Podcasts about troubled blood

Nick and John have posted eight Hallmarked Man conversations since its publication last month and, as interesting as their back-and-forth talks have been, South Wales to American Fly Over Country, Lake to Shed, much of the best theorizing and interpreting of Strike 8 has been happening in the comment threads beneath those posts and in email messaging with John. Determined that these insights wouldn't be lost or invisible to Serious Strikers, they chose ten of the most challenging for a fun introduction to the fandom conversations readers not privy to the backchannel moderators network or who neglect the comment threads are missing.In addition, Nick shares the credible speculation that Rowling's weeklong absence from tweeting has been because she is on her Samsara yacht in the South Pacific, circling Bora Bora, believe it or don't. John quizzes Nick, too, about the election in South Wales, Caerphilly to be exact, and the reason the results in that dependably Labour area have the UK buzzing (and why Strike readers might expect the populist party victories will color Strikes 9 and 10).A quick ‘table of contents' for their hasty review, then, followed by links and transcripts! Enjoy — and, yes, have at in the comment threads, please, the locus of Strike fandom conversations.* Ed Shardlow: Gorilla Ryan* Vicky: Boxes and Plush Toys* Sandra Hope: Traditional Symbolism* Justin Clavet: Only Fans Gaffe (Ed Shardlow -- ‘Not Proven' error)* Bora Bora* Justin Clavet: On Manhood* Ed Shardlow: Ickabog Parallel Book Theory* Sandra Hope: Hallmarked Man as Rowling's ‘Greatest Hits' allusion collection* LC - Dorothy Sayers* Kathleen O'Connor -- Alternative Incest* Caerphilly elections -- UK meaning* Ring Composition ProjectPromised Links and Transcripts:* Ed Shardlow's ‘Gorilla Ryan' TheoryThe Ryan the Gorilla theory came to me at the point in the book where Robin has an epiphany following an impulse to look up the meaning of a name. I think this was the Jolanda-Violet realisation, but I thought she'd suddenly realised the full extent of Ryan's dark side, with the significance being the previously noted meaning of his name “Sea King” suggesting a connection between him and Wade King.That theory seemed very flimsy at first, but on further examination it might have some mileage. There are some notable differences between the attack in the Land Rover and the previous ones. Although we imagine the attacker wearing a gorilla mask, there's no mention of it, and in fact it says she can see his face. Also the Land Rover attacker makes no demands that she, “Stop” or, “Leave it”. She hits Wade with the pepper spray, which of course, would be difficult for Ryan to cover up, but she didn't inflict any such injuries on the gorilla attacker. Wade clearly intends to hurt her, whereas the other attacks had no physical violence and look very much like they were just intended to scare her.1) It's hinted that Branfoot knows about Robin's rape, and she says it's on the internet, but we never get any indication that King or Griffiths know about it. Strike and Robin never consider that the attacker might be someone who knows about it because they're close to Robin. That seems like an oversight.2) The gorilla attacker never refers to a specific case. Murphy may be scaring her into quitting the job and getting away from Strike, whereas a suspect would want her to stop investigating their specific case.3) The police don't take the rubber gorilla and dagger for DNA testing. That's pretty strange, unless there's someone on the inside blocking the investigation.There's a bit of an issue with the guy in the green jacket, who presumably Robin can see isn't Ryan when he's on the industrial estate and outside her flat. Presumably that was Wade.So, there would need to be some explanation for how or why Murphy is wearing the same jacket when he accosts her with the ceremonial dagger. But that's not insurmountable.Murphy would have been very surprised to encounter Matthew (sic, he means ‘Martin' -ed.), who he knows from Masham, outside Robin's flat. The narrative very much prompts us to think there's something going on with Murphy, but then we put this down to his work issues and associated relapse, but perhaps that blinds us (and Robin) to another possibility. And if it is the case, then Strike hasn't just let Robin go to dinner with his romantic rival, but she's heading into mortal danger. Were his instincts subconsciously alerting him to the threat? Did he leave it too late to shout, “Brake!” again?Nicola Reed's Objection to ‘Gorilla Ryan' (Sandy Hope, too)Kathleen O'Connor's Cogent Counterpoint to John's Incredulity about No One Noticing How Short Faux-Wright was in the Ramsay Silver footageVicky on the Interpretation of Robin's “Stuffed Toy” DreamBrenna Hill asks ‘Why is the New Ellacott Puppy Named Betty?'Sandra Hope Jumpstarts Conversation about Traditional Symbolism in Hallmarked Man* Masonic Orb Pendant for sale on Etsy ($795)* Jacob's Ladder Mosaic in Masonic Hall, London (Alamy)* The Bohun Swan (‘Chained Swan') (Wikipedia)Justin Clavet: The ‘Only Fans' Gaffe· I commented on the Hogwarts Professor gaffes pillar [Placeholder, ed.] post about the OnlyFans error - that the OnlyFans website was launched in November 2016, but in the book, the murdered Sofia is said to be a prolific OnlyFans poster before her disappearance in June of that same year. The OnlyFans account is only a small point in this large plot, but one that is repeatedly referred to, and Sofia's OnlyFans account is what ultimately brought her to the attention of her killer. For such a meticulous plotter and, as John would say, “OCD” author as Rowling is, does this real-world chronological impossibility give you pause? What other big historical error like this can be found in her books?· Did you notice that the interview with the pornstar occurs in chapter 69? I think Rowling was having a bit of (structural) fun and winking at the observant reader with that one.* Justin Clavet's 3 September ‘Gaffes' posting about ‘Only Fans'The reference to OnlyFans in chapter 33 (p. 269) felt anachronistic to me, as I don't remember ever hearing about the website before the pandemic era. And sure enough, according to Wikipedia (citing a New York Times article), the website didn't launch until November 2016. Therefore, Sofia – who was murdered in June 2016 – could not have been a prolific OnlyFans poster. Sofia's supposed OnlyFans account is referenced several further times throughout the book. Based on data from Google Trends, it seems incredibly unlikely that Strike and Robin would have readily known what OnlyFans was in late 2016/early 2017. So Where is Bora Bora?The Caerphilly 2025 Election: Victories for Left and Right Wing Populist Parties* 2025 Caerphilly Bi-Election (Wikipedia!)* UK's Ruling Labour Suffer Crushing Defeat Against Political Insurgents at Ballot Box (Breitbart)Justin Clavet ‘On Manhood in Hallmarked Man'The biggest thing that struck me in this book was the persistent themes of manhood woven throughout: the responsibilities, relationships, and hardships of men. * The central crime is linked with a secretive fraternal organization. * It opens with the death of Strike's father figure Ted, a “proper man” (p. 38), by whose maxims Strike is newly resolved to live. * We learn that Ted would've murdered (or been murdered by) his father Trevik if he hadn't left home and joined the army (p. 39), just like Strike would have come to blows (or worse) with his step-father Whittaker if he hadn't left home and joined the army. * While he loses the man he called his dad, he has a real meeting with his natural father for the first time. Rokeby shares that, in Strike, he had produced a proper man” (p. 747). * Strike celebrates not having fathered a child (while Robin is distraught in the wake of her own lost child, and devastated that the option to be a mother may no longer be hers to choose).* Richard de Leon says that his brother Danny was made the way he is because of his father's mistreatment. * Strike is bewildered that Danny (who integrates his brother's Christian name into his porn name, Dick de Lion) and Richard could be so close and share so much with each other, contrasting this with his own relationship with Al. * Leda and Rena are both shown to have suffered because of the absence of their more stable brothers. * Strike observes that “men are seen as disposable in certain contexts” (pp. 107f).* Wardle, who is shown to be a caring and dedicated father to his young child, opens up to Strike about his depression and his marriage troubles. * Strike reflects on the shallow friendships he has with other men, and later sees how this kind of friendship can be toxic with the wrong personalities (in Powell, Pratt, and Jones, p. 860). * Strike fears Wardle may be at risk of suicide. Niall is found to have committed suicide after his brother in arms was horrifically executed by Islamist combatants. The public can't be bothered to care about the tragic loss of this man who heroically put his life on the line for his country - preferring instead to lend their attention to the spectacle of another man, Branfoot, who went to extreme lengths to indulge his basest and most perverse desires (p. 873).Like many events in this book, this theme - with characters showing genuine concern and thoughtful consideration of complex men's issues - is a mirror image of one presented in Troubled Blood with the character of Carl Oakden and his cynical men's rights grift.This barely scratches the surface of the notes that I took on this theme, which I saw running deep through the whole book. I wondered if I was just seeing this in the text because of my own perspective as a man, or if it really was there. Indeed, you could find hints of this theme in each of the preceding seven books. But the structural clues left me convinced it was intentional. And when I watched this video (https://robert-galbraith.com/robert-galbraith-discusses-the-case-in-the-hallmarked-man/) the day after finishing the book, there was no doubt.Justin Clavet on the Hallmarked Man Dedication and Rokeby's Gratitude· I connected the book's dedication to Sean and Nadine Harris with Rokeby's statement on p. 748, “Not everyone's got a mate called Leo ‘oo stops ‘em livin' rough” and that he attributes his artistic and financial success to his friend's generosity and charity.Ed Shardlow on The Ickabog as Hallmarked Man's Parallel BookConscious of the links between the first 7 books of the series and the Potter books, and with three books purportedly remaining in the series, I was primed to see a connection between The Hallmarked Man and one of Casual Vacancy, Christmas Pig or the Ickabog. I didn't have any predisposition to it being any of those. Even if Rowling is taking them in some sort of chronological order, there's reason to believe the orders of conception, writing and publishing may differ.At the end of Part One, I thought the Ickabog looked like the best fit based on the fact that the central mystery of who the body in the vault was has a certain similarity to the mystery of the Ickabog itself and whether it was real or a myth. The importance of the truth and the damage done by lies are fundamental to the Ickabog story, and I thought from the start those were major themes in THM.The other correspondences I've spotted:* The police, in various guises, like the royal guard play an important part, largely inept, self-serving, and perpetrators of miscarriages of justice.* The aristocrats - Lord Branfoot, Lady Jenson, Dino Longcaster - lie and deceive to protect their own interests, causing untold damage in the process.* There's terrorism, and terrorism being used to spread fear and division.* Ultimately Rupert and Decima, two sexes but one entity, produce an offspring that may have been defective or corrupted by the state of the world he was born into, but seems to have emerged happy and healthy. Daisy Dovetail having persuaded Rupert the Ickabog that humanity was worth making compromises for.* The main antagonist traps a woman in his house. I thought their names were Esmeralda and Sapphire, but it's Lady Eslanda not Esmeralda… But apparently Eslanda can mean emerald, or VIOLET, or truth… So Eslanda corresponds to both Sapphire and Jolanda!* We visit a feudal state* Ben Liddell – the soldier killed in an incident in a land where there shouldn't have been any military conflict happening and it being covered up by the government* Sandra Hope: The Footprint!Ed Shardlow, I can't wait for your show on the parallels between THM and the Ickabog!!! I just finished rereading both of them and I'm losing my mind! Omg, the footprint: “The Flaw in the Plan (ch32) is that the footprint is hopping (not so much terrifying as ludicrously funny) and Strike noting that the bearer of the footprint in the vault has a limp!! Please let this conversation happen soon!!Sandra Hope: Strike 8 as a ‘Rowling's Greatest Hits Album' of Allusions:Allusions that took my breath away:* Ectopic pregnancy- TB* Schadenfreude- CC* “So many babies”- not just born, but what they're born into- Ickabog borndings* Human trafficking ring- RG* Woman buried in/under concrete- TB* Staged murder involving mutilation- Silkworm* Violent attacks & subsequent PTSD- a Rowling theme in every book, but especially CE & LW* DNA testing & fatherhood- CV, TB* Guys trying to find right time to ask a potential partner a question- GOF lol* Valentine's Day mishaps- CS, TB* Behavior of abandoned mothers-Silkworm (& HBP), specifically Merope, Leonora, Decima (also Leda)* Journalism as a weapon- GOF, OOP, Silkworm, RG* Potential ill usage of mirrors- SSNot a complete list by any means lolLC – Dorothy Sayers Connection?I don't know if there is anything in my seeing parallels between Cormoran and Robin and Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vance (Dorothy Sayers): Peter and Harriet had a very long acquaintance before they finally got engaged, with lots of twists and turns. Peter goes deep undercover in an ad agency in one novel; the feel of it was very similar to Robin going deep undercover in Lethal White. Also, the Sayers novel “Five Red Herrings” also features five men--in this case, five men who could have been the murderer (instead of the victim). Sayers also had very intricate plots that were puzzles--and was a Dante scholar. I believe Jo has mentioned that she admired Sayers. I don't know if these are just interesting parallels that Jo is having fun with or not, but they certainly seem to be more than coincidences. Thanks!Kathleen O'Connor – Alternative Incest Big Twist IdeasI'm impressed by your arguments that we will see some shocking twists – in addition to the shocking twist that Rokeby is actually, in his old age, a good father to his mature son, Cormoran, and not at all the image-focused a*****e we have seen through Strike's eyes up to now. I don't think, however, we will find that Rokeby is not Strike's father. That revelation would dilute Strike's growth in terms of his realizations that he has been mistaken about many things that he has taken for granted in his life. Instead, I think instead we will see a continuation of Robeby's rehabilitation until eventually, like Snape, Rokeby makes some kind of big sacrifice to aid Cormoran or someone/something else important to Cormoran. Also, even though Strike does not physically resemble Rokeby, he does resemble Prudence: * “Seeing them face to face, Robin spotted her partner's resemblance to Jonny Rokeby for the first time. He and his half-sister shared the same defined jaw, the same spacing of the eyes. She wondered – she who had three brothers, all of the same parentage – what it felt like, to make a first acquaintance with a blood relative in your forties. But there was something more there than a faint physical resemblance between brother and sister: they appeared, already, to have established an unspoken understanding.” - The Running Grave And: * “In youth, Strike knew, Rokeby had been exactly as tall as his oldest son, though he was now a little shorter.” - The Hallmarked Man Maybe the big twist and incest plot is connected to either Switch or Whittaker. As we learn from Wikipedia in Career of Evil, Jeff Whittaker never knew who his father was. A strong possibility could be that Patricia Whittaker's own father, Sir Randolph, had gotten her pregnant with Jeff. In that case, keeping that secret – as well as simply keeping the baby away from Leda – could have been the motive for a Whittaker family member to have killed Leda. An even bigger twist might be that Leda did commit suicide, using exactly the method of Krystal Weedon, after she realized that she was Whittaker's sister. Would it be possible for Trevik to have met up with Patricia Whitaker in London and gotten her pregnant? Regardless of the incest angle, I do think we might find that Leda, whose life choices have not allowed her to develop the strength or discipline to face hard truths, may have committed suicide rather than cope with some kind of guilt (maybe she found out what happened to Lucy?). There are multiple examples that foreshadow these possibilities – off the top of my head, there are “naughty boy” wealthy aristos (Freddy Chiswell, Alexander Graves, Will Edensor, Jago Ross) who might parallel Sir Randolph or Jeff Whittaker, and multiple characters who confuse suicide with sacrifice or who simply cannot face what they have done (Cherie Gittins, Krystal Weedon, Yasmin Weatherhead). Rhiannon Winn and Ellie Fancourt both commit suicide because they cannot cope with the shame they feel as a result of others' cruelty.Also, I can think of two points that support your idea that we will find out some bad things about Ted. Number one, the revelations that Dumbledore was extremely flawed are crucial to Harry's story. In fact, I suggest that writing characters who are not merely “gray” but who are simultaneously really good and really bad is a “golden thread” of Rowling's work. And, number two, we hear multiple times that Ted taught Strike, “There's no pride in having what you never worked for” while Rokeby says “I don't wanna die wivvout knowin' ya. You fink I 'aven't got the right to be proud, maybe, but I am. I'm proud of ya.” I don't think it is an accident that Rowling sets up this opposition, and I also think she wants us to admire Rokey's desire to know his son. Get full access to Hogwarts Professor at hogwartsprofessor.substack.com/subscribe

