2. Introduction www.facebook.com/saveundershaw
• 1887 – 2012
• The world’s most recognised character
• Sherlock Holmes now holds the Guiness World Record for the
most portrayed character ever
3. Great Debates……. www.facebook.com/saveundershaw
• #1 – Nov11 fans from 23 countries
• #2 – Mar12 live from London
• #3 – Aug12 back to the original canon
• #4 – Dec12 ‘Elementary and BBC Sherlock’
Hosted by MX Publishing, the world’s #1 Sherlock Holmes publishers
4. The Cause….. www.facebook.com/saveundershaw
Save Undershaw
www.saveundershaw.com
The Great Sherlock Holmes Debates have a goal to raise
awareness for Save Undershaw - Do your bit and 'like'
their page on Facebook. This is the most important piece of
Sherlock Holmes heritage in the world – let’s preserve it for
future generations.
5. The Cause….. www.facebook.com/saveundershaw
Raising funds. Many authors are donating
royalties to Save Undershaw, including:
6. The Fans www.facebook.com/saveundershaw
Robin Rowles UK
Tinky Chong Hong Kong
Bec Ellis Australia
Anna Villarosa Phillipines
Gustav Griswold Denmark
Agnes Schultheis France
Jessica Humphrey USA
Helen Coline France
Bec Sampson UK
Rima B Lithuania
Katri Leikola Finland
Aurora Cambini Italy
7. The Team….. www.facebook.com/saveundershaw
The Great Debates are backed by the main Holmes societies
around the world, the main podcasts, the main British franchises
(BBC Sherlock and Big Finish) and dozens of experts and authors.
Video
Writer/producer/director Ross K Foad
‘No Place Like Holmes’
www.nplh.co.uk the world’s #1 video
fan site for Sherlock Holmes
10. The Fans……. www.facebook.com/saveundershaw
Short Stories
Voting very spread out
Only 3 stories got 2 votes
The Dying Detective
The Final Problem
The Red-Headed League
11. The Fans……. www.facebook.com/saveundershaw
Novels
A Study In Scarlet 4
The Valley of Fear 1
The Hound of The Baskervilles 6
The Sign of The Four 3
12. The Stories……. www.facebook.com/saveundershaw
Presentations:
The Six Napoleans Charlotte Walters
Wisteria Lodge Matthew Elliot
Scandal in Bohemia Luke Kuhns
Charles Augustus Milverton Claire Ellul
The Second Stain Bonnie MacBird
Blue Carbuncle Fred Thursfield
13. The Six Napoleons www.facebook.com/saveundershaw
• The Six Napoleons contains everything which makes a Holmes
story great. There is humour, action, friendship and brilliant
deduction.
• Holmes shows his human side – ‘It seemed to me that he was
more nearly moved by the softer human emotions than I had
ever seen him’.
• Holmes solves the crime in a most workman like fashion
which is simply brilliant and a joy to follow. It’s the simplicity;
the neatness of this story which makes it so good.
14. The Six Napoleons www.facebook.com/saveundershaw
• Inspired the characterisation of Lestrade in BBC Sherlock as someone who is
frustrated by Holmes but admires him.
• ‘We’re not jealous of you at Scotland Yard. No sir, we are very proud of you!’ –
Lestrade, Six Napoleons
15. The Six Napoleons www.facebook.com/saveundershaw
• Inspired many adaptations:
• An episode of ‘Sherlock Holmes’, the 1965 television series
starring Douglas Wilmer
• Granada dramatized the story as part of their highly
successful series starring the great Jeremy Brett as Holmes
• Film – The Pearl of Death released in 1944
16. The Six Napoleons www.facebook.com/saveundershaw
• A charming story which starts out with a trivial crime but
builds up to a dramatic and satisfying conclusion.
• The story ultimately gave us the following stunning piece of
acting from Jeremy Brett, one of the best moments from all
the Granada episodes:
17. The Six Napoleons www.facebook.com/saveundershaw
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3Ru54zlkUU
18. Wisteria Lodge www.facebook.com/saveundershaw
• International Intrigue
19. Wisteria Lodge www.facebook.com/saveundershaw
• A Spooky Old House
20. Wisteria Lodge www.facebook.com/saveundershaw
• A Female in Peril
21. Wisteria Lodge www.facebook.com/saveundershaw
• It’s the story that has everything (including, I
might add, a kitchen sink)
22. A Scandal in Bohemia www.facebook.com/saveundershaw
• Background - First of the
56 short stories to be
written by Doyle.
