#grimesby roylott

[ofbakerst]

[no-side-us]

Letters From Watson Liveblog - Jan. 17

The Speckled Band, Part 2 of 3

It's so very much in his personality for Sherlock to immediately play around with Roylott when he first meets him. No fear, no questioning, just Sherlock recognizing a bad man who doesn't deserve the courtesy of manners.

I love how Holmes just takes these insults in stride, basically treating them as compliments. I daresay Holmes probably enjoys being known as a meddler and busybody, to criminals especially.

It hasn't been mentioned yet in any of the letters, but I'm pretty sure Holmes does have experience as a boxer, so this display of strength aligns fairly well with his character.

And of all the insults thrown his way, the only one that actually gets to him a little is being called Scotland Yard's "Jack-in-office." He's straight up offended at the notion.

It surprised me that Sherlock could get the wills of people he wasn't related to, so I googled it and apparently wills are a matter of public record. If I wanted to, I could read some wills from my state court register, which sounds like a fun way to spend a day. Though you can only read the ones belonging to the deceased.

And here we see the illustrious detective in his natural habitat, crawling around on the ground looking for evidence. It was polite of him to excuse himself first, otherwise he would've come off as very rude.

That's twice now that Miss Stoner has had to remind Holmes that there is a cheetah and a baboon roaming the property. The funny thing is that to an average person that would seem really important, but to Holmes it's just not.

No wonder Holmes had Watson bring his revolver.

I look forward to the next letter, and the fruition of Sherlock's interesting little plan.

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3

[magentasky234]

Sniff

[faithful-grigori]

”#i want a scene like that Indiana Jones one except Watson vs Roylett”

“I should be very much obliged if you would slip your revolver into your pocket. An Eley's No. 2 is an excellent argument with gentlemen who can twist steel pokers into knots.”

Holmes grinning at Roylott braiding a bar of metal: Very cute. Anyway, my dear friend here has a gun.

[randomnessoffiction]

"Holmes the meddler! Holmes the busybody! Holmes the Scotland Yard Jack-in-office!

[sherlockianscholar]

the above is from granada's "the speckled band."

we all know that the sky's the limit when praising jeremy's acting, but i'll always be most in love with his eyes. he conveys so much power and depth through them. as this interaction with roylott plays out, holmes engages with him (for the most part) icily and concisely. but underneath it all, jeremy's eyes burn with an intensity and fire that's almost palpable through the screen. his revulsion towards roylott is visceral.

additional notes: watson's jump at the door opening. the iconic moment when holmes gulps at roylott bending the poker. all fantastic.

and now what more is there to say than i thank you, mrs. hudson, just another client.

[no-side-us]

Letters From Watson Liveblog - Jan. 15

The Speckled Band, Part 1 of 3

Starting the story off with a bit of a sad note. I wonder if she agreed that Watson could publish this story after she died, or if he just assumed it was okay to do so.

Good lord, I hate that Holmes phrased it that way. And I hate that I've spent so much time on the Internet that reading this immediately puts images in my mind that I really don't want there.

Though this does make me curious as to how the phrase "knock you up" evolved from meaning to wake someone to getting them pregnant.

As someone with a few white hairs already, I can empathize. She's been through a lot it seems. I certainly hope she's not the woman who died that Watson mentioned earlier.

Roylott has been characterized so far as a pretty bad guy, quick to anger and violence and all that. So I'm assuming in order to make him look even worse to the audiences at the time, Doyle had him only be friends with a group of people that a lot of readers probably already had many preconceived notions about.

So right before her sister is to be married, she dies through some mysterious circumstances involving a whistling in the night and the titular speckled band. Her room was also locked, as well as being situated right next to their step-fathers. What was it also that Helen said earlier?

Yeah, I think it's pretty clear that Roylott was involved in some way with the death of Helen's sister, and we have a motive right here for why he would do so.

And now that Helen herself is to be married, the same thing that happened to her sister is happening to her, down to having to be in the same room next to Roylott.

And as if we didn't already have enough reason to dislike and suspect him, Roylott's also an abhorrent and abusive man.

I am eager to see how he gets his comeuppance.