Nick Jeffery and John Granger continue their Q&A conversations about Rowling-Galbraith's Hallmarked Man (if you missed the first discussion, click here to catch up). As usual, the pair promised to send links and notes along with their recorded back and forth for anyone wanting to read more about the subjects they discussed. Scroll down for their seven plus one questions and a bevy of bonus material they trust will add to your appreciation of Rowling's Strike 8 artistry and meaning. Cheers!Q1: What is the meaning of or artistry involved with Pat Chauncey's three fish in the Agency's fish tank, ‘Robin,' ‘Cormoran,' and ‘Travolta/Elton'?Mise en Abyme (Wikipedia)In Western art history, mise en abyme (French pronunciation: [miz ɑ̃n‿abim]; also mise en abîme) is the technique of placing a copy of an image within itself, often in a way that suggests an infinitely recurring sequence. In film theory and literary theory, it refers to the story within a story technique.The term is derived from heraldry, and means placed into abyss (exact middle of a shield). It was first appropriated for modern criticism by the French author André Gide. A common sense of the phrase is the visual experience of standing between two mirrors and seeing an infinite reproduction of one's image. Another is the Droste effect, in which a picture appears within itself, in a place where a similar picture would realistically be expected to appearSnargaloff pods (Harry Potter Wiki)“It sprang to life at once; long, prickly, bramble-like vines flew out of the top and whipped through the air... Harry succeeded in trapping a couple of vines and knotting them together; a hole opened in the middle of all the tentacle-like branches... Hermione snatched her arm free, clutching in her fingers a pod... At once, the prickly vines shot back inside and the gnarled stump sat there looking like an innocently dead lump of wood“— The trio dealing with the Snargaluff plant in sixth year Herbology classSnargaluff was a magical plant with the appearance of a gnarled stump, but had dangerous hidden thorn-covered vines that attacked when provoked, and was usually best handled by more than one person.Juliana's Question about the Oranda Goldfish:did anyone else notice - I confess to only noticing this on my second re-read of THM- that Travolta, Pat's third fish, dies?What do we think about this? Could this mean Mr. Ryan F. Murphy dies…? Or could it just be foreshadowing of the fact that him and Robin don't end up together? I think the fish symbolism was quite humorous and delightful paralleling such a deep and intricate plot. Just wanted to know if anyone noticed this tinge of humor towards the end of the book… As for the fish theory, Pat's three fish in the tank: Strike, Robin and the third, she calls, Travolta — ironically, named after a “handsome” man. I'm thinking JKR meant Travolta, the fish to symbolize Murphy…What I was referring to in my original comment: the three fish = the love triangle between Ellacott/Murphy/Strike. I was asking: since Travolta died in Chapter 113, do we think this foreshadows Murphy either dying physically, or just that Robin and Murphy do not end up together?John's ‘Fish and Peas' Response:It's a relief to learn that Travolta's most famous role wasn't a character named Ryan Murphy that everyone in the world except myself knows very well. Thank you for this explanation!There's more to your idea, though, I think, then you have shared. Forgive me if you were already aware of this textual argument that suggests very strongly that these Oranda goldfish have been an important part of Rowling's plan from the series from the start. In brief, it's about the peas.In Part 2, Chapter 3, of ‘Cuckoo's Calling,' Robin and Matt are having their first fight about Strike and the Agency. The chapter ends with an odd note that this disagreement has blemished the Cunliffe couple's engagement.“She waited until he had walked away into the sitting room before turning off the tap. There was, she noticed, a fragment of frozen pea caught in the setting of her engagement ring.” (73)Your theory that the fish bowl is an embedded picture of the state of Robin's feelings for Murphy and Strike, a Mise en abyme of sorts, is given credibility in the eyes of this reader by the appearance of frozen peas as the cure for the dying Cormoran goldfish. It is hard for a Rowling Reader to believe that these two mentions of frozen pea fragments were coincidental or unrelated, which means that (a) Rowling had the office Oranda goldfish scene-within-the-scene in Strike 8 foreshadowed by the Strike 1 tiff, and (b) therefore of real significance.There is another pea bit, of course, in ‘Troubled Blood' at Skegness, a passage that links Robin's heart or essence with peas.Strike was still watching the starlings when Robin set down two polystyrene trays, two small wooden forks and two cans of Coke on the table.“Mushy peas,” said Strike, looking at Robin's tray, where a hefty dollop of what looked like green porridge sat alongside her fish and chips.“Yorkshire caviar,” said Robin, sitting down. “I didn't think you'd want any.”“You were right,” said Strike, picking up a sachet of tomato sauce while watching with something like revulsion as Robin dipped a chip into the green sludge and ate it.“Soft Southerner, you are,” she said, and Strike laughed. (807-808)If you tie this in with the fish symbolism embedded in Rowling's favorite paintings and the meaning of ‘Oranda,' this is quite a bit of depth in that fish bowl -- and in your argument that the death of Travolta signifies Murphy is out of consideration.You're probably to young to remember this but Travolta's most famous role will always be Tony Manero in ‘Saturday Night Fever,' the breakout event of his acting career. Manero longs for a woman way out of his league, attempts to rape her after they win a dance contest, she naturally rejects him, but they wind up as friends.Or in a book so heavy in the cultish beliefs and practices of Freemasonry, especially with respect to policemen that are also “on the square,” maybe the Travolta-Murphy link is just that the actor is, with Tom Cruise, as famous (well...) for his beliefs in Scientology as for his acting ability.So, yes, it's fun, your ‘Peas and Fish' theory, but there's something to it.Check out this note on ‘Peas' in the Strike novels from Renee over at the weblog: https://www.hogwartsprofessor.com/hallmarked-man-placeholder-post-index/comment-page-1/#comment-1699017 The fish symbolism embedded in Rowling's favorite painting: https://hogwartsprofessor.substack.com/p/rowlings-favorite-painting-and-what And the meaning of ‘Oranda:' https://www.hogwartsprofessor.com/rowling-twixter-fish-and-strike-update/Follow-Up by Julianna:I'm not sure what exact chapter this is in, but let's also not forget that on Sark, Strike procures a bag of frozen peas to soothe the spade to his face injury. I also want to add that he has used frozen peas before, to soothe his aching leg too, but I could be wrong about that…I cant remember where I've read that, so it might not be true….Lastly, after reading Renee's comment, I have to say, that now I do believe that the peas might have been an ongoing symbol for Strike (a la…the pea in the engagement ring) and…stay with me here….peas are potentially, what save Cormoran, the goldfish, from dying.“The black fish called Cormoran was again flailing helplessly at the top of the tank. ‘Stupid a*****e, you've done it to your f*cking self'.” And the very last line of the book being: “Then pushed himself into a standing position ear and knee both throbbing. In the absence of anything else he could do to improve his present situation, he set off for the attic to fetch the empty margerine tub…and some peas.” (Chapter 127).My point being: this could be a way of Rowling saying, that Strike saves himself from himself…another psychological undertone in her stories. (Lake reference: Rowling has pulled herself up out of poverty ‘by her own bootstraps' we say.) Thoughts? Thanks for induldging me here, John! I am enjoying this conversation. Apologies for the grammar and potentially confusing train of thoughts.And from Vicky:Loving the theories and symbolism around the peas and fish! Just had a thought too re John quoting the Troubled blood scene. Robin calls mushy peas by a familiar term “Yorkshire caviar”. Caviar is of course fish eggs, and poor Robin, Yorkshire born, spends much of THM agonising over the thought and pressure of freezing her eggs. Giuliana mentioned the frozen peas Strike puts on his swollen face after the spade hit...maybe this is foreshadowing to their intimate and honest dinner conversation later with Robin baring her heart to Strike about her ectopic pregnancy griefQ2: Why didn't the Strike-Ellacott Agency or the Metropolitan Police figure out how the murderer entered the Ramsay Silver vault to kill William Wright the first time they saw the grainy surveillance film of the auction house crate deliveries?Tweet UrlFrom ‘The Locked Room Lecture' (John Dickson Carr) It's silly to be disappointed in a border-line absurd Locked Room Mystery such as Hallmarked Man because improbability is close to a requirement in such stories:“But this point must be made, because a few people who do not like the slightly lurid insist on treating their preferences as rules. They use, as a stamp of condemnation, the word ‘improbable.' And thereby they gull the unwary into their own belief that ‘improbable' simply means ‘bad.'“Now, it seems reasonable to point out that the word improbable is the very last which should ever be used to curse detective fiction in any case. A great part of our liking fofr detective fiction is based on a liking for improbability. When A is murdered, and B and C are under strong suspicion, it is improbably that the innocent-looking D can be guilty. But he is. If G has a perfect alibi, sworn to at every point by every other letter in the alphabet, it is improbable that G can have committed the crime. But he has. When the detective picks up a fleck of coal dust at the seashore, it is improbable that such an insignificant thing can have any importance. But it will. In short, you come to a point where the word improbable grows meaningless as a jeer. There can be no such thing as any probability until the end of the story. And then, if you wish the murder to be fastened on an unlikely person (as some of us old fogies do), you can hardly complain because he acted from motives less likely or necessarily less apparent than those of the person first suspected.“When the cry of ‘This-sort-of-thing-wouldn't-happen!' goes up, when you complain about half-faced fiends and hooded phantoms and blond hypnotic sirens, you are merely saying, ‘I don't like this sort of story.' That's fair enough. If you do not like it, you are howlingly right to say so. But when you twist this matter of taste into a rule for judging the merit or even the probability of the story, you are merely saying, ‘This series of events couldn't happen, because I shouldn't enjoy it if it did.'“What would seem to be the truth of the matter? We might test it out by taking the hermetically sealed chamber as an example, because this situation has been under a hotter fire than any other on the grounds of being unconvincing.“Most people, I am delighted to say, are fond of the locked room. But – here's the damned rub – even its friends are often dubious. I cheerfully admit that I frequently am. So, for the moment, we'll all side together on this score and see what we can discover. Why are we dubious when we hear the explanation of the locked room? Not in the least because we are incredulous, but simply because in some vague way we are disappointed. And from that feeling it is only natural to take an unfair step farther, and call the whole business incredible or impossible or flatly ridiculous.” (reprinted in The Art of the Mystery Story [Howard Haycraft] 273-286)Q3: Hallmarked Man is all about silver and Freemasonry. What is the historical connection between South American silver (‘Argentina' means ‘Land of Silver'), the end of European feudalism, and the secret brotherhood of the Masons?How Silver Flooded the World: And how that Replaced Feudalism and the Church with Capitalism and Nation-States (‘Uncharted Territories,' Tomas Pueyo) In Europe, silver also triggered the discovery of America, a technological explosion, and a runaway chain of events that replaced feudalism with capitalism and nation-states. If you understand this, you'll be able to understand why nation-states are threatened by cryptocurrencies today, and how their inevitable success will weaken nation-states. In this premium article, we're going to explore how Europe starved for silver, and how the reaction to this flooded the world with silver. ,See also Never Bet Against America and Argentina Could be a Superpower, both by Pueyo.‘Conspiracy Theories associated with Freemasonry' (Wikipedia)* That Freemasonry is a Jewish front for world domination or is at least controlled by Jews for this goal. An example of this is the anti-Semitic literary forgery The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Adolf Hitler believed that Freemasonry was a tool of Jewish influence,[12] and outlawed Freemasonry and persecuted Freemasons partially for this reason.[13] The covenant of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas claims that Freemasonry is a “secret society” founded as part of a Zionist plot to control the world.[14] Hilaire Belloc thought Jews had “inaugurated” freemasonry “as a bridge between themselves and their hosts”[15]* That Freemasonry is tied to or behind Communism. The Spanish dictator Francisco Franco had often associated his opposition with both Freemasonry and Communism, and saw the latter as a conspiracy of the former; as he put it, “The whole secret of the campaigns unleashed against Spain can be explained in two words: masonry and communism”.[16] In 1950, Irish Roman Catholic priest Denis Fahey republished a work by George F. Dillon under the title Grand Orient Freemasonry Unmasked as the Secret Power Behind Communism. Modern conspiracy theorists such as Henry Makow have also claimed that Freemasonry intends the triumph of Communism[17]* That Freemasons are behind income taxes in the US. One convicted tax protester has charged that law enforcement officials who surrounded his property in a standoff over his refusal to surrender after his conviction were part of a “Zionist, Illuminati, Free Mason [sic] movement”.[18] The New Hampshire Union Leader also reported that “the Browns believe the IRS and the federal income tax are part of a deliberate plot perpetrated by Freemasons to control the American people and eventually the world”[19]Umberto Eco's The Prague Cemetery, a Freemasonry Novel (Wikipedia)So much for the link between Freemasonry and Baphomet worship!‘The Desacralization of Work' (Roger Sworder, Mining, Metallurgy, and the Meaning of Life)Q4: Ian Griffiths is the Bad Guy of Hallmarked Man. His name has definite Christian overtones (a ‘Griffin,' being half-eagle, half-lion, King of Heaven and Earth, is a symbol of Christ); could it also be another pointer to Rowling's mysterious ‘Back Door Man,' Harry Bingham, author of the Fiona Griffiths series?Troubled Blood: The Acknowledgments (Nick Jeffery, November 2020)In both Silkworm and Career Rowling/Galbraith's military advisors are thanked as SOBE (Sean Harris OBE?) Deeby (Di Brookes?) and the Back Door Man. Professor Granger has identified the Back Door Man as a southern US slang term for a man having an illicit relationship, but beyond this is so far unidentified.Any thoughts on her dedications or acknowledgements? Any new leads for the elusive Back Door Man? Please comment down below.Harry Bingham's website, June 2012“My path into TALKING TO THE DEAD was a curious one. I was approached by a well-known figure who was contemplating working with a ghostwriter on a crime thriller. I hadn't read any crime for a long time, but was intrigued by the project. So I went out and bought about two dozen crime novels, then read them back-to-back over about two weeks.”Could Rowling have hired a (gasp) “ghost writer”? Or was it just “expert editorial assistance” she was looking for, what Bingham offers today?Author's Notes in The Strange Death of Fiona Grifiths (Publication date 29th January 2015, before Career of Evil):“If you want to buy a voice activated bugging device that looks like (and is) an ordinary power socket, it'll set you back about fifty pounds (about eighty bucks).”This is the same surveillance device used in Lethal White, but interestingly is not used in Bingham's book. (Nick Jeffery)Moderators Backchannel List of Correspondences between Cormoran Strike series and Bingham's Fiona Griffiths mystery-thrillers (John Granger):(1) A series that has an overarching mystery about which we get clues in every story, one linked to a secret involving a parent who is well known but whose real life is a mystery even to their families;(2) A series that is preoccupied with psychological issues, especially those of the brilliant woman protagonist who suffers from a mental illness and who is a student of psychology;(3) A series that is absorbed with death and populated by the dead who have not yet passed on and who influence the direction of the investigation more or less covertly (”I think we have just one world, a continuum, one populated by living and dead alike,” 92, This Thing of Darkness), a psychic and spiritual realm book that rarely touches on formal religion (Dead House and Deepest Grave excepted, sort of);(4) A series that, while being a police procedural because the detective is a police officer, is largely about how said sergeant works around, even against the hierarchy of department authority and decision makers, “with police help but largely as an independent agent;”(5) A series that makes glancing references to texts that will jar Rowling Readers: “All shall be well” (284, Love Story with Murders), she drives a high heel into a creepy guy's foot when he comes up to her from behind (75, This Thing of Darkness), Clerkenwell! (103, The Dead House), a cave opening cathedral-like onto a lake, the heroine enters with a mentor, blood spilled at the entrance, and featuring a remarkable escape (chapter 34, The Dead House), etc, especially the Robin-Fiona parallels....(6) A series starring a female protagonist who works brilliantly undercover, whose story is about recovery from a trauma experienced when she was a college student, who struggles mostly with her romantic relationships with men, a struggle that is a combination of her mental health-recovery progress (or lack of same) and her vocation as a detective, who is skilled in the martial art of self-defense, and who is from a world outside London, an ethnicity and home fostering, of all things, a love of sheep;(7) A series with a love of the mythological or at least the non-modern (King Arthur! Anchorites!)Q5: Can you help us out with some UK inside jokes or cultural references of which we colonists can only guess the meaning? Start with Gateshead, Pit Ponies, and Council Flats and Bed-Sits!* Gateshead (Wikipedia)J. B. Priestley, writing of Gateshead in his 1934 travelogue English Journey, said that “no true civilisation could have produced such a town”, adding that it appeared to have been designed “by an enemy of the human race”.* Pit Ponies (Wikipedia)Larger horses, such as varieties of Cleveland Bay, could be used on higher underground roadways, but on many duties small ponies no more than 12 hands (48 inches, 122 cm) high were needed. Shetlands were a breed commonly used because of their small size, but Welsh, Russian, Devonshire (Dartmoor) and Cornish ponies also saw extensive use in England.[2] In the interwar period, ponies were imported into Britain from the Faroe Islands, Iceland and the United States. Geldings and stallions only were used. Donkeys were also used in the late 19th century, and in the United States, large numbers of mules were used.[6] Regardless of breed, typical mining ponies were low set, heavy bodied and heavy limbed with plenty of bone and substance, low-headed and sure-footed. Under the British Coal Mines Act 1911 (1 & 2 Geo. 5. c. 50), ponies had to be four years old and work ready (shod and vet checked) before going underground.[15] They could work until their twenties.At the peak of this practice in 1913, there were 70,000 ponies underground in Britain.In shaft mines, ponies were normally stabled underground[16] and fed on a diet with a high proportion of chopped hay and maize, coming to the surface only during the colliery's annual holiday.* Council Flats (Wikipedia)Q6: What are Rowling Readers to think of Robin's dream in chapter 22 (174 )when she's sleeping next to Murphy but dreaming of being at Ramsay's Silver with Strike and the showroom is filled with “cuddly toys instead of masonic swords and aprons”?* ‘Harry's Dreams:' Steve Vander Ark, Harry Potter LexiconQ7: The first bad news phone call that Robin takes from her mother Linda in Hallmarked Man is about the death of Rowntree. What is the connection between Robin's beloved Chocolate Labrador, Quakers, and Rowling's Golden Thread about ‘What is Real'?‘Troubled Blood: Poisoned Chocolates' (John Granger, 2021)‘Troubled Blood: The Secret of Rowntree' (John Granger, 2021)I explained in ‘Deathly Hallows and Penn's Fruits of Solitude‘ why Penn's quotation is a key to the Hogwarts Saga finale, how, in brief, the “inner light” doctrines of the Quakers and of non-conformist esoteric Christianity in general inform the story of Harry's ultimate victory in Dobby's grave over doubt and his subsequent ‘win' in his battle against death and the Dark Lord. I urge you to read that long post, one of the most important, I think, ever posted at HogwartsProfessor, for an idea of how central to Rowling's Christian faith the tenets of Quakerism really are as well as how this shows itself in Deathly Hallows.What makes the historical chocolate connection with the Quakers, one strongly affirmed in naming the Ellacott dog ‘Rowntree,' that much more interesting then is the easy segue from the “inner light” beliefs of the Christian non-conformists to the effect of chocolate on characters in Rowling and Galbraith novels. The conscience of man per the Quakers are our logos within that is continuous with the Logos fabric of reality, the Word that brings all things into existence and the light that is in every man (cf., the Prologue to St John's Gospel). Our inner peace and fellowship, in this view, depend on our identification with this transpersonal “inner light” rather than our ephemeral ego concerns.What is the sure way to recover from a Dementor attack, in which your worst nightmares are revisited? How does Robin deal with stress and the blues? Eat some chocolate, preferably a huge bar from Honeydukes or a chocolate brownie if you cannot get to Hogsmead.Access, in other words, the Quaker spiritual magic, the “inner light” peace of communion with what is Absolute and transcendent, a psychological effect exteriorized in story form by Rowling as the good feeling we have in eating chocolate. Or in the companionship and unconditional love of a beloved Labrador, preferably a chocolate Lab.Christmas Pig: The Blue Bunny' (John Granger, 2021)“Do you just want to live in nice houses?” asked Blue Bunny. “Or is there another reason you want to get in?”“Yes,” said Jack, before the Christmas Pig could stop him. “Somebody I need's in there. He's called DP and he's my favorite cuddly toy.”For a long moment, Jack and Blue Bunny stared into each other's eyes and then Blue Bunny let out a long sigh of amazement.“You're a boy,” he whispered. “You're real.”“He isn't,” said the panic-stricken Christmas Pig. “He's an action figure called—”“It's all right, Pig,” said Blue Bunny, “I won't tell anybody, I promise. You really came all the way into the Land of the Lost to find your favorite toy?” he asked Jack, who nodded.“Then I'll be your decoy,” said Blue Bunny. “It would be an honor” (169).The Bunny's recognition here of Jack as a messiah, sacrificial love incarnate, having descended into existence as a Thing himself from Up There where he was a source of the love that “alivens” objects, is one of, if not the most moving event in Christmas Pig. Note the words he uses: “You're real.”Rowling has used the word “real” twice before as a marker of reality transcending what we experience in conventional time and space, the sensible world. The first was in what she described as the “key” to the Harry Potter series, “lines I waited seventeen years to write” (Cruz), the end of the Potter-Dumbledore dialogue at King's Cross….In a Troubled Blood passage meant to echo that dialogue, with “head” and “backside” reflecting the characters inverted grasp of “reality,” Robin and Strike talk astrology:“You're being affected!” she said. “Everyone knows their star sign. Don't pretend to be above it.”Strike grinned reluctantly, took a large drag on his cigarette, exhaled, then said, “Sagittarius, Scorpio rising, with the sun in the first house.”“You're –” Robin began to laugh. “Did you just pull that out of your backside, or is it real?”“Of course, it's not f*****g real,” said Strike. “None of it's real, is it?” (Blood 242, highlighting in original).The Bunny's simple declaration, “You're real,” i.e., “from Up There,” the greater reality of the Land of the Living in which Things have their awakening in the love of their owners, clarifies these other usages. Dumbledore shares his wisdom with Harry that the maternal love which saved him, first at Godric's Hollow and then in the Forest, is the metaphysical sub-stance beneath, behind, and within all other reality. Strike gives Robin a dose of his skeptical ignorance and nominalist first principle that nothing is real but surface appearance subject to measurement and physical sensation, mental grasp of all things being consequent to that.Christmas Pig‘s “real” moment acts as a key to these others, one evident in the Bunny's response to the revelation of Jack's greater ontological status. He does a Dobby, offering to die for Jack as Jack has done in his descent into the Land of the Lost for DP, a surrender of self to near certain death in being given to the Loser he considers an “honor.” He acts spontaneously and selflessly as a “decoy,” a saving replacement in other words, for the “living boy” as Dobby did for the “Boy Who Lived.” The pathetic distraction that saved the DP rescue mission in Mislaid despite himself, crying out in desperation for his own existence, has metamorphized consequent to his experience with Broken Angel and in Jack's example, into a heroic decoy that allows Jack and CP to enter the City of the Missed.The Blue Bunny makes out better than the House-elf, too, and this is the key event of the book and the best evidence since the death of Lily Potter, Harry's defeat of Quirrell, and the demise of the Dark Lord that mother's love is Rowling's default symbolism for Christian love in her writing. The Bunny's choice to act as decoy, his decision to die to his ego-self, generates the life saving appearance of maternal love and its equivalent in the transference attachment a child feels for a beloved toy. The Johannine quality of the light that shines down on him from the Finding Hole and his Elijah-esque elevation nails down the Logos­-love correspondence.EC: All through Hallmarked Man Robin is saying to herself, “I think I love Ryan, no, really, I know I love him…,” which of course is Rowling's way of signaling the conflict this character has in her feelings for Strike and for Murphy. What is that about?* See ‘The Hallmarked Man's Mythological Template' for discussion of the Anteros/Eros distinction in the myth of Cupid and Psyche as well as the Strike-Ellacott novels Get full access to Hogwarts Professor at hogwartsprofessor.substack.com/subscribe

