Philosopher's Stone-Lethal White Connections, Part 4: Rule-breaking, Catullus, asphodel and the ICU

The connections between Philosopher's Stone and Lethal White are becoming more and more tenuous as we move into the story proper: in which a bad-tempered government minister in charge of a major international sporting event gets murdered by the son that he had previously gotten out of prison. It is only natural that the many, many Goblet of Fire parallels start taking precedence.  Still, as I reviewed the part of the story between the Hogwarts/ Parliament arrival and what I consider the turning points of both books (the Great Troll Knock-out, Chiswell's murder), I saw a few points of connection.  

Philosopher's Stone-Lethal White connections, Part 3: The adventure begins with nightmares, open-sky ceilings and lots of corridors.

This section picks up with Chapter 6 of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, "The Journey from Platform 9 3/4," and Chapter 12 in Lethal White. In the last installment of this series, I reviewed the similarities between Harry's trip to Diagon Alley and Strike's visit to Pratt's. What struck me in this section is how similar Harry's first view of Hogwarts is to Robin's first visit to the House of Commons.

It starts with a bit of domestic tension for both our protagonists. The Dursleys, of course, are furious that Harry is going to Hogwarts; Matthew is equally angry that Robin is going undercover in Parliament, considering it tantamount to treason. Both Harry and Robin wind up isolating themselves in their bedrooms as they prepare, Robin by practicing her disguise and reviewing Chiswell family trivia with Strike, and Harry by perusing his books. Both approach the big day with a combination of excitement and nerves. Robin has two panic attacks on her first day; Harry also gets a little panicky, first when he can't find Platform 9 3/4; second when he is thinking he would have to do magic for the Sorting. And, just as Robin awoke with a nightmare on her first day at Parliament, Harry awoke with a nightmare on his first night at Hogwarts. 

Philosopher's Stone-Lethal White connections, Part 2: Moving forward, looking back and why Sam Barclay is Hedwig.

One challenge in working through Harry Potter and the Philosopher's  (or Sorcerer's) Stone and Lethal White for start-of-ring connections is trying to figure out where to divide the book sections.  For the first post, it was logical to do the opening chapters, but that 1-to-1 obviously cannot continue, given how much longer LW is than PS. Just taking a guess, I'm going to next look through the part of the story that occurs after the time-jump, but before the major adventure (Hogwarts/Robin's undercover mission) begins. For Harry, this is Chapters 2-5: the zoo trip with the vanishing glass, the letters from no one, the Dursley's flight to the Hut-on-the Rock, Hagrid's rescue of Harry on his 11th birthday and the subsequent trip to Diagon Alley to prepare him for Hogwarts. For Strike and Robin, this is Chapters 1-11: beginning  with Strike's hiring of Barclay and going through Billy's arrival at the office, Robin's ending of her therapy and move to the new house, Strike's visit to the CORE meeting, Robin's housewarming party, Robin's return to the office and the unexpected calls from Billy and Chiswell, Strike's lunch with Chiswell in Pratt's, followed by his meeting with Robin, overnight with Lorelei and his delivery of listening devices to Chiswell's London House. 

A Return to Blogging with a New Test of the Double Wedding Band Model: Looking for connections between Philosopher's Stone and Lethal White.

 Greetings to my readers and other Strike/Potter fans! I am back from the longest blogging break I've taken in a while. I am happy to announce that I return with the new title of Granny to CJ, the, in my unashamedly biased opinion, the most perfect and beautiful granddaughter ever born. Since I have chosen to keep her full name private, and respect her parents' wishes not to display her face on social media, you'll simply have to take my word for it that she is absolutely and completely adorable. 

During my break, I've been mulling over what to blog about as we continue to wait for Sleep Tight, Evangeline. I finally drew inspiration from:

• first, the new series of Three Broomsticks podcasts I've been doing: looking at connections between the Strike books and the corresponding Potter books, so starting with Philosopher's Stone and Cuckoo's Calling and
• second, the Double Wedding Band model for the Strike series, which hypothesizes that tha last seven books of the series will form a ring structure, much as the first seven did, and as the seven Harry Potter books did. See here, here and here for more information. 