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3

[faithful-grigori]

“#its just the kind of thing that if it was a modern story paying attention to psychology you'd marvel at like this detail of insight that is, #not really often talked about. but its a whodunnit with environmental based solution so obviously its not ghjk, #to clarify it was specifically the fact of never having used the doorbell that struck at me more than anything that would actually require, #questioning the stepdad - as something that would normally struck me as a plot hole but that here im just. yeah i get it. lack of control, #on anything in your life and constant fear that anything new might bring danger does that to you”

Obviously it's all in Doylist (heh) service of the plot in truth, but I must say I like how much... passivity/learned helplessness/indifference regarding their living surroundings on the part of the twins is essential to the story, accepting a bunch of random modifications to their rooms that they never inquire about what exactly they are for, the doorbell having been put in place years ago and never being used by either woman. Rings very true to effects of abusive situations the way it's so frustratingly obvious something is suspicious to the reader but it can't be to them, why would it be to them when vague control on their own lives in general was never an option

[magentasky234]

Shopping!

[flammentanz]

"Das gefleckte Band"

Erich Schellow: Sherlock Holmes Paul Edwin Roth: Dr. Watson Fritz Tillmann: Dr. Grimesby Roylott Astrid Frank: Helen Stoner

Watson: "What does that mean?" Holmes: "It means it's all over. Come on!" Helen Stoner: "What was this?" Holmes: "Go back to your room, we will come to you later." Holmes: "This was the speckled band." Watson: "A swamp cobra, the most dangerous venomous snake in India."

[47gaslamps]

It's a shame Father Brown might not even be in seminary yet. He would have words about this.

[faithful-grigori]

wanderestlest said: “#yes, another big one would be that Helen says her stepfather's temper has been somehow made worse by living in the tropics. there's a lot of hinting in this time period that going to, and living in, the colonies meant they might be living an indecorous, carefree or risky lifestyle - influenced by the Others”

Probably worth mentioning that the reader is supposed to see Grimsby Roylott providing safe land and conversing with 'wandering gypsies' (I guess they could be Romani or Irish/Scottish Travellers?) as evidence of his low moral character.

Similarly any time 'exotic animals' show up like his Indian cheetah and baboon (... cheetah's aren't from India), it's attempting to draw on a xenophobic fear of the Other, of savage places far from the heart of Empire.

[pop-goes-the-weasel]

There is a discourse going on, that says Dr. Roylott would have been unable to bring back a cheetah and a baboon from India. as these are not found in the country.

Do I agree with these? Yes and no.

While baboons are not found in the country, the story of cheetahs is long and interesting. In Doyle's time, the cheetah was found abundantly in the country. Cheetahs played an important role in India's cultural life, with medieval paintings showing them as both the hunter and the hunted.

Then, why are cheetahs today almost exclusively associated with Africa? They were simply hunted to extinction. The last of the cheetahs were shot in the year of 1948, officially making them extinct in the subcontinent.

Interestingly, the cheetah is back in the country. In Seprember 2022, 8 cheetahs were introduced from Namibia in the Kuno-Palpur Wildlife Sanctuary, which is located in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Results look promising; for they have adjusted to the local diet of the spotted deer.

So in summary

Regarding the animals Grimesby Roylott took to England? The baboon, absolutely not possible. The Cheetah, absolutely yes.

[faithful-grigori]

“#this particular story was particularly nerve wracking”

"In this way I am no doubt indirectly responsible for Dr. Grimesby Roylott's death, and I cannot say that it is likely to weigh very heavily upon my conscience."

very cashmoney of holmes

[pad-wubbo]

Because I felt like doing so, I've compiled a full list of character names is French for The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles (Les Grandes Chroniques de Ace Attorney), which doesn't have an official French translation. Japanese names and Sherlock Holmes character names are unchanged, while most English pun names and faux-Japanese English-pun names are changed.

Here it is:

Ryunosuke Naruhodo (unchanged)

Susato Mikotoba (unchanged)

Kazuma Asogi (unchanged)

Yujin Mikotoba (unchanged)

Seishiro Jigoku (unchanged)

Taketsuchi Auchi (unchanged)

Satoru Hosonaga (unchanged)

John H. Wilson (unchanged, from Arsène Lupin)

Owimasu Nomasu (Iyesa Nosa)

Jinesipa Nomasu (Aido Nosa)

Korekushona Dekyuryosichi (Kyurio Korekuta)

Balta Jezaille (Jezaille Brett)

Herlock Sholmes (unchanged, from Arsène Lupin)

Bov Strogenof (Bif Strogenov)

Grimesby Roylott (unchanged, from Sherlock Holmes)

Nikolina Pavlova (unchanged)

Pirozhko (unchanged)

Novara (Darka)

