1 - 20 of 29 Bookmarks
Navigation
List of Bookmarks
-
A Pertinacious Idea by victorianpining
Fandoms: Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms, Sherlock (TV)
28 Dec 2024
Tags
Summary
"I am compelled to admit that, having taken my pen in my hand, I do begin to realize that the matter must be presented in such a way as may interest the reader."
One wintry evening, Dr. Watson returns home to find that Holmes has rekindled their most longstanding disagreement by creating his own rendition of one of Watson's narratives. Braced for criticism, in reading Holmes' story Watson instead finds the one thing he had long believed Holmes to be incapable of giving.
-
Bookmark Notes:
the meta-layers of this, oh my goodness. the 'truth' it presents is so well-written, i just needed to continually re-adjust my understanding of it.
"home" is their shared house in later years; Holmes's story is, of course, his manuscript of "The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier," which Watson initially assumes is a work of satire but, as he reads it, he recognizes what Holmes is saying to him. it becomes clear that 'the stories' as this Watson and this Holmes wrote them are inspired by 'real' events, but not representative of them; even less so than is usually assumed -- James M. Dodd and Godfrey Emsworth are complete fabrications by Holmes, stand-ins (along with Emsworth senior) that Watson recognizes immediately as Holmes's way of recounting a pivotal time in their early relationship. it switches between Watson's memory of those events and Holmes's fictional narrative (i.e. the actual text of "Blanched Soldier"), unbelievably smoothly. it's a fascinating take on the story and fantastic conversation with canon.
there is a certain arrogance to Watson here, playing his reading public for fools, and also believing he is the singular person in all the world who could possibly discern from Holmes's story the love and regard that suffuses every word -- delightful. this evening finds Watson and Holmes a bit prickly, a bit irritated with each other; their characterization makes them feel all the more domestic, all the more glorious in their mundanity. and the premise that this is the experience Watson draws upon when he pens "Three Garridebs" for the same collection is deeply affecting!
-
Bookmark Notes:
<3
-
Bookmark Collections:
-
Bookmark Collections:
-
Bookmark Notes:
A beautiful Christmas tale.
-
Bookmark Notes:
Amazing subtext tie-in with The Blanched Soldier! Heartwarming!