As I have noted before, one of the strongest arguments in favor of DWB is the fact that it predicted connections between THM and Order of the Phoenix, of which there were many. This gives me hope that the final three books of the Strike series will connect to the final three Potter books both alchemically and thematically.

But, what of the earlier books of the putative second ring? That's what I have decided to explore for the next few months.

Everybody raise a glass! Two new posts with insights into the past and future of the Cormoran Strike series.

 I'm spending lots of time with my butt planted on the Farting Sofa these days, trying to get both some work for my business and some needlepoint completed before the birth of my new granddaughter, now due in slightly over three weeks.  But I had to pop in for a couple of celebratory toasts. 

First, the latest installment of the Three Broomsticks Podcast has dropped, where I had the privilege of appearing alongside my good friends and fellow Strike Scholars Beatrice Groves and Nick Jeffrey to discuss character and thematic connections between The Cuckoo's Calling and Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.  Even better, my trademark nickname for Matthew made it into the episode title. This is the first in a series of podcasts that will look at each of the Strike books and their connections to the corresponding volume in the Harry Potter series. 

Second, "Mr. Galbraith" tweeted the above picture today, with a notation that Robin has one in Sleep Tight, Evangeline.  The drink is called "Churchill's Courage" and is a speciality of the Rivoli Bar at the Ritz. What we do not know is if Robin has her drink at the start of STE, when she goes to meet Ryan for his birthday/potential proposal, or later in the book. JKR/RG tweeted some weeks ago that STE was 2/3's complete, and historically, tweets have come from the part of the book currently in progress.  It does seem like a pretty powerful drink to have in front of a known alcoholic who is struggling with his sobriety.  But then again, we can't deny that Robin needs one after the events of THM. 

A Little Strike Chick Humor: Plus, an invitation to share any funny fan creations that you know of.

 

One of the best parts of being part of a fandom is getting to laugh about your favorite, or sometimes least favorite, aspects of your favorite series. It's why people come up with nicknames for characters like Matthew "Flobberworm" Cunliffe, Sarah Shagsalot, the Kimphomaniac and the SE Files' ludicrous moniker for the Sweary Therapist of Sleep Tight, Evangeline, Dr. Broccoli. A few Halloweens ago, there was a series of very funny adult costume memes created for Strike characters. 

When I was trying to create an AI image of the famous Christmas charm bracelet, I decided to also create the worst possible charm bracelet Strike could have given Robin.  I know I have seen a few other fan creations online, such as completed employee satisfaction reviews, posted in various online venues. 

So, last week, I responded to the call from The Strike and Ellacott Files to submit pictures of chickens that looked like Strike's assorted girlfriends, I got a little too enthusiastic about the endeavor, and wound up getting asked to submit a guest blog post, which you can find here.  Check it out; the article includes a few more of my thoughts on fan-created parody materials, as well as a few other links to some funny fan-fiction and character twitter accounts. 

If you know of any other good, fan-created Cormoran Strike humor pieces that are available on the internet, please drop a link in the comments.  I've love to have a centralized location for sharing, while we wait for Sleep Tight, Evangeline. It's going to be a long wait, and those of us determined to read the depressing Longfellow poem many need an antidote. 

In the meantime: 

Subscriptions and comments are easier for some on the Substack version of this blog. 

A Serial Killer's Rebounding Spell: My talk from the 2025 Harry Potter Academic Conference.

 I've just finished up with one of my favorite weekends of the year, the annual Harry Potter Academic Conference at Chestnut Hill College. This year I hosted a panel called "The Mirror of Rettopyrrah: Wizarding World reflections in post-Potter books." 

My contribution was "A Serial Killer's Rebounding Spell: A Deathly Hallows echo in Troubled Blood." 
 It compares Strike's interview with Creed to Harry's final duel with Voldemort. 

Please check it out. 