• Plot – Governmental
Scandal `
23. A Scandal in Bohemia www.facebook.com/saveundershaw
• Diverse Disguises & Grand
Theatrics
– Holmes: Drunken Groom &
Minister
– Bohemian King: Masked Figure
– Irene Adler: A Young Man
• Grand Theatrics
– Smoke and Mirrors
24. A Scandal In Bohemia www.facebook.com/saveundershaw
• Intriguing Characters
– King of Bohemia.
• A typical royal?
– Irene Adler: An Archetype
Character
• Well-Known, American Born,
Singer, and Adventuress.
Wealthy. Strong & Independent,
Clever & Daring. A Post-Modern
Woman
25. A Scandal in Bohemia www.facebook.com/saveundershaw
www.facebook.com/saveundershaw
• If Not A Love Story Then What?
– Admiration Story
– Humanising?
– Spawn Of Many Interpretations
– Conclusion
• Progressive and Inspiring
26. Charles Augustus Milverton www.facebook.com/saveundershaw
• Shows the change in Sherlock Holmes’ attitude to
women
The Second Stain Charles Augustus Milverton
27. Charles Augustus Milverton www.facebook.com/saveundershaw
The Devil’s Foot and The Illustrious Client
“I thought of her for the moment, as I would have
thought of a daughter of my own” ILLU
“I have never loved, Watson, but if I did and if the
woman I loved had met such an end, I might act even
as our lawless lion hunter has done” DEVI
28. Charles Augustus Milverton www.facebook.com/saveundershaw
Was Conan Doyle a anti-feminist?
Rocha says that in “Irene Adler Doyle created a proto-
feminist: a strong female character that was just as
smart as the smartest man”.
Sherlock Holmes and Philosophy, Rocha & Rocha
29. THE SECOND STAIN www.facebook.com/saveundershaw
THE SECOND STAIN
Presented by Bonnie MacBird
bonnie@macbird.com
http://pinterest.com/bmacb/cu
rated-sherlock-holmes/
www.macbird.com
30. THE SECOND STAIN www.facebook.com/saveundershaw
#8 of 12 on Conan Doyle’s own
favorite list.
Many reasons to love this story
CLASSIC HOLMES character
moments
And…for THEME
31. THE SECOND STAIN www.facebook.com/saveundershaw
First the smaller reasons
THE BEST OF HOLMES
Independent
Relishing high stakes
Eccentric behaviour
Theatricality
32. THE SECOND STAIN www.facebook.com/saveundershaw
INDEPENDENT
Tells the Prime Minister, in
effect, to go to hell if he won’t
reveal the facts.
33. THE SECOND STAIN www.facebook.com/saveundershaw
RELISHES CHALLENGE
Nothing less than World War if
the case is not solved
Seems impossible.
34. THE SECOND STAIN www.facebook.com/saveundershaw
ECCENTRIC BEHAVIOR WHILE
ON THE CASE
45. Blue Carbuncle www.facebook.com/saveundershaw
• The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle is one of my
favourite Christmas stories as well as one of my
favourite Sherlock Holmes stories. It is both
entertaining and fun.
• It is during a lull between cases when Sherlock
Holmes is presented with three apparently
unconnected articles…a Christmas goose a very
battered hat and an expensive blue stone.
46. Blue Carbuncle www.facebook.com/saveundershaw
• While he waits for the owner of the goose to
come and claim his property he examines to
hat to know the nature and circumstance of
it’s owner.
• This is one of those times when Watson
thinking he has the skills that Holmes has is
challenged to prove so.
47. Blue Carbuncle www.facebook.com/saveundershaw
• Well meaning Christmas spirit…following a
long trail back to where the goose came from.
Profit…greed…protecting property and
suspicion make the case more interesting by
the minute.
• This is a story of an innocent man being
blamed for committing a crime he didn’t.
48. Blue Carbuncle www.facebook.com/saveundershaw
• A petty opportunistic thief…his greedy
accomplis and a robbery thought out only
moment by moment.
• In the end an ad in the paper and the battered
hat tie all together. A replacement goose and
the hat are returned to the owner. The
accused man goes free.
49. Blue Carbuncle www.facebook.com/saveundershaw
• And the petty criminal once found out is
treated to a rare bit of Christmas spirit…
instead of being sent into the hands of the
police he is set free.
