Henry and Sherlock Holmes

On p. 14, Henry has agreed to help solve the mystery of Ian's death. They can hear Fenton and Brian talking through the wall as the walk down the hallway. Their conversation fades. Henry asks will to bring him his pipe and tobacco. Standard Sherlock stuff. I meant this as a clear signal that the problem would receded in importance and Henry would take center stage.

Once Henry takes on the assignment, Fenton says they'll "put out the story that [Henry is] is writing an oral history of the school. Henry quips, "by the time I'm through, I'll probably be able to."

It's fun for me to ruminate among all my friends here. But what do you think? Can we talk about writing here? Post a comment.

Writing is, to me, an entrepreneurial activity. Entrepreneurial ideas are the life's blood of my writing. For my entrepreneurial course, Entrepreneurship on Line, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com. For entrepreneurial real estate to www.yourstopforrealestate.com/blog

Will's Jealousy

On p. 4, Will says he's jealous of Henry. He was famous in his own restricted area of endeavor. "He could walk down the street and most people wouldn't know who he was. Imagine me with a famous father-in-law."

I feel this way regarding Orlando Cole. He's a pretty intimidating character to many people. But it's such a rare thing to interact with a major figure in the development of classical music performance over the past 80 years or so. I feel blessed.

But back to Will, he has such a poor concept of himself. He doesn't think he's worthy of it. I conceived him being a foil for Henry, as Watson was for Holmes. However just as more recent movies and books and TV programs have made more of the Watson character than did Doyle, I end up making more out of Will than I intended.

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Henry Harrier's Character, Part 8--Observant

Henry on p. 6 does his Sherlock Holmes thing. Henry says, "'And you should use gloves when you waterproof your deck.'" Will asks him how he does it, Henry says, "'Quite simple, really. I observed your fingers. Most people se, but they do not observe. The fingers of your right hand are just slightly orange. You've gotten most of the water seal off.'"

Note the distinction in Henry's mind between "seeing" and "observing."

What do you think of this? What are your ideas? I'd like to know. Post a comment. What else does this tell us about Will?

Writing is, to me, an entrepreneurial activity. Entrepreneurial ideas are the life's blood of my writing. For my entrepreneurial course, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com. For entrepreneurial real estate to www.yourstopforrealestate.com/blog

Henry Harrier's Character, Part 1--Strength

Henry, as I noted early in the history of this blog, is a composite character: part Henri Poirot from Agathe Christie's Murder on the Orient Express, part Sherlock Holmes from Arthur Conan Doyle's many stories I read as a child and then have reread every so often since, Orlando Cole, my 100-year old father-in-law, who was the cellist of the Curtis String Quartet for 50 years, and part George Smiley, from the John LeCare spy series.

Also as I said before, the book owes a lot to the afore-mentioned Agathe Christie mystery and Smiley's People. In fact, literary agent once rejected the manuscript calling it "too Agathe." I guess we know where she was coming from. Apparently, to her "Agathe" was an adjective.

It's clear from his first appearance in the book he is a very strong character. Presumptuous even. On page 4, Will comments, quoting, "My first mistake had been the courtesy call to Henry.

'You'll of course be staying with me while you're in the area,' he said. 'And you'll use my car to get around.'
I said, 'Thanks, but my company's made all the arrangements already.'
'Then they can unmake them.'
'Really, no. It's been take care of.'
'I know it has,' he said. 'By me--.'
'But Hen--.'
'I'll hear nothing more about it.'

You see what Will has to deal with.

What do you think of this? What are your ideas? I'd like to know. Post a comment.

Writing is, to me, an entrepreneurial activity. Entrepreneurial ideas are the life's blood of my writing and real estate practice. For entrepreneurial ideas go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for entrepreneurial real estate go to www.yourstopforrealestate.com/blog

Pipe Smoking and Problem Solving

On p. 123 Henry smokes a pipe when he works on a problem. This is a clear throwback to Sherlock Holmes who rated problems according to the number of pipes full of tobacco he had to smoke to figure them out. Henry didn't always have to smoke to figure things out, but this time he does.

If what I say resonates with you, post a comment. And Christmas is coming up. If you need a present for someone who loves murder mysteries or classical music or both, order this one right from here.

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Characterizing of the police

Sherlock Holmes never thought much of the capabilities of the police. A couple them were okay. From Wikipedia, the free, on-line encyclopedia: "Holmes comes to recognize the different merits of individual detectives, such as Inspector Gregory's efficiency in investigation or Lestrade's tenacity and courage." But Holmes didn't bestow admiration lightly, and usually only after the detective had recognized Holmes' superiority. Anyway, on pp 105-106 Henry's apartment has been broken into. The police, as usual, get it wrong. But what what were the breaker inners looking for?

Christmas is coming. If you know anyone who would just love a good mystery, send them this book. And if what I say grabs you, post a comment.

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Generalizing Without Data

On page 101, Fenton pushes Henry to tell him what he knows. Henry says he doesn't know anything yet. Fenton pushes him further. Then Henry utters a pure Holmesian line: it's inapproprate to generalize without data. Fenton knows what Henry's doing because both of them know about Holmes. Long live Sherlock.

Christmas is coming. If you think a friend or loved one would want to have a good mystery as a present, order it here.

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The character of Will

Will is Henry's Watson. I said in previous post, I love the Sherlock Holmes mysteries. Watson provides a record of Holmes's exploits and serves as his scribe, sidekick, alter ego, accomplice, and at times a target for Holmes's intellectual gymnastics. Well I wanted to include a Watson-esque character and in the early drafts he was only that: a thing for Homes to bounce stuff off of. But, it occurred to me that the story might be more interesting if Will had an agenda of his own. I also needed a reason for him and Henry to hook up. In the first Holmes story, Doyle lays that foundation.

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Henry Harrier and Sherlock Holmes

Another source of inspiration for Henry Harrier was Sherlock Holmes. I have been a fan of his since I read the "The Speckled Band" in high school. I've reread all the stories several times since them. They still entertain and entrall me from the characterizations, the portrait of the times in which they lived, and the plots. I liked the camaraderie the two displayed and the ever present sense of wonder at Holmes many gifts and peculiarities on the part of the good doctor. I really enjoyed the BBC series with Jeremy Brett playing Holmes, though it took me an episode or two to appreciate what he brought to the character beyond the old Basil Rathbone classics. I also appreciated the smarter Watsons played by several different actors. It was much more of a partnership than in the older versions.

Here's an excerpt of what Wikipedia says about Sherlock Holmes: Sherlock Holmes is a famous fictional detective of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, who first appeared in publication in 1887. He is the creation of Scottish-born author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. A brilliant London-based detective, Holmes is famous for his intellectual prowess, and is renowned for his skillful use of "deductive reasoning" while using abductive reasoning (inference to the best explanation) and astute observation to solve difficult cases.

Conan Doyle wrote four novels and fifty-six short stories that featured Holmes. All but four stories are narrated by Holmes's friend and biographer, Dr. John H. Watson; two are narrated by Sherlock Holmes himself, and two others are written in the third person. The first two stories, short novels, appeared in Beeton's Christmas Annual for 1887 and Lippincott's Monthly Magazine in 1890. The character grew tremendously in popularity with the beginning of the first series of short stories in The Strand Magazine in 1891; further series of short stories and two serialised novels appeared almost right up to Conan Doyle's death in 1930. The stories cover a period from around 1878 up to 1903, with a final case in 1914.