tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2827071479314474893.post5648751548890978305..comments2024-01-31T22:47:47.791-08:00Comments on Anglocat on the Prowl: Confessions of a Continuator: The Case of the Legal InterpreterAnglocathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03218740053628978255noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2827071479314474893.post-31727200607615292572014-06-18T08:21:53.424-07:002014-06-18T08:21:53.424-07:00Lizzie Eustace! That's right...naturally I fo...Lizzie Eustace! That's right...naturally I forgot her name, since it was hidden in the title.......and so the scheming adventuress is back... rick allenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07612435616018593956noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2827071479314474893.post-15020786802046923492014-06-17T19:49:32.442-07:002014-06-17T19:49:32.442-07:00Oh--you mean Lizzie Eustace, by the bye, who has a...Oh--you mean Lizzie Eustace, by the bye, who has a strong supporting role in "Phineas at Bay."Anglocathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03218740053628978255noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2827071479314474893.post-64184673270580221032014-06-17T19:48:44.921-07:002014-06-17T19:48:44.921-07:00Thanks so much for the comment Rick, and even more...Thanks so much for the comment Rick, and even more for the congratulations. The novel was percolating in my head for six years, but wrote quite swiftly. When it hits Amazon, I'll post a link, and you can go over there to discern if it tempts you to see where I've taken him and his circle.<br /><br />As for Sherlock, it's interesting how his bundle of eccentricities allow for so many varying interpretations--they're all just accepted by Watson, but the notion of trying to conjure a coherent rounded character out of them is well-nigh irresistible. I'm quite impressed by Gatiss/Moffatt thus far, though the episodes can be uneven (what the HELL was up with "The Blind Banker"? And "Hounds of Baskerville", while better, was a steal of Gatiss's own effort to launch a spin-off for a Pertwee era Doctor Who companion, Liz Shaw.)<br /><br />It's so rare for me to just agree with Posner; I'm quite relishing the experience.<br /><br />Always glad to hear from you, Rick.Anglocathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03218740053628978255noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2827071479314474893.post-82389789319594950412014-06-17T19:36:56.275-07:002014-06-17T19:36:56.275-07:00I'm very pleased to hear that Holmes is at las...I'm very pleased to hear that Holmes is at last free of Mr. Doyle's heirs.<br /><br />When I think about why Holmes has been such a fountain of later treatments and re-imaginings, I think it must have something to do with his great flaw, that he really is a one-dimensional character. When later writers try to account for that apparent one-dimensionality, we get hidden tragedies, psychological traumas; we get a Holmes who's not just a puzzle-solver, but a high-functioning sociopath. There's something in the character that crys out for being rounded out.<br /><br />It's not that I think I could write a good Holmes story; it's that I think I could more easily write a Holmes story than the further adventures of David Copperfield or Lizzie Bennett Darcy.<br /><br />For that reason alone I'm sure you're to be commended for attempting to take a rounded character like Phineas Finn and continuing his story. <br /><br />I have to say, though, that it's been some twenty years since I read the two Phineas Finn novels, and I don't think I would have ever considered him a good prospect for "the further adventures of...." Slope, maybe, or the protagonist of The Eustace Diamonds (embarrassed to say I can't recall her name). Not that I can remember that much about Phineas, but I remember the impression that his Irishness, which gave him kind of an exotic quality, became a sort of limitation on his development.<br /><br />Anyway, a roundabout way of getting to Congratulations for finishing your novel, and wishing you luck with it. rick allenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07612435616018593956noreply@blogger.com