The Red-Headed League - Canon Re-read

[luthienberen]

I do not have too much to note on this story, more fun questions to consider. Please feel free to post your own facts in the comments and if you wish, to discuss anything in this post :-)

1.) Viability of the plan

As Holmes says in the story this is a singular & peculiar case., "...the course of events is certainly among the most singular that I have ever listened to."

The curious approach used to free the shop for excavation of the cellar is both ingenious and audacious, and one I admire.

Yet...I always have pondered at how it succeeded. Admittedly it was tailored to answer the particular qualities possessed by Mr Jabez Wilson, however, the apparent amount of interest generated would surely result in some notice from standers by or a journalist?  

Social media didn't exist to spread the news about admittedly, but the number of disgruntled unsuccessful applicants plus anyone in the nearby offices would surely remark upon the bizarre affair?

2.) Financial backing
Considering how much they paid Mr Wilson a week (£4 in old money, which was roughly £328.20 in 2017 according to the National Archives site: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/currency-converter/# - disclaimer that is a rough estimate and should be taken into context of trying to adjust for inflation and so forth; there are links to an inflation calculator at the bottom of the page for enterprising souls) 

This also suggests the criminals had sufficient funds to even begin matters, which most probably originated from John Clay due to his family lineage.

However, I think this is why I enjoyed Granada inserting Moriarty into the tale, as it became more believable in the sense of a financial backing/framework existing to begin the affair.

Interested to hear people's opinions!

3.) Latin. "Omne ignotum pro magnifico."

My school girl Latin is long gone so thanks to Granada for the translation:

Everything become commonplace by explanation

Though Holmes does complain it is a loose translation!

Poor Holmes! I had a good chuckle at how Mr Wilson declared how unremarkable his deductions were, & missing the point that such deductions are tied to acute observations and possessing the knowledge to understand what is observed.

4.) Tattoo: Another instance of Holmes showing one of the specific & narrow fields that he excels in. I am curious of how he contributed to the subject, and whether this was done before meeting Watson?

5.) Date

According to Watson (through Mr Wilson) this tale is set end of June 1890 since the newspaper article is dated 27th April 1890.

However, this contradicts Watson's opening statement: "I had called upon my friend Mr Sherlock Holmes, one day in the autumn of last year…"

Then later on it is noted that the Red-headed League was dissolved 9th October 1890. So the autumn date seems to be the accurate one instead of end June for the events of the case. How do we explain this?

Externally, it is likely Doyle mixed up dates during the course of writing.

Internally, this is another "Watson is unreliable narrator," occasion and fun to consider. Why would Watson fudge the dates? Was he attempting to protect someone through muddying when events occurred?

6.) Assistant - Vincent Spaulding

Mr Wilson. "...have a job to pay him but that he is willing to come for half pay."

Mr Holmes. "I don't know that your assistant is not remarkable as your advertisement."

Of course Holmes is correct and I think that this obliging man was a curious fact highlighted in Holmes' brain for quick reference once he had heard all the facts from Mr Wilson and during his investigation.

7.) Mr Peter Jones of Scotland Yard

Do we ever come across this police agent again? Is he an Inspector? I found the terminology Holmes used curious.

Comments

[mightymads]

Great points! Such an assembly of red-headed people could certainly raise some questions, and the rejected applicants might even carry out an investigation of their own. On the other hand, unless they were as astute as Holmes, they would’ve come to a dead end with the artificial knee caps. Even if some newspaper established that the League was a fraud, Mr. Wilson didn’t seem to read papers anyway. BBC Sherlock aside, it would be an interesting adaptation into the modern world, as scams and fakes thrive nowadays.

Re: Moriarty, agreed! It gives much more gravitas to the case and gives Moriarty more place in the canon, making him more ominous.

Re: the tattoo and the coin. I’ve always wondered why Holmes was so sure Mr. Wilson actually visited China. He could have obtained both the coin and the tattoo in the China town.

Re: the date, exactly. So amusing! First autumn, eight weeks, then suddenly April, then October again. While Doyle is careless, Watson is definitely devious!