It's been a month since the publication of Hallmarked Man so Nick and John decide to have a ‘Pit Pony Pickleball' match in which they serve and volley Strike 8 examples of Shed tools and Lake springs as fast as they can. After a round of back and forth between Team Lake and Team Shed, they do a flash round of Golden Threads against the clock and then John is given a ‘Final Jeopardy' tie-breaker question about the most controversial perennial plot point in Rowling's work.It's a reverse Kanreki exercise, in other words. In their conversations about each of Rowling's novels, screenplays, play script, text books, and short story collection, Nick and John discussed one Lake spring, a source point of story inspiration from Rowling's life experience and core beliefs, and one Shed tool, her deliberate artistry to craft that inspiration into edifying and engaging story. Here they have a ‘Blitz Chess' match, to switch sporting metaphors, to try and cover as many Lake, Shed, and Thread points with examples from Rowling's latest as possible.Perhaps the most important take-away, though, is the three conclusions about Hallmarked Man they've come to after a month of reading that they think will be the consensus view of Strike 8 after we have Strikes 9 and 10. Make some popcorn, find your score card and a comfortable place to watch and take notes; this is an episode for the ages! (Insert your preferred Wrestle-Mania or like programming promotional hyperbole here.)The Kanreki Index of Rowling's Shed Tools, Lake Springs and Golden ThreadsIn July 2025, Nick Jeffery and I logged a marathon of Kanreki ‘Lake and Shed' video posts at this site in celebration of Rowling's life and work at her 60th birthday. For listeners of this ‘Blitz' Lake and Shed reading of The Hallmarked Man, I repost below an easy-to-access-and-reference single place for readers to find much longer discussion of each Shed tool, Lake spring, and Golden Thread, as well as an introduction to Fourth Generation Rowling Studies hermeneutics. Enjoy!Introduction to the Kanreki Project* The Goal and the Methodology of the Hogwarts Professor Tag-Team Month-Long Birthday Party for Serious Readers of Rowling-GalbraithOn 31 July 2025, Joanne Murray, aka J. K. Rowling and Robert Galbraith, celebrated her 60th birthday. This specific celebration is considered a ‘second birth' in Japan or Kanreki because it is the completion of the oriental astrological cycle. To mark JKR's Kanreki, 還暦, Dr John Granger and Nick Jeffery, both Nipponophiles, read through Rowling's more than twenty published works and reviewed them in light of the author's writing process, her ‘Lake and Shed' metaphor. The ‘Lake' she said in 2019 and 2024 is the source of her inspiration and the ‘Shed' is the alocal place of her intentional artistry, in which garage she transforms the biographical stuff provided by her subconscious mind into the archetypal stories that have made her the most important author of her age.Join us after the jump for the complete compendium of the Harry Potter, Cormoran Strike, Fantastic Beast, ‘Stand Alone' stories, and Golden Thread posts!The Lake and Shed Conversations about the Harry Potter Novels and Extras* Harry Potter and the Philosopher's StoneNick discusses Hogsmeade Comprehensive School, as Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry should be properly called, and John explains the ten different genres that Rowling uses in Philosopher's Stone* Harry Potter and the Chamber of SecretsJohn explores the Freudian parallels that Rowling paints into Chamber of Secrets, and Nick talks about her oldest, and probably best friend Sean Harris, the inspiration for Ron Weasley.* Harry Potter and the Prisoner of AzkabanNick shares the London institution of the (k)night bus. Part drunk carriage, part dormitory for the homeless in foul weather, zig-zaging across London between midnight and five in the morning. John shares the Parallel Series Idea (PSI) and compare Prisoner of Azkaban with Robert Galbraith's Career of Evil.* Harry Potter and the Goblet of FireNick talks about the trip Rowling made as a teenager to Cornwall as a young woman in which some Quidditch World Cup camping may have been involved and about her core beliefs about bigotry and prejudice. John reviews Rowling's tagging Goblet as a “crucial” and “pivotal” part of the seven book series and introduces how the ‘story turn' in a ring composition reflects the beginning and end of the story.* Harry Potter and the Order of the PhoenixNick talks about the darkest period in Jo Rowling's life, namely, her return to the UK from Portugal as a single mother in Edinburgh. With Order of the Phoenix in full nigredo mode John talks literary alchemy.* Harry Potter and the Half-Blood PrinceNick reveals the real life model for Severus Snape, Rowling's Chemistry teacher at Wydean Comprehensive, and his remarkable story and melancholy end. John reviews Rowling's version of the so-called ‘Hero's Journey,' how she re-makes it into a life-after-death ‘Harry's Journey' ten step dance we see in every book — except for Half-Blood Prince with its two chapters before we begin at Privet Drive and its ending without a Dumbledore Denouement or trip to King's Cross.* Harry Potter and the Deathly HallowsJohn and Nick discuss the ‘Deathly Hallows' symbol, a triangulated and vertically bisected circle, from both its biographical point of inspiration to its anagogical or sublime depths. Nick reveals Rowling's story about how she was watching the 1975 John Huston film ‘The Man Who Would Be King' the night her mother died and that believes the “Masonic tag” of the story-line was her sub-conscious source for the Deathly Hallows ‘“triangular eye.” John thinks Rowling is really reaching here, akin to her claim that the name ‘Hogwarts' came from a trip to a public garden rather than the Molesworth books. He reviews the five eyes of Deathly Hallows and explains how Rowling embeds both a key to the four-level interpretation of symbols in how characters respond to that image and a model of how we are to interpret and understand her ‘transformed vision' mission as a writer.* Newt Scamander's Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find ThemNick and John return to the books at a reader's suggestion in order to give a Lake and Shed reading of the original Newt Scamander textbook, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Nick relays everything you need to know about the genesis of this work and John talks about Rowling's comments to Stephen Fry in a 2022 interview about “archetypal” animals and the importance of understanding them because human beings are story-telling animals. Her discussion of the Lethifold and Niffler are especially challenging and illuminating.* The Tales of Beedle the BardNick and John fulfill a reader request to discuss the book inside Deathly Hallows (one of three actually…), ‘Tales of Beedle the Bard,' a text that Albus Dumbledore leaves Hermione in his will for her to read and apply to the Horcrux Hunt. Nick tells the story of Rowling's creation of six hand-written copies as six-of-a-kind gifts for those who brought Harry Potter to life. John dives into the center story of the five tales, ‘The Hairy Heart,' and tells the meaning of Harry's heart to draw out what Rowling meant by describing Beedle as “the distillation” of the Hogwarts Saga.The Lake and Shed Conversations about the Cormoran Strike Novels* The Cuckoo's CallingThe ‘Lake' point that Nick explores is the identity of the real Deeby Mac, namely, Di Brooks, Rowling's former security director and currently her office manager, a veteran with years of experience in the SIB. John's ‘Shed' point is his pushback against the idea that Calling wasn't really the first book in the series because Rowling has said she had the idea for it after Silkworm and only chose it because the case would make her detective famous.* The SilkwormThe ‘Lake' point that Nick reveals is the probable identity of ‘Jenkins,' the mystery person to whom Strike 2 is dedicated, a revelation consequent to no little detective work (and a very close reading of Louisa May Alcott!). He also discusses some real-life literary infighting in contemporary London that might have been lifted from the pages of Silkworm. John argues that this ur-novel of the series, its point of conception, is Rowling's not especially opaque guide to how to understand a novelist's life and to appreciate their work, in short, her first ‘Lake and Shed' discussion (albeit one embedded in story).* Career of EvilThe ‘Lake' point that Nick explores is Rowling's personal experience of violence against women and her determination to push back against the misogynist age she believes we have been living in for decades. John details the litany of crimes committed against women in the third Strike novel and suggests that in time, when we have the series as a whole, appreciation of the artistry involved will counter-balance the shock first-time readers feel on entering this boucherie.* Lethal WhiteNick discusses the embedded class struggle in the book and its roots in Rowling's background before dropping the bomb of the real world identity of Jack O'Kent and his unhappy family. John is so taken aback by this revelation that Nick has to prompt the Shed portion of the conversation with a fun history of the Sonia Friedman production of Ibsen's Rosmersholm on London's West End, a show starring Thom Burke as Rosmer and which ended just before Bronte Studios beginning the filming of Lethal White.* Troubled Blood (A)Nick discusses Rowling's history with the divinatory art of astrology and the occult resources and reference works she brought into play in writing a novel whose primary embedded text is a murder scene's astrological chart. John talks about the astrological clock structure of twelve houses in which Galbraith tells this remarkable story.* Troubled Blood (B)Nick discusses Rowling's history with the Clerkenwell neighborhood. John talks about Troubled Blood as a double re-telling of The Faerie Queene, Book One, with Strike and Margot as the Redcrosse Knight and Oonaugh and Robin as Una.* Ink Black HeartNick covers the front and the back of making Lake readings of Strike6 without a lot of circumspection and John talks about the eerie feeling he had while reading this book that the author was ‘having a go' at him.* The Running GraveNick confesses to having felt stumped about what to say as his ‘Lake' contribution to the Strike7 discussion — before his epiphany on a long walk with Addie that almost every buoy or pillar in Rowling's metaphorical place of inspiration finds its reflection in the seventh Galbraith mystery. John refuses to go into any detail about the work's ‘wheels within wheels within wheels' ring structure but shares instead the symbolic depth of Mama Mazu's mother of pearl fish pendant.The Lake and Shed Conversations about the Stand-Alone Works* Casual VacancyNick explains all the projects we now know she was working on between 2007 and 2012, the dates of Deathly Hallows and Casual Vacancy's respective publication dates, as well as the degree to which readers can assume that the novel's Simon Price is a fictional portrait of her father, Peter Rowling. John describes the three Gospel parables embedded in Casual Vacancy and why he thinks the book was a project the author was working on before the Hogwarts Saga as well as why it reflects a religious crisis akin to Harry's ‘struggle to believe' in Deathly Hallows.* Harry Potter and the Cursed ChildNick reviews the history of how Rowling was sold on the idea of a Wizarding World stage production via a bit of bait and switch marketing and John reads the review of the Jack Thorn script by Pepperdine English Professor James Thomas. Neither John nor Nick is a big fan of the play but their back and forth about the several controversies connected with it and the question of its being “the eighth Harry Potter story” are still challenging and fun.* The IckabogNick takes the ‘Shed' point and lays out the controlled demolition of her reputation among Group Thinkers on the Left in the lead up to Ickabog's publication and John shares the meaning of ‘The Ickabog's Song,' the embedded text of the tale, as interpreted by Daisy Dovetail (an embedded author?).* The Christmas Pig (A)Nick discusses Rowling's many interview statements about the Things which were lost and how many of them match up with things she has lost; he takes a deep dive into the Blue Bunny episode outside the Gates of the City of the Missed and Rowling's embedding herself and her daughter Mackenzie in the story. John talks about the Blue Bunny and his being “found” or “saved” as an allegory of the human condition written in the Rowling shorthand-symbols for (and obsessions with) love, salvation, and what is real.* The Christmas Pig (B)Nick by the Lake shares the history of the Murray Family and their beanie pig toys as well as a likely source for the defenestration of DP (in Esquire magazine, no less). John talks about the promise and the limits of reading literature through a biographical lens and then explains the anagogical meaning of the Power palace kangaroo court trial of CP and Jack. Both share their reasons for thinking that The Christmas Pig is the perfect distillation of everything Rowling is doing as a writer, to include the relationship of her Lake inspiration to her final Shed product.The Lake and Shed Conversations about the Fantastic Beasts Screenplays* Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find ThemNick does his signature deep dive into the history of the Fantastic Beasts film franchise's origins in Warner Brothers' determination to keep the Wizarding World profit-pillar in their portfolio alive after the last Harry Potter adaptation — and Rowling's equal determination that they not use their copyright privilege to muck up her legacy with an Indiana Jones meets Crocodile Dundee knock-off. John takes the Shed pole in the conversation and shares his months long pursuit of the shooting text screenplay, the actual last screenplay over which Rowling had control.* The Crimes of GrindelwaldOn the Lake side of things, Nick explores the Johnny Depp casting scandal and the lead-up in 2018 to the 2019 Tweet Heard Round the World. John explains that the cut scenes from this dog's mess of a movie point that the shooting script, i.e., what Rowling wrote and approved before David Yates butchered the film in the editing room, was all about Leta Lestrange. More important, John makes the Shed point that every Rowling book features a text of some kind that the characters struggle to understand — and that Crimes of Grindelwald has ten of these, a veritable library of interior texts to interpret.* The Secrets of DumbledoreNick lays out the drama surrounding the third Fantastic Beasts franchise film and his favorite part of the movie (hint: it's about “confusion”). John reveals why Jacob gets a Snakewood wand and one without a core as well as why he thinks Kowalski is the embedded author in this series.The Lake and Shed Conversations about Rowling's Golden Threads and Shed Tools* Chiastic Structure, a.k.a. Ring CompositionJohn travels to his backyard Mongolian ger, the archetypal circular architectural form, to deliver a firehose introduction to the four essentials of ring writing. He uses slides to depict the structure of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone as his brief ‘for instance' of how Rowling chooses to organize her stories and he provides a list of links (below!) for further reading.* Survey of Rowling's Golden Threads (A)In this first overview of the Golden Threads, Nick and John go back and fourth with four Threads each. Nick gives at least three examples for Bad Dad, Writing about Writing, Violence against Women, and the Evils of Fleet Street. John responds with three or more 'for instances' of Mother Love, Ghosts, Pregnancy Traps, and the Lost Child with Grieving Steward.* Survey of Rowling's Golden Threads (B)In this second overview of the Golden Threads, Nick and John talk about Kanreki red caps and tackle three Threads each. Nick gives at least three examples for Evil Government, Occult tropes, and the Embedded Author. John responds with three or more 'for instances' of the Search for the Real, Embedded Texts, and Shadow Doppelgangers.* The ‘Lost Child' Golden Thread Oeuvre ReviewFor the day before Rowling's 60th birthday, Nick and John tackle by reader request the never before discussed subject of the Lost Child theme in the author's more than twenty published works. They re-introduce the Golden Threads idea — see their Pregnancy Trap podcast or the two Kanreki series on this subject (links in post) — then they do a deep dive into the crowded waters of Lost Children in her work, and then they go out out on a high-wire to speculate about what specific spring in her Lake subconscious mind is responsible for this recurrent inspiration.* The ‘Lost Child' Golden Thread “So What?” ConversationAs a birthday gift of sorts, Nick and John close off their month-long celebration of Rowling-Galbraith's life and work with a follow-up look at yesterday's review of the ‘Lost Child' Golden Thread that runs through her stories. After cataloging the almost forty ‘for instances' taken from the opera omnia in the penultimate entry in this series, Nick and John ask, “So What?” How does the possibility that Rowling had an induced abortion and is sufficiently unsettled by it that it inspires many even most of her books at least in part make any difference in understanding their artistry and meaning?‘Strike Extended Play' or ‘How a Seven Book Series Can Be Stretched into Ten' Get full access to Hogwarts Professor at hogwartsprofessor.substack.com/subscribe

