“The Reigate Puzzle” “The Reigate Squire” “The Reigate Squires”

We will be discussing all three at the next meeting of the Stormy Petrels of BC. This meeting will be via Zoom.

Published in The Strand Magazine (as “The Reigate Squire”) in June 1893 and in Harper’s Weekly (as “The Reigate Puzzle”) also in June 1893.

Arthur Conan Doyle raked this case as the last one on his list, and although it is not a very strong story, he included it in his top twelve list because “…it contained so many examples of Holmes’s ingenuity.”

According to Richard Lancelyn Green’s essay in “The Baker Street Dozen”, this adventure was based on an article written by Alexander Cargill, a handwriting expert, and published in the Edinburgh Medical Journal” in 1890.

In this adventure, good old Dr. Watson whisks an exhausted Holmes off to the countryside to rest after some strenuous work in France.

Alas, crime does not take a break, and Holmes is drawn into solving a crime.

Robbery; Murder; Blackmail…

When: Tuesday, April 5, 2022 at 7:00 PM (West Coast Time)

For more information, please contact Fran at: franziskah@shaw.ca

Our Adventure for discussion is “The Musgrave Ritual” , first published in The Strand Magazine and in Harper’s Weekly in May, 1893.

Here is another pre-Dr. Watson case, so we have the pleasure of hearing Holmes narrate the event to Watson, who really just wanted Holmes to clean the room.

We learn much about the state of 221B: the cigars are kept in the coal scuttle (where was the coal?); tobacco was stuffed into the toe of a Persian slipper (where was the other slipper?); correspondence was transfixed onto the mantelpiece with a jackknife; the letters “VR” were shot into the wall; chemicals could be found in various locations around the room (including in the butter dish); piles of paperwork were stacked and strewn throughout.

Find out about Reginald Musgrave and his household. A snooping butler, a hysterical maid, staff gone missing, secret papers, a romance gone bad, a deadly vault and a bag of rusty metal dragged from a lake.

The March 1st meeting will take place via Zoom only. The usual 7:00 pm (West Coast Time)

for any additional info, e-mail Fran at: franziskah@shaw.ca