The Silkworm: Chapters 7-9: Our first looks at Liz Tassel and Kathryn Kent

"No, or I'd've bloody well asked them, wouldn't I? You're the detective, you find him!" 

Is it just me, or is Leonora a bit rude here, considering Strike was willing to take this case on with no guarantee of payment?

I also found it interesting that Strike chose to get one of Quine's books---  and apparently one of his worst, The Brothers Balzac--- at this stage of the investigation. While he knows that Quine's disappearance is linked to the controversy surrounding his latest manuscript, there is no indication yet that that the contents of Bombyx Mori itself could be a clue, let alone the contents of a book published some twenty years earlier. This seems to be an effort to "get into the head" of the victim---  much like when Strike reviewed Lula Landry's emails in CC, and Robin sampled Margot Bamborough's favorite perfume and music in TB. Except, Strike doesn't even know he is a victim yet

Re-reads are often notable for the new insights you see in the killer interviews and all the clues that jump out at you. l was struck this time by how dark and disgusting Liz Tassel's office was. Between the puking dog, the shabby decor, the abuse of her staff---  they both are literally having to clean up after her very sick dog--and the hacking cough, it should have been clear there was something really off about this organization from the get-go. While Strike sees the pictures and the dog bed as indicating sentimentality in this Dragon Lady, in retrospect, even Old Beau is being mistreated. 

Strike Book Eight is The Hallmarked Man; What do recent hints mean?

Welcome back to the Farting Sofa Faculty Lounge.  I had to take an extensive sabbatical from blogging, thanks to personal and professional obligations and the hassles that are involved in setting up my own business.  Happily, I'm now the proud owner of Freeman Davis Behavior Services, life has settled down a bit and I, like Strike fans worldwide, was happy to hear the news today the Strike Book 8 will be titled The Hallmarked Man. 

These images are only the latest in hints that have been dropping over the last few weeks.  Rowling has changed her twitter header three times since February 1st. The first was a picture of the coat of arms on the Freemason's United Grand Hall in London.  The second was of La Coupee, a bridge connecting two parts of Sark, a Channel Island, and the third a sterling silver model ship made by the famous Pairpoint Brothers of London and currently selling for more than $42K. 

The tweet announcing the book title was also Sark-related: the collage depicted above that includes a lovely silver bracelet JKR received from her husband as a souvenir of her recent trip there. She has confirmed that at least a few chapters of The Hallmarked Man will be set on the Channel island. 

What could this all mean?  Well, the two items of fine silver suggest the meaning is the original one for "hallmark":  a stamp put on British precious metal goods that certified the purity.  Fans who were expecting Strike, Robin and friends to turn up on greeting cards, as commemorative Christmas ornaments or perhaps in a cheesy TV holiday movie will be disappointed. 

But, the notion of fine quality silver will no doubt delight the folks at Hogwartsprofessor.com, and other literary alchemy fans. If Strike himself is to be the Hallmarked Man, it suggests the albedo-purification process that was so apparent amid all the river and baptismal imagery of The Running Grave will continue, and perhaps be completed in the next book. Of all the major ideas presented so far, this is most consistent with Kathleen's brilliant "Strike Extended Play" and sets the scene for a two part nigredo in TB and IBH, a two-part albedo in TRG and THM and then completing the alchemical cycle with bookk 9 and 10 as a paired rubedo, or perhaps a citrinitas- rubedo combination.  I particularly like the idea of  citrinitas, or yellowing phase; something there really wasn't time for in the Harry Potter series. 

This certainly fits with what we've seen so far: Strike was emotionally broken down in TB and physically broken down in IBH. He clearly is healing and purifying himself in TRG, with his smoking cessation, weight loss and baptismal purification he undergoes after Charlotte's death.  I highly recommend you listen this week's Strike and Ellacott files, with guest Kurt Schreyer for a beautiful analysis of that scene,  Plus lots of Shakespeare!