Today's Lake and Shed framed conversation is once again about the fifth Cormoran Strike novel, Troubled Blood. Nick discusses Rowling's history with the Clerkenwell neighborhood. John talks about Troubled Blood as a double re-telling of The Faerie Queene, Book One, with Strike and Margot as the Redcrosse Knight and Oonaugh and Robin as Una.New to the Lake and Shed Kanreki Birthday series? Here's what we're doing:On 31 July 2025, Joanne Murray, aka J. K. Rowling and Robert Galbraith, will be celebrating her 60th birthday. This celebration is considered a ‘second birth' in Japan or Kanreki because it is the completion of the oriental astrological cycle. To mark JKR's Kanreki, Dr John Granger and Nick Jeffery, both Nipponophiles, are reading through Rowling's twenty-one published works and reviewing them in light of the author's writing process, her ‘Lake and Shed' metaphor. The ‘Lake' is the biographical source of her inspiration; the ‘Shed' is the alocal place of her intentional artistry, in which garage she transforms the biographical stuff provided by her subconscious mind into the archetypal stories that have made her the most important author of her age. You can hear Nick and John discuss this process and their birthday project at the first entry in this series of posts: Happy Birthday, JKR! A Lake and Shed Celebration of her Life and Work.Tomorrow? Our first look at Christmas Pig with both Nick and John talking about the Blue Bunny. Stay tuned!Links to posts mentioned in today's Lake and Shed conversation for further reading:* The Clerkenwell/Islington Gate of St John (Twitter Header)Faerie Queene!John Granger:* How Spenser Uses Cupid in Faerie Queen and Its Relevance for Understanding Troubled Blood* Reading Troubled Blood as a Medieval Morality PlayElizabeth Baird-Hardy* Day One, Part One: The Spenserian Epigraphs of the Pre-Released Troubled Blood Chapters* Day Two, Part Two: The Spenserian Epigraphs of Troubled Blood Chapters Eight to Fourteen* Day Three, Part Three: The Spenserian Epigraphs of Troubled Blood Chapters Fifteen to Thirty* Day Four, Part Four: The Spenserian Epigraphs of Troubled Blood Chapters Thirty One to Forty Eight* Day Five, Part Five: The Spenserian Epigraphs of Troubled Blood Chapters Forty Nine to Fifty Nine* Part Six: The Spenserian Epigraphs of Troubled Blood Chapters Sixty to Seventy One* Spenser and Strike Part Seven: Changes for the BetterBeatrice Groves* Trouble in Faerie Land (Part 1): Spenserian Clues in Troubled Blood Epigraphs* Trouble in Faerie Land (Part 2): Shipping Robin and Strike in the Epigraphs of Troubled Blood* Trouble in Faerie Land (Part 3): Searching for Duessa in Troubled BloodThis is a tentative listing by category of the posts at HogwartsProfessor about Troubled Blood. There's much more work to do on this wonderful work!1. Chiastic StructureRowling's fixation on planning in general and with structural patterns specifically in all of her work continues in Troubled Blood. From the first reading, it became apparent that in Strike5 Rowling-Galbraith had taken her game to a new level of sophistication. She continued, as she had in her four previous Strike mysteries, to write a story in parallel with the Harry Potter septology; there are many echoes of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the fifth and equivalent number in the Hogwarts Saga, in Troubled Blood. Just as Phoenix was in important ways a re-telling of Philosopher's Stone, so Troubled Blood also echoes Cuckoo's Calling — with a few Stone notes thrown in as well. The new heights of Rowling's structural artistry, though, extend beyond her patented intratextuality; they are in each of Strike5's first six parts being ring compositions themselves, the astrological chart embedded in the story chapters, and the six part and two chapters correspondence in structure between Troubled Blood and Spenser's Faerie Queen.* Structure Part One* Structure Part Two, Notes Two to Six* Structure Part Three, Notes One to Three* Structure Part Four, Notes One to Three, Eight, and Ten* Structure Part Five, Notes One to Four, Nine* Structure Part Six, Notes One to Four* Structure Part Seven, Ring Latch, Story Axis* Astrological Clock Structure of Troubled Blood* Career of Evil Echoes* Order of the Phoenix Echoes* Cuckoo's Calling Echoes* Philosopher's Stone Echoes2. Literary AlchemyPer Nabokov, literary artistry and accomplishment are known and experienced through a work's “structure and style.” Rowling's signature structures are evident in Troubled Blood (see above) and her characteristic hermetic artistry, literary alchemy, is as well. Strike5 is the series nigredo and Strike and Robin experience great losses and their reduction to their respective and shared prima materia in the dissolving rain and flood waters of the story.* Strike's Transformation* Robin Ellacott and the Reverse Alchemy of the First Three Strike Novels* Lethal White as the Alchemical Pivot of the Strike Series* The Wet Nigredo: Troubled Blood's Black Names, Holiday Three Step, and Losses3. Psychology/MythologyRowling told Val McDermid that if she had not succeeded as a writer than she would have studied to become a psychologist:V: If it hadn't worked out the way it has. If you'd sat there and written the book in the café and nobody ever published it, what would you have done with your life, what would you have liked to have been?JK: There are two answers. If I could have done anything, I would have been really interested in doing, I would have been a psychologist. Because that's the only thing that's ever really pulled me in any way from all this. But at the time I was teaching, and I was very broke, and I had a daughter and I think I would have kept teaching until we were stable enough that we were stable enough that I could change.Because of her lifelong study and pre-occupation with mythology, it is fitting that in Strike5 readers are confronted with a host of references to psychologist Carl Jung and to a specific Greek myth which Jungian psychologists consider essential in understanding feminine psychology. All of which leads in the end to the Strike series' equivalent of the Hogwarts Saga's soul triptych exteriorization in Harry, Hermione and Ron as Body, Mind, and Spirit, with Robin and Strike as Handless Maiden and Fisher King, the mythological images of anima and animus neglected and working towards integration.* Carl Jung and Troubled Blood* A Mythological Key to Cormoran Strike? The Myth of Eros, Psyche, and Venus* The Anima and Animus: The Psychological Heart and Exteriorization of the Cormoran Strike Novels4. Valentine's DayThe story turn of Troubled Blood takes place on Valentine's Day and the actions, events, and repercussions of this holiday of Cupid and Heart-shaped candies, not to mention chocolates, shape the Robin and Strike relationship drama irrevocably. Chocolates play an outsized portion of that work symbolically, believe it or not; the word ‘chocolate' occurs 34 times in the first four Strike novels combined but 82 times in Troubled Blood. I explore the importance of this confection in two posts before beginning to explain the importance and appropriateness of Valentine's Day being the heart of the story, one that is in large part a re-telling of the Cupid and Psyche myth.* Troubled Blood: Interpreting the Poetry of Cormoran's Five Gifts To Robin* Troubled Blood: Poisoned Chocolates* Troubled Blood: The Secret of Rowntree* A Mythological Key to Cormoran Strike? The Myth of Eros, Psyche, and Venus5. Edmund Spenser's Faerie QueenTroubled Blood features several embedded texts, the most important of which is never mentioned in the book: Edmund Spenser's Faerie Queen. Serious Strikers enjoyed the luxury of not one but two scholars of Edmund Spenser who checked in on the relevance and meaning of Rowling's choice of the greatest English epic poem for her epigraphs, not to mention the host of correspondences between Strike 5 and Queen. Elizabeth Baird-Hardy did a part by part exegesis of the Troubled Blood-Faerie Queen conjunctions and Beatrice Groves shared her first thoughts on the connections as well. Just as Lethal White's meaning and artistry is relatively unappreciated without a close reading of Ibsen's Rosmersholm, so with Strike 5 and Faerie Queen.* Spenser's Faerie Queen (Above)6. The GhostsRowling's core belief is in the immortality of the soul and her favorite writer of the 20th Century is Vladimir Nabokov, whose work is subtly permeated by the otherworldly. No surprise, then, that Troubled Blood is haunted by a host of ghosts, most importantly the shade of Margot Bamborough but to include the women murdered by Dennis Creed and Nicolo Ricci. Their influence is so obvious and so important that it has spurred discussion of the spectres that haunt the first four Strike novels whose presence had not been discussed prior to the revelations of Strike 5.* Troubled Blood: The Dead Among Us* The Ghosts Haunting Troubled Blood* The Ghosts Haunting Cuckoo's Calling, Silkworm, Career of Evil, and Lethal White7. The NamesThe Cryptonyms or Cratylic Names of Troubled Blood are as rich and meaningful, even funny, as those found in Lethal White. From Paul Satchwell's “little package” to Roy Phipps as the Spanish King Phillip, from the nigredo black elements of Bill Talbot and Saul Morris to the Spenserian echoes of Oonaugh Kennedy and Janice Beattie, and the Rokeby-Oakden coincidences, Strike5 is full of name play. Did I mention that the detectives solve the mystery largely through their exploration of names? Douthwaite and Oakden only pop-up after Strike has revelations consequent to serious reflection on their names and pseudonyms. Rowling-Galbraith really wants her real-world readers to be reflecting on the Dickensian names of all her characters.* The Cratylic Names of Troubled Blood: A Top Twenty Round Up8. The Flints and GaffesRowling commented in one of her interview tableaus for Troubled Blood that she had worked extra hard to get the dates right in this most complicated of novels and that her proof reader and continuity editor found a big mistake. Serious Strikers, though, were left crying “Alas!” and laughing aloud at the number of bone-headed gaffes in The Presence's longest work to date. It remains her best as well as her longest book to date, but, really, get the woman the help she needs to comb the book for errors pre-publication. Can you say, “Isla”?* Troubled Blood: Flints, Errors, and Head Scratchers* Troubled Blood Gaffes: A Second Look at Ages and Dates9. The AstrologyThe principal embedded text in Troubled Blood, the one Robin and Cormoran read repeatedly, create keys for, and discuss throughout the book, is Bill Talbot's ‘True Book.' It features an astrological chart for the exact time and place of Margot Bamborough's disappearance in 1974, which map Talbot used to try and solve the case. Strike is profoundly disgusted by this approach but spends, as does Robin, much of his time trying to figure out the chart or at least what Talbot made of it. Troubled Blood, consequently, turns into something of an exploration of astrology and its relevance to understanding ourselves and the world. Unpacking what Rowling means by it, not to mention what the natal charts of Robin and Cormoran tell us about these charactes, their relationship, and Rowling-Galbraith's intentionally hermetic artistry, is a large part of the exegetical work to be done on Troubled Blood.* Nick Jeffery: Troubled Blood — The Acknowledgements* Part Three, Note Five* Troubled Blood: Strike's Natal Chart* Astrological Clock Structure of Troubled Blood* Astrological Allegorical: The Sun Signs of Characters in Troubled Blood* A Second Look at Talbot's Chart: What Does it Reveal to the Unbiased Eye?10. The Tarot Card SpreadsWe know that Rowling has significant skills when it comes to astrology. What is less well appreciated is that almost from childhood she has played with tarot card reading which knowledge has informed her work. This is comic in Trelawney, say, but comes to the fore in Troubled Blood‘s card spreads: the Celtic Cross in Talbot's ‘True Book,' his embedded three card spreads in the illustrations of that tome, and Robin's two readings, one in Laemington Spa and the other in her flat at story's end.* Part Three, Note Six* Part Four, Note Five* Part Five, Note Five* Part Six, Notes Five, Six, Eight* Bill Talbot's Tarot: The Embedded Occult Heart of Troubled Blood* Robin Ellacott's Tarot: The Missed Meanings of Her Twin Three Card Spreads in Troubled Blood11. Who Killed Leda Strike?To Rowling-Galbraith's credit, credible arguments in dedicated posts have been made that every person in the list below was the one who murdered Leda Strike. Who do you think did it?* Jonny Rokeby and the Harringay Crime Syndicate (Heroin Dark Lord 2.0),* Ted Nancarrow (Uncle Ted Did It),* Dave Polworth,* Leda Strike (!),* Lucy Fantoni (Lucy and Joan Did It and here),* Sir Randolph Whittaker,* Nick Herbert,* Peter Gillespie, and* Charlotte Campbell-Ross12. Embedded TextsAll of Rowling's novels feature books and texts, written work as well as metanarratives, with which her characters struggle to figure out in reflective parallel to what her readers are trying to do with the novel in hand. Troubled Blood is exceptionally laden with these embedded texts. Beyond Talbot's True Book and Spenser's Faerie Queen noted above, we are treated to selections from The Demon of Paradise Park, Whatever Happened to Margot Bamborough?, Astrology 14, and The Magus.13. The Murderers: Creed and BeattieA demon-possessed psychopath and the brain-damaged lonely woman… Each is described as “a genius of misdirection” and being without remorse or empathy. The actual murderers in Troubled Blood are distinct, certainly, but paired as well, as one of the many mirrored pairs in this story.14. FeminismTroubled Blood, Rowling has said, is a commentary of sorts on changes in the history of feminism. It is an unvarnished, even brutal exploration of the heroic age of the feminist movement, its front and back, largely through the personalities, circumstances, choices, and experiences of two pairs of women, Margot Bamborough and her plucky Irish side-kick Oonaugh Kennedy and the paired through time couple of Irene Bull-Hickson and Janice Beattie.15. Rokeby 3.0Jonny Rokeby makes his first appearance, albeit only by phone call, in Troubled Blood and yet it has reset thinking about Strike and his biological father considerably. Kurt Schreyer thinks the head Deadbeat is more Snape than Voldemort — and, if this is the case, we need to re-read the series to see how much Strike's emotional injuries from childhood neglect have misshaped his understanding of his dad so he lives in upside-down land.* Guest Post: Rokeby Redux – Is Strike's Father More Snape than Lord Voldemort? Get full access to Hogwarts Professor at hogwartsprofessor.substack.com/subscribe

