The Secret Diary of Dr Watson by Anita Janda

Author:Anita Janda [Janda, Anita]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Endeavour Media
Published: 2019-08-07T22:00:00+00:00

1889

Chapter 15

‘The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle’ is done and if I may be excused for saying so here in my private narrative journal, it is exceedingly well done, too. The plot advances at a sprightly pace, the characters are interesting without being obtrusive, and the point of view is steady as she goes. Not only do I manage to be on the scene to witness first-hand everything I need to be able to tell the interested reader (Mary is right, it does help to imagine that the reader is interested), but for once all of my characters resist the temptation to seize the floor and entertain my audience without me. Holmes himself speaks briefly and to the point, instead of in those brutal periods he favoured in ‘A Study in Scarlet’ and ‘The Sign of Four’. I ask questions, he answers them, and the illusion of conversation is maintained. I must remember this technique: the result is masterly.

The pacing is good, too. For the space of 5,000 words, the deductions of my friend Holmes open new fields of inquiry and then, just as the anxiety of Mr Fitsch the word-counter may be supposed to reach fever pitch, the long arm of coincidence intervenes to save us a tedious journey and the mystery unravels in a 2,000 word coda that precisely complements the statement of the puzzle. Facts, 5, Logic and Coincidence, 2: a very palatable mixture.

I only hope Holmes will like it half as much as I do. Watch him ask me why I keep interrupting him in this adventure!

* * *

Well, I’m not sure what I have accomplished here beyond the destruction of my casebook, but my intentions were good. It came to me in the middle of the night, driving me out of a sound sleep and my warm bed: why are my notes about Holmes in chronological order? It doesn’t matter to me when his cases happened. What matters to me is how experienced a writer I have to be in order to turn a particular case into an adventure suitable for publication in the Strand.

I put on my dressing gown and crept down to my surgery. I didn’t need a fire. I lit the lamp, took out the casebook I began in Baker Street, and ripped it apart at the spine. I would need four piles, I decided: Tell Now, Tell Later, External Events, and Maybe Never. Fortunately, I had always begun a new case on a right-hand page and was not quite halfway through the book—there were no leaves with multiple cases on them.

‘The Adventure of the Speckled Band,’ written but not publishable until Helen Stoner’s death: External Events. ‘The Brook Street Mystery’: Tell Later. (I don’t know why, but I have totally lost interest in this case.) ‘The Adventure of the Second Stain’: Maybe Never. ‘The Naval Treaty’: Maybe Never. ‘The Reigate Squires’: Tell Later.

‘Retreat to the Island of Uffa’: Tell Later. ‘The Five Orange Pips’, written but not publishable until four adventures have preceded it: External Events.

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