The Adventure of Black Peter
The story Watson calls "The Adventure of Black Peter" begins with one of his best synopses of Holmes' unrecorded cases. In the first place, Watson is impressed by Holmes' general well-being: "I have never known my friend to be in better form, both mental and physical, than in the year '95. His increasing fame had brought with it an immense practice ..."
Then Watson goes on to remind his readers that fame and wealth (apparently) mean little to the great detective becaused "like all great artists, (Holmes) lived for his art's sake" and that "he would devote weeks of most intense application to the affairs of some humble client whose case presented those strange and dramatic qualities which appealed to his imagination and challenged his ingenuity."
Just as Watson is about to begin recounting the "very obscure circumstances which surrounded the death of Captain Peter Carey" he drops a hint of several other cases:
"the tragedy of Woodman's Lee"
"his arrest of Wilson, the notorious canary-trainer, which removed a plague-spot from the East End of London" (a story which Nicholas Meyer has cleverly merged into The Phantom of the Opera!)
and of "his famous investigation of the sudden death of Cardinal Tosca -- an inquiry which was carried out by him at the express desire of His Holiness the Pope ..."
And no matter how many times your editor reads "Black Peter," this passing mention of Cardinal Tosca brings a smile to his face.
Why the fondness for this fleeting remark?
It's all because of the fine play which endeavors to unravel the mystery Watson poses by not telling us more. I refer to "The Incredible Murder of Cardinal Tosca," written some fifteen years ago by Alden Nowlen and Walter Learning (who are, if memory serves, Canadian – not that this has anything to do with anything).
The play involves a plot by Professor Moriarty to subvert the British government, and the secret agents employed by the Queen to stop Moriarty. When a pseudo-Satanic cult allies itself with Moriarty, Holmes and Watson join forces with the James-Bond-prototypes and face the combined evil together. There's plenty of blood, clever disguises, a lengthy torture scene, and ultimately a visit to Moriarty's headquarters far below the London Underground Railway!
Nowlen and Learning's play was brought to my attention in 1984, while I was working on my Master's Degree in Drama at Southern Illinois University. A fellow actor/director named Brent Lappin had discovered the play and was all afire to produce the work somewhere on campus. Knowing of my deep love for the Canon (and some small proficiency at playing upper-class Englishmen), Brent approached me about playing the role of Sherlock Holmes.
Need I say I jumped at the chance?
As Brent set about casting the other roles, a curious thing happened. At this time I was living in a house with three other fellows: Henry, Paul, and David – talented performers all. Henry was cast as Watson, Paul as Professor Moriarty, and David as Father Tichborne, who is brutally murdered onstage. We lived in the "Cardinal Tosca house"!
Our audience loved it – but I doubt they loved this show as much as the actors did. Of the dozens of plays I've been in, this show remains a favorite. I cherish posters and photographs from the show – and of course that handy reminder in The Adventure of Black Peter.