Book Review: "The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor" (Doyle, 1892)

“The case has been an interesting one, because it serves to show very clearly how simple the explanation may be of an affair which at first sight seems to be almost inexplicable. Nothing could be more natural than the sequence of events as narrated by this lady, and nothing stranger than the result when viewed, for instance, by Mr. Lestrade of Scotland Yard.”

--Sherlock Holmes, "The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor"

Leigh: Our story this time is one that I don't think would be easy to adapt to a modern version. Nowadays we are so connected with everyone, it would be difficult to lose touch with your husband unless they wanted to disappear. We live in a time where Apache raids aren't a big concern and prospecting isn't a career choice anymore and where everyone lets everyone else know when they eat or drink or even poo. Oversharing doesn't exist anymore. But even with the extreme cultural differences, I enjoy this story and in fact, I probably enjoy it more. It amuses me that there was a time when if you lost contact with your husband, you just presumed him dead and moved on. And this wasn't a common thing. Holmes said he had dealt with a similar situation before. 

I also enjoy this story because even though there are huge cultural differences (a morning wedding that is done in time for lunch? Weird.) there is still a lesson that everyone can take from this: Communication is important in relationships. It is important to find out things about your partner like their likes and dislikes, their future goals, their hopes and dreams, past marriages that might not be dissolved, etc. I think a lot of confusion and mystery could be cleared up if she had just mentioned in the first place that she was still technically married to a man who is only presumed dead. I think her first husband could've also been a bit less "mysterious" by actually letting her know he was still alive before her wedding instead of showing up uninvited and unannounced. Everything could've been cleared up by a simple "oh, hey, I'm still alive, darling wife." Sure, you have to end one relationship but on the plus side, your first husband is still alive!

I guess my question here is: Is it a mystery or really just a lack of communication?

Austin: Overexposure still exists, it's just the personal filter that has seemed to disappear. People tweet and Instantgram their entire lives including tweeting about Instantgram.

I think this can be still adapted because I think I saw a slight variation of it on TV recently. On Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23, the B was excited to sleep with the elusive party host only to be disappointed the mystery man was actually her husband she married five years ago and forgot about.

What happens at a wedding party doesn't stay at a wedding party...

I should probably mention it's a sitcom not a soap opera.

It's a good show.

Anywho, here we have a missing husband not pursued and it's believable because the mystery was kept by a drunk sociopath. There are other reasons to keep things hidden. Since this is 1880s England, the answer is usually embarrassment.

I think this story is accidentally a mystery. Seeing everything out of context (The disappearance, the note, the prestige) it looks like a conspiracy. Holmes is almost a bit disappointed it's not more ridiculously convoluted. They could have communicated better but I understand why there were secrets.

What I am more entertained by is the fact that Watson regularly reads about royal weddings. If only he had access to TMZ.

We got a lot more Lestrade this story than we usually do. We've talked a lot about our other regular characters; what do you think of the sighing detective?

Leigh: This was a time though when celebrity weddings were reported on because there was nothing else to report on. You can only read so many articles about how England still owns everything before it gets boring. Unfortunately, instead of stopping these superfluous reports on celebrity weddings when more important things started happening, society kept up the bad habit. And Watson didn't have Springer to watch while he was staying in, wounded.

I think that Lestrade gets picked on too much. Our Sherlock Holmes stories are usually Holmes going in the correct direction to find the clues while Lestrade is doing what a normal person would do in that situation. Find a wedding dress near a river? Search the river for the dead body. The next step to the average person isn't to go looking for her in hotels based on a receipt. Lestrade seems to act in place of the audience. The reader would see the clues and think in a more "logical" way and go, "We obviously need to search the river!" Instead of Holmes doing that and taking up time because it's wrong, Lestrade tends to meet up with Holmes and tell him that he's done just that and found nothing. Holmes then tells him that he's dumb and why exactly he's dumb this time. So in a round-about way, Sherlock Holmes is calling the reader dumb. That's not very nice of him.