• The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle is a story
that even people who are not fans of Sherlock
Holmes might enjoy.
51. www.facebook.com/saveundershaw
"Have you ever wanted to think like Sherlock Holmes? Have
you wondered how that "mind palace" or "memory attic"
works which has recently been mentioned in Sherlock BBC's
"Hounds of Baskerville," and which Doyle wrote of in "A Study
in Scarlet?" Have you been impressed by the great detective's
deductive powers and been envious of his abilities? Joe Riggs
can show us how we can do it, too."
Baker Street Babes
"He's got Jedi Powers!"
Star Telegram
55. Self Annihalation… www.facebook.com/saveundershaw
True deduction and observation can only occur through a
certain amount of self-annihilation.
"I see no more than you, but I have trained myself to
notice what I see.“
Sherlock Holmes
57. Deduction - Putting the
Pieces Together www.facebook.com/saveundershaw
“Each fact is suggestive in itself. Together they
have a cumulative force.” Sherlock Holmes
58. Body Language... www.facebook.com/saveundershaw
1. Body hunched - low confidence
2. Clenched fists - aggression
3. Crossed arms - shut off, uncomfortable
4. Dragging feet - lethargy
5. Dropped shoulders - lethargy or boredom
6. Fidgeting with objects, hands - nervousness, guilt
7. Hands behind head - arrogance, superiority
8. Hands on hips - in defiance
9. Hands on table - in agreement
10. Head down - timidity
11. Head rested on hand - bored, disinterested
12. Leaning away - discomfort with the situation
13. Leaning in closer - interest, comfortable
14. Looking at watch - boredom
15. Looking away to the left – lying, using imagination
16. Messaging temples - anxiety
17. Nodding - interest, agreement or understanding
18. Shaking of legs - a sign of stress
19. Shifty eyes – nervousness, guilt
20. Tapping foot - impatient or nervous
21. Wiping hands on clothes - nervousness
59. Detecting Deception.. www.facebook.com/saveundershaw
The Face
Linguistics
Liars will repeat a question verbatim
Liars will take a guarded tone
Liars won’t use contractions in their denials
Liars love euphanisms
Liars overemphasis their truthfulness
Liars confuse or over use pronouns
Liars hedge their statements
Hello, I’m Bonnie MacBird, screenwriter (original writer of Tron) former story editor, and teach writing at UCLA Extension in Los Angeles, where I live. Lover of Conan Doyle since I discovered the stories at age 10 and fan of every recent film/tv version. Currently working on a period Holmes novel. Today will present on ACD’S THE SECOND STAIN.
It was one of Conan Doyle’s own favorites – in list he created in 1927 it ranks 8 of 12. So many reasons to love this story, four smaller and two bigger ones…..
It IN this story we get some of the best of HOLMES
1. He’s at his most admirably defiant and independent, telling the Prime Minister of Britain to stuff it when he won’t confide the details Holmes needs to solve the case. Sherlock Holmes rose with a smile. "You are two of the most busy men in the country," said he, "and in my own small way I have also a good many calls upon me. I regret exceedingly that I cannot help you in this matter, and any continuation of this interview would be a waste of time."
2. He’s taking on something of international importance…thousands of lives hinge on his finding the missing letter …. something which seems impossible…
3. While on the case, we get the eccentric man we know and love described through the eyes of his understanding friend as He ran out and ran in, smoked incessantly, played snatches on his violin, sank into reveries, devoured sandwiches at irregular hours, and hardly answered the casual questions which I put to him. .
4. That terrific theatricality that characterizes Holmes at his most entertaining. Take the scene where the second stain is revealed and Holmes gets Lestrade out of the room so he can fling himself on the floor, to find the secret compartment only to literally SNARL on finding it empty.
But these are small reasons compared with the BIG TWO to love The Second Stain. SLIDE – WOMEN AND STEEL TRUE BLADE STRAIGHT The first concerns Holmes and by inference Conan Doyle - and WOMEN. And the second is the Steel True Blade Straight aspect of Doyle which underlies all his stories and which exhorts us to behave as our higher selves, giving us terrific examples while disguising this message in genre entertainment. You get some of Doyle’s most quoted lines about women in this story. And The Second Stain sometimes referred to as evidence of Holmes’ misogyny, or Conan Doyle’s limited view of women. In fact, I think it the opposite. It’s a great example of Doyle’s admiration of strong women and sympathy for their plight.
