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vivdunstanOn to another story, and one that I find personally one of the most disturbing in the entire Holmes canon.
The story starts well, set atmospherically in the wild autumnal weather of late September, which feels so timely for me reading it in early October! A young man comes to Holmes and Watson, with a fantastic tale, of an uncle sent a mysterious message of five orange pips, with the legacy continuing down through other members of the family, who are dying in strange circumstances, one after the other.
This idea of being sent a mysterious message as a precursor to impending doom is a common trope, and a welcome one. But what makes this story stand out horribly for me is that the recipient of the message is a virulent racist, and would have been a slave owner when he was in Florida and had a "plantation" there. And even worse than this his nephew, who comes to Holmes for help, seems highly sympathetic to many of his uncle's views.
The "villains" of the piece who sent the message are the Ku Klux Klan, then little known in Victorian Britain, and somewhat in decline, though to have a strong resurgence in the early 20th century, with more shocking acts. For someone looking back from now, and the fight for black civil rights, the spectre of the Ku Klux Klan is a horrifying one. Yet in this story they are presented more as a threat to their former members. References to their infamous treatment of - and indeed crimes against - black people are brushed aside in a few words.
I do like the mention of the development and popularisation of the bicycle, another "new" technology covered in the Holmes stories. Another nineteenth-century author is name dropped, William Clark Russell. And I really liked how the case was resolved in the end by Holmes spending many hours poring over the Lloyds shipping registers, figuring out which ships had been at the right time in Pondicherry, Dundee (!!!!!) and London. Which he pinpoints, and is arranging for the murderers to be caught. Only for fate to intercede, and their ship to be lost in the Atlantic.
This is presented as though it's fair justice. But the Ku Klux Klan are still out there. And elements of the story are alarmingly sympathetic to their racist views. Yes it was a different time. Yes many people shared - and indeed many still do - those views. But I don't like it one bit.
The story starts well, set atmospherically in the wild autumnal weather of late September, which feels so timely for me reading it in early October! A young man comes to Holmes and Watson, with a fantastic tale, of an uncle sent a mysterious message of five orange pips, with the legacy continuing down through other members of the family, who are dying in strange circumstances, one after the other.
This idea of being sent a mysterious message as a precursor to impending doom is a common trope, and a welcome one. But what makes this story stand out horribly for me is that the recipient of the message is a virulent racist, and would have been a slave owner when he was in Florida and had a "plantation" there. And even worse than this his nephew, who comes to Holmes for help, seems highly sympathetic to many of his uncle's views.
The "villains" of the piece who sent the message are the Ku Klux Klan, then little known in Victorian Britain, and somewhat in decline, though to have a strong resurgence in the early 20th century, with more shocking acts. For someone looking back from now, and the fight for black civil rights, the spectre of the Ku Klux Klan is a horrifying one. Yet in this story they are presented more as a threat to their former members. References to their infamous treatment of - and indeed crimes against - black people are brushed aside in a few words.
I do like the mention of the development and popularisation of the bicycle, another "new" technology covered in the Holmes stories. Another nineteenth-century author is name dropped, William Clark Russell. And I really liked how the case was resolved in the end by Holmes spending many hours poring over the Lloyds shipping registers, figuring out which ships had been at the right time in Pondicherry, Dundee (!!!!!) and London. Which he pinpoints, and is arranging for the murderers to be caught. Only for fate to intercede, and their ship to be lost in the Atlantic.
This is presented as though it's fair justice. But the Ku Klux Klan are still out there. And elements of the story are alarmingly sympathetic to their racist views. Yes it was a different time. Yes many people shared - and indeed many still do - those views. But I don't like it one bit.
no subject
Date: 2024-10-07 09:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-10-07 09:06 pm (UTC)In this case the link is that the ship the murderers were on is variously in Pondicherry (India), Dundee and London. Which lets Holmes identify it.
I must say it was an "Urk!" moment for me when Dundee was mentioned :)
no subject
Date: 2024-10-08 01:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-10-09 07:54 pm (UTC)