Today's Lake and Shed framed conversation is about the fifth Cormoran Strike novel, Troubled Blood. Nick discusses Rowling's history with the divinatory art of astrology and the occult resources and reference works she brought into play in writing a novel whose primary embedded text is a murder scene's astrological chart. John talks about the astrological clock structure of twelve houses in which Galbraith tells this remarkable story.New to the Lake and Shed Kanreki Birthday series? Here's what we're doing:On 31 July 2025, Joanne Murray, aka J. K. Rowling and Robert Galbraith, will be celebrating her 60th birthday. This celebration is considered a ‘second birth' in Japan or Kanreki because it is the completion of the oriental astrological cycle. To mark JKR's Kanreki, Dr John Granger and Nick Jeffery, both Nipponophiles, are reading through Rowling's twenty-one published works and reviewing them in light of the author's writing process, her ‘Lake and Shed' metaphor. The ‘Lake' is the biographical source of her inspiration; the ‘Shed' is the alocal place of her intentional artistry, in which garage she transforms the biographical stuff provided by her subconscious mind into the archetypal stories that have made her the most important author of her age. You can hear Nick and John discuss this process and their birthday project at the first entry in this series of posts: Happy Birthday, JKR! A Lake and Shed Celebration of her Life and Work.Tomorrow? Another look at Troubled Blood, this time with an introduction to Rowling's ties to Clerkenwell from Nick and with John making a case for reading Troubled Blood as a re-telling of Spenser's Faerie Queene, Book One, with Strike and Margot as the Redcrosse Knight and Robin and Oonaugh as Una. Stay tuned!Links to posts mentioned in today's Lake and Shed conversation for further reading:* Nick Jeffery: Troubled Blood — The Astrologers in the Acknowledgements* J. K. Rowling, Author-Astrologer, Pt 1: How Did We Not Know About This?* Troubled Blood: Strike's Natal Chart* Astrological Clock Structure of Troubled BloodThis is a tentative listing by category of the posts at HogwartsProfessor about Troubled Blood. There's much more work to do on this wonderful work!1. Chiastic StructureRowling's fixation on planning in general and with structural patterns specifically in all of her work continues in Troubled Blood. From the first reading, it became apparent that in Strike5 Rowling-Galbraith had taken her game to a new level of sophistication. She continued, as she had in her four previous Strike mysteries, to write a story in parallel with the Harry Potter septology; there are many echoes of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the fifth and equivalent number in the Hogwarts Saga, in Troubled Blood. Just as Phoenix was in important ways a re-telling of Philosopher's Stone, so Troubled Blood also echoes Cuckoo's Calling — with a few Stone notes thrown in as well. The new heights of Rowling's structural artistry, though, extend beyond her patented intratextuality; they are in each of Strike5's first six parts being ring compositions themselves, the astrological chart embedded in the story chapters, and the six part and two chapters correspondence in structure between Troubled Blood and Spenser's Faerie Queen.* Structure Part One* Structure Part Two, Notes Two to Six* Structure Part Three, Notes One to Three* Structure Part Four, Notes One to Three, Eight, and Ten* Structure Part Five, Notes One to Four, Nine* Structure Part Six, Notes One to Four* Structure Part Seven, Ring Latch, Story Axis* Astrological Clock Structure of Troubled Blood* Career of Evil Echoes* Order of the Phoenix Echoes* Cuckoo's Calling Echoes* Philosopher's Stone Echoes2. Literary AlchemyPer Nabokov, literary artistry and accomplishment are known and experienced through a work's “structure and style.” Rowling's signature structures are evident in Troubled Blood (see above) and her characteristic hermetic artistry, literary alchemy, is as well. Strike5 is the series nigredo and Strike and Robin experience great losses and their reduction to their respective and shared prima materia in the dissolving rain and flood waters of the story.* Strike's Transformation* Robin Ellacott and the Reverse Alchemy of the First Three Strike Novels* Lethal White as the Alchemical Pivot of the Strike Series* The Wet Nigredo: Troubled Blood's Black Names, Holiday Three Step, and Losses3. Psychology/MythologyRowling told Val McDermid that if she had not succeeded as a writer than she would have studied to become a psychologist:V: If it hadn't worked out the way it has. If you'd sat there and written the book in the café and nobody ever published it, what would you have done with your life, what would you have liked to have been?JK: There are two answers. If I could have done anything, I would have been really interested in doing, I would have been a psychologist. Because that's the only thing that's ever really pulled me in any way from all this. But at the time I was teaching, and I was very broke, and I had a daughter and I think I would have kept teaching until we were stable enough that we were stable enough that I could change.Because of her lifelong study and pre-occupation with mythology, it is fitting that in Strike5 readers are confronted with a host of references to psychologist Carl Jung and to a specific Greek myth which Jungian psychologists consider essential in understanding feminine psychology. All of which leads in the end to the Strike series' equivalent of the Hogwarts Saga's soul triptych exteriorization in Harry, Hermione and Ron as Body, Mind, and Spirit, with Robin and Strike as Handless Maiden and Fisher King, the mythological images of anima and animus neglected and working towards integration.* Carl Jung and Troubled Blood* A Mythological Key to Cormoran Strike? The Myth of Eros, Psyche, and Venus* The Anima and Animus: The Psychological Heart and Exteriorization of the Cormoran Strike Novels4. Valentine's DayThe story turn of Troubled Blood takes place on Valentine's Day and the actions, events, and repercussions of this holiday of Cupid and Heart-shaped candies, not to mention chocolates, shape the Robin and Strike relationship drama irrevocably. Chocolates play an outsized portion of that work symbolically, believe it or not; the word ‘chocolate' occurs 34 times in the first four Strike novels combined but 82 times in Troubled Blood. I explore the importance of this confection in two posts before beginning to explain the importance and appropriateness of Valentine's Day being the heart of the story, one that is in large part a re-telling of the Cupid and Psyche myth.* Troubled Blood: Interpreting the Poetry of Cormoran's Five Gifts To Robin* Troubled Blood: Poisoned Chocolates* Troubled Blood: The Secret of Rowntree* A Mythological Key to Cormoran Strike? The Myth of Eros, Psyche, and Venus5. Edmund Spenser's Faerie QueenTroubled Blood features several embedded texts, the most important of which is never mentioned in the book: Edmund Spenser's Faerie Queen. Serious Strikers enjoyed the luxury of not one but two scholars of Edmund Spenser who checked in on the relevance and meaning of Rowling's choice of the greatest English epic poem for her epigraphs, not to mention the host of correspondences between Strike 5 and Queen. Elizabeth Baird-Hardy did a part by part exegesis of the Troubled Blood-Faerie Queen conjunctions and Beatrice Groves shared her first thoughts on the connections as well. Just as Lethal White's meaning and artistry is relatively unappreciated without a close reading of Ibsen's Rosmersholm, so with Strike 5 and Faerie Queen.Elizabeth Baird-Hardy* Day One, Part One: The Spenserian Epigraphs of the Pre-Released Troubled Blood Chapters* Day Two, Part Two: The Spenserian Epigraphs of Troubled Blood Chapters Eight to Fourteen* Day Three, Part Three: The Spenserian Epigraphs of Troubled Blood Chapters Fifteen to Thirty* Day Four, Part Four: The Spenserian Epigraphs of Troubled Blood Chapters Thirty One to Forty Eight* Day Five, Part Five: The Spenserian Epigraphs of Troubled Blood Chapters Forty Nine to Fifty Nine* Part Six: The Spenserian Epigraphs of Troubled Blood Chapters Sixty to Seventy One* Spenser and Strike Part Seven: Changes for the BetterBeatrice Groves* Trouble in Faerie Land (Part 1): Spenserian Clues in Troubled Blood Epigraphs* Trouble in Faerie Land (Part 2): Shipping Robin and Strike in the Epigraphs of Troubled Blood* Trouble in Faerie Land (Part 3): Searching for Duessa in Troubled BloodJohn Granger:* How Spenser Uses Cupid in Faerie Queen and Its Relevance for Understanding Troubled Blood* Reading Troubled Blood as a Medieval Morality Play6. The GhostsRowling's core belief is in the immortality of the soul and her favorite writer of the 20th Century is Vladimir Nabokov, whose work is subtly permeated by the otherworldly. No surprise, then, that Troubled Blood is haunted by a host of ghosts, most importantly the shade of Margot Bamborough but to include the women murdered by Dennis Creed and Nicolo Ricci. Their influence is so obvious and so important that it has spurred discussion of the spectres that haunt the first four Strike novels whose presence had not been discussed prior to the revelations of Strike 5.* Troubled Blood: The Dead Among Us* The Ghosts Haunting Troubled Blood* The Ghosts Haunting Cuckoo's Calling, Silkworm, Career of Evil, and Lethal White7. The NamesThe Cryptonyms or Cratylic Names of Troubled Blood are as rich and meaningful, even funny, as those found in Lethal White. From Paul Satchwell's “little package” to Roy Phipps as the Spanish King Phillip, from the nigredo black elements of Bill Talbot and Saul Morris to the Spenserian echoes of Oonaugh Kennedy and Janice Beattie, and the Rokeby-Oakden coincidences, Strike5 is full of name play. Did I mention that the detectives solve the mystery largely through their exploration of names? Douthwaite and Oakden only pop-up after Strike has revelations consequent to serious reflection on their names and pseudonyms. Rowling-Galbraith really wants her real-world readers to be reflecting on the Dickensian names of all her characters.* The Cratylic Names of Troubled Blood: A Top Twenty Round Up8. The Flints and GaffesRowling commented in one of her interview tableaus for Troubled Blood that she had worked extra hard to get the dates right in this most complicated of novels and that her proof reader and continuity editor found a big mistake. Serious Strikers, though, were left crying “Alas!” and laughing aloud at the number of bone-headed gaffes in The Presence's longest work to date. It remains her best as well as her longest book to date, but, really, get the woman the help she needs to comb the book for errors pre-publication. Can you say, “Isla”?* Troubled Blood: Flints, Errors, and Head Scratchers* Troubled Blood Gaffes: A Second Look at Ages and Dates9. The AstrologyThe principal embedded text in Troubled Blood, the one Robin and Cormoran read repeatedly, create keys for, and discuss throughout the book, is Bill Talbot's ‘True Book.' It features an astrological chart for the exact time and place of Margot Bamborough's disappearance in 1974, which map Talbot used to try and solve the case. Strike is profoundly disgusted by this approach but spends, as does Robin, much of his time trying to figure out the chart or at least what Talbot made of it. Troubled Blood, consequently, turns into something of an exploration of astrology and its relevance to understanding ourselves and the world. Unpacking what Rowling means by it, not to mention what the natal charts of Robin and Cormoran tell us about these charactes, their relationship, and Rowling-Galbraith's intentionally hermetic artistry, is a large part of the exegetical work to be done on Troubled Blood.* Nick Jeffery: Troubled Blood — The Acknowledgements* Part Three, Note Five* Troubled Blood: Strike's Natal Chart* Astrological Clock Structure of Troubled Blood* Astrological Allegorical: The Sun Signs of Characters in Troubled Blood* A Second Look at Talbot's Chart: What Does it Reveal to the Unbiased Eye?10. The Tarot Card SpreadsWe know that Rowling has significant skills when it comes to astrology. What is less well appreciated is that almost from childhood she has played with tarot card reading which knowledge has informed her work. This is comic in Trelawney, say, but comes to the fore in Troubled Blood‘s card spreads: the Celtic Cross in Talbot's ‘True Book,' his embedded three card spreads in the illustrations of that tome, and Robin's two readings, one in Laemington Spa and the other in her flat at story's end.* Part Three, Note Six* Part Four, Note Five* Part Five, Note Five* Part Six, Notes Five, Six, Eight* Bill Talbot's Tarot: The Embedded Occult Heart of Troubled Blood* Robin Ellacott's Tarot: The Missed Meanings of Her Twin Three Card Spreads in Troubled Blood11. Who Killed Leda Strike?To Rowling-Galbraith's credit, credible arguments in dedicated posts have been made that every person in the list below was the one who murdered Leda Strike. Who do you think did it?* Jonny Rokeby and the Harringay Crime Syndicate (Heroin Dark Lord 2.0),* Ted Nancarrow (Uncle Ted Did It),* Dave Polworth,* Leda Strike (!),* Lucy Fantoni (Lucy and Joan Did It and here),* Sir Randolph Whittaker,* Nick Herbert,* Peter Gillespie, and* Charlotte Campbell-Ross12. Embedded TextsAll of Rowling's novels feature books and texts, written work as well as metanarratives, with which her characters struggle to figure out in reflective parallel to what her readers are trying to do with the novel in hand. Troubled Blood is exceptionally laden with these embedded texts. Beyond Talbot's True Book and Spenser's Faerie Queen noted above, we are treated to selections from The Demon of Paradise Park, Whatever Happened to Margot Bamborough?, Astrology 14, and The Magus.13. The Murderers: Creed and BeattieA demon-possessed psychopath and the brain-damaged lonely woman… Each is described as “a genius of misdirection” and being without remorse or empathy. The actual murderers in Troubled Blood are distinct, certainly, but paired as well, as one of the many mirrored pairs in this story.14. FeminismTroubled Blood, Rowling has said, is a commentary of sorts on changes in the history of feminism. It is an unvarnished, even brutal exploration of the heroic age of the feminist movement, its front and back, largely through the personalities, circumstances, choices, and experiences of two pairs of women, Margot Bamborough and her plucky Irish side-kick Oonaugh Kennedy and the paired through time couple of Irene Bull-Hickson and Janice Beattie.15. Rokeby 3.0Jonny Rokeby makes his first appearance, albeit only by phone call, in Troubled Blood and yet it has reset thinking about Strike and his biological father considerably. Kurt Schreyer thinks the head Deadbeat is more Snape than Voldemort — and, if this is the case, we need to re-read the series to see how much Strike's emotional injuries from childhood neglect have misshaped his understanding of his dad so he lives in upside-down land.* Guest Post: Rokeby Redux – Is Strike's Father More Snape than Lord Voldemort? Get full access to Hogwarts Professor at hogwartsprofessor.substack.com/subscribe