In any case, metal stamped with a hallmark has undergone refining and purification, so, even if the Hallmarked Man winds up being at the center of the major mystery, we can still hope that the title will apply to Strike as well, just as the "Superior Man" epigraphs of TRG did. Silver is a classic albedo color, along with white and water, so a sterling silver ship seems a promising herald of albedo, too. Maybe we'll even get a return of the swans. As for me, I'm still hoping the "silver minnow" memory will resurface.  

Another bit of trivia: the makers of the silver ship, the Pairpoint brothers, had offices in Soho, not far from Denmark Street, including on Rupert Street. 

According to Jung, just as albedo involves the resolution of the animus/anima conflict, with men embracing their feminine side and vice-versa, the citrinitas is the place to encounter the "wise old man" (or woman) archetype. This could mean Ted still being around to impart some potential wisdom before he succumbs to his vascular dementia, or maybe even a crucial bit of information from Strike's own Deadbeat Dad, Jonny Rokeby. If one of them plays the grey-beard advice-giver in Book 9, then dies, it would fit whith the Double Wedding Band model (see here and here) in a couple of ways. 

• First, this would have the mentor/father figure dying in Book 9 (which is Book 6 of ring #2) just as Dumbledore died in Book 6 of Harry Potter.  
• Second, would also set the stage for Book Ten to open with Ted's (or Rokeby's) funeral, which ties the 1-4-7-10 linkage to gether , with 1 opening with an engagement, 4 with a wedding, 7 with a christening and 10 with a funeral. 

But what about the Freemason building?  I suspect that will relate in some way to our heroes' major mystery. As some have pointed out, the United Grand Hall is a popular event venue, so it is possible a visit there would have nothing to do with the Freemason organization itself. But, the most interesting thing about the Freemasons to me is their association with police corruption in the 1970's, apparently as a result of some Met cops being in the same lodges with career criminals. This makes me think of gangsters like Mucky Ricci, whom the police were clearly powerless to stop and makes me wonder if the mystery will involve some dirty cops, past or present.  If so, that could certainly complicate things for Robin and Murphy.  More importantly, it could be a connection to some of themes of TB, which also involved looking back at police work in the 1970's.  That would be an interesting link between the two Book 5's of each ring.  

Any other thoughts as to what the twitter headers might mean?  We still are no closer to knowing a publication date, though JKR tweeted on February 21st that she had completed Part 6.  But, Rowling being Rowling we have no way of knowing if that is part 6 of 7, 9 or many, many more.

Stay tuned. 

Will Uncle Ted play the role of a Hogwarts ghost? Memory, dementia and mysteries of the past.

    Two things keep me blogging and attending events like the Harry Potter Academic Conference year after year: the scholarship and the friendships I've formed with other scholars. I'm not alone in this:  check out the latest Potterversity episode for commentary from others who feel the same.

    One such friend is David Martin, loyal Hufflepuff and retired computerscientist, who I first met at LeakyCon 2014, where we bonded over the shared experience of being several decades older than the average attendee. Since then, we've met regularly at events such as Misti-Con and on a near-annual basis at the Chestnut Hill Harry Potter Conference. Viewers of the Hogwarts Tournament of Champions will remember him as the standout player of the victorious Badger team, for which I happily cheered him on, despite my place in the Ravenclaw studio audience. 

    David recently surprised and delighted me with a charming relic from my own field of behavior analysis:  a note his mother received in the 1940's from B.F. Skinner himself, along with Skinner's own guidelines for his famous baby tender box, which would eventually be marketed as the Air Crib. 

Note:  please do not confuse this crib with the Skinner boxes developed for use in Skinner's work with rats and pigeons; they are very different things, as the link above explains. 

I will be delighted to display this piece of my disciplinary history in my office and to be able to boast of possessing the autograph of one of the giants in my field, or, at least, that of his secretary.

