The Stormy Petrels will “meet” via an e-mail invitation to Zoom.

We will be discussing the first 7 chapters of “The Sign of Four”  written in 1889.

At a dinner at the Langham Hotel, ACD met with the editor, Joseph Stoddart, of Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine based out of Philadelphia. Another author attended the dinner.  Oscar Wilde, who also agreed to write for Lippincott’s. His result was “The Picture of Dorian Gray”.

The Langham Hotel circa 1885 (photo from “Sherlock Holmes in London – Charles Viney)

There was one other man who dined with Doyle, Stoddart and Wilde that evening.  Who was he? E-mail Fran with the correct answer.

This story received some very good reviews, and why wouldn’t it?  It has a locked-room mystery, a mysterious Islander, a man with a wooden leg, a tracking dog, a boat race on the Thames, murder, treasure, and of course, romance!

The e-mail invitation will be sent shortly before Tuesday, May 5.

You will be asked to join the meeting at 7:00 PM (don’t forget to add audio – un-mute the mic)

I look forward to seeing as many Petrels as possible join in.

If anyone would like to join in as a guest at our meeting, please e-mail Fran so you can be sent the invitation.

If you have any questions or concerns, please e-mail Fran at:  franziskah@shaw.ca

The adventure for discussion at the December meeting will be “The Retired Colourman” first published in The Strand  in 1927 and in Liberty in 1926. 

The adventure is set in 1898 and is the last story in The Casebook.

We find Holmes in what Watson calls a “…melancholy and philosophic mood.” This seems to change little throughout the story.

Since Holmes is currently engaged in another case (The Two Coptic Patriarchs), he sends Watson to investigate the disappearance of “A treacherous friend and a fickle wife”.

What was Holmes’s reaction to Watson’s observations?

This friend of the client often visited to enjoy a game of chess which Holmes says is “…one mark of a scheming mind”

The Stormy Petrels will meet on Tuesday, December 3 at 7:00 at the usual Hampton Place lounge.  Everyone welcome!

Bonus! For those attending the meeting, fill in the blank to win a lovely door prize:

“________________ has always been an alternative profession, had I cared to adopt it…”

Our Petrel ornaments will be on display.

There will also be a book sale. Enough to fill that empty space on your shelf! (books, VHS tapes, and comic books – all Sherlockian!)

If you would like further information, or have any questions, please contact Fran at:  franziskah@shaw.ca