{"id":136707,"date":"2015-09-14T04:12:52","date_gmt":"2015-09-14T04:12:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/2015\/09\/14\/where-holmes-and-watson-were-in-1895-hiding-from\/"},"modified":"2015-09-14T04:12:52","modified_gmt":"2015-09-14T04:12:52","slug":"where-holmes-and-watson-were-in-1895-hiding-from","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/2015\/09\/14\/where-holmes-and-watson-were-in-1895-hiding-from\/","title":{"rendered":"Where Holmes and Watson were in 1895 – hiding from the Oscar Wilde trials"},"content":{"rendered":"

sherloki1854<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

It
\nis a truth universally acknowledged that [I should really stop
\nquoting Pride and Prejudice immediately\u2026] Holmes\u2019s and Watson\u2019s
\nleaving London in The Three Students is connected with the Oscar
\nWilde trials. Yet 3STU is not the only story set in 1895. To
\nconclusively say that they were in reality doing their best to avoid
\nthe public eye the other three stories have to be considered too. 31
\nof the 60 stories are set in Baker Street<\/a>, which makes the
\nsetting of the 1895 stories interesting\u2026<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The
\nSolitary Cyclist: late April<\/p>\n

On
\nreferring to my note-book for the year 1895 I find that it was upon
\nSaturday, the 23rd of April, that we first heard of Miss Violet
\nSmith. Her visit was, I remember, extremely unwelcome to Holmes [\u2026]<\/i><\/p>\n

I
\nshould be none the worse for a quiet, peaceful day in the country,
\nand I am inclined to run down this afternoon and test one or two
\ntheories which I have formed.\u201d [\u2026]<\/i><\/p>\n

A
\nrainy night had been followed by a glorious morning, and the
\nheath-covered country-side with the glowing clumps of flowering gorse
\nseemed all the more beautiful to eyes which were weary of the duns
\nand drabs and slate-greys of London. Holmes and I walked along the
\nbroad, sandy road inhaling the fresh morning air, and rejoicing in
\nthe music of the birds and the fresh breath of the spring.<\/i><\/p>\n

That
\nis 1) ridiculously romantic and 2) proof that they were indeed quite
\nkeen on not seeing anyone (Holmes initially wanted to reject the
\nclient and changed his mind when it became clear that the case was
\ngoing to be in the country, which then prompted several excursions
\nthere).\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The
\nThree Students: late April\/early May<\/p>\n

It
\nwas in the <\/i>year \u201895 that a
\ncombination of events, into which I need not enter, caused Mr.
\nSherlock Holmes and myself to spend some weeks in one of our great
\nUniversity towns<\/i>
\n[\u2026] It will be obvious that any details which would help the reader
\nto exactly identify the college or the criminal would be injudicious
\nand offensive. <\/i>So
\npainful a scandal may well be allowed to die out. With due discretion
\nthe incident itself may, however, be described<\/i>,
\nsince it serves to illustrate some of those qualities for which my
\nfriend was remarkable. I will endeavour in my statement to <\/i>avoid
\nsuch terms as would serve to limit the events to any particular
\nplace, or give a clue as to the people concerned<\/i>.<\/i><\/p>\n

\nOr to
\ngive a clue as to what really happened. In the year 1895 there were
\nthe Oscar Wilde trials, which caused a great many men who were more
\nor less openly gay to \u201cgo on holiday\u201d for a few months.
\nUniversities were supposed to be more progressive than cities: for
\nexample, Oscar Wilde met Robbie Ross at uni. The \u201cpainful
\nscandal\u201d Watson is talking about here is about three students
\nwho are meant to sit a Greek exam, but one of them cheats. That\u2019s not
\na scandal: it is basically impossible to do perfectly in a Greek
\nexam. This means this: they had to flee from London because of the
\npublic awareness the spectacular trials had caused and went to a
\nfriend of Holmes\u2019s. But of course Watson could not say it like that,
\nso he had to invent a virtually new case.<\/p>\n

The
\nfact that even though Holmes is clearly everything but thrilled at
\nbeing anywhere but Baker Street, he is not in London anyway, is
\nfairly obvious: My
\nfriend\u2019s temper had not improved since he had been deprived of the
\ncongenial surroundings of Baker Street. Without his scrap-books, his
\nchemicals, and his homely untidiness, he was an uncomfortable man.<\/i><\/p>\n

\nThis
\nis important because 3STU is not the only case where Holmes and
\nWatson leave London for a prolonged period of time. What are they
\ndoing in that \u201cuniversity town\u201d? The given reason (research into
\nold charters) is more than suspicious. Yet if you consider the
\ncircumstances of the Oscar Wilde trials in April and May it becomes
\nclear that the best thing to do if the slightest rumour about you
\nexisted, was to flee. And given Watson\u2019s writing, such rumours must
\nhave circulated.<\/p>\n

Another
\nsuggestive quotation: The
\nexercise consists of half a chapter of <\/i>Thucydides<\/i>.
\n<\/i>The
\nexam papers that are left on the professor\u2019s desk are taken from
\nThucydides, probably by his most famous work on the Peloponnesian
\nWar. Thucydides was a Athenian historian who lived in the 5th<\/sup>
\ncentury BC and is known for being an analyst and \u201cscientific\u201d
\nwriter \u2013 he credits humans with their actions, not the gods.
\nFurthermore, Athens (the most \u201cglorious\u201d city in Greece) was his
\nhome, but he was exiled for something that was not his fault. Does
\nthis sound like someone? Holmes, maybe? Here, Watson had to choose an
\nauthor, so he chose one who mirrors Holmes.<\/p>\n

\nMoreover,
\nWatson will not identify the town even ten years later: a clear sign
\nthat they had to protect somebody \u2013 and their hiding place.\n<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nBlack
\nPeter: early July<\/p>\n

