Nuts and Bolts, Sherlock Holmes (ACD)

[derwent_f]

Title: Nuts and Bolts

Fandom: Sherlock Holmes (ACD)

Characters: John Watson, Original Characters

Rating: G

Summary: The practical side of writing and publishing.

Notes: Unsent Letters 2021 gift for Gray_Cardinal. Beta by iberiandoctor.

Letter from Benjamin Strunk, literary agent, to his client Dr John H Watson, dated 8^th of May 1890:

My Dear Dr Watson:

I am pleased to inform you of the following good news: to fulfil the public’s high demand, the publishing house is announcing the fourth reprint of The Sign of Four!

In his letter informing the reprint, Mr Walt, the publisher, asked if you had any plans for writing another account of your adventures with Mr Holmes. He looked forward to continue our partnership. His letter came with a proposal, which I have forwarded herewith. Please do not hesitate to take your time perusing it.

I will be glad to answer any enquiries you may have.

Yours faithfully,

Benjamin Strunk

---

Letter from Dr John H Watson to Mr Benjamin Strunk, dated 13^th of May 1890:

Dear Strunk:

Yes, I have been toying with the idea of publishing other recollections of Holmes’s cases. What I have in mind, though, is a collection of the shorter ones – an anthology of sorts. However, I am unsure if I can fulfil the publisher’s request by the proposed timeline. Between assisting Holmes with his cases, my medical practice, and my domestic affairs, I simply do not have the time to comb through my files and perform the work – interviewing the people involved, checking contemporary accounts in the papers/police reports for supplemental facts, etc. – necessary to assemble a coherent collection by then. Will the publisher be willing to give an extension?

Please let me know of the outcome of your negotiation with the publishing house.

Yours truly,

John H. Watson

---

Letter from Benjamin Strunk, literary agent, to his client Dr John H Watson, dated 21^st of May 1890:

My dear Dr Watson:

My meeting with Mr Walt today went rather well. He was pleased with your proposal regarding the anthology. However, he was not willing to grant your request for deadline extension. In exchange, he agreed to pay for an assistant to help you with the field work and cataloguing.

Please find the detailed contract enclosed with this letter; I believe their offer is fair and will be beneficial for all parties.

As for the assistant, do you have anyone particular in mind? If not, I believe I know someone who is looking for exactly this kind of work. She has relevant experience, although the output of her work so far is in the academic field. If you are interested, I will ask her to send you a letter.

Yours faithfully,

Benjamin Strunk

---

Letter from Eugenia Carrey to Dr John H Watson, dated 1^st of June 1890:

Dear Dr Watson:

Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Eugenia Carrey. Our mutual friend, the literary agent Mr Strunk, informed me that you are looking for an assistant to help with the planned publication of your collection of case files from your time with the esteemed Mr Holmes. I am writing to put myself in consideration for the position.

After I finished my education at Bedford College, my father, the late Oxford professor of anthropology Eugene Carrey, engaged me as his assistant. He passed away unexpectedly about two years ago when we were working on his research of the immigrant Indian communities in North Sumatra, Dutch East Indies. Per his instruction, I continued working on the project. To complete the research, I conducted further interviews with the Indian migrants as well as with the Malay natives and the Dutch government officials. This required the delicate skill of adjusting my interview style to suit my subject, which I believe would be necessary for the field work you mentioned in your conversation with Mr Strunk.

The result of our research was published in The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland last November. I have also just finished working with Oxford University Press to expand the article into a book which will come out this August.

I have read your books, and I would be greatly honoured to work with you.

Yours sincerely,

Eugenia Carrey

---

Miss Carrey turned out to be a dark-haired young woman (a couple of years older than Mary, though he would never venture his guess out loud) with a firm handshake and plain, thoughtful face. When Watson stepped into his sitting-room, she was conversing with Mary with a warmth that belied their short acquaintance.

Once the introductions were out of the way, they moved to his study, where Watson found himself seated across from his prospective assistant.

‘I am sorry to hear about your father’s passing, Miss Carrey.  I attended one of his guest lectures when I was a student at the University of London. He had a way of making the intricacies of the field accessible even to someone like me, who had very little knowledge of it. I’ve read your article and found it to be very fascinating.  If you don’t mind my asking, why the change of field? I am certain many anthropological scholars will be glad to work with someone like you.’

‘Well, I – I’m looking to move beyond the restrictive confines of academia.’ There was a slight note of hesitation in her answer, which made Watson took a closer look at her. Her face still retained traces of the tan inflicted by the tropics, though it was not as apparent as with those who had just returned from the colonies. She sat stiffly in her well-tailored dress, the way children did when they were forced into formal clothing. He remembered, then, the stories he heard about the Dutch adopting the attire of the natives.

And there was a look in her face that Watson recognised. He’d seen it before – in the mirror, back in the early days of his return to England. Back when he haunted the streets of London. Back before Holmes.

‘Understandable, Miss Carrey.’ He inclined his head, and an understanding passed between them. ‘Shall I show you my archive?’ He led her to the door on the left of the study. He opened the door with some nervousness – for their own peace of mind, the other occupants of the house had agreed to never venture inside the room.

And for good reason: the room most closely resembled that of a shipwrecked chamber. There were papers and journals everywhere – on the table, on the shelves, on the boxes strewn around. Most of the manuscripts were tied neatly with ribbons, but some were merely held down together with paperweight. Only the owner of the room could feel at ease inside.

When Miss Carrey didn’t bat an eye at the cluttered state of the room, Watson found himself to be more than relieved.

‘For the cases where I was present, they are collected in the diaries, with notes and correspondences pasted to the pages. They are categorised by year in the boxes,’ He pointed to one of the boxes, where 1887 was written on the outside. And then there are other bits and pieces: letters, telegrams, clippings from the newspapers, and such. I try to keep them together with their respective cases, but occasionally there are follow-ups written months after the case took place. I haven’t had the chance to file them correctly.’

‘May I?’ She gestured towards one of the boxes.

‘Please,’ Watson said. ‘As I mentioned in my letter, the stories will be published as a collection. I have come up with a list of possible cases to include, but the final list will depend on cooperation from those involved. For the first step, I’d like you to contact the clients and ask if they’d agree for their case to be published. I’ve noted down their addresses and contact details, but some may have changed theirs – you’ll have to track them down in that case. Of course, I will provide you with the necessary introduction letters.’

‘If they agree, then I’ll assemble an outline of the story and begin writing. From this outline I’ll make a note of the supporting details I needed. You will need to interview the clients, witnesses, and some people from the Scotland Yard. Field work will make up the bulk of what you do. You may have to travel rather far outside London, to rustic and inconvenient places. I assume after tropical jungles of Sumatra, they’ll be far less challenging?’ He raised an eyebrow meaningfully.

Miss Carrey looked up from where she was examining the contents of one box and smiled. ‘Indeed.’ Then she added with amusement, ‘As I suppose you yourself have experienced, Doctor.’

‘Exactly. As for your compensation…?’

‘Oh, that’s between me and the publishing house, Doctor Watson. You have no need to worry about that.’

‘I see. Well, Miss Carrey, does the job suit you?’

With a glint in her black eyes, she asked, ‘When do I start?’