Meeting Minutes - The Problem of Thor Bridge (THOR) 2026
Max Magee
Meeting Minutes
Notorious Canary-Trainers
Announcements
Holmes in the Heartland is this coming weekend
Glen, Tom & Cherry, Johanna and Max are attending
Johanna is speaking at the 75th anniversary event of the Sherlock Holmes Society of London
Max brought in new lapel pins from the Tea Brokers of Mincing Lane and the Jeremy Brett Podcast, here’s a link to order the Brett pins:
Story Discussion (The Problem of Thor Bridge)
Dave: It was fine. It was all about the chip. It had Billy the Page in it,
Tom: This was a fun one. Billy the Page, Boy in Buttons, new cook,
Cherry: I enjoyed the story, it was a real mystery. It had passion and ugliness. It was a sign of the times. Men seem to not know the difference between love and lust.
Mary: I liked this story. It has so many of the classic tropes in it: beguiling governess, self-made man, hot-blooded woman from the warmer climes. I liked the detective work in it.
Kevin: I liked it. It was my first time to read it, and we watched the Granada. I read it so long ago I kind of forgot what happened in it. It just kind of stops—I wanted it to have an epilogue. What happened to the “Gold King”?
Max: I think it’s a much better story the first time through than it is on re-read. It has one of the best-constructed Rube-Goldberg stories.
Diane: Good middle of the road story. Probably better the first time through. Question: What was the matter with the eggs? It’s a decent story, not a great story.
Kent: I thought it was well-written literary wise, since he didn’t have locations to describe, he spent a lot of time describing all of the characters. It seems far-fetched that the gun would duplicate the chip.
Vicki: I liked this story—it’s one of the few where I hear the title I can kind of recall the story. I did not like the way the Gold King…he was treated too well. The wife was treated very poorly, mostly because she had become middle aged, which is a terrible sin, apparently. I liked the story in general and the mystery. Chipping the bridge was a little far-fetched, but I could buy it. The boiled egg paragraph is my quote.
'There is little to share, but we may discuss it when you have consumed the two hard-boiled eggs with which our new cook has favoured us. Their condition may not be unconnected with the copy of the Family Herald which I observed yesterday upon the hall-table. Even so trivial a matter as cooking an egg demands an attention which is conscious of the passage of time, and incompatible with the love romance in that excellent periodical.'
Jim: Question about the peas in Klinger’s 1064 - confidence in Klinger is shaken. That was the landlady wherever they were, not Mrs. Hudson.
John: I think it gets credit for a lot of the references for pastiche writers. The dispatch box must’ve been very heavy. Doyle used the word rapacity. She’s tropical by birth and tropical by nature.
Johanna: It’s a place-name, but it’s not a house, it’s a bridge, so it’s more memorable. It’s the only PROBLEM. But why did we need the servant guy coming to Holmes to tell him he’s a terrible guy, and why did he flee America?
Glen: I agree with the people who said that my first read I liked it a lot better. I do like the background about the tin box at the beginning. Watson comes down from upstairs. In Granada, they gave each other some looks—the Gold King and the Governess. I love sarcasm and enjoyed the line “Mr. Gibson seems to have a nice loyal household.” My question—specifically for John—is there any realism with the note clenched in her hand?
This is the real-life 1893 Austrian suicide presented as a murder (insurance fraud) that may have inspired Doyle to write Thor Bridge
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4876569/
Since Johanna will be in London for the SHSL 75th anniversary celebration, we won’t have access to our usual venue, so the Hendryx crew stepped up and offered to host us at Chez Hendryx next month (August 16):
1729 Hidden Hill Dr., Verona, WI
Watson’s guns: his service weapon was not used in the experiment, it was a snub-nose revolver (likely a Bulldog)—also a grappling hook to drag the river.
(snub-nose "bulldog" Photo courtesy of Glen Link)
Here’s a recreation of a critical scene in the story: The Problem of Thor Bridge. It is only 4 minutes long.
SPOILER ALERT. Don’t watch until after you’ve read the story.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0etbZuM2yw
Some fun discussion from the Hounds of the Internet:
https://www.sherlockian.net/hounds-summary/thor-hounds/
The Inquiry from Murray, the Courageous Orderly
http://www.sherlocktron.com/THOR%202020%20pdf.pdf
Next month’s story: Adventure of the Creeping Man (1923)
Next month's discussion leader: ?
Yeoman Purser of the Barque of the Lone Star & Cap'n Basil's Mignonettes