vivdunstan (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
vivdunstan) wrote2025-04-02 02:26 pm
vivdunstan) wrote2025-04-02 02:26 pm
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Sherlock Holmes reread: The Reigate Squire
Onto another story and going to discuss this with
I don't remember much of this tale, which is another set away from London, in Surrey specifically. Holmes and Watson are on a recuperative break, staying with an old friend of Watson's. Then get involved with a curious mystery of thefts.
As in some past tales, this one revolves around a rivalry between two different households. The reader is already surely on alert, when the only two recent thefts locally concern two houses who are in legal dispute with each other. Unsurprisingly one of the families is far from innocent ...
The most interesting aspect of the tale for me concerned the scrap of a torn note found in the dead man's hand. Which Holmes cleverly analysed, and proved that it had been written by a father and son, who staged a robbery at their own home, while killing their blackmailing employee. And they had earlier robbed the other house. That the original note had been written by two men, alternating words, was a highly original idea. And though the reader of the story couldn't determine this themselves, I didn't feel cheated as Holmes explained the mechanism.
This is also one of Holmes's more theatrical roles, acting outlandishly on multiple occasions. Which are presented to the reader - and indeed understood at the time by Watson - as signs of Holmes's ill health. But in reality are ploys to pick up a clue. For example he gets one of the suspected men to hand write key words. And then stages another ruse to try to recover the rest of the torn note. Only for the two murderers to try to kill him there and then. Very dramatic!
An interesting tale, and greatly enhanced by the mystery of the torn note.
I don't remember much of this tale, which is another set away from London, in Surrey specifically. Holmes and Watson are on a recuperative break, staying with an old friend of Watson's. Then get involved with a curious mystery of thefts.
As in some past tales, this one revolves around a rivalry between two different households. The reader is already surely on alert, when the only two recent thefts locally concern two houses who are in legal dispute with each other. Unsurprisingly one of the families is far from innocent ...
The most interesting aspect of the tale for me concerned the scrap of a torn note found in the dead man's hand. Which Holmes cleverly analysed, and proved that it had been written by a father and son, who staged a robbery at their own home, while killing their blackmailing employee. And they had earlier robbed the other house. That the original note had been written by two men, alternating words, was a highly original idea. And though the reader of the story couldn't determine this themselves, I didn't feel cheated as Holmes explained the mechanism.
This is also one of Holmes's more theatrical roles, acting outlandishly on multiple occasions. Which are presented to the reader - and indeed understood at the time by Watson - as signs of Holmes's ill health. But in reality are ploys to pick up a clue. For example he gets one of the suspected men to hand write key words. And then stages another ruse to try to recover the rest of the torn note. Only for the two murderers to try to kill him there and then. Very dramatic!
An interesting tale, and greatly enhanced by the mystery of the torn note.