Series Rec: Arte Regendus

[swissmarg]

Title: Arte Regendus
Author: Violsva
Pairing: Holmes/Watson, Watson/Morstan
Length: 48,939 words in 8 parts so far (updated 22 Oct 2013)
Rating: G to M
Warnings: None
Verse: ACD Books
Author's summary: None provided for the series. Summary for part 1: Sherlock Holmes’ new fellow lodger is ordinary enough. There ought to be no reason for Holmes to adjust his habits in any way for him. Certainly he shouldn’t require the other man’s presence merely in order to work.

Reccer's comments: This series follows the canon time line and career of Holmes and Watson, from their taking up lodging together through several cases and Watson's marriage to Mary Morstan, and beyond. There is a good balance of casework and relationship stuff, with just a smidgen of smut thrown in.

Each installment is told by a different character, so we get not only Holmes and Watson's points of view, but Mary's as well, as in this excerpt from part 5, But by Degrees:

“John?” I asked.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I was going to say, there’s been no one recently. No one whom I – no woman I felt anything for. Except you.” He was not looking at me, and his voice was rough.

“But if there has been, you know I don’t mind, so long as it is over with now,” I said. “I know that you love me, John.”

“Yes, I do,” said John. “My dear.” His hand landed over mine on his chest, and he said nothing more for some minutes.

“Oh, my poor dear,” I said. “I’m sorry I’ve made you uncomfortable.”

“No, no, it’s natural that you’d wonder,” he managed.

“I wish we had found each other earlier, or that you at least had not been alone,” I said. I think he smiled.

But he was not calm, not at all, and his tension seemed to grow worse with time. At last his hand clenched into a fist, and he pushed mine away and sat up.

“Excuse me,” he said, not looking at me. “Please excuse me.” Then he climbed over me and out of the bed, shoved open the door to his dressing room, and closed it sharply behind him.

What makes this series particularly delicious to me is everything that the main actors are hiding from each other: their actions, their feelings, their desires, their true characters. The love triangle is heart-wrenching, with both Holmes and Watson trying not to hurt each other or Mary, but unable to let go. It's Victorian pining and stiff upper lips at their best. As of the latest installment (part 7) we have not quite arrived at the showdown with Moriarty, so I have hopes that the series will continue. Update: The author has just posted part 8, which covers Reichenbach and the hiatus. One can only hope that the return is next...