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contxt_loungeOr, as we came up with too late to change the program, "What Makes a House A Holmes?"
This is going to be a fairly short panel report, since when I mod a panel, my public-speaking persona goes on read-only memory as a self-defense mechanism, but I want a place for people to share and continue the discussion.
And also to add the most important thing: I mentioned Lord Peter Wimsey as a canon that has a Holmes cameo, and others in the panel were incredulous about this, and as some of them ought to know Lord Peter canon better than I, I assumed I'd misremembered something.
No, I was right! It was written for BBC Radio by Dorothy Sayers to be read during the program "A Tribute to Sherlock Holmes on the Occasion of his 100th Birthday", and broadcast on 8 January 1954. The text of the story was published in the book "Sayers on Holmes", (but does not appear to be in any of the "Complete Lord Peter" compilations).![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
mayhap was kind enough to post it full-text online a few years back, which is probably how I saw it: DLS does crack; or, The Young Lord Peter Consults Sherlock Holmes. It is a very short story, telling the tale of a very young Lord Peter going to consult Holmes about a matter of a small black kitten which has gone missing. (spoiler: (skip) But don't worry, Holmes saves the day and the kitten is perfectly okay.)
So Lord Peter gets to go on the list of official Sherlock Holmes-related canons after all. :P
We spent the beginning of the panel discussing these many canons, which ones we liked, and which ones only arguably belong on the list. There was also quite a bit of discussion of pre-internet Holmes fandom, especially the more "male-dominated" parts that concentrated more on things like timelines than on Holmes and Watson's epic romance, but also that there has been Holmes/Watson porn being written for over a century, and also how Holmes fandom as an umbrella has changed over time and incorporated all of the new adaptations and theories and media (both for published works and for fandom.)
Unfortunately, I have no notes for this part, so instead, I invite people (whether participants in the panel or not!) to share anything they want about their favorite Holmes-related small fandoms (other than BBC Sherlock and the ACD stories) in the comments to this post, and also any links they have to fics that were mentioned in the panel or that you would like to recommend in small Holmes-related fandoms.
Most of the rest of the panel was spent discussing what it is that makes a canon a Holmes pastiche or homage instead of just being a detective story, and what are the essential elements of the Holmes character.
Here's the list I generated from memory after the panel, in rough order of importance as we voted by show-of-hands:
The ones that are vital (if he does not have most of these, he is not a Holmes):
1. Holmes' methods of detecting: forensic, scientific, logical, and deductive.
2. The Holmes figure is very detail-oriented, and this is a major part of the deductions.
3. There is a Watson figure: dear friend and companion, biographer, doctor, etc. (It was decided that there could be a discussion almost this long on what makes a Wilson a Watson, too. But we know one when we see one.)
4. The equivalent of what Watson calls "bohemian tendencies": he obeys social conventions only when, and only because, he chooses to.
Important but not vital (usually has many of these, the more the better):
5. The Holmes figure is very focused on the work, often to the detriment of other parts of life; major issus with boredom when there is no work.
6. The Holmes figure has a non-conventional relationship with sexuality for his culture (whatever that might be.)
7. The violin, or an equivalent: that is, an artistic outlet, usually musical
8. An addictive personality, or a drug-based coping mechanism
9. There is a framing story (often based on the Watson figure's notes) establishing how and why the account came to be recorded.
Often get thrown in, but not necessary:
10. An Irene figure ('The Woman')
11. Issues around family
12. Master of Disguise
13. Apt. 221B
14. Boxing and Baritsu or other physical skills
Least important:
15. A Mycroft figure
16. A Moriarty figure
17. A version of the Reichenbach story
18. Beekeeping.
This is going to be a fairly short panel report, since when I mod a panel, my public-speaking persona goes on read-only memory as a self-defense mechanism, but I want a place for people to share and continue the discussion.
And also to add the most important thing: I mentioned Lord Peter Wimsey as a canon that has a Holmes cameo, and others in the panel were incredulous about this, and as some of them ought to know Lord Peter canon better than I, I assumed I'd misremembered something.
No, I was right! It was written for BBC Radio by Dorothy Sayers to be read during the program "A Tribute to Sherlock Holmes on the Occasion of his 100th Birthday", and broadcast on 8 January 1954. The text of the story was published in the book "Sayers on Holmes", (but does not appear to be in any of the "Complete Lord Peter" compilations).
mayhap was kind enough to post it full-text online a few years back, which is probably how I saw it: DLS does crack; or, The Young Lord Peter Consults Sherlock Holmes. It is a very short story, telling the tale of a very young Lord Peter going to consult Holmes about a matter of a small black kitten which has gone missing. (spoiler: (skip) But don't worry, Holmes saves the day and the kitten is perfectly okay.)So Lord Peter gets to go on the list of official Sherlock Holmes-related canons after all. :P
We spent the beginning of the panel discussing these many canons, which ones we liked, and which ones only arguably belong on the list. There was also quite a bit of discussion of pre-internet Holmes fandom, especially the more "male-dominated" parts that concentrated more on things like timelines than on Holmes and Watson's epic romance, but also that there has been Holmes/Watson porn being written for over a century, and also how Holmes fandom as an umbrella has changed over time and incorporated all of the new adaptations and theories and media (both for published works and for fandom.)
Unfortunately, I have no notes for this part, so instead, I invite people (whether participants in the panel or not!) to share anything they want about their favorite Holmes-related small fandoms (other than BBC Sherlock and the ACD stories) in the comments to this post, and also any links they have to fics that were mentioned in the panel or that you would like to recommend in small Holmes-related fandoms.
Most of the rest of the panel was spent discussing what it is that makes a canon a Holmes pastiche or homage instead of just being a detective story, and what are the essential elements of the Holmes character.
Here's the list I generated from memory after the panel, in rough order of importance as we voted by show-of-hands:
The ones that are vital (if he does not have most of these, he is not a Holmes):
1. Holmes' methods of detecting: forensic, scientific, logical, and deductive.
2. The Holmes figure is very detail-oriented, and this is a major part of the deductions.
3. There is a Watson figure: dear friend and companion, biographer, doctor, etc. (It was decided that there could be a discussion almost this long on what makes a Wilson a Watson, too. But we know one when we see one.)
4. The equivalent of what Watson calls "bohemian tendencies": he obeys social conventions only when, and only because, he chooses to.
Important but not vital (usually has many of these, the more the better):
5. The Holmes figure is very focused on the work, often to the detriment of other parts of life; major issus with boredom when there is no work.
6. The Holmes figure has a non-conventional relationship with sexuality for his culture (whatever that might be.)
7. The violin, or an equivalent: that is, an artistic outlet, usually musical
8. An addictive personality, or a drug-based coping mechanism
9. There is a framing story (often based on the Watson figure's notes) establishing how and why the account came to be recorded.
Often get thrown in, but not necessary:
10. An Irene figure ('The Woman')
11. Issues around family
12. Master of Disguise
13. Apt. 221B
14. Boxing and Baritsu or other physical skills
Least important:
15. A Mycroft figure
16. A Moriarty figure
17. A version of the Reichenbach story
18. Beekeeping.
no subject
Date: 2012-07-01 07:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-07-02 01:59 am (UTC)I can't get the link in your link to work, though. Or any of my other links to it. ): I hope the online copy hasn't been taken down!
no subject
Date: 2012-07-02 07:26 pm (UTC)