Spoilers Warning! If you haven’t finished reading the 900 pages of The Hallmarked Man and don’t want to hear details from the novel, you will not enjoy this conversation about Strike8.

John read the latest Strike-Ellacott novel by Thursday morning using the pre-publication head start, the Robert Glenister audiobook dropped early Tuesday morning, a bootleg epub version on his wife’s iPad, and the codex hardcover that arrived at 5:00 on the day of release. Nick didn’t finish until early Saturday but was already half-way through his second reading via audiobook by Sunday night.

John didn’t especially enjoy reading the book as fast as he did; Nick was frustrated that he could not read it faster than he did. Both were delighted by Rowling’s work and are looking forward to the coming weeks of re-reading and ‘Tools, Springs, and Threads’ analysis of its artistry and meaning.

In this week’s conversation, they touch on fandom disappointment with the new book before discussing how three predictions they’d made about Hallmarked Man played out, the three Real World targets of Rowling’s wrath in her current work, John’s preliminary work on the novel’s epigraphs (and the Aurora Leigh-esque forgotten tome of epic poetry that may be Strike8’s Rosmersholm or Faerie Queene), and what’s next in their reading of Cormoran Strike.

As is their wont, Nick and John refer to ideas and to people that Serious Readers will want to check up on or learn more about. Here are a selection of links to many of these subjects with their apology for those they’ve missed and their invitation to share counter-sources or requests for other links.

They thank everyone who listens to these Lake and Shed conversations, those who join in the discussions in the comment thread below (how was your first reading of Hallmarked Man?), and especially for our paid subscribers who were polled for their questions and concerns last week for our consideration before we put our notes together.

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Anteros-Eros Distinction in Cormoran Strike

Cormoran & Robin and Odysseus & Penelope (Joanne Gray, 2019)

I found out that this is actually the statue of Anteros—not Eros as it is popularly called. Anteros is the subject of the Shaftesbury Memorial in Piccadilly Circus, London, where he symbolizes the selfless philanthropic love of the Earl of Shaftesbury for the poor. The memorial is sometimes given the name The Angel of Christian Charity and is popularly mistaken for Eros, cf., Lloyd & Mitchinson (2006) The Book of General Ignorance “Because of the bow and the nudity… everybody assumed it was Eros, the Greek god of love.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anteros

https://www.theoi.com/Ouranios/ErosAnteros.html

Eros is the brother of Anteros and also pretty much the opposite of Eros.

Reading Rowling at Four Levels (John Granger, 2021)

Robin and Cormoran, even if you want to include Sam Barclay, are not a soul exteriorization akin to Harry, Hermione, and Ron. The psychomachia of the Strike novels is built on the Shakespearean soul-Spirit romantic model rather than the Platonic-Patristic body-mind-spirit soul triptych of ancient, Medieval, and contemporary film and written fiction. In this model, the man and woman lede players take the part of soul and spirit, Coomaraswamy’s duo sunt in homine human and divine aspects, either as fixed roles as in Othello and The Tempest or in relation to the other, each being soul and embracing the other as supra-natural as in Romeo and Juliet and Antony and Cleopatra (see Lings and Pogson for that). Rowling’s embedded models for this exteriorized drama of human sanctification are the myths of ‘Leda and the Swan‘ and ‘Psyche and Cupid‘ and the psychomachia spiritual allegories of Eros and Anteros, true and false Cupid, within Spenser’s Faerie Queen, the Redcrosse Knight and Una as well as Britomart and Artegell.

On Valentine Longcaster as the Erotic Cupid (Strike being the Anterotic Cupid)

Valentine Longcaster is a hilarious cryptonym for Cupid, for whom Valentine is a second name (see the post on Valentine’s Day in the Psyche and Eros post) and ‘Longcaster’ is a reference to his weapon of choice, the bow and arrow of the god of love. He pricks Strike at the direction of Venus-Charlotte, in some myths his mother, in others a lover and cousin or brother (murky waters!), and sets in motion the long-range plan of the envious ex to destroy Robin and Cormoran’s budding relationship.

Add ‘Valentine Longcaster’ to the pile of evidence for this particular backdrop and let’s continue to look for parallels and links Rowling has playfully embedded in the psycho-spiritual, neo-mythological allegory of the soul’s journey to perfection, and specifically the souls of women.

