 Queen's
Dolls' House/ continued
by Davice Sharpe
And
from another book with almost the same title by Mary Stewart-Wilson,
we find the following. The architect Sir Edwin Lutyens "sought
out and co-ordinated the ideas of nearly 1,500 tradesmen, artists
and authors with the gifts and donations from private sources…."
"Everyone, it seemed, was anxious to contribute…."
"Built on a scale of 1 to 12, the house is 102 inches long on
the main north and south fronts, 58 ½ inches from east to west
at ground floor level and is five feet high at parapet level. It stands
on a base 39 inches high measuring 116 inches by 72 inches."
The house was meant to include all the details of a royal residence
in the early 20th century. No aspect was too small and original works
were donated, to scale, rather than settle for reproductions.
Of course there was a library. Again, from the Stewart-Wilson book,
"British rulers have made collections of books down the ages
…. Queen Mary herself had a library of nearly five thousand volumes
by the end of her life.
"There are two unique aspects to the collection of books in the
Dolls' House library. The greater part of the literature was commissioned
from living authors …. Their books are in manuscript, often the
author's handwriting, and some are illustrated with specially drawn
pictures."
And, on pp. 40-41 of the Stewart-Wilson book, we have two illustrations
of note: The first is a stack of books, including Ideas in Things
by C.F.A. Voysey, The Princess and the Nightingale by W.S.
Maugham, The Stud Book for 1904 and How Watson Learned the
Trick by Conan Doyle. The books are bound in leather with gold
embossing and decoration.
Facing is a photograph of the title page, "HOW WATSON LEARNED
THE TRICK - A. CONAN-DOYLE" in that unmistakable, print not cursive,
handwriting. Those few words take up the entire page. This is a miniature,
after all.
The house is extraordinary, both books have fine, clear illustrations,
and obviously here's yet another reason to return to Britain.
Stewart-Wilson, M. (1988). Queen Mary's Dolls' House.
New York: Abbeville Press, Publishers.
Musgrave, C. (1978). Queen Mary's Dolls' House and Dolls Belonging
to H.M. The Queen. Andover, Hants, Great Britain: Pitkin Pictorials
Ltd.
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Yet Another Quiz!
In keeping with our not-very-old tradition of including
quizzes in the newsletter, here are some questions posed regarding The
Blanched Soldier by Marino Alvarez, our own university professor,
at our April meeting. Answers upon request.
1. [This] is a case written in January, 1903. Colonel Emsworth became
irritated with Mr. James M. Dodd and ordered his butler to "Ring
up the police!" What inference can be made from the use of the
telephone?
2. Name the game mentioned in this story.
3. The type of gun stated in the story is an:
4. Circle the type of vehicles used in this story: Train Carriage Traps
Bicycle
5. Who was Baldy Simpson?
6. What other story did Holmes write.
7. How far is Tuxbury Old Park from the Sherlock Holmes Pub on Elliston
Place, Nashville, Tennessee?
8. Why was Mr. James M. Dodd so intent on finding Godfrey Emsworth?
9. Who tips James Dodd to the status of Godfrey Emsworth?
10. [Dodd] is in his bedroom when he sees [Emsworth]. He gives chase
down the garden path. By what means does Dodd get outside onto the garden
path?
11. At the time that Sherlock Holmes was involved in this case, he is
also engaged in another that is later chronicled by Dr. Watson. Name
this story.
12. [Don't have room for 12. Sorry.]
13. Holmes writes a word and gives this paper to [Emsworth]. Later [Emsworth]
points to [Holmes] and unfolds the paper with the word "Leprosy."
What is the meaning of this gesture?
14. Holmes interrupts his narrative when into the story to make allusions
to Watson. The first is when he is traveling with [Dodd] and a stop
is made and they are joined by a third party who Holmes does not introduce
by name. "This is an old friend, said I to Dodd." What is
Holmes' explanation of why readers are accustomed to Watson's narratives
in this type of instance?
15. The second instance to which Holmes alludes to Watson is near the
end of the narrative. What is it that Holmes misses about Watson not
penning this story?
16. Do you agree with the following statements? Holmes considers this
case as one of the strangest in his collection. Holmes has high expectations
that this story will be widely read. Although Watson is not physically
present in this case, his spirit is felt by Holmes. Colonel Emsworth,
although somewhat crusty, is a caring father. Godfrey Emsworth's mother
plays a prominent role in uncovering this case. James Dodd's persistence
leads to Godfrey Emsworth's reemergence with life. Holmes takes the
reader through his principle of the reasoning process, which he applies,
when revealing his thoughts in the solution of this case. Sir James
Saunders commentary provides a clear prognosis of Godfrey's future health
and results in his mother fainting from "joyous shock."
 Send
email directly to Dr. Alvarez for answers to this mind-bending quiz: malvarez@coe.tsuniv.edu
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