Well, this was wonderful! I read these books very closely and am annoyed when our writer makes mistakes that aren't caught in the editing. But, you have enlightened me about the other options that apply to the origin of the collapsible cane. Have you ever listened to Malcolm Gladwell's "Revisionist History" podcast on memory? The insights he provided there were a real revelation to me and, yet, I have always insisted on accurate memory in the book series I read. Silly. I'll look forward to seeing if the cane's origins come up again in The Hallmarked Man. I also enjoyed your take on Robin's decision to risk missing Mrs. Cunliffe's funeral. I think it shows both how close she was at this point to calling off the wedding completely and how much her feelings for M had changed since she started working for Strike. We know she is a very caring, kind person but she has subconsciously realized that he is a flobberworm, undeserving of her sympathies/solicitation. Looking forward to your continuing posts!
Agreed with your take on Robin almost missing the funeral. I get that she wanted to prove her worth to Strike, and indeed did so, perhaps "saving" his life as she maneuvers
around the accident. But it would've been a really terrible thing to have missed Mrs. Cunliffe's funeral.
I've got to admit, I did find the "no tickets left (except first class)" weird. I've never heard of trains being sold out in the UK, and I've lived here for nearly all my life. Trains don't limit their ticket sales to the number of seats they have, and you don't need to specify which train you want to get when you buy the ticket. Of course, compartments on sleeper trains can sell out, but that's it
Well, this was wonderful! I read these books very closely and am annoyed when our writer makes mistakes that aren't caught in the editing. But, you have enlightened me about the other options that apply to the origin of the collapsible cane. Have you ever listened to Malcolm Gladwell's "Revisionist History" podcast on memory? The insights he provided there were a real revelation to me and, yet, I have always insisted on accurate memory in the book series I read. Silly. I'll look forward to seeing if the cane's origins come up again in The Hallmarked Man. I also enjoyed your take on Robin's decision to risk missing Mrs. Cunliffe's funeral. I think it shows both how close she was at this point to calling off the wedding completely and how much her feelings for M had changed since she started working for Strike. We know she is a very caring, kind person but she has subconsciously realized that he is a flobberworm, undeserving of her sympathies/solicitation. Looking forward to your continuing posts!
Thanks, Anne. Memory is, of course, an amazing construct in Harry Potter, especially with magic devices like the Penseive. I did a couple of Potterversity Podcasts on that topic: https://www.mugglenet.com/2024/09/potterversity-episode-55-the-murky-marshes-of-memory-part-1/ and https://www.mugglenet.com/2024/09/potterversity-episode-56-the-murky-marshes-of-memory-part-2/. You might find them interesting
Agreed with your take on Robin almost missing the funeral. I get that she wanted to prove her worth to Strike, and indeed did so, perhaps "saving" his life as she maneuvers
around the accident. But it would've been a really terrible thing to have missed Mrs. Cunliffe's funeral.
I've got to admit, I did find the "no tickets left (except first class)" weird. I've never heard of trains being sold out in the UK, and I've lived here for nearly all my life. Trains don't limit their ticket sales to the number of seats they have, and you don't need to specify which train you want to get when you buy the ticket. Of course, compartments on sleeper trains can sell out, but that's it
I hadn't picked up on the error/ retcon/ misremembering but I love your reasoning and agree with you