A Pastiche about a Dr. Who Never Grew Up

2 views
Skip to first unread message

Max Magee

unread,
Jan 28, 2022, 12:35:43 PM1/28/22
to Notorious Canary-Trainers
https://www.sleuthsayers.org/2015/11/sherlock-holmes-and-allegorical-context.html

The above is an interesting article and pastiche I just encountered about J.M. Barrie (ACD's sometimes writing partner and eponymous personage of Barrie and Doyle's Allahakbarries cricket team) and Doyle's somewhat lackluster writing projects that spawned a fun pastiche.
image.png
Note E.W. Hornung, P.G. Wodehouse, Doyle, and J.M. Barrie all played cricket together.

In that pastiche he refers to Watson's writing "The Adventure of the Man Without a Cork Leg" which could apply to the Sign of Four, perhaps.

A couple of fun facts: having a "cork leg" didn't mean that you had a wooden leg made of cork (which would not be strong enough to support a person's weight) but instead it meant that you had a prosthetic (rather than just a peg-leg), which were originally fashioned by John Cork in 1810.

Holmes identifies someone as a Scottish author because he has a book saying "Auld Licht something" sticking out of his pocket. The book in question is a reference to Barrie's own Auld Licht Idylls:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4519378-auld-licht-idylls

There is even an allusion to Doyle's intent to kill off Holmes by having him melt into air.

Anyhow, pretty fun in-joke between two master craftsmen of their day.

Max "Magic Jezail Bullet" Magee

"His left arm has been injured. He holds it in a stiff and unnatural manner." 
Jez_red_sm.png


Max Magee

unread,
Dec 23, 2022, 5:05:16 PM12/23/22
to Notorious Canary-Trainers
Well, I was about to send out a link to this story again, but I wanted to figure out where the canonical reference to a Cork leg was...well...I found it in an email I sent less than a year ago. And I'm going to send it out again anyway, because it's a good yarn, and in case you missed it, now's your chance.

The pastiche in question is very short. I'd describe it as fun, pithy, playful...but a little fatalistic (it's about the perceived failure of the play that Barrie and Doyle wrote together):

I'd put it on par with How Watson Learned the Trick, but maybe more tongue-in-cheek, and definitely more canonical, as it is set in the apartments at 221b.

Max
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages