#The Adventure of the Retired Colourman

[221b-johnlocked-1895]

From "The Creeping Man" (Sherlock Holmes (1984))

From "The Adventure of the Retired Colourman" (The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes)

In Granada Holmes, they didn't make an episode about "The Adventure of the Retired Colourman" but they chose to use Holmes' last words (of the book, thus of the canon) in another episode, that is "The Creeping Man".

I think that they knew the real meaning behind those words and that's the reason why they wanted Holmes to say them.

Holmes is apparently referring to the fact that he was the one who had solved the mystery, but it doesn't make much sense. In fact, the readers of Watson's stories already knew that Holmes had solved many cases for which the police took the credit. I mean, Watson wrote and published the stories; it wasn't a secret!

Therefore, what's Holmes really talking about? What's the "true story"/"entire truth" that Watson couldn't write about in those years?

I think we all know very well what it was.

Today, we can and we must talk about their love. We owe it to them. We owe it to Doyle. We owe it to all the people who had to hide their love.

[ineffabletwaddle13]

Holmes checks the train time table to work out where their luggage might have ended up after they abandonded it to search for a boy who went missing from the train they were travelling on.

A nice consistent character detail in this adaptation is that Watson has all of the train times memorised, which is mentioned in The Pennsylvania Gun, The Mother Hubbard Case and The Night Train Riddle so far.

In the Arthur Conan Doyle books Watson is often tasked with looking up the train times:

The Adventure of the Retired Colourman: “Look up the trains, Watson.”

The Adventure of the Copper Beeches: “Just look up the trains in Bradshaw,” said he[Holmes], and turned back to his chemical studies.

The Adventure of the Dancing Men: “We have let this affair go far enough,” said he [Holmes]. “Is there a train to North Walsham to-night?” I turned up the time-table. The last had just gone.

In this adaptation Watson doesn’t need to look it up!

[thelastofthebookworms]

For more polls, see my pinned post.

[dailyholmes]

"'Cut out the poetry, Watson,' said Holmes severly." The Adventure of the Retired Colourman. Published in The Strand Magazine. Frank Wiles, 1927

Source

[lexie-squirrel]

The Adventure of the Retired Colourman illustration by Frederic Dorr Steele (1926)

[mary-johnlocked]

Johnlock in :

the case of Charles Augustus Malvetron

indeed , it was a date , it is intresting to note ACD's choice of words ( apart from the unrequired descriptions of physical touch ) when he said "appear to be two theater-goers" , this phrase might sound innocent from a modern perspective , but we shall always put things in their cultural and historical context

back in the 19th century England , homosexuals were oppressed and marginalized by the society and harshly judged by the victorians strict moral codes and rigid view on masculinity , they had to come up with their own dressing codes , their own code words, their own sense of dressing and other cultural markers that emerged

commun places they meet in private , ect which made it like a sort of underground subculture

their favorite places to meet are , theaters and musical halls , and turkish baths ( we'll talk about Sherlock's fondness for turkish baths with Watson another time )

-we record that our two love birds had many , many "theater-dates" so to speak ,

~here's an exemple from: "the adventure of the red circle"

~another exemple from: "The Adventure of the Retired Colourman"

~and another one , from: "The Adventure of the Red Headed League"

back to the case of charles augustus malvetron , i had to take this detour in order to point at ACD's precise choice of words , he never says anything without meaning it , for the sake of whats following

the sexual innuendo is strongly present in the last paragraph ^^

so see ya for the next subtext analysis :D

[eirinstiva]

Holmes and Baker at the end of The Adventure of the Retired Colourman

[holmesillustrations]

Heading into the quarterfinals, here's an update to the status of each story collection:

from Adventures: Case of Identity and Copper Beeches are now out. Redheaded League, Twisted Lip, have made it to QFs.

from Memoirs: Silver Blaze is now out. Cardboard Box, and Resident Patient are in QFs.

from Return: Empty House is now out, no stories remain from Return.

from Last Bow: No stories remain from Last Bow.

from the Casebook: Lion's Mane and Veiled Lodger are now out, Three Garridebs, Illustrious Client, and Retired Colourman, are in QFs

from the novels: Valley of Fear is now out, none of the novels remain.

and as always, the bracket graphic itself has been updated here <3

[thebeesareback]

Poll to determine the most evil Sherlock Holmes villain from the original stories

Part six: The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes

OK! So please vote for your favourite. I've done other polls with villains from the other short stories and the novels, and when the results are in I'll put the winners in a poll together

[kierrasreads]

The Adventure of the Retired Colourman (The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes #12) by Arthur Conan Doyle Review

Plot

Sherlock Holmes is hired by a retired art supply dealer from Lewisham, Josiah Amberley, to look into his wife's disappearance.

Discussion

It’s a well known fact that criminals will try to appear innocent to the police…well, Josiah definitely did that! I’m glad that he got arrested- his poor innocent wife and his poor friend. Paranoia and jealously really do drive people crazy, don’t they?

With this being the final story…adieu, Mr. Holmes! Until we meet again

Rating

2/5

[bakerstreetbabble]

Sherlock Holmes in print

I don't exactly recall how old I was when I started reading the Sherlock Holmes stories, but it was when I was 10 or 11 years old. It started with a paperback anthology of probably twenty or so of the most popular Holmes stories, given to me by my great aunt Evelyn.  As I recall, I was particularly impressed by "The Adventure of the Dancing Men." In talking with my Grandpa Schwanke, I came to find out that Arthur Conan Doyle had written 56 stories and 4 novels.  A year or so after I read that first paperback collection, my parents got me an illustrated collection of the Holmes stories that had been illustrated by Sidney Paget, which included Adventures, Memoirs, and Return of Sherlock Holmes, as well as The Hound of the Baskervilles.  Now I was getting closer to having all of the original stories!  Grandpa, though, had a hardback copy of The Complete Sherlock Holmes (shown to the left).  Oh, how I coveted that book!  I saved up allowance money for months, until I had enough put together to order the book from our local bookstore in town.  I remember being tremendously excited when I finally added that book to my collection...I was finally able to read the stories and novels all the way through, beginning with the marvelous A Study in Scarlet, all the way to the final story in the Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes, "The Adventure of the Retired Colourman."

Since those early days of collecting Sherlock Holmes in print, I've added a few volumes to my collection.:

The Original Illustrated 'Strand' Sherlock Holmes (paperback)- contains all 56 stories and 4 novels; A Study in Scarlet and The Sign of Four are not illustrated, but the rest are, facsimiles of the original Strand Magazine publications.

The Annotated Sherlock Holmes, edited by William S. Baring-Gould (1967)- a wonderful resource, if oddly organized.  Baring-Gould, being an expert in Holmesian chronology, chose to arrange the stories and novels in the order he believed they occurred.

The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes, edited by Leslie S. Klinger- even more wonderful than the Baring-Gould annotated edition, this one is in three volumes, two for the stories and one for the novels.  The set contains about as much detail as one could wish for.  (I have Vols. 1 and 2 in paperback, and Vol. 3 in the slipcased hardcover.)

A Study in Scarlet, The Sign of the Four, and The Return of Sherlock Holmes: 3 of the 9 volumes of The Oxford Sherlock Holmes.  The other 6 volumes are on my wish list, but they're rather difficult to find, at least in this country.  Someday, though...I will have them!

As handy as it is to have the complete Holmes on my Kindle, nothing compares to browsing through these printed volumes, especially the annotated editions.  But I also love looking at the editions with the illustrations from the Strand Magazine, because it transports me to a time when these stories were brand new, when the world was a different place.

[ineffabletwaddle13]

Holmes and Watson comfort their client

The Adventure of the Red Circle by Arthur Conan Doyle: “Holmes leaned forward and laid his long, thin fingers upon the woman’s shoulder. He had an almost hypnotic power of soothing when he wished.”

