Just as sure as “The Dean” follows “James’s disappearance” in Dickens’s handwritten notes for The Mystery of Edwin Drood, notice how Mr Tope is among the first onlookers after Drood’s disappearance. (A classic case of the criminal returning to the scene of the crime.)

(I’m liking this chatgpt a bit too much.)

I’m guessing he’s at least 20 years older than you, and men of that generation expect themselves to take care of those duties (fixing furniture, cars, ridding bugs, etc.), so in a strange way (especially if he’s misogynistic) you and your mother are threatening his manhood by refusing his help.

I have already memorized all names, dates, weather conditions and degrees the lighthouse mirrors were set for just such an occasion. 😉

You DID see it. Wow, not too many people have. (Feel free to test me with any Lighthouse questions in the future, if only to prove I’m not a bot). 😉

Douglas plays a great rat. I’m not sure what’s worse: delaying the rescue of a man to sell newspapers, or sleeping with the poor man’s wife while he’s trapped underground—yikes!

Emory, I’m lovin’ all your “Did You Knows?” Keep ‘em coming! I viewed the Lighthouse one a few weeks back twice (the second time with my wife).

Emory, I can’t help but to think of the old Billy Wilder movie, ‘Ace in the Hole’ (also titled ‘The Big Carnival’) whenever I hear about these types of stories and how the public ate them up.

youtu.be/x0Gsv5p5GdY?...

(He’d steal the show.)

This method of concealment most certainly worked for Dickens due to the fact that it took us over a century-and-a-half to deduce that John Jasper is innocent, and that the Dean, Mr Tope (and perhaps other select members of the Chapter such as Mrs Tope) are the guilty ones.

In this instance the evidence not only speaks but sings beautifully, celestially, sublimely, melodiously, delightfully, sweetly, and fervidly. I know you wouldn’t sentence an innocent man to be hanged until dead (“literarily” speaking) until all evidence and suspects are thoroughly examined. 👩‍⚖️

Though I wouldn’t want to work there (especially with 56 hour shifts with no overtime), I wouldn’t mind riding out a storm in one. (That seems like fun.)

Love this! Thanks for sharing, Emory. I don’t think I could stay away from my family that long, but somebody has to be the keeper of the flame. (I never realized that just getting to work was such a harrowing experience for lighthouse keepers.)

Lucy, if anything, please reevaluate the evidence for Dickens.He warns us in chapter 10 that “women have a curious power of divining the characters of men” but it’s “fallible” and that once a woman makes her mind up “it is for the most part absolutely incapable of self-revision”.
(Prove him wrong)

Here in the U.S. people used to “go postal” and shoot their boss. There was a target. What’s scary now is everything’s so random and going for big numbers (like it’s a video game). I’m saddened to say that, these days, when a week goes by and I DON’T hear of a senseless shooting, it surprises me.