Is there any interest at all in sustaining this community?

[mightymads]

It may be a general lack of activity on DW or maybe waning of the interest in the topic, but there seems to be no reaction at all to the recent posts. Is there a point in writing reviews for the books and series about the period which I’m reading and watching currently? Because writing them takes time which I’d rather use for writing fic. I still intend to keep this journal as a lumber room, but updating it on a regular basis if no one is interested would be counterproductive. 

(- I had in mind to write a couple of reviews for books about ACD to commemorate the upcoming 160th anniversary of his birthday on May 22;

- Watched a documentary series Servants: A True Story of Life Below the Stairs;

- Plan to read Jack London’s People of the Abyss, about the life of the poor in 1902.)

Comments

[senmut]

I do apologize. I am fascinated by the material you present, but I have been excessively busy as of late, and not finding a way to reorganize to break that state.

[mightymads]

That’s a relief! Then will carry on as planned. Just asked for the sake of time management :)

[trobadora]

I've only discovered this place a little while ago, and I haven't been online much lately. But I've been reading along, and I would be sorry to see this end.

[mightymads]

Thank you! It’s good to know that there’s interest in reviews even if no discussion follows :) I was asking due to a practical reason, unsure whether it was wise to post those time-consuming reviews and considering switching to something else instead.

[mafief]

I lurk and read what you post. I find it interesting and if DW had a “like” feature, I’d use it. I’m filing it away when I have a little more time to digest it and use the info in docs.

So, don’t be discouraged. I’ve been meaning to leave a quick note saying thanks and here it is.

[recently_folded]

I too have enjoyed the readings that are expanding my understanding of the Holmes'verse, even though I am sort of failing at the conversation part of things. Thank you, though, for posting them: thatm I should have made clearer sooner. Only you know how best to spend your time, but I appreciate what you have spent on this to date.

[mightymads]

I’m glad that the material of the community is interesting. I keep hoping that it will become more active and people would pitch something in, but sometimes I have to ask them to do so, and I wouldn’t like to bother people often. Anyways, the most important thing for me that the time spent on reviews is not wasted :)

[mightymads]

Thank you! I’ve been just planning to do some more but was unsure whether it was useful for anyone. It’s fun writing them as it helps me to recap what I’ve read and seen and hence memorize the material better.

[mightymads]

I am too trying to write for Holmestice but it goes very slowly this time, and I keep alternating between writing and reading/watching. I wouldn’t like to leave the comm without updates while striving for the Holmestice goal, but on the other hand posting at least two updates a week requires some effort, so it’s good to know that the stuff I post is useful after all. I wish people posted something more often (not necessarily reviews—mb some points for discussion which may arise while writing, like different aspects of life in the Victorian era, etc), but even if they’d rather read than post, it’s okay :) The most important thing for me that fellow Holmesians are as interested in historical references.

[mightymads]

Historical aspects are indeed fascinating! They’re like a black hole really because the more I read/ watch, the more things pop up and my reading/ watchlist expands. I thought to write about the Servants series, but now I think I must read Below Stairs by Margaret Powell, the book which was mentioned there. Some aspects of the hard life of servants were also covered in The Victorian House, so you see how a post about servants would end up as a mini-research. I didn’t really need this info for my current WIP, but it’s so interesting, and I’ve been wondering idly how many servants were employed in 221b because for sure all of them must have been trustworthy and impervious to bribes, so that Holmes’s materials weren’t stolen by his enemies.

[mightymads]

Thank you! Mrs Hudson certainly must have employed at least a maid-of-all-work. The page boy was canonically mentioned, and later on, by the time of THOR, there was a new cook who seemed to be somewhat slovenly (boiled eggs). Perhaps as Mrs Hudson was getting older and Holmes paid better, she hired more help since it must have been tiresome for her to cook like she used to in NAVA.

[colebaltblue]

Oh no! I adore this community and have referenced your postings many times. Please do not stop. I know sometimes it feels like you're talking to a wall, but you're absolutely not. I've noticed that DW is much slower paced. But if you've got it in you - please continue.

[mightymads]

Thank you! I do have much planned and was just unsure whether it would be useful to others. Now I'm relieved to know that it will :)

[sarahthecoat]

I appreciate these posts, although i don't make it onto dw as often as i expected to. Spring is also super busy for me, what with weeding (am determined to conquer the garlic mustard this year), mowing, dancing out, work being busy at the moment, and waking earlier with the light so getting droopy earlier in the evening.

[mightymads]

Thank you for your comment! RL can be busy :) Now I know that reviews would be useful even if there’s no discussion. Sometimes it’s difficult to determine what lack of feedback means, so I asked in this post.

[orchid314]

I’ve been wondering idly how many servants were employed in 221b because for sure all of them must have been trustworthy and impervious to bribes, so that Holmes’s materials weren’t stolen by his enemies.

You know, I had never thought of this before, but, yes, you're absolutely right! The servants at 221b would absolutely have been vetted for their discretion and integrity. This would make a great premise for a fic.

And may I add my voice to the others who posted here, reiterating how valuable I've found this community in the short time since you started it? I promise to make an effort to comment more and perhaps to post occasionally. Thank you for all the great content.

[mightymads]

Thanks so much! It’s good to know that I’m going in the right direction with those reviews because it’s been such a captivating journey since I joined this fandom, discovering everything about the time period. I wish to share my impressions and hope that fellow fans would do the same. I’ve learned a lot from everyone so far thanks to the reviews posted both here and in personal journals.

As for the fic premise, Margaret Powell’s book Below Stairs is an amazing source. I’ve just finished reading it and plan to post a review about it next week. It’s a witty, feisty memoir of her growing up poor and going into domestic service in 1920s. The book gives a really insightful perspective from a servant’s point of view. I couldn’t help wondering what kind of masters Holmes and Watson were, and it made me want to write a fic from their maid’s POV someday.