We get another encounter with Americans again in this story and yet again they are seen as a more "wild" and "untamed" sort people that are less dignified and don't understand that women shouldn't be allowed to run around without constant supervision. Why are the Americans popping up in every other story?

Austin: Obviously it's because Americans are awesome. I love seeing how the Brits look at our country. It seems that we imagine they see us as fat and tacky (like in Wee Britain in Arrested Development) or bitter over that engaging in two wars to claim our independence because we don't want to drink no tea.

Yet that's not what's being conveyed with Doyle and other modern Englanders. I was watching An Idiot Abroad this morning with my Memaw and in this episode poor Karl Pilkington is driving along Route 66. He says that he couldn't live here because Americans are too happy. They're too busy living the dream, he says.

While Doyle doesn't focus on that optimism, he still sees the world as unclaimed opportunities. It's a place of adventure where anyone can be king. People aren't burdened by legacy or class. From examples like A Study in Scarlett, it seems that Doyle also thinks that level of freedom can lead to unregulated destruction. I think that Doyle thinks that we're an unruly bunch and he wasn't around long enough for us to invent Fear Factor.

Probably best not to ask what he's drinking...

 Leigh:  For a brief update on the rest of the goings on here at Elementary Schooled, we've decided to axe the Christmas themed Sherlock Holmes movie since it is no longer Christmas. I'm sick of being subjected to Christmas stuff so I'm sure you are too. Next up is another free movie for us all to watch together! We're going to see what Sherlock Holmes does in Texas in the Case of the Texas Cowgirl! Go take a peek at it so you know what we're babbling about next time we post!

And speaking of posts, our posts are going to be a bit irregular and sporadic. I am currently busy with school, work, trying to have a life and everything that comes with that (yay student loans!) and Austin is in Texas being the awesome person that he is and taking care of his sick grandparents. Isn't that the sweetest thing you've ever heard? 

Bear with us on our lack of a schedule. Hopefully things will fit together and some semblance of order will come of it. 

Update: It's the most wonderful time of the year or at least that's what they tell me.

Hello reader.

You're probably expecting a post about a noble bachelor who lost his wife to her husband or at least something vaguely Sherlock Holmes related. Sorry, but this isn't that.

For many years now, Leigh has suffered from Seasonal Affective Disorder, general anxiety and depression. Winter is tough for her. So is Christmastime. This year is no different.

She is trying. Everyday is a struggle and every day seems like one of those cheesy prescription anti-depressant ads. She has her coping mechanisms that may seem silly to some but help her out. Showering every day instead of every other like normal. Drinking hot chocolate almost constantly. Playing dumb games on her phone including hours and hours of solitaire. She'll get through it. She's done it before and will do it again. It isn't easy, but she's one tough cookie.

You're probably asking what you can do, dear reader.

Be understanding.

Spend time with your family, whether blood related or adopted, and enjoy it, even if it takes a couple of margaritas.

Help anyone who seems like they might need help. Give them a hug or a word of encouragement or two or just tell them that everything will be okay.

If you are in the same boat as Leigh, everything will be okay. Maybe not today or tomorrow but things will get better. If you need someone to talk to but don't have someone, here you go: World Suicide Hotlines. Needing help isn't something to be ashamed of. Everyone needs help sometimes. It's okay. Leigh is very lucky to have a wonderful support system in her super understanding writing partner, a kooky but awesome group of friends and family and the best boyfriend a gal could ask for. She'll get through this.

Posts will hopefully resume after the new year. In the mean time, go and watch our next review, "The Case of the Christmas Pudding." I've heard YOU can find iT online if yoU look for it, baBE.

We both hope you have a great holiday season and have fun celebrating any and all holidays you and yours celebrate!



Everything is going to be okay.

In-Class Movie: "The Talons of Weng-Chiang" (1977)

"'What is it, then?' I asked, for his manner suggested that it was some strange creature which he had caged up in my room." 