    Like me, David's fondness for Harry Potter led him to read the Cormoran Strike series, and he, too appreciates the connections between the two series. At the most recent HPAC. David gave me another history-themed gift in the form of his fantastic talk, "About the Hogwarts Ghosts." I had been mulling over Uncle Ted's dementia, and during Davi'd presentation, something clicked with me. The gist of David's thesis was, Hogwarts ghosts are atypical literary ghosts, compared to those seen in Shakespeare and Dickems. Rather than seeking vengance, or bringing warnings about the afterlife, "Hogwarts ghosts represent the pervasive influence of the past on the present." (You can read his full abstract at the conference program here). Once might be tempted to call them living history books, except, of course, they are all dead. But, from the literal History Professor Binns, to Moaning Myrtle, to Nearly Headless Nick to Helena Ravenclaw, the ghosts serve a function of telling Harry and friends things about the past that help them resolve their current predicament. What does this have to do with the still-living Uncle Ted? Find out after the jump. 

Rings, Double-bands, Stars and Asterisks: Which model works works for a ten-book Cormoran Strike series? (Plus: who it predicts killed Leda!)

Several weeks ago, I made the first efforts at a revised structural model , the "Double Wedding Band" or a ten-part Strike series, based on the connections seen between volumes to date.  To my surprise, that proved to be one of the most popular posts that has provoked some great comments. I have been eagerly waiting to see what other Serious Strikers would think of the connections The Running Grave makes to other Strike novels. 

I got my wish a week or so ago. Dr. John Granger is back to doing what he does best and recognized, as ring structure predicts, that The Running Grave does, indeed, "latch" to The Cuckoo's Calling, in the same way that the first Harry Potter book, Philosopher's Stone, latches with the seventh and last, Deathly Hallows. John literally wrote the book on the ring composition of Harry Potter, and I encourage Strike fans to check out his application of both the "turtleback" and the "asterisk" to Cormoran Strike.  I also encourage readers to answer his call for more CC-TRG echoes, which, as of this posting, no Substack reader has heeded, although some contributions can be found at the wordpress placeholder post.  Lest anyone think I am being secretive, I did link to my own long list in a comment, which, amusingly, Dr. Granger apparently choose to remove. 

Unfortunately, Dr. Granger's turtleback and asterisk models, which very elegantly account for Harry Potter series echoes, fail to account for all the echoes we see in the Strike-Ellacott series. For example:

1. The Silkworm-Troubled Blood connections: The many connections between these two books initially inspired my 2022 idea that TB was originally intended as a Book Six albedo. At the time, even Mr. Granger called the idea a "convincing" "brilliant" and "radical piece of reverse prognostication", but I had to eventually dismiss the idea when Rowling herself denied it. 
2. The Cuckoo's Calling-Career of Evil connections:  The most obvious connection is the in vino veritas confessions in the Tottenham, Strike to Robin in CC, Robin-to-Strike in CoE, but there are certainly others.  This was originally part of my Double Pentagram proposal, which had some advantages, but did not work so well when TIBH turned out to have the connections it did. 
3. The Troubled Blood- The Running Grave connections: Both the Strike and Ellacott files podcast and the Three Broomsticks predictions episode foresaw these, based on the number of Lethal White-The Ink Black Heart connections observed. This prediction certainly came through, in spades. It is, I believe, the only list that comes close to rivaling Lethal White-Goblet of Fire connections in sheer number. In fact, the overall large number of connections between non-adjacent books inspired my Leapfrog post. 
4. The major exception to the non-adjacent connections rule: the thematic links and resetting processes that happend in Troubled Blood and The Ink Black Heart.  Not only do the main murders connect, with Gus as an amalgam of the three TB killers, the books themselves invert the expected dry-nigredo/ wet-albudo pairings and several progressions between the "best friends" are reversed or reset in ITBH. 

Podcast News for Strike and Potter Fans

This week, listeners of The Strike and Ellacott Files podcast got a pleasant surprise: the hosts plan to release episodes on a weekly rather than biweekly basis. This week's episode, on Chapters 5-7 of The Running Grave, covered all sorts of topics, from the theme of parenting in the series, to the Orwellian allusions to, as always, lots of Strellacott shipping. While I've never minded long podcasts, the shorter. weekly versions will be much more convenient for many.  As one of my Twitter pals put it, "It's like having wine night with three really close friends that get me." Tune in for some great discussion. 

