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tranimation-art — Our Long-Suffering Landlady

#pastiche #thegreatmousedetective #mrsjudson #marthahudson #marthajudson #bakerstreet #basilofbakerstreet #fanfiction #mrshudson #sherlockholmes
Published: 2014-11-21 22:11:43 +0000 UTC; Views: 3191; Favourites: 27; Downloads: 2
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Description     "Mrs. Judson!" shouted Basil. "Mrs. Judson!"
    "What is it? What have I done now?"
    "There is something missing from my desk."
    "Missing?"
    "Something very crucial — dust!" shouted the detective, plucking a loose feather from his desk. "You have been tidying up against my explicit orders!"
    "Oh, I made sure not to disturb anything!"
    "Dust, Mrs. Judson, is an essential part of my filing system. By the thickness of it, I can date any document immediately."
    "Some of the dust was this thick."
    "That would be March, 1883."
Born in Edinburgh, Scotland of a strict Presbyterian upbringing, Mrs. Martha Judson was the widow of the late and lamented Colonel Kentigern Judson, of Her Majesty's Royal Army, attached to the Royal Scots (Lothian Regiment).  When he was promoted and transferred as the commanding officer to the 24th (2nd Warwickshire) Regiment of Foot, the family re-located to London with their daughter into a residential house of a quaint Georgian terrace at Lower 221 Baker Street.  However, Colonel Judson was confined to fighting colonial wars in Africa, where he eventually died during the Anglo-Zulu War; as a result of his long absence, their daughter Alice sadly had no lasting memory of her father.  In order to find a source of income, Mrs. Judson, along with her daughter, began to rent out the upstairs rooms of her home.

As the landlady of Lower 221B, Mrs. Judson was always willing to give Sherringford Basil all the needed comforts of home, particularly when it came to her cuisine, as excellent as any Scotswoman's — and yet she was, indeed, a long-suffering woman!  Not only was her first-floor flat invaded at all hours by throngs of singular and often undesirable characters, but her remarkable lodger had always shown an eccentricity and irregularity in his life, which sorely tried her patience.  His incredible untidiness, his addiction to music at strange hours, his occasional revolver practice within doors, his weird and often malodourous scientific experiments, and the constant atmosphere of violence and danger that loomed around him made Sherringford Basil "the worst tenant in London."  Nevertheless, she was fond of him, too, for he had a remarkable gentleness and courtesy in his dealings with women; and despite her exasperation and exclamations of displeasure, she, in many ways, mothered the detective, frequently nagging at the chaotic mess of his rooms, or whenever he skipped his meals entirely.  At times, Basil will often go into childish rants when Mrs. Judson attempted to tidy, for it ruined his filing system, which is calculated by the thickness of dust, or the fact that he can never find his shoes afterward.  He is also apt to complain of her presence in his rooms whenever she was "hideously in the way," whenever he was on a case, insisting that she "vanish" from his sight.  And yet she never dares to interfere with him, however outrageous his proceedings might seem.  She would answer the door for clients, bring his visitors' cards or telegrams from the police, and often whirlwinds her cleaning when important, high-profile clients come to call.  She has a familiar "stately tread," standing in the deepest awe of him, and possesses great kindness, sympathy, sweetness, loyalty, and diligence.  His payments were princely; the house might have been purchased at the price which Basil has paid for his rooms during the years.

Eventually, her daughter Alice, who acted as a maid-of-all-work at Baker Street, grew up and left the nest to become a housekeeper for an entomologist.  She would marry her employer, causing quite the scandal, as the new Mrs. Faulkner.  Despite having a grown daughter, the widowed Mrs. Judson is not without her suitors, for she also well-known for her flirtations with the local barber (Signor Granada), butcher (Mr. Shochet), baker (Herr Brötchen), wine-merchant (Don Amontillado), and cheese-maker (Monsieur Roquefort), who all seem to set aside their best products for their favourite customer.  She befriended the detective's charming colleague, Oscar Milde, playing games of wit with one another, and blushes on the rare occasions when his tenant's handsome brother, Myerricroft Basil, comes to call, proudly displaying a full plate of cheese crumpets and her best china tea set.  On the rare occasions that she goes on holiday, as she enjoys the sea and the spa, she has her sour-faced sister, Mrs. Turner, attend to her tenants, to their horror.

