Whodunnit (Bleak House)

SPOLIERS





So, Mr Tulkinghorn has been found dead in his chambers. He will not be mourned, but whodunnit? Mr George has been arrested, but it can't be him. That would be contravening the rules of story-telling. Grandfather Smallweed is mean enough, but he is not physically capable. It doesn't seem his style anyway. It might be young Smallweed, but I don't know. It would not be in his self-interest. Personally, I suspect Mr Guppy. He has been quiet lately. Lady Dedlock seems to have been behind the conspiracy; hence her walking up and down the grounds at Chesney Wold late into the evening of the night of the shooting in a preoccupied manner. She knows Mr Guppy and Mr Guppy knows his way around Chancery Lane. I can't work out what his motive would be. He likes Esther, although not so much since her disfigurement. Perhaps he has learnt Lady Dedlock is her mother. Who else could it be? Might it be Mr Woodcourt. Perhaps he learnt that Mr Tulkinghorn had been persecuting Jo via Mr Bucket, and holds him responsible for Jo's death. It could also be Hortense. Hortense is headstrong enough. She appears to have a violent streak. Also, Mr Tulkinghorn has grievously offended her. Maybe she is too obvious a suspect. Mind you, Lady Dedlock knows her too and Hortense might want her old job back, which thanks to Rosa having been bundled off into Mr Rouncewell's care, is now available.

Mr George - 33/1
Mr Smallweed (younger) - 10/1
Mr Guppy - 2/1
Mr Woodcourt - 3/1
Mme Hortense - evens

SPOILERS








It is pretty clear it was not Mr George or Mr Woodcourt. Lady Dedlock herself is now under suspicion. Mr George is sure he saw a woman who looked like Esther outside Tulkinghorn's office. Meanwhile Mr Bucket has ascertained that Lady Dedlock was out of doors alone on the night of the crime. Someone has sent Mr Bucket an anonymous letter, just saying 'Lady Dedlock'. That must be Hortense, unless it's old Mr Smallweed.

_{Mr George - 33/1}
Mr Smallweed (younger) - 20/1
Mr Guppy - 10/1
_{Mr Woodcourt - 3/1}
Mme Hortense - 1/3
Lady Dedlock - 2/1

I won't give it away, kev!

Thanks.




Just read chapter 54 in which Mr Bucket discloses all and arrests Hortense. It is an entertaining chapter although it has a pantomime quality about it. One by one, all the grotesques present themselves in front of Mr Bucket and Sir Leicester. Hortense herself is a pantomime villainess with her outrrrragous French accent. It looks like Mr Bucket has cleared it up, but there are still 150 pages to go. I am not sure it is Hortense now. Might it be Richard Carston? He is getting to the end of his tether. I can't remember if Mr Tulkinghorn was involved in the Jarndyce v Jarndyce case.

It's a bit odd though. The book has suddenly veered off at a tangent. Mr Bucket has appeared from time to time earlier in the book, but now it has suddenly turned into detective fiction.

_{Mr George - 33/1}
Mr Smallweed (younger) - 50/1
Mr Guppy - 10/1
_{Mr Woodcourt - 3/1}
Mme Hortense - 1/3
Lady Dedlock - 2/1
Richard Carston - 5/1

I have not read any of Wilkie Collins' books yet, but he was an early writer of detective fiction, and he was a friend of Charles Dickens. I wonder whether his work influenced Dickens.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kev67

I have not read any of Wilkie Collins' books yet, but he was an early writer of detective fiction, and he was a friend of Charles Dickens. I wonder whether his work influenced Dickens.

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I am writing this on holiday with a new app. Wikie Collons wrote better whodunnits than Bleak House. The criminal is unimportant compared to what it tells us about the Dedlicks, who become alive. Sir Leicester is not just a pompous fool but a tragic and loving man. Lady D's tragedy is clear. The chase with Bucket and Esther is gripping and as you say brings all the characters, including the brick makers women, together.

Sorry about the lousy spelling. I'm not used to typing on an iPad. Do try Collins some time though.

One thing I am unclear about is exactly who does Mr Bucket work for. Sometimes he appears to be a private detective. Other times he appears to be a police detective. He accepts payments from Sir Leicester, and spends much time assisting him, but he also uses police resources. Other police officers defer to him. No one tells him what to do, or organises him time. He recruits his wife to assist him on the murder case. Surely the police would insist on investigating a murder themselves, not rely on private detectives, however able. Perhaps things were different back then.