Kurt Maelstrom (Mael Stronghart)

Brock Sephenie (Barok van Zieks)

Magnus O'Dore (Magnus McGilded)

Mason "Tiré-Trois-Fois" ("Thrice-Fired" Mason)

Mason Milverton (unchanged)

Beppo (unchanged)

Bruce Fairplay (unchanged)

Fender Bord (Lay D. Furst)

Iris Wilson (unchanged)

Tobias Gregson (unchanged, from Sherlock Holmes)

Soseki Natsume (unchanged)

Wagahai (unchanged)

Vera Jade (Olive Green)

John Garrideb (unchanged, from Sherlock Holmes)

Joan Garrideb (unchanged, from Sherlock Holmes)

Patricia Batterman (Patricia Beate)

Ruiz Batterman (Roly Beate)

Alain Windibank (Pop Windibank)

Hoff Benedict (Eggert Benedict)

Greece Saunders (Ashley Graydon)

Greece Milverton (Ashley Milverton)

Nash Schroeder (Nash Skulkin)

Ringo Schroeder (Ringo Skulkin)

Myrtle Rhea (Asa Shinn)

Ryutaro Naruhodo (unchanged)

Subi Anutema (Rei Membami)

Sukuriba Akumemo (Raiten Menimemo)

Bill Bardguy (William Shamspeare)

Abel deRhone (Adron B. Metermann)

Brenda Altamont (Quinby Altamont)

Duncan Ross (unchanged, from Sherlock Holmes)

Selden (unchanged, from Sherlock Holmes)

Nikolai de Beale (Albert Harebrayne)

Testa Blomme (Odie Asman)

Toby (unchanged, from Sherlock Holmes)

Mahonia Sire (Esmeralda Tusspells)

John Clay (unchanged, from Sherlock Holmes)

Ottermole (unchanged)

Jane the Ripper (unchanged)

Gustav Sephenie (Klint van Zieks)

Sara Valerie (Evie Vigil)

Balthazar Lonzi (Balthazar Lune)

Wilhelm Gottsreich Sigismond Ormstein (unchanged, from Sherlock Holmes)

Enoch Drebber (unchanged, from Sherlock Holmes)

Corona Stephens (Courtney Stevens)

Corona Sissel (Courtney Sithe)

Mia Cabre (Maria Gorey)

Genshin Asogi (unchanged)

Quentin Valerie (Daley Vigil)

Hugh Boone (unchanged, from Sherlock Holmes)

Barry Hare (Barry Caidin)

Venus (unchanged)

Rags (Gossip)

Sandwich (unchanged)

Fabien de Rousseau (unchanged)

Peppino de Rossi (unchanged)

Paulov Strogenof (Tchikin Strogenov)

Lady Baskerville (unchanged)

Queen Victoria (unchanged)

Tadashi Sodenoshita (unchanged)

Chalan Musgrave (unchanged, from Sherlock Holmes)

Polan Musgrave (unchanged, from Sherlock Holmes)

See if you can decipher all the puns in the changed names.

[no-side-us]

Letters From Watson Liveblog - Jan. 19

The Speckled Band, Part 3 of 3

Watson's a real ride-or-die sort of friend isn't he? And Sherlock's sweet to care about bringing Watson into potential danger. At least he's armed.

I don't know if this is just a problem for me, but these links go to Fandom wiki pages that don't have anything in them. They do have the full names though, and googling them shows that William Palmer and Edward William Pritchard were both English doctors who poisoned people, so it's an apt thing for Holmes to mention.

What a sweet little moment, if not a bit peculiar because of the context. It's good to see Holmes remembered that there is a baboon roaming around this time.

And the truth is revealed! The titular speckled band was in fact a serpent all along. At first glance, this seems to be a real pull of an answer, but I think with all the exotic animals running around and the peculiarities of the bedroom it makes a lot of sense.

Oh Holmes, even you can only kind of escape the prejudices of your time. Though it is kind of good I suppose that the Roma people in this story weren't the culprits or even directly involved. They were just the red herrings, which admittedly isn't great either since there's no further elaboration on them.

I doubt Roylott's death would weigh on anybody else's conscience either. I'm glad his comeuppance was as severe as the one he put on Helen and her sister.

Speaking of, Helen doesn't appear at the end of this story except for being mentioned as having been sent to live with her aunt. But the first letter does say that she dies an untimely death. I like to believe she spent the last years of her life living happy and free, and away from any exotic animals.

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3