Today's Lake and Shed framed conversation is about Rowling's remarkable “fairy-tale” and the history and meaning of its release during the “pandemic” hysteria of 2020. The Ickabog, along with Casual Vacancy and Ink Black Heart, is not only one of Rowling's most autobiographical works, but, with the Lake and Shed interview, the Solve et Coagula tattoo, her RFK Award speech, and the Trans Tweet Heard Round the World, a key to her self-understanding in the critical year 2019-2020. Nick takes the ‘Shed' point and lays out the controlled demolition of her reputation among Group Thinkers on the Left in the lead up to Ickabog's publication and John shares the meaning of ‘The Ickabog's Song,' the embedded text of the tale, as interpreted by Daisy Dovetail (an embedded author?).New to the Lake and Shed Kanreki Birthday series? Here's what we're doing:On 31 July 2025, Joanne Murray, aka J. K. Rowling and Robert Galbraith, will be celebrating her 60th birthday. This celebration is considered a ‘second birth' in Japan or Kanreki because it is the completion of the oriental astrological cycle. To mark JKR's Kanreki, Dr John Granger and Nick Jeffery, both Nipponophiles, are reading through Rowling's twenty-one published works and reviewing them in light of the author's writing process, her ‘Lake and Shed' metaphor. The ‘Lake' is the biographical source of her inspiration; the ‘Shed' is the alocal place of her intentional artistry, in which garage she transforms the biographical stuff provided by her subconscious mind into the archetypal stories that have made her the most important author of her age. You can hear Nick and John discuss this process and their birthday project at the first entry in this series of posts: Happy Birthday, JKR! A Lake and Shed Celebration of her Life and Work.Tomorrow? Perhaps the best single book by Rowling-Galbraith, Troubled Blood. Nick will be sharing Rowling's skills in and beliefs about astrology which plays an outsised role in the fifth Strike novel. John talks about the “Best Mate” scene in the Agency office and its important mythological backdrop. Stay tuned!Links to posts mentioned in today's Lake and Shed conversation for further reading:Nick Jeffery: Beginning at the Beginning A History of ‘Ickabog' and Christmas PigInk Black Heart and Deathly Hallows: The Heart is Not About Emotions and Affection but the Human Spiritual CenterWeek Seven of the Ickabog! Hurrah!* Last Chapters Comment‘The Song of the Ickabog' — Three NotesRowling Writes Trans Views Tell All Post; Fandom Divides ‘Team Jo,' ‘Team Trans'Reading, Writing, Rowling 44: Ickabog! John Granger's Last MuggleNet PodcastRowling's Pregnancy Traps: Fantastic Beasts, The Ickabog, The Christmas PigRowling Tweets Potter Fandom, IckabogThe Ickabog: Rowling Facebook EventGuest Post: Ickabog Notes & PredictionsThe Ickabog: JKR's Political Fairy TaleWas 2020 A Bad Year for J. K. Rowling? Nominated for 3 British Book AwardsGroves: The Rowling-Norton InterviewThe Names of “The Ickabog” – Part 1 (Beatrice GrovesThe Names of “The Ickabog” – Part 2: Ichabod (Beatrice Groves) Get full access to Hogwarts Professor at hogwartsprofessor.substack.com/subscribe

Troubled Blood by Robert Galbraith AKA J.K Rowling is the fifth installment of the Cormoran Strike series of novels. It's a well written mystery novel that is just a little too long.