In 1904, a world-weary Sherringford Basil, after twenty years of active practice, leaves London to retire in quiet amenity to a small cottage, Sigerson Farm, sheltered in a woodland dell in the South Downs escarpment about three-quarters of a mile from Birling Gap, a coastal hamlet in East Sussex between Eastbourne and Seaford.  Mrs. Judson recommended her now-divorced daughter, Mrs. Faulkner, for the position of housekeeper at Sigerson Farm.  She currently refuses to rent the rooms at 221B and, instead, maintains them as "a museum dedicated to a great mouse."  When the storms of the Great War finally break over Europe on August 1914, he is forced to step away from his peaceful existence for the sake of duty to become an agent of the Allied forces, where he returns to his old rooms at Baker Street to be drawn into the murky world where international diplomacy and espionage meet!

----

Most of this profile is straight out of the Sacred Writings. The name "Martha" for Mrs. Hudson comes from HIS LAST BOW, where Martha the Housekeeper helped Holmes capture a notorious WWI spy, and most Sherlockians seem to accept that this woman is Mrs. Hudson, using her forename for her own disguise.  I loved the Vasily Livanov-Vitaly Solomin Russian series for adapting HIS LAST BOW and making a charming rendition of Mrs. Hudson as "Martha."  The name "Mrs. Turner" is mentioned from SCANDAL IN BOHEMIA, the woman who allowed Watson inside Baker Street, but there are many theories about who Mrs. Turner might be.  I personally prefer to believe that it's Mrs. Hudson's sister.  Her personality here is based on Clive Merrison BBC radio show (2002-2010), making her comedic sour-faced troll of a woman; Holmes and Watson, after meeting Mrs. Turner, commented on how much the two miss Mrs. Hudson and hoped she came back from holiday as soon as possible.

The character of Alice Faulkner has a long history with Sherlock Holmes, as her origins from from William Gillette's famous four-act stage play, SHERLOCK HOLMES, co-written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (but it's debated on how much was written by either Gillette or Conan Doyle).  Gillette took great liberties with the character, such as giving Holmes a love interest, which the creator was uncomfortable with these additions.  He had received a cable from Gillette inquiring, "May I marry Holmes?", to which Conan Doyle replied, "You may marry him, murder him, or do anything you like to him."  The love interest was modelled on Irene Adler's role, but Gillette re-inventing the character and renaming her "Alice Faulkner."  While the play itself is quite good (and popular), the character Alice Faulkner is horrendously Victorian; she's bland, dull, dumb, and horribly "Mary Sue."  Therefore, I took up the challenge to make her a full-fledged character by making her the daughter of Mrs. Judson and a divorcée (which, historically, is not a good thing to be).

Understand, divorce had a horrible stigma in the Victorian/Edwardian age.  If the woman is beaten, raped, abused, etc, by their husband, she should, no matter what, remain with him through thick and thin; in such a situation, divorce is not an option.  In fact, it was completely legal to do this, because women had no civil rights, no legal rights, and were considered property.  A divorced woman was considered a fallen woman, a cut above a prostitute, as they were considered sexually deviant, homewreckers, ineffectual mothers, since they were ineffectual wives (and thus would be taken from them, as only husbands had the right to children, not wives).  For a working woman, it's almost impossible for a divorcée to achieve any kind of respectable job.  Also, it makes no sense whatsoever that Mrs. Judson would leave her position "landlady" (with a state of independence) to be "housekeeper" at a country cottage; it's demoting her and she deserves retirement.  (The idea of turning 221B Baker Street into a museum comes from the Livanov-Solomin Russian series, as Mrs. Hudson wanted to make the rooms into just that after Holmes' apparent "death" at Reichenbach Falls.)  Therefore, a daughter to pass on her legacy and it just makes sense to keep it "in the family."  With knowledge of entomology, she would become an asset to Basil's bee farm.  And, on occassion, Mrs. Faulkner can secretary and companion/partner-in-crime to the aging detective.

