Sara Reads Sherlock Holmes

And now, my dear Watson, we have had some weeks of severe work, and for one evening, I think, we may turn our thoughts into more pleasant channels. I have a box for 'Les Huguenots.' Have you heard the De Reszkes? Might I trouble you then to be ready in half an hour, and we can stop at Marcini's for a little dinner on the way?"

“Sherlock Holmes hates romance” umm then explain how he is able to plan the best date nights for him and Watson?

did not help us much in proving murder against our man. There seemed to be no alternative but to catch him red-handed, and to do so we had to use Sir Henry, alone and apparently unprotected, as a bait. We did so,

You didn’t catch him red-handed
….he died in a bog. No one saw him do anything at any point to the extent that the earth got bored of waiting and ate him

I stayed for the most part at Coombe Tracey, and only used the hut upon the moor when it was necessary

This makes less sense you weirdo

Okay so in the last chapter of Hound, Holmes says he knew who the killer was before Watson left London. I don’t normally do this but: Bullshit. Big faker. No way you were living in a cave for weeks if you knew

Basically: the more specific a detail the more everything around it sharpens up

This is also good writing advice:

The more outre and grotesque an incident is the more carefully it deserves to be examined, and the very point which appears to complicate a case is, when duly considered and scientifically handled, the one which is most likely to elucidate it.

while in the second he had defended the unfortunate Mme. Montpensier from the charge of murder which hung over her in connection with the death of her step-daughter, Mlle. Carere, the young lady who, as it will be remembered, was found six months later alive and married in New York.

Doyle sneaking in a few more clues to his readers that Holmes is alive

It was the end of November, and Holmes and I sat, upon a raw and foggy night, on either side of a blazing fire in our sitting-room in Baker Street.

I just think they’re neat

After reading Hound of the Baskervilles you might be like “Damn, it’s crazy out heroes kill a dog in a story” but you’d be wrong. They kill a dog in 3 separate stories

Divine justice existing in the Sherlock Holmes series is part of why they’re such satisfying reads

Abuse your wife and mistress? NO! Slime Pit!

Somewhere in the heart of the great Grimpen Mire, down in the foul slime of the huge morass which had sucked him in, this cold and cruel-hearted man is forever buried.

You love to see it! Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy!

Can’t believe the Holmes coded character and Watson coded character ended up together. Once again, H/W wins!

and before morning he lay delirious in a high fever under the care of Dr. Mortimer. The two of them were destined to travel together round the world before Sir Henry had become once more the hale, hearty man that he had been before he became master of that ill-omened estate.

Medical doctor here! The only way to cure this hot young millionaire is if we take a cruise together. No, my wife will be fine don’t worry about it

"But this is nothing—nothing! It is my mind and soul that he has tortured and defiled. I could endure it all, ill-usage, solitude, a life of deception, everything, as long as I could still cling to the hope that I had his love, but now I know that in this also I have been his dupe and his tool." She broke into passionate sobbing as she spoke.

This is really in the same book as “Then you use me, yet you do not trust me!”

Mrs. Stapleton sank upon the floor in front of us. As her beautiful head fell upon her chest I saw the clear red weal of a whiplash across her neck.

For future reference, this is what I mean when I give Watson a hard time about not reading the room before he rates people’s attractiveness unprompted

Or “thank you, Dr Watson” depending on how you interact with text

If he was vulnerable he was mortal, and if we could wound him we could kill him.

All Predator franchise fans say “Thank you, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle”

A hound it was, an enormous coal-black hound, but not such a hound as mortal eyes have ever seen. Fire burst from its open mouth, its eyes glowed with a smouldering glare, its muzzle and hackles and dewlap were outlined in flickering flame. Never in the delirious dream of a disordered brain could anything more savage, more appalling, more hellish be conceived than that dark form and savage face which broke upon us out of the wall of fog.

This is the kind of dog Angelenos love to bring to the farmer’s market

Lestrade gave a yell of terror and threw himself face downward upon the ground. I sprang to my feet, my inert hand grasping my pistol,

Watson seeing a seasoned London detective with 30 years experience throw himself on the ground: “Time for me to JUMP UP”

I was at Holmes's elbow, and I glanced for an instant at his face. It was pale and exultant, his eyes shining brightly in the moonlight.

He’s in love

The thing about Sherlock Holmes is a lot of his plans are 3/5 and it’s just Watson hyping him up to seem like this impossible genius.

Which is normal and correct of a best friend. That’s his job.

two men wearing suits and top hats are standing next to each other . ALT: two men wearing suits and top hats are standing next to each other .

Oh is the plan you never shared with anyone falling apart because no one knew about it???

Holmes struck his hand passionately upon the rock in front of us and stamped his feet in his impatience. "If he isn't out in a quarter of an hour the path will be covered.

Sherlock Holmes is such a manchild (affection)

I have said that over the great Grimpen Mire there hung a dense, white fog. It was drifting slowly in our direction and banked itself up like a wall on that side of us, low but thick and well defined.

"It's moving towards us, Watson." "Is that serious?" "Very serious, indeed—the one thing upon earth which could have disarranged my plans.

Starting to think this plan wasn’t so good if the only thing that could mess it up is something extremely common for the area

"Are you armed, Lestrade?" The little detective smiled. "As long as I have my trousers I have a hip-pocket, and as long as I have my hip-pocket I have something in it."

Short king! 👑

The result, however, was very trying for those who were acting as his agents and assistants. I had often suffered under it,

Dr John Watson, king of the understatement

Partly it came no doubt from his own masterful nature, which loved to dominate and surprise those who were around him.

One of Sherlock Holmes's defects—if, indeed, one may call it a defect—was that he was exceedingly loath to communicate his full plans to any other person until the instant of their fulfilment.

Perhaps one of the most loaded passages in my Hound is about Holmes dying and coming back reading.

“if indeed, one may call it a defect” can be read as either
A) because it’s not as bad as that, we all have foibles
B) The Strand won’t print what I really think of this motherfucker’s bullshit plans

"Anything good?" he asked. "The biggest thing for years," said Holmes. "We have two hours before we need think of starting. I think we might employ it in getting some dinner and then, Lestrade, we will take the London

Gay people can never just take you to a murder investigation, they have to gossip over dinner first