It
\nstarts with a few clues of exactly how Watson sees Holmes: \u201cI
\nhave never known my friend to be in better <\/i>form<\/i>,
\nboth mental and <\/i>physical<\/i>,
\nthan in the year \u201895<\/i>.\u201d
\nand \u201cHolmes,
\nhowever, like all <\/i>great<\/i>
\n<\/i>artists<\/i>,
\n<\/i>lived for his art\u2019s
\nsake<\/i>\u201d
\n(come on, sound even more like Oscar Wilde \u2013 oh, not possible, I
\nunderstand\u2026). He also calls the year \u201cmemorable<\/i>\u201d,
\nwhich it must have been \u2013 Holmes and Watson spent a nice part of it
\nmost purposefully not in London, i.e. hiding somewhere.<\/p>\n

The
\nstory is set in early July. Just as a reminder, Wilde lost his third
\ntrial against the Crown on May 25, and everybody involved who had not
\nmade his way to the country or continent yet or had returned like
\nHolmes and Watson, did so then. Initially, Watson is at home in Baker
\nStreet, but Holmes is not: my
\nfriend had been <\/i>absent<\/i>
\nso often and so long from our lodgings<\/i>,
\nwhich implies that even though Holmes has to be in London for some
\nreason, he does his best in order not to be available or even
\nfindable. Watson even tells us explicitly that and exactly how Holmes
\nis hiding:
\n<\/i>Holmes
\nwas working somewhere under one of the numerous disguises and names
\nwith which he concealed his own formidable identity. He had at least
\nfive small refuges in different parts of London, in which he was able
\nto change his personality. <\/i>\n<\/p>\n

But
\nwhat other 1895 cases does Watson refer to?<\/p>\n

In
\nthis memorable year \u201995, a curious and incongruous succession of
\ncases had engaged his attention, ranging from his famous
\ninvestigation of the sudden death of Cardinal Tosca <\/i>(ITALY)\u2013an
\ninquiry which was carried out by him at the express desire of His
\nHoliness the Pope\u2013down to his arrest of Wilson, the notorious
\ncanary-trainer, which removed a plague-spot from the East End of
\nLondon <\/i>(UNSAVOURY PART OF
\nLONDON, and according to Google Maps SIX MILES from 221b Baker
\nStreet). Close on the heels of these two famous cases came
\nthe tragedy of Woodman\u2019s Lee, and the very obscure circumstances
\nwhich surrounded the death of Captain Peter Carey <\/i>(IN
\nTHE COUNTRY). No record of the doings of Mr. Sherlock
\nHolmes would be complete which did not include some account of this
\nvery unusual affair. <\/i>\n<\/p>\n

\nHe
\nis never at home or somewhere reachable\u2026<\/p>\n

The
\nwhole thing ends with this line from Holmes: \u201cIf
\nyou want me for the trial, <\/i>my
\naddress and that of Watson will be somewhere in Norway<\/i>
\n\u2013 I\u2019ll send particulars later.<\/i>\u201d
\nApart from the pun on the trial, this mostly shows that Holmes is
\ntaking the chance of leaving the country, apparently \u201cfor a case\u201d,
\nfor a very long time \u2013 he had virtually no case-connected reason to
\ngo to Norway (he could have sent wires to clear up the loose strands,
\nas he always does, and anyway Norway is not important for the case),
\nbut Norway is far enough from London to be safe, is it not? To put it
\nin a nutshell, the case begins with Holmes hiding and ends with
\nHolmes and Watson leaving the country on a trip that will mean that
\nthey will not be traceable for a while \u2013 Holmes\u2019s detective friend
\n(and he does like Hopkins) only gets a \u201cpromise for later\u201d.<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nThe
\nBruce-Partington Plans: November\u00a0<\/p>\n

Watson
\nbegins the narrative with a statement of the date: \u201cin
\nthe third week of November, in the year 1895<\/i>\u201d,
\nand goes on to clarify that he and Holmes have not left the flat for
\nfour days, asserting that this happened because of the \u201cdense
\nyellow fog<\/i>\u201d.
\nTranslation: it has been six months since Oscar Wilde\u2019s trials, the
\nwaters have mostly calmed down, but it would still be unwise to be
\ntoo noticeable to the outside world, and Holmes and Watson are
\nhiding. Indeed, so much so that only Jupiter leaving his orbit (i.e.
\nBrother Mycroft) can drag them out of Baker Street. This impression
\nis reinforced by the association of the colour yellow with caution<\/a>
\n\u2013 they simply cannot risk being overly visible, but are in Baker
\nStreet because everything else (given Holmes\u2019s famous habits) would
\nattract even more attention.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In
\nconclusion, Holmes and Watson do their best not to be where people
\ncould find them throughout the year 1895, starting comparatively
\n\u201csmall\u201d in The Solitary Cyclist, where the situation is not too
\ndangerous yet and they thus still officially live in Baker Street, to
\nthe full-out flight in The Three Students, which is set exactly
\nduring the most important trial, over the slightly less conspicuous
\n\u201cI\u2019m out working\u201d of Black Peter, which ends with a long holiday
\nin Norway for Holmes and Watson, to lying low in 221b in order not to avoid suspicion and trying not
\nto appear in public at all. Watson, you are terrible at hiding
\nevidence in your stories\u2026<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

sherloki1854: It is a truth universally acknowledged that [I should really stop quoting Pride and Prejudice immediately\u2026] Holmes\u2019s and Watson\u2019s leaving London in The Three Students is connected with the Oscar Wilde trials. Yet 3STU is not the only story set in 1895. To conclusively say that they were in reality doing their best to … <\/p>\n

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