[oldfashionedbooklove]

REDC : The Adventure of the Red Circle

REDH : The Red-Headed League

REIG : The Adventure of the Reigate Squire

RESI : The Adventure of the Resident Patient

RETI : The Adventure of the Retired Colourman

SCAN : A Scandal in Bohemia

SECO : The Adventure of the Second Stain

SHOS : The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place

SIGN : The Sign of Four

SILV : The Adventure of Silver Blaze

SIXN : The Adventure of the Six Napoleons

SOLI : The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist

SPEC : The Adventure of the Speckled Band

STOC : The Adventure of the Stockbroker's Clerk

STUD : A Study in Scarlet

SUSS : The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire

THOR : The Problem of Thor Bridge

3GAB : The Adventure of the Three Gables

3GAR : The Adventure of the Three Garridebs

3STU : The Adventure of the Three Students

TWIS : The Man with the Twisted Lip

VALL : The Valley of Fear

VEIL : The Adventure of the Veiled Lodger

WATS : How Watson Learned the Trick

WIST : The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge

YELL : The Adventure of the Yellow Face

I absolutely need to memorize the abbreviations for the Sherlock Holmes stories.

From https://www.arthur-conan-doyle.com/index.php/Abbreviations_for_the_Sherlock_Holmes_stories:

ABBE : The Adventure of the Abbey Grange

BAZA : The Field Bazaar

BERY : The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet

BLAC : The Adventure of Black Peter

BLAN : The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier

BLUE : The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle

BOSC : The Boscombe Valley Mystery

BRUC : The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans

CARD : The Adventure of the Cardboard Box

CHAS : The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton

COPP : The Adventure of the Copper Beeches

CREE : The Adventure of the Creeping Man

CROO : The Adventure of the Crooked Man

DANC : The Adventure of the Dancing Men

DEVI : The Adventure of the Devil's Foot

DYIN : The Adventure of the Dying Detective

EMPT : The Adventure of the Empty House

ENGR : The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb

FINA : The Adventure of the Final Problem

FIVE : The Five Orange Pips

GLOR : The Adventure of the Gloria Scott

GOLD : The Adventure of the Golden Pince-Nez

GREE : The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter

HOUN : The Hound of the Baskervilles

IDEN : A Case of Identity

ILLU : The Adventure of the Illustrious Client

LADY : The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax

LAST : His Last Bow

LION : The Adventure of the Lion's Mane

MAZA : The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone

MISS : The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter

MUSG : The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual

NAVA : The Adventure of the Naval Treaty

NOBL : The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor

NORW : The Adventure of the Norwood Builder

PREF : Preface

PRIO : The Adventure of the Priory School

[dailyholmes]

"The man sprang to his feet with a hoarse scream. He clawed into the air with his bony hands, and looked like some horrible bird of prey." The Adventure of the Retired Colourman. Published in The Strand Magazine. Frank Wiles, 1927

Source

Alt will be added later :)

[everything-makes-me-anxious]

My Five Favorite Chilling Tales of Holmes

Given how shocking, dreadful and unbelievable actual crime was in Victorian England, it's a testament to Conan Doyle’s desire to make a mark with Holmes that he did not fashion his stories after the horrible crimes happening around him.

No, Conan Doyle eschewed rehashing the stories of real life murderous doctors, spurned lovers poisoning wives of married men, rampaging tramps committing mass murders of families, and grudge-carrying servants in favor of mostly tame stories of crime (blackmail and theft of inheritances probably being the most common in his tales).

I say "mostly" because he did write some ghastly cases for Holmes to solve. The Hound of the Baskervilles alone would be enough to secure Conan Doyle's name as an author capable of writing great fantastical horror.

But he didn't stop there. Here's my top five favorite tales of chilling crimes that Holmes has ever had to face:

THE CARDBOARD BOX

I can barely bring myself to read this one when I reread the stories. It is not only horrifying -- an elderly woman receiving a pair of severed ears anonymously by post -- but the truth behind the crime speaks to the utter misery that humans can and do render unto others. We see Jim Browner's happily married life crumble to pieces by the connivances of an infatuated sister in law, whose introduction of another man to her sister is the beginning point of so much tragedy. Alcohol abuse, loss of love, affairs, and a terrifying chase scene and death. All because one woman hated her brother in law for not loving her. It is a fine examination of the things we're willing to do to each other out of our own misery, to make others feel as miserable, but by God is it a terrifying and vivid tale.

