The Three Locks: Book 4 (A Sherlock Holmes Adventure)

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from which comes the following quote: “Crucially, it was also a sport where women could wear the extensive fashions of the day. Archery for women rapidly became an acceptable area to display marriageability.” A later guide to country pursuits coyly remarked that “few exercises display an elegant form to more advantage”. Madame Borelli would have been much more likely to have taken aim with a Derringer, of convenient size and perhaps an elegant design, such as the one below from 1866, some years before our story.

Thanks to its sheltered location Loch Achray is popular with swimmers and anglers. The loch is home to brown trout as well as pike, perch and salmon. Look out for woodland and water-based wildlife, too, such as red and roe deer, red squirrels and maybe even a red kite flying above or an osprey fishing on one of the lochs.Holmes realised that the scars on Atalanta’s forearm indicated that she did not wear an arm guard for archery, as seen in this illustration: Judging from the women’s tennis costume of the time, one can well imagine Dillie preferring male dress for sport. A 1890 Tennis suit in cotton

The entrance barrier closes at 16:00, after that you can park on either side of the drive to walk or cycle in the area. If you are on the Drive after this time you can exit the gate using the code given to you upon arrival. Annual parking pass available: Watson, as a doctor, well knew the dangers of opium-laced medicines particularly on such a sensitive nervous system as that possessed by his friend. That Holmes was attempting to calm his hyperactive state with repeated doses of baby soother was highly dangerous. Particularly if he was combining it with cocaine. It may be that Watson’s Nineteenth and early Twentieth Century readers were not ready to embrace a gallery of strong, assertive women who transcend the roles and constraints assigned them in Victorian England. (Watson, while he lived, allowed his readers a glimpse of only one such creature, THE woman, Irene Adler).At this time, it was common practice to induce sleep in infants with "soothers"—many of which contained laudanum, a strong and addictive depressant. These soothers were available everywhere without a prescription, and heavily marketed. The book that indicates (along with other things) Colangelo’s hypochondria to Holmes was a staple household possession for families in America, but perhaps less so for a single man in England, especially one bookmarked in a dozen places. This beloved composition was originally written in 1680 for three strings and continuo, and while most often played orchestrally, it can be sung. Although it was not well-known in Holmes's time, you've doubtless heard it at weddings, and the joke is that the bass line is hated by cellists everywhere as it simply repeats...and repeats...and repeats. The story is filled with colorful, memorable characters. The atmosphere of the year, with the oppressive heat, is excellent as well. The writing is reminiscent of Doyle's work, as I mentioned before. My only concern would be that I didn't realize that this is the fourth in a series. There are details that obviously come from earlier books that influence choices, such as Watson's mother drowning, and that Watson had a twin sister, Rose, who...also drowned. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it was unexpected.

The late Victorian era is sometimes called the "Golden Era of Magic". You can find a fabulous collection of posters of the era here: https://guides.slv.vic.gov.au/magic Holmes queries Dillie on why she would not consider Newnham or Girton. Both were colleges for women at Cambridge founded at roughly the same time, a bit before this story takes place. At the time, women were not allowed at the Universities, although they were allowed to audit classes, providing the professor permitted. In 1863, some girls sat for exams at Cambridge, but no female matriculated from Cambridge until….wait for it….degrees were finally awarded in 1948!!!!!! It was definitely an addicting story and I couldn’t put it down. The interactions between Holmes and Watson were great to read and the development of the story as it unravelled had me intrigued. As advanced as we are now on the subject of women’s agency and suitability for almost all sports, the quote above still pertains to the portrayal of the bombshell “lady archer” in today’s modern cinema, exemplified below in Wonder Woman. The men’s tennis shoes sported by Dillie in this chapter would have looked like one of these and would have been noticeably different from typical women’s shoes.Cambridge had opened its doors to Catholics in 1871 but the “Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith” felt it would be a “mortal sin” for Catholics to attend, because of the influences of liberalism and scepticism prevalent in the teaching at both Oxford and Cambridge. Wealthier Catholics, wishing their sons (sadly, both universities only admitted males) to obtain the intellectual and social benefits of an Oxbridge education, objected loudly. The ban was lifted in 1895, but only provided a Catholic chaplaincy was established. The one in Cambridge was founded in 1896, well after the time of this story, and is called Fisher House. I enjoy this series and I generally enjoyed this book. The author’s pastiche is well-written and appropriately reverential. That said, there are some bonkers ridiculous plot twists in this one that I’d like to point out. Often these were of older vintage, passed down through generations. The diamonds were cut differently then; here is an example of a "mine cut", which gives a distinctly different appearance than the modern standard, the round "brilliant".

However, to Holmes there could only be “the woman”. I think we should leave it at that. It is offered as something in mould of Conan Doyle but it is a pale facsimile, and suffers as a result. Also the Holmes of Conan Doyle never takes on two cases. He is focused and driven, this Holmes is more like the Lestrade character. There are now a number of Catholic churches in the Cambridge area, and Google Maps reveals the following in the present day: It is another regret of mine to not see more of the good doctor reflecting upon his childhood life to re-examine the causes of his family tragedies, knowing that such tragedies are supposed to feature heavily in the book (though, understandably, with how fast things develop it is hard for Watson to spare much time on this). And lastly the biggest thing is that I would also have really loved to see more of the Holmes!torture stuff that, frankly, was my very favourite when reading the previous books (yes I'm a monster :)). The same passion for the Middle Ages that fuelled Arthur Conan Doyle’s literary efforts, and indeed the whole Gothic Revival in art, architecture and decor, ignited a passion for archery, one of the few sports in which women were welcomed quite early. Royalty’s passion for archery since the late Medieval era gave the sport even more cachet. Some think Anne Boleyn’s archery skills helped her gain the unfortunate attention of Henry VIII, and Queen Elizabeth I herself was an archer.Many Victorian ladies carried a “reticule”, an often beaded, sometimes fringed purse with a drawstring opening or sometimes a metal clasp. Although they were typically smallish, they ranged in size from very tiny, perhaps for a handkerchief, to quite large. Madame Borelli’s had to be large enough to carry her gruesome evidence for Holmes’s inspection. Perhaps it matches one of those in this illustration: The history of flash photography is rife with contradictions and competing inventors, but let's make it simple. Please be aware that bikes and pedestrians have two way access to the drive so please remain wary when driving around corners and hills and allow space for bikes and walkers to pass. An object is frequently not seen, from not knowing how to see it, rather than from any defect of the organ of vision.” – Charles Babbage. In those more literate times, students learned different forms of poetry and were often required to write examples; it would not be unusual for Holmes and Watson not only to be completely familiar with the form, but to have had to cough up a few themselves in their student days. Arthur Conan Doyle himself dabbled in sonnets.