For the second-last post in Kerrie´s alphabet game I have chosen an old Sherlock Holmes story, The Adventure of the Yellow Face.In many ways this is a typical Sherlock Holmes story. A very upset husband, Grand Munro, calls in our near-omniscient protagonist because he is worried about his secretive American wife. Together with an awestruck Dr Watson, Holmes follows Mr Munro to the countryside to solve the little problem.
Another typical feature is the description of a churlish servant, “a tall, gaunt woman with a harsh, forbidding face” and the good, little wife who cannot tell a lie without trembling and fidgeting. The mysterious cottage and the old secret that seems to haunt Mrs Munro are other well-known aspects.
Two things are unusual, however. Sherlock Holmes is not exactly proud of his own performance, and we meet a foreigner who is both handsome and intelligent!
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5 kommentarer:
Dorte - What a fine choice for "Y." That is a terrific story, and it's got, to me, an interesting resolution. It's a very nice snapshot of cultural and social realities of the time...
Well done, Dorte! Amazing that there was a handsome and intelligent foreigner in this story, given the abysmal way in which non-British people were regularly regarded in those days, by British writers. I wonder if writers in other countries were just as xenophobic? Anyway, one could credibly argue that Conan Doyle was ahead of his time ;-)
Good post, and good choice.
Margot: It is only fair to use good old Holmes now and then (especially as he was the only idea I could come up with).
Maxine: In those days I think xenophobia and racism prospered all over the world so the handsome stranger is unusual indeed.
What a good choice for 'y' - I'm sure finding something suitable must have been quite difficult. Not a huge fan of the tv versions, I might prefer the books, if I ever get around to reading the ones we have in the house.
Tracy: when I teach crime fiction, I use short stories (more manageable), but really I prefer novels, also when it comes to Conan Doyle´s works. I think The Hound of the Baskervilles is a marvelous old story.
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