The Great Mouse Detective © Disney, 1986
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Comments: 12

Midniteoil-Burning [2014-12-06 17:37:32 +0000 UTC]

That poor dear puts up with so much  

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tranimation-art In reply to Midniteoil-Burning [2014-12-07 10:13:48 +0000 UTC]

Indeed, she does. But he pays her well.

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Midniteoil-Burning In reply to tranimation-art [2014-12-08 14:27:30 +0000 UTC]

Apparently. Genius that he is Basil's a handful.
Same goes for his human counter part.

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tranimation-art In reply to Midniteoil-Burning [2014-12-17 05:57:58 +0000 UTC]

Well, indoor gun practice isn't very safe.

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Midniteoil-Burning In reply to tranimation-art [2014-12-17 19:43:34 +0000 UTC]

That it is not  

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GoodOldBaz [2014-11-22 23:19:13 +0000 UTC]

really adorable!

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tranimation-art In reply to GoodOldBaz [2014-11-23 02:32:43 +0000 UTC]

Thanks!

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nuriaabajo [2014-11-22 10:12:50 +0000 UTC]

I'm glad to see an update of your stories GMD
I like how you expanded the character of Mrs Judson: There are many interesting details such as the name of Martha or the idea of the museum (truth, sherlock holmes Russian version is very sweet, and the characters work very well. Russian writers and actors were able to expand the characters in a very interesting way, like the version of Granada. It's a pity that few people know this version). and it's also interesting that you want to tune to Alice Faulkner, and make it something more interesting than a Mary Sue

and I really like the idea of the suitors, though Mrs. Judson seems more interested in getting discounts on products rather than the gentlemen XD and it's funny that each belongs to a different nation. now I want a draw of Mrs. Turner and Alice, I have curiosity about the appearance of both characters. Mrs. Turner seems like a really scary lady, but I think Basil does not realize that he is very lucky to have Mrs Judson XD

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tranimation-art In reply to nuriaabajo [2015-01-02 18:07:16 +0000 UTC]

The Russian Mrs. Hudson is very sweet character; I love her dry sense of humour in that series. I also love she faints, at the same time as Watson, at Holmes' return. And how she reveals herself during the LAST BOW finale. But I never liked it when Sherlockians had Mrs. Hudson retire with Holmes in Sussex. She was rented out 221B, she was the landlady, thus the owner of the home. I don't understand why she would leave that to be a lowly housekeeper for a country cottage. Simply, she wouldn't. I like that she would make a museum to her famous tenant instead and make some profit from it. She is businesswoman.

Just because Mrs. Hudson is a mature woman does not mean she cannot have suitors. But, yes, she is more interested in discounts than the suitor themselves.

Alice Faulkner, strangely, is a popular character, because the play is popular itself. It's still being performed to this day, but Gillette's version of her is very boring, which is sad. But I hope to make her more interesting.

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WingsOfASong [2014-11-22 10:12:10 +0000 UTC]

Goodness, poor Mrs. Judson and any woman in that century. O_o And your in-depth character sheet of her never fails to astound me. I love seeing your art around. ^^

By any chance, are you going to do any fanarts of the nefarious Professor?

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tranimation-art In reply to WingsOfASong [2015-01-10 09:23:06 +0000 UTC]

Mrs. Hudson/Judson is a rare woman. Most of information is from the Canon, although the daughter was added by me.

I haven't drawn any Ratigan yet, but I hope to soon.

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WingsOfASong In reply to tranimation-art [2015-01-10 09:34:16 +0000 UTC]

And I love her all the more for it. ^^

I bet it will be fabulous. :3

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