-- Doctor Watson, "The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb"

Austin: It only took a few months but I snuck Doctor Who into our syllabus. It's my favorite show and since it's been on for 49 years, of course there is a Sherlock Holmes episode. For all of you non-Whovians, Doctor Who is a British science fiction show about a mysterious alien named The Doctor who travels around time and space saving the day using cleverness instead of violence. Every time The Doctor is killed he regenerates into a new body with a slightly different personality. Since 1963, there have been eleven different Doctors. Today we focus on one of the most popular, the Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker)

In the mid-1970s, there was a golden age of Doctor Who. Robert Holmes was writing fantastic scripts and Philip Hinchcliffe was producing the show with a cool gothic horror feel. One of the highlights from this time was The Talons of Weng-Chiang.

Instead of wearing his usual 14' scarf, The Doctor donned a deerstalker to investigate a mysterious string of disappearances in Victorian London. Along for the adventure is Leela, a warrior woman from another planet who grew up in a savage tribe.

In this six-part adventure they investigate the slightly-racist-more-uncomfortable Chinese magic show that is committing crimes for someone who claims to be an ancient Chinese god. Plenty of twists, clever dialog and awesome visual style makes this one of my favorite Tom Baker stories.

Yet as much I can rave about Doctor Who--AND I CAN--we need to ask the big question: is this a Sherlock Holmes story despite nobody says the name Sherlock Holmes for over two hours?

Sherlock Holmes and Watson

Leigh: I think for our sake and just to clear things up, there is a difference between "adaptation" and "inspired by." Sherlock, Sherlock Holmes, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, begrudgingly Elementary, are, to me at least, adaptations. “The Talons of Weng-Chiang” is inspired by Sherlock Holmes. There is never a mention of Sherlock Holmes but the character of Sherlock Holmes and the pastiche that media has created of Sherlock Holmes is iconic. ACD said Holmes would never wear the deerstalker hat or an Inverness cape but here is Tom Baker, walking around "looking like" Holmes because of what the collective adaptations and inspirations have agreed Holmes looks like even though it differs from ACD's image of him. It may not be accurate to the stories but it is accurate to what Sherlock Holmes has become. This idea could get into a very interesting argument about who is correct, the creator or the consumer?

Another thing that I liked about the episode, and it was hard for me to get past the overt and uncomfortable but historically accurate racism, was the language. I haven't seen a lot of classic Doctor Who but the only other one I've seen is with Tom Baker (I couldn't tell you which one but K-9 was in it.) The dialog felt different. It didn't feel so much like a Doctor Who episode but definitely like a Doctor Who episode inspired by Sherlock Holmes. I could be incredibly off base here with my little experience of classic Who but from what I have seen of it and from my experience of the newer episodes, it felt more like a mystery than a typical episode with the Doctor. I think that if this episode were to be remade (with less racism) and Matt Smith were playing the role, it would still feel like a heavily inspired by Sherlock Holmes episode of Doctor Who. 

The characters that they added to make the Sherlock Holmes aspects more obvious were amusing to me. The Watson like character(s) and of course Mrs. Hudson. I feel like the writer Holmes took the two ideas of Watson and created two different characters. Instead of the bumbling Watson or the helpful one, we have both with Jago and Litefoot. This seemed to play off of the Doctor Holmes character really well. They helped with the mystery and still provided a bit of comedic relief. 

I know nothing of the Leela character except that for a warrior raised by warrior people, she was the worst warrior ever. For reals. 

So what do you think? Did you get Doctor Who in my Sherlock Holmes or did I get Sherlock Holmes in your Doctor Who? And if you want to tackle it, who gets the final say of interpretation, the creator or the consumer? 

Truer words were never before said

Austin: I would say that "Talons" is definitely inspired, not adapted. This time around, I caught a few more hints to their Holmes appreciation. The dinner was fixed by Mrs. Hudson. Near the end, The Doctor exclaims "Elementary!". It's

clear that writer Robert Holmes is playing with the tropes and it's fair to say that so is The Doctor. (He's a very well alien. (Charles Dickens and Agatha Christie are some of his favorites.)

