Tuesday, October 14, 2008

I dream of Victorian London....

As of late, I've been doing research into Sherlock Holmes.

Yes, I know.....a lot of you already know that I am a fan of the great detective; the man who turned observation and deduction into a career. The man who single handedly brought forth the downfall of Professor James Moriarty. The man who had a strange compulsion to help women named Violet. The man who may or may not have been in love at one point, with a mezzo soprano named Irene Adler. The man who had one friend, Dr. John Watson, war hero, surgeon and writer.

I have been re-reading all the works of Doyle, as well as my pretty hefty collection of pastiches based upon the wizard of Baker Street. I've even read two "biographies" of the man, both interesting in their own right, both woefully inadequate at the same time.

I've noticed something that never comes out specifically in the stories.

Holmes is well aware of his own loneliness. And it feeds that coldness that he prizes, in order to be that thinking machine that everybody comes to rely upon when the going gets rough. He thinks he can be of no use to anybody if he gives into that loneliness, so it's his cross he has to bear.

There is so much here to play with, to play off of, to play on. And I must do something about it.

I thought about calling it "Holmes Alone" but that's a terrible title.

I can picture myself doing it......



Now, all I have to do is learn to say "elementary" without chuckling.

2 comments:

Kizz said...

As long as it's a chuckle and not some other form of laughter I think it could work as a character trait.

Gertrude said...

Can't wait for the new film with Robert Downey Jr. on him!
Makes me flip... flop... and fly thinking about it!