Memoirs from Mrs. Hudson's Kitchen by Wendy Heyman-Marsaw & JoAnn Alberstat & Mark Alberstat

Author:Wendy Heyman-Marsaw & JoAnn Alberstat & Mark Alberstat
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: sherlock holmes, mystery, crime, Victorian cooking, Victorian history, british crime, sherlock holmes fiction, cookbook
ISBN: 9781787051812
Publisher: Andrews UK Limited 2017
Published: 2017-11-16T00:00:00+00:00

Travel Outerwear Part 2 - Victorian maxim: “Let the clothing suit the occasion”

Approximately half of the published adventures of Mr. Holmes occurred outside of London. Travel was often undertaken on extremely short notice. Both Mr. Holmes and Dr. Watson travelled lightly, often with a single satchel. Gentlemen were always appropriately turned out for first-class train travel. Mr. Paget’s illustrations for The Strand magazine depict the travel attire of my lodgers in “The Boscombe Valley Mystery” and “Silver Blaze.” If Mr. Holmes had objections to the illustrations in the first story, he would have no compunction about expressing his complaints, and having them addressed in the second.

Coats - The travelling coat preferred by Dr. Watson was the Wellesley, made of heavy wool. It was available in both long and knee lengths, with or without velvet collars. He wore the short coat in London and the long style for travel. Mr. Holmes selected the Ulster (also known as Inverness). A genuine Ulster is made of Donegal Tweed from Donegal County in the province of Ulster. The coat had a detachable hood and cape. To express the informal character of the coat, it had patch pockets and contrast stitching along the edges and cuffs. The Ulster was cut generously and could appear bulky if it hadn’t a back “half belt” with adjustable buttons to change the degree of the waist suppression. In the illustrations for both mentioned stories, Mr. Holmes wears the Ulster without the optional cape.

Hats - The good doctor favoured a bowler derby for travel and would occasionally trade it for a boater in summer. I would like to state unequivocally that dear Mr. Holmes did indeed often wear a deerstalker hat in his travels - but never, ever in London, where it would have been a serious faux pas. In “Boscombe Valley,” he is described by Dr. Watson as sporting “the familiar close-fitting, ear-flapped, cloth travelling cap.”

As the deerstalker was the most typical cap of the period matching both descriptions, it is not surprising that the original illustrations for the stories by Mr. Paget depicted Holmes as a “deerstalker man.” The only other close-fitting cloth cap of the period was the single-front brim style worn by golfers, workmen or newsboys, and lacking the distinctive earflaps. The deerstalker was distinguished by its dual visors and a pair of unstiffened cloth flaps attached to either side of the cap. These were tied together by grosgrain ribbons or laces. The earflaps, tied under the chin, provided protection in cold weather and high winds while the dual visors offered sun protection. Deerstalkers may be made of solid-coloured material but were most often found with hound’s-tooth check, herringbone or plaid patterns.

Here are two recipes from Devonshire, which was the setting for “Silver Blaze.” They were commonly served at the local public houses, inns and hotels.

Recipes

DEVON CRAB SOUP

Serves 4–6

Ingredients : 2 Tbsp. butter, 1 medium onion and 1 celery stalk finely chopped, 1 garlic clove crushed, 1 1/2 Tbsp.

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