Fic for rachelindeed: Particular Debts

[holmesticemods]

Title: Particular Debts
Recipient: rachelindeed
Author: sanguinity
Source: Nicholas Meyer, The Seven Percent Solution; ACD, “His Last Bow”
Characters/Pairings: Sherlock Holmes & John Watson
Rating: Teen
Warnings: Non-explicit discussions of sexual assault and medical abuse
Summary: “And for another, Dr. Freud has saved my life. Had I not come to Vienna, and had your

Comments

[snarryfool]

I don't know Nicholas Meyer's book, and it doesn't seem to matter a bit for this beautifully executed and humane narrative. I'm especially struck by the ironic tension between Holmes and Watson's attitudes toward rape, and Freud's and Ernest Jones's supposedly modern account of it. (Huge props for bringing in the historical detail of the charges against Jones!)

What a pleasure it was to read this! Lucky rachelindeed!

[sanguinity]

I' glad to know it held up for you, despite not knowing the novel. I expected that most in the comm wouldn't be familiar with it (or might have read it some time ago, or saw the movie once), and I wanted those who gave the story a try anyway to be able to get some reward from the effort. :-)

Gah, Ernest Jones. I couldn't really have Holmes and Watson do much of anything about the man, because twenty-odd years later, he helps the Freuds escape the Nazis. (I really didn't want to create an AU in which the Freuds' escape might be in doubt!) But I also didn't want to ignore all of the rape and assault allegations (nor the rape-culture spin put on them!), and I certainly didn't want Holmes and Watson endorsing it, especially since I feel very strongly that they wouldn't have. So, um. Yeah. *waves hands helplessly* That's the best I could do with that double-bind, and I'm relieved to know it worked for you. The conjectured assault on Anna is lifted directly from Rebecca Coffey's novel, btw; I have no idea if Coffey had any basis for it

[rachelindeed]

Dear Mystery Author,

I simply could not have loved this story more. I am beyond delighted at the many layers you wove into it. I have never studied Dr. Freud or his family as historical actors, but I knew enough to be aware of some of the discredited and toxic aspects of his theories, particularly the dismissal of women's reporting of sexual assaults which you grapple with in this story, and I was blown away by the sensitive and serious way you crafted Anna and the way that Holmes and Watson reacted to her. And then to see that you adopted Meyer's editorial style in the end to gently twit Meyer himself for the ahistoricism of Seven Percent Solution while at the same time opening up intriguing new space for fan theories and speculation was just the PERFECT ending

[sanguinity]

You write such lovely comments. I was admiring them all around the exchange, but I'm especially fond of the ones written for meeeeeeeeee! Please forgive me for taking so long to reply: holidays, and wanting the wherewithal to rub two thoughts together.

Sadly, I too have only the lightest grasp on the historical Freud and his circle! There are so many words published by and about those three, I quickly got overwhelmed. (That's unusual for me, but then I seldom sit down to research a fic and find that many words available about a thing!) In the end, I relied heavily on Rebecca Coffey's Hysteria for textural details about Anna and her father, to the point that this is probably best called a crossover between that novel and 7PER. As I suggested in the editor's note, Anna was in fact visiting Jones in London on the eve of WWI and had a terrible time getting home to Vienna again. It's also true that Ernest Jones faced the criminal charges that I described (and that those charges were part of a long history of formal and informal charges

[gardnerhill]

OMG This is AWESOME! I adore 7PER (the book turned me into a Sherlockian) and am so glad you continued the story of Anna Freud's friendship with Holmes.

I'm also glad you applied varnish remover to Freud's misogynistic theories - something glossed over in Meyer's original novel.

[sanguinity]

Oh, I'm very glad you approve! It was seeing you talk about 7PER that put it on my to-read list, and then rachelindeed requested it, and I quick slammed my way through it during the sign-up period to see if I wanted to offer it.

Holmes still needs to fulfill his promise to play the violin for her, though. Perhaps another meeting is in order? Or maybe sometime during the trip to Vienna...

[rachelindeed]

Hello, I'm back to share some of the lines that particularly struck me as I read :)

I was looking forward to recovering my own skin, what I remembered of it, and I could think of no surer method than spending the evening in Watson’s company.

This opening sentiment says so much about Holmes. The idea that he feels most himself in Watson's company resonates with me; that is often how I feel about my most important relationships. This opening also, of course, sets up the dilemmas of a man who has been away for so long that he cannot smoothly fit himself into the roles and expectations that would previously have come naturally to him.

Watson would have found a way to call her beautiful, notwithstanding her long nose and wide mouth, but it seemed to me that the quick intelligence in her eyes might serve her better than imagined physical graces.

I always enjoy seeing Holmes snipe about Watson's writing style :) And I appreciate his inclination to admire mind over matter, particularly in his female acquaintances.

“My friend and

[sanguinity]

...and you pulled out lines you particularly liked! I reveled in all of them, of course, but ones for which I had follow-up:

This opening sentiment says so much about Holmes...

There are times that I cannot for the life of me come up with a smooth entrance to a story, but this one provided a smooth statement of thesis on the first try. (I love it when that happens!) This is very much a Last Bow fix-it for me; I've never been satisfied with that single evening in Watson's company as sufficient antidote to two years spent under an assumed identity as a double-agent. If there's a bit of a fantasy in here -- one more substantial adventure together to re-establish themselves and their partnership before settling into the grinding, soul-destroying business of the war -- then so be it.

Watson would have found a way to call her beautiful, notwithstanding her long nose and wide mouth, but it seemed to me that the quick intelligence in her eyes might serve her better than imagined physical graces.Haha, writing Anna's introductory paragraph

[dioscureantwins]

I don't know Nicolas Meyer's book but your great storytelling totally drew me in wonderful author.
The passing back and forth of a sense of obligation and the human decency of the three people conspiring to bring Anna home are heartwarming.

Thank you for writing such a beautiful story.

[sanguinity]

Oh, I'm glad it held up for you, despite not knowing the book. I'm pleased you enjoyed it, and thank you for your kind comment!