s legal hobby, the ongoing renovations at Baskerville Hall which are bound to bring people into contact with one another, and generate topics of gossip in nearby Coombe Tracey. Selden nearly got away without being connected to the Hound case, except for the hand-me-down clothing, though his connection to the Barrymores lent so much intrigue to the life at the hall. He serves as Barrymore’s alibi regarding the London business with the boots, there’s no way either of them would have been away from the hall overnight. I wonder what sort of conversation passed between Selden and Holmes while they were “neighbors” out on the moor.

The reunion between Watson and Holmes in the stone hut is so sweet, they are both really so happy to see each other again, even if Holmes is a little vexed at being found out before he planned to be. His explanation for keeping Watson in the dark about his presence sounds SO MUCH like what we understand about the post-Reichenbach hiatus, too. His need to operate independently, his fear that Watson might do something indiscreet,  and Watson’s hurt feelings about being excluded and not trusted (which he gets over with Holmes’ reassurance of his value)

I don’t know if anyone else twigged on this, but the description of the mire, in the part where they are trying to chase Stapleton, “the dark, quivering mire, which shook for yards in soft undulations around our feet.” tells me it is a quaking bog. I have been on one, back when I was a kid and my dad was in the mycological club. A quaking bog is a lake or pond that has become covered over with a thick mat of vegetation, but which still has water between that and the bottom. Much of it was perfectly safe to walk on, but one did always have to be a bit cautious, and the undulating surface was  pretty cool. Because the plants don’t have access to much actual soil, only certain things can grow in this unique ecosystem, including carnivorous plants like venus fly traps, sundews, and pitcher plants (which we saw plenty of).

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Hound of the Baskervilles, ch 5-8

I’m really enjoying the “Magpie Audio” reading on youtube, there are several audiobook versions of HOUN but I’ve settled on this one quite happily.

Watson is so pleased when Holmes recommends him to Sir Henry as the best man to have by one’s side in a tight place, and he seems almost flustered between Holmes’ praise, Sir Henry’s appreciation, and the promise of adventure. I think his “danger boner” is evident, and if anything stoked by Holmes’ warning at the end of chapter 5.

Watson seems a bit smitten with Sir Henry, but then again with Beryl, I think he rather enjoys meeting new people. (although, when Holmes wanted a long think in an earlier chapter, Watson spent the whole time at his club, having no “intimate friends” to call upon) I do get the feeling that he is thoroughly enjoying this country vacation with adventure, and the trust Holmes has placed in him to protect their client and write his daily reports.

Earlier this week, I also watched the Granada episode, and while it’s lovely, they have made one choice which I think is contrary to the text... but perhaps justified by not wanting to give away the mystery too soon. TV being a visual medium... The person who followed Sir Henry with the “dark square beard” and told the cab driver he was “Sherlock Holmes” was, I believe, not Barrymore, but Stapleton disguised. He would have reason to want the old boot, while Barrymore would not, and he would have brought Beryl with him to keep her under his control, and it must have been she who sent the pasted warning message. While the telegram test proved inconclusive, the Barrymores would have been busy at Baskerville hall, preparing for Sir Henry, but more especially, keeping Selden fed and hidden, not something they could neglect for even a day. Stapleton was careful to return to Dartmoor ahead of Sir Henry so he could be seen running around with the butterfly net and calling on the neighbors, so as to give the impression that he had been at home the whole time. I compared Watson’s descriptions of the men and the one given by the cab driver, and Stapleton is shorter than Barrymore, and fits the few other descriptors better. 

Ah, the imagery of the moors really makes me want to go there and see it!

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Hound of the Baskervilles, ch 1-4

I’ve listened to the audiobook a couple times this week, and what stuck out to me (aside from a BUNCH of well loved “bits of the giant lego set” like conductor of light, elementary, you know my methods, features of interest, vatican cameos,  and Holmes describing Watson as “not a man with intimate friends”) is how similar Holmes’ description of Dr Mortimer is to what we remember of Dr Watson at the beginning of STUD: under 30, amiable, with a dog (although we never actually meet the dog Watson mentioned in STUD). Watson’s career might have been very similar except for going into the army and getting shot. Yet Mortimer’s examination of the scene of Sir Charles’ death is so similar to how Holmes himself would have done it, that Holmes remarks with delight on it, he’s “after our own heart”.  (which is a really sweet thing to say.)

But Dr Mortimer’s interest in Holmes’ skull is a bit creepy, if I say so myself. I Kind of like how in the Granada episode, Watson’s expression changes subtly at that point.

Structurally, this story front-loads most of the back story, with the manuscript and Mortimer’s account of Sir Charles’ death, unlike STUD and SIGN where the back story comes at the end.