„Álnok lépésre készül Meghan” – keményen odaszúrtak Harry herceg feleségének hirado.hu     2023-02-01 05:36:00     Bulvár Harry herceg Új-Zéland Dan Wootton új-zélandi születésű brit újságíró és műsorvezető szerint a sussexi hercegné hallgatása valami nagy volumenű, aljas lépés előszele. A melegrománc, ami kiakasztja a bigott geekeket NLC     2023-01-31 18:24:37     Film Párkapcsolat Fehér Lótusz Egyiküket A Fehér Lótusz kattant hoteligazgatójaként ismerheted, a másik a Városfejlesztési osztályban dolgoztatta a rekeszizmainkat. Most az apokalipszis után egymásra találnak, és elmesélik nekünk az egyik legszebb szerelmi történetet, amit valaha tévéképernyőn láttunk. A Last of Us harmadik részének főszereplőivel, Murray Bartlettel és Nick Offe 100 éve született Norman Mailer, minden idők egyik legjobb háborús regényének szerzője Könyves Magazin     2023-01-31 17:51:57     Könyv háború USA egyetem Diploma Marilyn Monroe Pulitzer-emlékdíj Száz éve, 1923. január 31-én született Norman Mailer Pulitzer-díjas amerikai író, akinek legismertebb könyve - minden idők egyik legjobb háborús regénye - a Meztelenek és holtak. Marilyn Monroe, börtönbüntetés, 16 évesen szerzett egyetemi diploma, két Pulitzer-díj - összegyűjtöttünk néhány érdekességet róla. Will Smith és Martin Lawrence közös videóban jelentették be, hogy mégis elkészül a Bad Boys negyedik része Player     2023-02-01 08:00:05     Film Hollywood Will Smith Will Smith Oscar-pofonja miatt egy ideig kétséges volt, hogy elkészül-e valaha a Bad Boys folytatása, mivel a sztár több projektjét is befagyasztották. Úgy tűnik, Hollywood mostanra megbékélt. Annyira utálják az HBO Max sorozatát a nézők, hogy rögtön történelmet is írtak vele Mafab     2023-02-01 08:21:03     Film HBO Már nem sokkal az indulás után is éles kritikákat kapott, mostanra viszont a Vilma minden idők legrosszabbra értékelt animációs sorozata lett. Siratjuk őt! – Végső búcsút vettek Tamás Gáspár Miklós filozófustól Librarius     2023-02-01 09:59:38     Könyv Tamás Gáspár Miklós Tamás Gáspár Miklós a legértékesebbet hagyta itt, amit távozó az itt maradókra hagyhat: "a gondolkodni valót" - hangzott el egy beszédben.   Több mint félmillióan látogattak el a pécsi Zsolnay Örökségkezelő programjaira és helyszíneire tavaly Tudás.hu     2023-01-31 19:56:29     Zene Baranya Koncert Pécs Holding Kodály Zoltán Zsolnay Több mint félmillió ember látogatott el a pécsi kulturális holding, a Zsolnay Örökségkezelő NKft. (ZSÖK) helyszíneire, rendezvényeire tavaly, annak ellenére, hogy az év első hónapjait még a pandémia miatt elrendelt korlátozások jellemezték – közölte a társaság.A Kodály Zoltán nevét viselő koncert- és konferenciaközpontot, a pécsi kulturális negyede Különleges koncerttel emlékezik meg az ártatlan civil áldozatokról hazánk legmenőbb férfikara, a Szent Efrém az orosz- ukrán háború kitörésének évfordulóján NullHatEgy     2023-02-01 07:04:24     Zene Ukrajna háború Koncert Kárpátalja Zeneakadémia Egy hónap múlva, az ukrajnai háború kitörésének egy éves évfordulóján, február 23-án a Zeneakadémián az ukrajnai civil áldozatokra emlékező koncertet ad a Szent Efrém Férfikar. A kétfélidős hangversenyen többek között felhangzik a kar egyik tagja, a kárpátaljai születésű Papp Viktor erre az alkalomra írt műve, a Requiem ukrán és latin nyelven, vala Padlóra küldte a Reggeli döntése Járai Mátét: „Nem titok, hogy néha elpityeredem” Blikk     2023-01-31 18:12:50     Film Járai Máté Két év után távozik az RTL Reggeli című műsorából Járai Máté. A színész, aki közel két évig volt a stáb tagja, sosem tagadta, a hajknali kelés ellenére imádja a feladatot. Rossz lóra tett a TV2 a Hazatalálsszal? port.hu     2023-02-01 06:00:00     Film TV2 A mi kis falunk A TV2 új, napi sorozata az első héten nem remekelt, olyannyira nem, hogy az RTL-en nagyjából azonos időben futó A mi kis falunk ismétlés is veri a fiatalok körében. Érkezik J. K. Rowling krimisorozata az HBO Maxra UZine     2023-02-01 10:05:28     Film Anglia BBC HBO J. K. Rowling A Strike című angol bűnügyi széria ötödik évada februárban érkezik az HBO Max streamingszolgáltatóra.  J.K. Rowling Robert Galbraith álnéven írt regénysorozatából a BBC készített sorozatot, de szerencsére az HBO Max sem maradt adós vele, és a soron következő, ötödik évadot is elhozza. Az új szezon a Zavaros vér (Troubled Blood ) című kötetet dolgoz

„Álnok lépésre készül Meghan” – keményen odaszúrtak Harry herceg feleségének hirado.hu     2023-02-01 05:36:00     Bulvár Harry herceg Új-Zéland Dan Wootton új-zélandi születésű brit újságíró és műsorvezető szerint a sussexi hercegné hallgatása valami nagy volumenű, aljas lépés előszele. A melegrománc, ami kiakasztja a bigott geekeket NLC     2023-01-31 18:24:37     Film Párkapcsolat Fehér Lótusz Egyiküket A Fehér Lótusz kattant hoteligazgatójaként ismerheted, a másik a Városfejlesztési osztályban dolgoztatta a rekeszizmainkat. Most az apokalipszis után egymásra találnak, és elmesélik nekünk az egyik legszebb szerelmi történetet, amit valaha tévéképernyőn láttunk. A Last of Us harmadik részének főszereplőivel, Murray Bartlettel és Nick Offe 100 éve született Norman Mailer, minden idők egyik legjobb háborús regényének szerzője Könyves Magazin     2023-01-31 17:51:57     Könyv háború USA egyetem Diploma Marilyn Monroe Pulitzer-emlékdíj Száz éve, 1923. január 31-én született Norman Mailer Pulitzer-díjas amerikai író, akinek legismertebb könyve - minden idők egyik legjobb háborús regénye - a Meztelenek és holtak. Marilyn Monroe, börtönbüntetés, 16 évesen szerzett egyetemi diploma, két Pulitzer-díj - összegyűjtöttünk néhány érdekességet róla. Will Smith és Martin Lawrence közös videóban jelentették be, hogy mégis elkészül a Bad Boys negyedik része Player     2023-02-01 08:00:05     Film Hollywood Will Smith Will Smith Oscar-pofonja miatt egy ideig kétséges volt, hogy elkészül-e valaha a Bad Boys folytatása, mivel a sztár több projektjét is befagyasztották. Úgy tűnik, Hollywood mostanra megbékélt. Annyira utálják az HBO Max sorozatát a nézők, hogy rögtön történelmet is írtak vele Mafab     2023-02-01 08:21:03     Film HBO Már nem sokkal az indulás után is éles kritikákat kapott, mostanra viszont a Vilma minden idők legrosszabbra értékelt animációs sorozata lett. Siratjuk őt! – Végső búcsút vettek Tamás Gáspár Miklós filozófustól Librarius     2023-02-01 09:59:38     Könyv Tamás Gáspár Miklós Tamás Gáspár Miklós a legértékesebbet hagyta itt, amit távozó az itt maradókra hagyhat: "a gondolkodni valót" - hangzott el egy beszédben.   Több mint félmillióan látogattak el a pécsi Zsolnay Örökségkezelő programjaira és helyszíneire tavaly Tudás.hu     2023-01-31 19:56:29     Zene Baranya Koncert Pécs Holding Kodály Zoltán Zsolnay Több mint félmillió ember látogatott el a pécsi kulturális holding, a Zsolnay Örökségkezelő NKft. (ZSÖK) helyszíneire, rendezvényeire tavaly, annak ellenére, hogy az év első hónapjait még a pandémia miatt elrendelt korlátozások jellemezték – közölte a társaság.A Kodály Zoltán nevét viselő koncert- és konferenciaközpontot, a pécsi kulturális negyede Különleges koncerttel emlékezik meg az ártatlan civil áldozatokról hazánk legmenőbb férfikara, a Szent Efrém az orosz- ukrán háború kitörésének évfordulóján NullHatEgy     2023-02-01 07:04:24     Zene Ukrajna háború Koncert Kárpátalja Zeneakadémia Egy hónap múlva, az ukrajnai háború kitörésének egy éves évfordulóján, február 23-án a Zeneakadémián az ukrajnai civil áldozatokra emlékező koncertet ad a Szent Efrém Férfikar. A kétfélidős hangversenyen többek között felhangzik a kar egyik tagja, a kárpátaljai születésű Papp Viktor erre az alkalomra írt műve, a Requiem ukrán és latin nyelven, vala Padlóra küldte a Reggeli döntése Járai Mátét: „Nem titok, hogy néha elpityeredem” Blikk     2023-01-31 18:12:50     Film Járai Máté Két év után távozik az RTL Reggeli című műsorából Járai Máté. A színész, aki közel két évig volt a stáb tagja, sosem tagadta, a hajknali kelés ellenére imádja a feladatot. Rossz lóra tett a TV2 a Hazatalálsszal? port.hu     2023-02-01 06:00:00     Film TV2 A mi kis falunk A TV2 új, napi sorozata az első héten nem remekelt, olyannyira nem, hogy az RTL-en nagyjából azonos időben futó A mi kis falunk ismétlés is veri a fiatalok körében. Érkezik J. K. Rowling krimisorozata az HBO Maxra UZine     2023-02-01 10:05:28     Film Anglia BBC HBO J. K. Rowling A Strike című angol bűnügyi széria ötödik évada februárban érkezik az HBO Max streamingszolgáltatóra.  J.K. Rowling Robert Galbraith álnéven írt regénysorozatából a BBC készített sorozatot, de szerencsére az HBO Max sem maradt adós vele, és a soron következő, ötödik évadot is elhozza. Az új szezon a Zavaros vér (Troubled Blood ) című kötetet dolgoz

We're back this week for a new episode, this time covering chapters 12-14 of The Ink Black Heart. In this episode, we discuss the newest trailers for the TV adaptation of Troubled Blood, an intriguing new theory by one of our listeners about DCI Murphy, and Robin's reaction to Edie's death. www.thesefilespod.com www.twitter.com/LitleLessCuckoo https://thesefilespod.com/blog/the-ryan-murphy-halvening-theory/ https://hyperallergic.com/277512/attacks-on-artistic-freedom-almost-doubled-worldwide-in-2015-report-says/ --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/thesefilespod/message

We're back this week for a bonus episode, giving a special behind the scenes look at the filming of Troubled Blood. Today we are joined by StrikeFans.com co-creator Bill, Katie, Sue and Faye, all of whom were lucky enough to witness some of the filming in Skegness as well as locations in Cornwall! *This episode contains spoilers for Troubled Blood.* Links: www.thesefilespod.com www.twitter.com/cormstrikefan www.twitter.com/ludicrousmonica www.twitter.com/badly_wired www.twitter.com/suekmoorhen --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/thesefilespod/message

We're back this week with a new episode, covering chapters 1-4 of The Ink Black Heart. Picking up where Troubled Blood left off, we discuss Robin's 30th birthday at the Ritz and its aftermath, as well as Jo's Q&As on the Robert Galbraith website and on Twitter. Recording of Jo speaking about Robin and Strike's future comes from: https://robert-galbraith.com/the-ink-black-heart-q-and-a/ Links: https://appliedjung.com/four-steps-to-transformation/ https://www.choosingtherapy.com/jungian-therapy/ https://www.theritzlondon.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Bar-Menu-August.pdf https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tannh%C3%A4user_(opera) http://opera-synopsis.sakura.ne.jp/englishtannhauser.html www.thesefilespod.com --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/thesefilespod/message

We're back this week for another episode, this time covering chapters 10-12 of Part 4 with Paula, a previous guest from last season and one of the co-founders of StrikeFans.com. In this episode, we discuss the announcements of who will be playing Gloria Conti and Irene Hickson in the TV adaptation of Troubled Blood, Jo's latest Strike Twitter spree, a lot about Strike and Lucy's differences in coping with Leda's death and, of course, Rochelle. Links: www.thesefilespod.com www.twitter.com/thesefilespod www.instagram.com/thesefilespod http://thesefilespod.tumblr.com

Resensi ini merupakan bagian dari Kompetisi Podcast Resensi Buku 3 yang berkolaborasi dengan Inti Megah Swara Indonesia dan 7 penerbit, yaitu Gramedia Pustaka Utama, Penerbit Mizan, Penerbit Haru, Buku Mojok, Kepustakaan Populer Gramedia, Bentang Pustaka, dan GagasMedia. - Follow Podcast Resensi Buku di Instagram: @podcastresensibuku | Follow Podluck Podcast Collective di Instagram: @podluckpodcast | Cek tagar #kompetisiresensi3 di Instagram untuk informasi lebih lanjut. - Penafian: pendapat yang disampaikan oleh peresensi tidak mewakili pandangan tim panitia Kompetisi Podcast Resensi Buku.

