And another thing...

[dira]

...about being exposed to Conan Doyle's work after all the other things which it has spawned. I must say I didn't see this one coming, which made it that much more delightful.

The other day I finished reading The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, which is to say the other day I read "The Final Problem" for the first time and did it in a public place where I needed not to make undignified noises.

So there came a point where I clapped my hand over my mouth, but it was to hold back a squeal of glee at what is probably a totally non-standard point in the text, because:

"You have probably never heard of Professor Moriarty?" said he.

"Never."

"Aye, there's the genius and the wonder of the thing!" he cried.

From Brothers in Arms, Lieutenant Lord Miles Vorkosigan being interviewed about Admiral Miles Naismith...

"He seemed--pleasant enough, when I spoke with him. Allowing for the circumstance. A brave man, certainly."

"Aye, there’s the genius and the wonder of the man," cried Miles, then decided he’d better tone it down a bit.

That line always stuck in my brain because it's so out of Miles' normal speech pattern, but I never realized what he was quoting until I stumbled across it!

Comments

[mlyn]

I've had that weird coincidence experience with Conan Doyle, too. Eeee!

[marbleglove]

Awesome. I'd had not clue that was a quote, either. I'd just assumed he was intentionally acting out of character in order to further differentiate his roles.

Now, I'm imagining Miles, laid up from one of his surgeries perhaps, reading Sherlock Holmes. Heh.

[cofax7]

Oh! I never got that, either!

Clearly I need to reread Mirror Dance, although that might be a problem, as I'm pretty sure I don't own a copy...

[dira]

<3 <3 <3

[dira]

Right? He would adore Sherlock Holmes. He totally spent a month calling Ivan Watson, but Ivan just isn't that cooperative. Elena worked much better...

[dira]

Well, the line is in Brothers in Arms, so you might want to reread that instead. Not that rereading Mirror Dance isn't SUPER FUN (and on my personal list of things to reread so I can write fic about it, because this fic series is expanding inexorably toward infinity), but the line's not in there. *g*

[spatz]

*dies* Miles would fancy himself a descendant of Holmes, wouldn't he? The flimflam he comes up with re:Naismith/Vorkosigan in Brothers in Arms does have a certain Doylesian flair to it, now that I think about it - you know, insane and ridiculous, but such a good story that you can't help believing in it a little.

[dira]

I mean, Miles is mostly a sort of spiritual grandson of Holmes - by way of Lord Peter Wimsey - but, yeah, the descent is definitely there. :)

[spatz]

So true. It's an odd sort of diffusion: Sayers was an ACD fangirl, Bujold is a Sayers fangirl, and Miles undoubtedly read both at an impressionable age. :D

Let me share my current Bujold quote problem...

[sherrold]

There was a line in Cryoburn that I had the same sort of feeling about
"hmm, that's odd, maybe it's a quote, but maybe not." But I wasn't near a computer, and I have a terrible memory, and I have no idea where in the book it was. So, I forget all about it, until I go to Lois's book reading, where she reads a bit from the *next* book...and it has that same line in it. So now I remember, but I don't have the one chapter new book to find it in, and it's too soon to reread Cryoburn (rereading right after reading tends to 'burn' a book in for me -- I remember it v. well, but I never enjoy it upon rereading afterwards).

Not that I expect you'll notice the same one line (of dialog) in Cryoburn and figure it out for me, but I had to share. If shared pain is halved, what is shared frustration?

Re: Let me share my current Bujold quote problem...

[dira]

Well, as I am a reference librarian and happy to search for things, you could always tell me as much as you remember of the line and I could try to find it... :)