I also listened to the first few episodes of Harry Potter After 2020, a new podcast from two moms who are re-reading the Harry Potter series, chapter by chapter, and sharing their thoughts on how their view of the series has changed over time, both as a result of their own growth processes and also because of news evens such as the election of Donald Trump, COVID, Black Lives Matter, January 6th, and JKR's public position on transgender issues. Having enjoyed co-host Lorrie Kim's annual presentations at the Harry Potter Academic conference since 2014, I expected to enjoy the podcast, and I did. With new episodes every Wednesday and seven increasingly long books to cover, I expect to be listening for some time. 

I also recommend Lorrie's book, Snape: The Definitive Analysis of Hogwart's Mysterious Potion Master, which was updated in 2022. 

Note:  this post is also available on Substack,

Strike Character Costume Packets: Fans Unite in Laughter on Twitter

 Note:  as of today, I will stop including indicating spoilers for The Running Grave in blue text. This is a largely light post, but the costume descriptions could contain mild spoilers. 

While the general purpose of The Farting Sofa Faculty Lounge is to take a serious look at Cormoran Strike, Harry Potter and other popular fiction. it is occasionally nice to pause and have some fun.  Twitter, while it may be a free range for toxicity for the Anomies of the world, it is also a place fans can connect, communicate and enjoy a laugh over their favorite obsessions.  One example is the collection of Strike character twitter posts. that appeared in the run-up to The Ink Black Heart. 

Last night, there was a Twitter challenge to recreate the popular Adult Halloween Costume Meme for Strike characters.  I had never tried that, or any other meme before but I could not resist trying once I learned how. 

My first attempt was the wonderful Pat Chauncey:

Next, I tried Mazu Wace:

And finally, the despicable Hugh Jacks.

There are some other great ones on Twitter.  My personal favorite is Bijou Watkins.  You can also view Ryan Murphy, Roy Carver, and of course, Strike himself. 

If anyone wants to try their own, the generator is here. 

Happy costuming!

Two Delectable Halloween Treats: A Super-Spooky Essay by Beatrice Groves and a Ghostly Podcast by the Three Broomsticks.

Boo to you, dear readers, on All Hallow's Eve.  This is a day important in the Harry Potter world, though, as I recall, it has only come up once in the Strike and Ellacott series. In Lethal White, Strike and Robin visit the Three Kings pub, site of Margot and Oonaugh's  would-be meeting, and note the costumed drinkers, including, interestingly, a woman in a naughty nurse costume.

Beatrice Groves has written one of the best books around for those interested in serious Harry Potter scholarship. Literary Illusion in Harry Potter.  Her work on Cormoran Strike is equally impressive.  Her most recent contribution is a post on spooky elements in The Running Grave, from scary corn dollies to Shakespearean ghosts to yet another horse connected to death, as the throwback to Lethal White.  You can find her essay here, and it's just the thing to read on a Halloween night after finishing the last Strike book. 

On the other hand, if you are looking for a cheerful podcast to listen to while waiting for your Trick-or Treaters, I recommend The Three Broomsticks Episode 20: Voldemort the drama queen, which addresses the role Halloween plays in Harry Potter.  Or, if you'd prefer a Strike throwback, you can check out their Running Grave predictions show, The Strike Agency Camping Trip, where Bea and I were both guests.  Please note that the statement I made about being Pat's age was made before the revelation of The Running Grave. I am not, in fact. 67. 

Whether you want to enjoy Strike, Harry or both, have a safe and spooktacular Halloween!

The Troubled Black Heart: The ties that bind Strike Five and Six together.

Both Ring Composition and the Leapfrog model imply that consecutive books in the Strike seres should have fewer echoes than other pairs in the series.  This is generally true; however, the Blood Book (Strike Five) and the Heart Book (Strike Six) have some very strong connections that are not seen in other consecutive books.