You get some of Doyle’s most quoted lines about women in this story. And The Second Stain sometimes referred to as evidence of Holmes’ misogyny, or Conan Doyle’s limited view of women. In fact, I think it the opposite. It’s a great example of Doyle’s admiration of strong women and sympathy for their plight.
HOLMES AND WOMEN The character of Lady Hilda Trelawney Hope – while she has been snared by the mores and restraints of her time – and has made a mistake - is one of the most brave proactive, and ultimately honorable women in the Canon – not to mention glamorous – she is, as Watson describes, the most lovely woman in London . And while she brings out famous Holmes quotes about women such as: "Now, Watson, the fair sex is your department," said Holmes with a smile, when the dwindling frou-frou of skirts had ended in the slam of the front door . . (My take is that he’s mystified at this point in the case and this is his concession to asking Watson for his opinion on the interview that has just taken place with the formidable Lady Hilda. Also, it’s one of those bones he throws his friend occasionally, conceding a strong point.)
and this quote: The motives of women are so inscrutable. …How can you build on such a quicksand? Their most trivial action may mean volumes, or their most extraordinary conduct may depend upon a hairpin or a curling tongs Again, a concession to a strong woman who has successfully masked her intentions – someone whose “tells” he cannot read – mainly because he does not have enough detail in his “mind palace”about women? Misogyny…. Not in my view. A lack of data perhaps. A concession of that fact.
Now, some cite details like “the dwindling frou frou of skirts” as she leaves the Baker Street parlour as demeaning… but whom does it demean….where are these two men LOOKING? Right where her dress is designed to attract the eye. Woman have always used dress to signal and distract. That and her sitting with her back to the light… she’s a smart cookie.
As the story progresses, Lady Hilda also fascinates Holmes and arouses his curiousity – he MUST KNOW her reasons before he’ll hide her crime .
He’s tough with her – as the case requires – she’s tough herself – and this, I take, is a mark of respect as well as keeping first things first – he’ll avert a World War before avoiding harsh words with someone. We would not respect him otherwise. So when he confronts her with the evidence that she returned to the scene of the crime to steal the letter back…. This is not an example of misogyny or cruelty, it’s the ultimate detective on the job! And finally, at the end of the story, he demonstrates ultimate empathy to the lady - and his real feelings.
And now, my final point. This story is replete with strong, principled people who tamp down their highly emotional natures in order to “do the right thing” or to “get the job done”. It’s kind of a textbook on “stiff upper lip” - a mode of behavior that has fallen so out of fashion as to be almost ridiculous to some. And yet we thrill to read it. For example TRELAWNEY HOPE: His handsome face was distorted with a spasm of despair, and his hands tore at his hair. For a moment we caught a glimpse of the natural man, impulsive, ardent, keenly sensitive. The next the aristocratic mask was replaced, and the gentle voice had returned Likewise at some point, the Prime Minister leaps to his feet admonishing Holmes, then checks himself, sits down, and plays the card he must. And of Lady Hilda, holmes says: "Hum! Think of her appearance, Watson -- her manner, her suppressed excitement, her restlessness, her tenacity in asking questions. Remember that she comes of a caste who do not lightly show emotion." And of course, our very emotional Holmes is always struggling to restrain his passion….we love him for moments like this as Lestrade tells of the carpet which has been moved – but as usual isn’t speaking FAST ENOUGH Holmes's face grew tense with anxiety : And then - I could see from Holmes's rigid face that he was vibrating with inward excitement. And that wonderful moment: "Now, Watson, now!" cried Holmes with frenzied eagerness. All the demoniacal force of the man masked behind that listless manner burst out in a paroxysm of energy. He tore the drugget from the floor, and in an instant was down on his hands and knees clawing at each of the squares of wood beneath it. One turned sideways as he dug his nails into the edge of it. It hinged back like the lid of a box. A small black cavity opened beneath it. Holmes plunged his eager hand into it and drew it out with a bitter snarl of anger and disappointment. It was empty. And yet I think it’s one of the main heart and soul attractions of the Conan Doyle canon. Don’t we all really want to be the kind who can endure without fuss, who can stay cool and focused under duress, who can triumph where others would fall apart. Sure we do. In Conan Doyle’s time, this was what the upper class was trained to do.
Of course admirable restraint is only admirable if one is on the side of the angels…and if one is highly emotional. Both are true of our hero. It’s why we love Sherlock Holmes. And it’s why I love THE SECOND STAIN.