THE RETIRED COLOURMAN

Probably second only to The Norwood Builder when it comes to stories that feature the creepy things a spurned man will do, this story is almost too much to bear. Most of the stories in The Casebook are unbearable, but that's another matter (and an opinion for another time). For any true crime buff it may ring eerily familiar to spousal homicide cases within the past fifty years. And yet the advanced and almost ingenious double homicide took place well before the stuff Forensic Files loved to pick apart. The fact that you are not certain until the very end that the pair have been murdered (and not just locked up or escaped) is unnerving, and the way in which we find out makes it all the worse: Holmes bluntly asks Amberley, "Where are the bodies?" Everything the murderer does marks him a very cold, diabolical person who is perhaps the third most dangerous man Holmes had the displeasure of tangling with. Then there’s the thought that this man is 60 years old.. someone that old doesn’t begin his criminal career with such a huge and almost perfect crime. What other crimes has he committed?

THE DANCING MEN

Along with “The Five Orange Pips”, this is one of those tragic tales where the client is done to death before Holmes can take any action. However, the tragedy of the wife’s past -- which she so desperately tried to put behind her -- catching up to her AND her husband, leaving her shot in the damn head and widowed is just so much more horrible to me than the events of “The Five Orange Pips”. Holmes was so close to the end, too, to the point that if he had finished his work just a few hours sooner, he may have saved a life. Just because the woman was the daughter of a mob boss and attracted the affections of a thug, she is unable to start a life where all of that is put behind her. The past catches up with an innocent woman, getting her injured and her husband murdered. All because some thug refused to leave her alone. It’s creepy. It’s also plausible and has happened before (with less drama perhaps, and no ciphers).

LADY FRANCES CARFAX

My god. What about this story isn’t gruesome and terrifying? Just imagine you’re an unmarried woman vacationing in a foreign country, and a couple of criminals take a shine to you because you happen to wear an expensive necklace. Next thing you know, after being charmed and delighted by these seemingly good-natured religious folk, they kidnap you back to your home country, gassing you with chloroform all the while, steal all your valuable jewelry (which is all you have to your name) and then stuff your nearly-gassed-to-death body in a coffin, on top of an actual dead person, in order to be buried alive. Jesus Christ. The ineptitude of Scotland Yard was almost fatal this time, as the warrant didn’t come until the woman was practically in the ground, and Watson could barely resuscitate her upon getting her out. Whether in real life or the pages of these stories, I’d hate to be at the mercy of Victorian-era Scotland Yard (Abberline was an insufferable buffoon).

THE CROOKED MAN

Another one to go under the heading “tales that exhibit how shitty the human race is”. It’s another more tragic-than-chilling tale like The Dancing Men, but I find it horrifying all the same. The crooked man in question had his sweetheart and all hopes for a normal future snatched away by the most cunning, cowardly and disgusting excuse of a fellow soldier (!) who betrayed him into a trap in order to get with his sweetheart. Pretty messed up. However you feel about colonialism, this guy spent years being beaten and tortured until his body became deformed, and tried many times to escape unsuccessfully. In Victorian England, a man so deformed as to be stooped over and one who isn’t elderly enough to explain such a posture would be considered a freak and wouldn’t be able to live normally in society. And thus it was for him. He lived a quiet life far away from anyone who might recognize him, and made the only living he could with his exotic pet and snake. All this, just because he was in love and loved by a woman that a fellow soldier of his wanted for himself. And that man got her. She married him, and was married to him, ignorant of his treachery, for thirty freaking years. Imagine being married to such a scoundrel, a man you didn’t even see yourself with and honestly pining for the man you thought long-dead, for so many years and not knowing he was the reason your lover was presumed KIA. Imagine having so many years of your life wasted with a despicable creature. And imagine not being able to be with the man you did love, upon finding him alive, because of the way society was back then. This story is so horrible and tragic.

Special mentions: The Bruce Partington Plans, for the terrifying things people will do for money, and The Devil’s Foot, which at least saw some vengeance.