I think it's fair to say the consumer has the final word on the art for they are the last one chronologically to take part in the process. An artist comes up with the art, creators create the art, the audience appreciates the art. Each one adds something new to it.

If we religiously followed the belief of Sydney Newman, the creator of Doctor Who, the show would be lousy. He wanted it to be an education program where the use of time travel was to teach children about different points in Earth's history. He didn't want any "bug-eyed aliens".

That mentality lead to some of my favorite First Doctor stories "The Aztecs", "The Romans") but it was the wild success of its second story involving metallic Nazi-esque aliens that made the show popular enough to last almost 50 years. ("The Daleks")

Anywho, this story is awesome. I say that Leela is a fine warrior. She stabbed her fair share of enemies. I do think that she could have attacked Weng-Chiang better when he came through the window. I'm glad you caught that about the dual Watsons; Jago and Litefoot were a ton of fun. They were only in this story and they are only together for two of the six parts. Yet their popularity has had them star in a couple of series of audio dramas produced by Big Finish in the past few years.

As for the dialog (I'm just jumping around), this is pretty par on course for Doctor Who. This didn't have as much techno-babble as some of his space adventures but this is common to Tom Baker's era, just maybe a little less screaming since they are in refined Victorian company.

Ultimately these two characters work because there are plenty of similarities between The Doctor and Sherlock Holmes. They both have an encyclopedic knowledge thanks to Sherlock's studying and The Doctor living over 700 years. The Doctor wasn't bragging about what he knows unlike when David Tennant played the role a few years ago.

Okay, I started this avalanche of comparisons. How else are Sherlock and The Doctor similar?

Leigh: I think the creator/consumer argument might be one of my favorites out there because every time I come to it or discuss it, I have a different opinion. It’s one of those that there is no right answer to, I feel. This time around, I think that while the consumer does have the final say of what the piece might mean, I think that the creator should have the ultimate say. It isn’t as easy now to go back and ask Dickens what he thinks about how high schoolers are interpreting Great Expectations, but we can ask Dan Harmon how he feels about the future of Community.  We can’t ask Fitzgerald what the billboard meant but we can ask J.K. Rowling about dementors and what they represent. Sure, the blue curtains might mean that the room had a depressive feel about it that matched the mood of the mourning household or they could just be blue because that’s what color the creator chose to make them.  The consumer can believe that the curtains are blue to show emotion but in the end they’re wrong because the author is the one who decided what they meant when he wrote it.

Now to go in a completely different direction, a bit about the chronology of my experience with Doctor Who and Sherlock Holmes.  The first episode of Doctor Who that I saw was “The Impossible Planet” around Christmas time in 2006. I first started reading the Sherlock Holmes stories in the summer of 2010. When I was listening to them, I kept thinking, “Huh, this guy sure does remind me of the Doctor…” Because David Tennant will always be my Doctor, I use him as a comparison to Sherlock Holmes.

We have two impossibly intelligent people who use facts to figure out problems. They both try to stay away from violence unless absolutely needed. They have a lovable sidekick. They are both frantic at times and expect those around them to keep up. I think the only difference is that one is a 1000-year-old alien and one is a Victorian detective.  I don’t think that it is a coincidence that both the Doctor and Sherlock Holmes are so popular decades after their creation. They are very similar characters. Benedict Cumberbatch originally auditioned for the role of the Doctor and Moffat said, “You’re not quite right but I have another project you’ll be perfect for.” This shouldn’t surprise anyone. 

My only question is “why?” Why are they so popular? What is it about them that makes them icons in British Culture so many years after they were first introduced? Maybe this is something we can try to tackle at a later date.

Next time, we learn that communication in relationships is key and leaving someone on your wedding day is really crappy.

And now Austin Lugar with the final word:

Austin: JellyBabies!