First, Book Six picks up right where Book Five leaves off: at Robin's birthday celebration at the Ritz. We have only seen this once before;  after the cliffhanger ending of Book Three, Book Four pretty much had to pick up at the wedding.  But, Troubled Blood did not explicitly end on a cliffhanger; the author didn't have to show us the drinks at the Ritz in the same way that she had to show the wedding. The inclusion of the Ritz ties Books Five and Six to each other in a more seamless way than any other two adjacent books in the series. Lethal White takes a year-long time-jump after the cliffhanger is resolved. The Ink Black Heart has no such jump, in fact, we are told about plenty of crucial events (Strike's birthday dinner, Robin's trip to Zermatt, New Years Eve at Annabel's) in the time between the Ritz and when the mystery proper starts with Edie's arrival at the agency. 

Lethal Black and Leapfrogging: Connections between the Strike & Ellacott Books Four and Six (plus links to many other pairings!)

 In looking over various connections between the Strike books and structural models that have been proposed to explain them, onc thing has become very clear:  so far, there is a strong pattern of even-numbered books connecting with even, and odd-numbered books connecting to odd.  Some of these connections, like Book 2-Book 6 and Book 3-Book 5, are predicted by ring composition, but many are not.  For lack of a better term, I'll call this the Leapfrog Model. 

Some of the compiled lists are available among mine and others' writings the old Hogwarts professor site, more recent are on this site. 

In the interest of having all connections in one place, I will compile a full set here.

Odds:                                     Evens

Book 1 and Book 3                Book 2 and Book 4

Book 1 and Book 5                Book 2 and Book 6:  See also here and here.

Book 1 and Book 7 ; see also here.               

Book 3 and Book 5

Book 3 and Book 7

Book 5 and Book 7; see also here. 

More after the jump. 

Cormoran Strike Recipes: Which ones have you tried?

 "I like that one a whole lot about them German kids going out in the forest and coming to this house made out of all different kinds of candy and the witch. I like a story with something to eat in it."

"I’ll look for one," said Mick.

"But I’m getting kinda tired of candy," Bubber said. "See if you can’t bring me a story with something like a barbeque sandwich in it."

-Carson McCullers, The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter

If anyone has listened to the podcasts I've done about Harry Potter and food, you know that I am fond of recreating the foods from my favorite book series. From the lamb stew of The Hunger Games to the Dauntless Chocolate Cake of Divergent, I have enjoyed preparing foods inspired by the books while reading or re-reading. 

Cormoran Strike books pose a bit of a challenge, given that our heroes dine out so much. I don't have much confidence in my ability to make good fish 'n chips, Singapore noodles or lamb bhuna in my own kitchen.  

Still, there are some examples of home-cooked good in the series, so I am going to try a couple of new recipes in honor of The Running Grave publication this Tuesday. 

Cynthia Phipps' Coffee and Walnut Cake. I have never been particularly fond of nuts in cake, and I never managed to find any on a menu in last summer's UK trip but since this was Anna's favorite as a child, I figured I'd give it a try. I'm going to try this recipe, and trust the characterization as a "British classic."  I purchased "caster sugar" and stopped by a local coffeehouse for a double shot of expresso, so I hope this will be authentic. I also got some coffee ice cream to go with it in case it turns out a but dry. And, I've got authentic Betty's tea to wash it down with. 

Max's Beef Casserole.  It might seem perilous to attempt to emulate any aspect of the Valentine's Day Dinner Party from Hell, but the image of Wolfgang sitting forlornly in front of the oven, begging for a taste, won me over. Best I can tell, in the UK, "beef cassrole' is a beef stew cooked in the oven, which sounds better than the hot dishes (often made with a can of cream-of-something soup) that are often called casseroles in the US.  I'm trying this recipe from the BBC. It is served with a kale-mash potato side, which hasn't turned up in Strike yet, but probably should; it would be healthier than chips, anyway. 