We're back this week for another episode, time time covering chapters 1-4 of Part 3 of The Cuckoo's Calling. In this episode, Sam joins us to discuss the latest updates in the fandom (namely JKR's new Twitter header and Troubled Blood filming in Cornwall) and head deep into our feelings as we discuss the relationship between Strike and Lucy, their childhoods and the famous green dress scene. Links: www.twitter.com/thesefilespod https://www.hogwartsprofessor.com/all-j-k-rowlings-twitter-headers/

We're back this week for a new episode, this time covering chapters 9 through 11 of part 2 of The Cuckoo's Calling. In this episode, we discuss the recent filming for Troubled Blood in Skegness, Bristow's increasingly suspicious body language, and the poor first impression Wardle makes on us in our first conversation with him. Links mentioned: http://strikefans.com/filming-troubled-blood-in-skegness-day-1/ http://strikefans.com/filming-troubled-blood-in-skegness-day-2/ http://strikefans.com/filming-troubled-blood-in-skegness-day-3/ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/election/article-1269486/Election-2010-Gordon-Browns-bigoted-woman-insult-Gillian-Duffy.html

In todays episode I take about notorious conservative trans woman, Blaire White and why I dislike her. I mainly focus on her defending JK Rowling around 2019 when JK released her book “Troubled Blood”. As always, I hope you enjoy, and happy listening!!

We're back this week for an episode covering the another set of chapters you all have been waiting for...the final chapters of Troubled Blood, 72 and 73. We're also joined by our lovely friend Clara of the Denmark Street Deep Dive podcast as we discuss the implications of the discussion of perfume in Liberty, the meaning behind the Anna Karenina reference in the closing lines, as well as much, much more! Following this episode, we will have a book 6 predictions episode where we will read and discuss some of our favorite theories for the next Strike book, as well as a blooper episode containing outtakes that didn't make the final cut of this season's episodes, all released on our normal schedule. We will then begin our reread of The Cuckoo's Calling in January. Thank you so much to all of our listeners for supporting us! Links: www.twitter.com/thesefilespod www.twitter.com/clarastrike

We're back this week, covering the exciting killer reveal in chapters 69 through 71 of Troubled Blood. In this episode, our heroes' year-long investigation comes to a close, with Robin and Barclay honing in on Margot's body, and Strike confronting Margot's killer. Comes complete with a theme song for Barclay and Robin's grave-digging adventures! Links: www.twitter.com/thesefilespod https://www.eso.org/public/usa/images/eso1428b/

We're back this week for a new episode, this time covering chapters 66 through 68 of Troubled Blood. In this episode, we finally hear Gloria Conti's story, figure out some more important clues, and watch in awe as Strike outwits Dennis Creed.

We're back this week, this time covering chapters 63 through 65 of Troubled Blood. In this episode, we see the introduction of The Blue Dress, Robin and Strike's road trip to Skegness to interview Douthewaite, and an intriguing theory from Lindsay regarding the swans that make an appearance!

We're back this week for another episode, this time covering chapters 60-62 of Troubled Blood. In this episode, we delve into our heroes' reactions to the curry scene, discuss Pat's horrible taste in men, and see Strike and Robin have another fight that continues to help level the emotional playing field between them. Link: www.twitter.com/thesefilespod

We're back this week for another episode, this time covering chapters 57-59 of Troubled Blood with our dear friend Clara, of the Denmark Street Deep Dive podcast! In this episode, we cover the events leading up to the biggest advancement in Strike and Robin's relationship thus far, all while shaking our collective fists at Barclay and cheering at Morris's firing. Links: Our Twitter: www.twitter.com/thesefilespod Clara's Twitter: www.twitter.com/clarastrike Interview with Graham Norton: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpgO49n3qD4&ab_channel=TheRowlingLibrary

We're back this week for another episode, this time covering chapters 54 through 56 of Troubled Blood. In this episode, we cover Charlotte's suicide attempt and Strike's complicated emotions surrounding it, Robin finally being rid of Matthew, and the unexpectedly hilarious interview with Betty Fuller. Links: www.twitter.com/sefilespod http://cornishword.co.uk/rudhek-is-the-cornish-word-for-robin/ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/254381847_Prostitution_and_Trafficking_in_Nine_Countries

Kenz, Pools, and Lindsay are back for another episode, joined by Sam, this time covering chapters 50 through 53 of Troubled Blood. In this episode, we cover Strike and Robin's interviews with Janice and Brian Tucker, and the Bayliss sisters, and well as Strike's hilarious jealousy regarding Morris. www.twitter.com/thesefilespod http://strikefans.com/nightingale-grove-hither-green/ http://strikefans.com/star-cafe/ http://strikefans.com/belgique/ http://strikefans.com/aldersbrook-road-and-wanstead-flats/

This time, it's an in depth look at the fifth Strike novel, Troubled Blood, with a particular focus on the divination methods referenced.

Kenz, Lindsay and Pools are back this week for another episode, this time covering chapters 47 through 49 of Troubled Blood. In this episode, some of the things we cover include your amazing feedback to our Odyssey theory, the aftermath of Joan's funeral, and Robin's incredible interview with Satchwell. Stay tuned for our next episode, covering chapters 50 through 53! Keep up to date with our updates at: www.twitter.com/thesefilespod

Kenz, Lindsay and Pools are back for chapters 45 and 46 of Troubled Blood! In this episode, we discuss Robin's intense personal revelations regarding Strike, why it's similar to chapter 40 of Career of Evil, an intriguing theory regarding a certain Homeric epic, and much more! Links: http://twitter.com/thesefilespod http://strikefans.com/all-saints-church-leamington-spa/ http://strikefans.com/the-old-library-leamington-spa/ http://strikefans.com/royal-pump-rooms-museum-and-art-gallery-leamington-spa/ http://strikefans.com/premier-inn-leamington-spa/ https://www.amazon.com/Astrology-14-Your-New-Sign/dp/0672513323 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leamington_Spa http://www.jamaicanfamilysearch.com/Members/fVirgo_Dunn.htm

Kenz, Lindsay and Pools are back for another episode, this time covering chapters 42 through 44 of Troubled Blood. In this episode, we cover the aftermath of the Valentine's Day dinner, Strike's apology, and one of the most heartbreaking moments in the book. Links: www.twitter.com/thesefilespod

In this talking shop episode, we discuss two of the writing tools that have been helpful to us in our writing. This month, Ashley's choice was Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative by Austin Kleon, and Sarah attempted to unravel some of the many benefits of reading On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King. For their leisure reading this month, Sarah has been catching up with Robert Galbraith's Cormoran Strike novels, finishing the fourth in the series, Lethal White, and beginning the fifth, Troubled Blood. Ashley got a great recommendation from a friend and has started a book called Fifty Fifty by Steve Cavanagh.

Pořídila jsem si čtečku, no fakt! Bylo to proto, že je na ní čtení v angličtině o dost jednodušší a právě to je něco, co jsem letos chtěla "pokořit" a pořádně se do toho pustit. Proč? A jak to, že mi to dřív nešlo? Který knihy mě v angličtině ba? Všecko se dozvíte v týhle epizodě! ;-) Tipy na knihy: Troubled Blood od Roberta Galbraitha alias J.K. Rowling The End of Her (Její konec) od Shari Lapeny Behind Her Eyes (Ví o tobě) od Sarah Pinborough The One (Spřízněné duše) od Johna Marrse Tender is the Flesh od Agustiny Bazterricy

Clara Strike joins Kenz and Lindsay once more for yet another episode of The Strike and Ellacott Files. In this episode, we cover chapters 25-30 of Troubled Blood, discussing (among other things) the Shaggable You perfume debacle, important clues pointing towards the killer, and how awful Morris is. **CW: Mention of the snuff film** Locations/link mentioned: http://strikefans.com/hamleys/ https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/review-joni-mitchell-strikes-a-delicate-balance-on-court-and-spark-194402/ https://twitter.com/clarastrike https://twitter.com/TheSEFilesPod

Sam and Paula join Kenz and Lindsay for another exciting episode of The Strike and Ellacott Files. This time we discuss chapters 15-19 of Troubled Blood, contemplate Strike's love of food and two detectives' complete inability to emotionally put two and two together. Links mentioned: http://strikefans.com/paddington-station/ http://strikefans.com/notes-cafe/

Kenz and Lindsay are back with a new episode of The Strike & Ellacott Files, this time covering chapters 8 through 11 of Troubled Blood. Paula is our special guest this week, and happens to be one of the co-founders of StrikeFans.com!

The journey continues in part 2 covering chapters 4-7 of Troubled Blood, as our favorite detective duo begins their investigation into what really happened to Margot Bamborough.

Kenz, Lindsay, and special guest Sam dive into chapters 1-3 of part 1 of Troubled Blood.

After Katie tells the story of her 12-hour banishment from Twitter for a biting piece of political commentary, the hosts discus "TFW No GF," a controversial documentary about losers who post too much online, some of whom are so-called incels, or involuntary celibates. When should we have empathy for people who disgust us (like podcasters)? Then they turn their attention to the controversy over J.K. Rowling's newest mystery novel, which, depending on who you ask, is either horrifically transphobic or not transphobic at all. As usual, the only two moral arbiters with enough integrity to cut through the online noise are on the case, telling you exactly what to think. (Minor correction: In the episode, Jesse refers to Ray Blanchard as 'Canadian,' but he was born in New Jersey and settled in Canada later on.)TFW No GF: https://www.amazon.com/TFW-No-Alex-Lee-Moyer/dp/B087N4632QJacobin: A Portrait of the Breakdown of Hope and Meaning in America - https://www.jacobinmag.com/2020/09/tfw-no-gf-incel-moyer-documentaryJill Filipovic's tweet: https://twitter.com/JillFilipovic/status/1307725535561293824Glenn Greenwald's rejoinder: https://twitter.com/ggreenwald/status/1307761101979910145 The Telegraph: Troubled Blood by Robert Galbraith, review: JK Rowling fails to Strike again - https://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/what-to-read/troubled-blood-robert-galbraith-review-jk-rowling-fails-strike/The Daily Beast: How Transphobic Is J.K. Rowling’s New Novel, ‘Troubled Blood?’ Very. - https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-transphobic-is-jk-rowlings-new-novel-troubled-blood-veryThe Spectator: JK Rowling’s latest novel isn’t ‘transphobic’ - https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/j-k-rowling-s-latest-novel-isn-t-transphobic- This is a public episode. Get access to private episodes at www.blockedandreported.org/subscribe

Deathly Hallows chapter 18. We discuss *inhales* the Vancouver billboard funded by hateful people riding a hateful billionaire's coattails, the initial Troubled Blood review that got things kicking off this week, the continued Troubled Blood reviews from The Guardian that revealed how it's actually WORSE than the initial review made it sound, the pile of pre-existing Known Stuff about the Strike series, the misogyny and transmisogyny common in crime fiction generally, the Fantastic Beasts filming news, and... the announcement of Harry Potter Skyrim. On top of all that, we have a completely out of pocket chapter that pushes the already-strained boundaries of our previously well-defined cast of characters to ludicrous levels in an attempt to tell a very (even for this book) ham-handed story about Harry's crisis of faith. Crisis of 'Braith, get it? Never mind. It goes without saying but just in case: content warning for All Of JK Rowling's Business, as well as the related shit of classic fiction like Psycho and Silence of the Lambs and so on. If you want to skip the news segment, the chapter stuff starts at 1:14:15!

Surprise! Here's our mega-length news segment for this week, hot and fresh. Didn't seem fair to make people pay up to hear it early. We discuss *inhales* the Vancouver billboard, the initial Troubled Blood review that got things kicking off this week, the continued Troubled Blood reviews from The Guardian (very helpful, thanks!), the apparent pile of pre-existing Known Stuff about the Strike series, the misogyny and transmisogyny common in crime fiction generally, the Fantastic Beasts filming news, and... the announcement of Harry Potter Skyrim (which is actually continued in our third segment this week, so if you want to hear us talk more about it or think we missed an important topic, hold tight--it's probably in the full episode to be released later) It goes without saying but just in case: content warning for All Of JK Rowling's Business, as well as the related shit of classic fiction like Psycho and Silence of the Lambs and so on.

#RIPJKRowling trending topik di twitter dikarenakan novel troubled blood yang menyinggung kaum transgender. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/podcasttoraja/message

Sevin Okyay bu hafta eski bir polisiye romanla yayında.  Robert Galbraith takma adıyla yayınlanan, J. K. Rowling'in 2015 polisiye romanıdır. Cormoran Strike polisiye romanları serisinin üçüncü romanı ve onu 2018'de Lethal White ve 2020'de Troubled Blood izliyor. Sevin Okyay kitaptan bir bölüm okutuyor, romana ve yazarına ilişkin yorumlar yapıyor.