Main content

“ELEMENTARY, MY DEAR WATSON”: Holmes, Gillette, native oaks, and a pseudo-medieval castle

The actor William Gillette designed the study in his Connecticut castle as a simulation of the “curiosity cabinet” in Sherlock Holmes’s London apartment to help him better channel the detective’s character. We will discuss the history of curiosity cabinets—precursors to museums—and Sherlock Holmes’s influence on the architecture and interior design of Gillette’s castle, with its intricate door and furniture locks, its mirrors, and its oak woodwork. We’ll examine the way observation techniques and the scientific method applied to the study of plants relate to solving mysteries. Turning to the Castle grounds, we will focus on two of Connecticut’s native oaks found there and used by Gillette in the interior, Quercus Alba and Quercus Rubra. We will discuss their contributions to the environment and learn how to identify them, guided by The Musgrave Ritual, one of the Sherlock Holmes adventures. We will also look at the “Moriarity”—Sherlock Holmes’s nemesis of the plant world—the wisteria vine, aiming to understand why it’s considered invasive, threatening native oaks and other features.

Some PBS Sherlock Holmes videos will be recommended for viewing. 

Instructor: Vicky McCarthy

Three Mondays, April 14, 21, 28, 4:00–6:00 pm, Wasch Center

Field trip to Gillette Castle and State Park, Saturday, April 26 (rain date May 3), time TBA $135