Like a lot of Americans, I have a bias against fruitcake. But, Pat's confection has apparently impressed Strike. Robyn, a reader of one of my previous blog posts recommended Mary Berry's recipe as a good example of a British fruitcake, and the type Pat might very well make, so I may eventually try it. I am a big fan of the British Baking Show. I think I'll wait until closer to the Christmas season. 

As for drinks, I don't care for beer (even if Doom Bar was available here, which it isn't) or triple measures of neat whisky, which Strike and Robin seem to be downing quite a bit of over the last couple of books, so I will probably stick with coffee or creosote-colored tea.

Update:  I don't plan to make these anytime soon, since the coffee-walnut cake is enough for the week, but eventually I should try the DPFH desserts. 

Max's Cheesecake:  I love cheesecake, especially with sour cream topping. I like the idea of trying a "digestive biscuit" crust instead of the American graham cracker version. Max, as a BBC drama star, would probably seek out a recipe like this. 

Vegan (?) Lemon tart:  We never did get a definitive answer to Courtney's query about whether the lemon tart was vegan. Understandably, satisfying that particular guest's dietary needs wasn't a high priority for Robin under the circumstances. Still, if Courtney did get a bite of dessert that fateful night, it might have been something like this. 

Update 2:  

Lucy's Banana Bread Cake:  As my good friend Lana Whited pointed out, the confection Lucy serves her brother, sons and husband is alternately called banana bread or banana cake.  Is it an actual gaffe (such as the hot beverage Cynthia Phipps serves with her famous coffee-walnut cake magically transfiguring between coffee and tea) or something that bridges the gap? I'm going to go with the latter and try this recipe. 

Baba Graves' Victoria sponge cake: I'm in Chapter 42 of The Running Grave, which has, so far, been pretty devoid of good food. I don't think the UHC will be raising funds by cookbook sales anytime soon. But Strike got some good cake at Garvestone House and I think I'll try this recipe once my coffee-walnut cake is done. 

Mrs. Heaton's lemon drizzle cake:  Strike was pretty annoyed at the circus-like atmosphere ifor his interview at Casa Heaton, but the cake he got out of it at least sounded good. I'll assume it is something like this recipe from Mary Berry. 

Are there any other Strike-inspired recipes you have made or are interested in making?  If so, please share!

Strike Prediction Episode on the Three Broomsticks Podcast.

 

I was privileged several weeks ago to join Beatrice Groves and Nick Jeffery to record a predictions episode for The Running Grave, with particular emphasis on Harry Potter and how a deep reading of that series informs our understanding of the world of Strike and Robin.  No spoilers and no mention of anything in the preview, so should be safe for all readers. 

The episode dropped today and is available here.  Please tune in!  10 days to go!

Many thanks to Irvin Khaytman (who has exquisite taste in hats!) and Sophia Jenkins for the opportunity. 

Who Accuses Whom in the Anomie Mystery?

In my Ink Black Heart Re-Read, it struck me how many people are sure they know who Anomie is. I finally decided to map it out. 

In short:

• Inigo thinks it's Yasmin
• Yasmin thinks it's Inigo.
• Tim thinks it's Rachel. 
• Katya thinks it's Kea.
• Kea and Wally think it's Pez
• And Pez thinks it's Wally. 

Quite a spiderweb!  

Did I miss anyone? 

London Travelogue, Part Three: Highgate Cemetery

Given that I just started the Read-along of The Ink Black Heart in the lead-up to The Running Grave, I thought it was time to share my visit to Highgate Cemetery. It was just as impressive and magical in person as it was in the fictional cartoon. We didn't take a guided tour or have time (or frankly. energy, it was a very hot day) to visit the area pubs mentioned in the text, but the time we spent exploring was well worth it.  I saw most of the sights featured in the book, and a few other interesting ones. 

The famous "grave with the chair," onfeof the first pictures featured on Rowling's twitter header. 

"The grave Edie liked" with the sacrificial mother pelican. 

The Circle of Lebonon.

The "Paperwhite" sleeping angel.