Re: Jones. I like to think of him as Peter Athelney Jones because Jones mentions the Agra case and says that “we’re hunting in couples AGAIN”. Then again, why in couples? Last time Holmes was with Watson, and Jones??? With Sholto? XD

Also, this second canon story is another perfect example of Holmes’s humanity. Holmes chuckles and wiggles in his chair. He roars with laughter at Wilson together with Watson. He is polite with Jones and calls him an imbecile only when Jones isn’t present. Besides, Jones is rather arrogant towards Holmes (“makings of a detective in him”). He is snappish with Merryweather only when the banker jeopardises the ambush, but! Holmes is as considerate as having brought with him a pack of cards because Merryweather complained of having missed his card game. Astounding, isn’t it?

[luthienberen]

You raise really good points on that only Holmes would have followed the trail if any of the unsuccessful applicants had approached him. It would be interesting how a modern adaptation of this story would handle the case as scams are so widespread known nowadays.

Ditto re Moriarty! Granada adding him to the story raised him in our awareness & created a thread throughout the early Granada episodes which increased his impact & the danger of the man. I believe Russian Livanov films did the same in bringing Moriarty in earlier?🤔

Curious why Holmes assumed Mr Wilson had been in China vs Chinatown and not a point I picked up on! I suspect it is because of the plot, but if I recall correctly there are other places in canon where Holmes' deductions seem more like assumptions...hopefully I will find out if so in our re-read.😉

Devious Watson ought to be a tagline🤣

The couples line is bizarre. When? In Ages as you say, but...Who?!? Sholto? We need fanfic lol.

The humanity Holmes displays is so adorable and seriously...how anyone can argue he is without emotion is utterly baffling. A true misreading of canon and selectively picking the bits people find appealing or good for adaptations & ignoring the heap of other evidence. A person can be complex: cool & logical but also emotional.

[mightymads]

Yes, the Lenfilm series did the same, having connected Moriarty with more cases. I really liked the idea of linking him with Milverton, and it became my headcanon.

Re: assumptions, in the Greek Interpreter he assumes that the Greek girl spent some time in Britain simply because she could speak English. Why couldn’t she study English at home and then come to England??? Lots of people did and do, and lots don’t even have a chance to visit an English-speaking country XD

It doesn’t take much digging to come across Holmes’s humanity. Some adaptations tend to ignore it for their own reasons while the greedy Conan Doyle estate is greedy.

[luthienberen]

Thanks for confirming that mightymads! Time for a rematch of the Lenfilm Blackmailer adaptation. Off-topic but I do like how the Lenfilm series did the Reichenbach Falls.

Oh gosh yes! A bizarre statement to make by Holmes, unless he was assuming that not all women would be educated so her only opportunity to learn English would be in England...still a risky assumption.

It doesn’t take much digging to come across Holmes’s humanity. Some adaptations tend to ignore it for their own reasons while the greedy Conan Doyle estate is greedy.

Truly, Holmes' humanity leaps off the pages. I concur with your reasons why this is ignored. I worry how the Doyle Estate case will proceed, as I pray it doesn't set a wrong precedent for future adaptations.

[smallhobbit]

Re the Greek girl speaking English - it could be that her accent showed that she'd been longer in England, perhaps picking up a more regional accent than the standard one, or that she's using more colloquial English. But I agree, the assumption is inaccurate.

[mightymads]

Good point about the accent!

[luthienberen]

I agree that is a good consideration smallhobbit, though as you say still an inaccurate assumption. Accents are tricky beasts, Polish acquaintances of mine who moved here to work still have noticeable Polish accents despite living here between 5-10 years and their English being excellent.

Everyone is different though so Holmes' guess isn't impossible, but as we seem to agree, an assumption that could have been wrong.

Edit to add: though the increase of colloquial English into her speech in GREEK INT. would add weight to Holmes' theory I concur :>)

[firecat]

Moriarty is supposedly based partly on real life criminal Adam Worth, who, according to Wikipedia, "robbed the vault of the Boylston National Bank in Boston on 20 November 1869...through a tunnel...from a neighboring shop."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Worth

[mightymads]

Thank you for the link!

[luthienberen]

Thank you for the link. A fascinating fact! :_)

[mightymads]

Here are some very interesting points which we didn’t cover here

https://acdoyles.tumblr.com/post/625459038587584512/a-study-in-annotations-redh

[luthienberen]

Thanks for the share mightymads! :=)