For much more on this Eros-Anteros distinction and its importance in grasping the allegorical meaning of the Strike-Ellacott relationship, see Ink Black Heart: Strike as Zeus to Robin’s Leda and Cupid to Mads’ Psyche (John Granger, 2022)

Fandom Response to Hallmarked Man:

From the Reddit r/Cormoran Strike page:

Hogwarts Professor Predictions for Hallmarked Man:

* Charlotte was Murdered (Nick Jeffery), Really, It Wasn’t a Suicide (John Granger)

‘Charlotte’ mentioned twice as often in Strike 8 as ‘Cormoran’ and Valentine Longcaster’s interview with Robin Ellacott has a major ‘tell’ at its finish (cf. p 451, ch 62).

* Robin Ellacott is Sterile (John Granger), Rowling Studies podcast

Ectopic Pregnancy consequent to PID and Murphy Pregnancy Trap leading to de facto sterility prediction appears as story-line in Chapter 3 of Hallmarked Man

* The Baby in the Lake

Hallmarked Man is Rowling’s ‘Baby Novel.’

Rowling’s Three Targets in Hallmarked Man’s Surface Story

* The Ideologically Captured Police and Media and the ‘False Religion’ of Freemasonry’s Control of the Police in Hallmarked Man

Rowling’s Week of publication tweets and retweets about UK police taking the side of Trans Activists and against Gender Critical feminists:

* https://x.com/iain_masterton/status/1963545948711219320 (JKR retweet)

* https://x.com/joannaccherry/status/1963547738722668666 (ditto)

* https://x.com/jk_rowling/status/1963528602164555894

* https://x.com/jk_rowling/status/1963297139905167722

* https://x.com/jk_rowling/status/1962847107343139014

* https://x.com/jk_rowling/status/1963465628053848363

* https://x.com/jk_rowling/status/1963299236365140305

* https://x.com/jk_rowling/status/1963298726417457300

* https://x.com/soniasodha/status/1963185964630647295 (JKR retweet; nota bene)

* https://x.com/Jebadoo2/status/1962959405160239135 (JKR retweet)

* https://x.com/joannaccherry/status/1962930361035374703 (retweet)

* https://x.com/jk_rowling/status/1962932333025067268

* https://x.com/JohannLamont/status/1963658557007749364 (retweet)

Boris Johnson and Lord Branfoot

Boris Johnson hosting the show. 2003 (YouTube)

Boris Johnson’s Personal Image or Brand (Wikipedia)

Max Hastings referred to Johnson's public image as a "façade resembling that of P. G. Wodehouse's Gussie Fink-Nottle, allied to wit, charm, brilliance and startling flashes of instability",[4] while political scientist Andrew Crines stated Johnson displayed "the character of a likable and trustworthy individual with strong intellectual capital".[5] Private Eye editor Ian Hislop has defined him as "Beano Boris" due to his perceived comical nature, saying: "He's our Berlusconi ... He's the only feel-good politician we have, everyone else is too busy being responsible."[6] To the journalist Dave Hill, Johnson was "a unique figure in British politics, an unprecedented blend of comedian, conman, faux subversive showman and populist media confection".

* “Mentally Ill Islamophobes”

2021-22 Census ~ Islam in the UK Demographics: 6% UK, 6.7% England, 15% London

UK 'Grooming Gangs': Deriving Per-Capita Offence Rates by Ethnicity

Institute for Social Policy Research (UK) An independent, data-driven social-policy research institute focusing on UK political affairs.

We therefore conclude that consistent with widespread public perceptions, whilst available evidence is not exhaustive, the mean rate derived from four of the most comprehensive studies available to date on share of CSEGG crimes by ethnicity does affirm the picture that Asians and Blacks are overrepresented in such crimes. Curiously, with much of the attention devoted to “Asians” (predominantly Pakistani gangs), it is notable that Blacks are similarly overrepresented, with our weighted rate providing limited evidence of even greater over-representation than Asians.

Please note, however —

For the CEOP study that ISPR use, footnote 1 shows the selection criteria, excluding all abuse initiated in a familial or fraternal (house based) relationship:

"Where “localised-grooming” is defined as: “a form of sexual exploitation – previously referred to as ‘on street grooming’ in the media - where children have been groomed and sexually exploited by an offender, having initially met in a location outside their home. this location is usually in public, such as a park, cinema, on the street or at a friend’s house. Offenders often act together, establishing a relationship with a child or children before sexually exploiting them. some victims of ‘street grooming’ may believe that the offender is in fact an older ‘boyfriend’; these victims introduce their peers to the offender group who might then go on to be sexually exploited as well. abuse may occur at a number of locations within a region and on several occasions. ‘Localised grooming’ was the term used by CEOP in the intelligence requests issued to police forces and other service agencies in order to define the data we wished to receive.” (footnote 1, p. 7)"

They also exclude the 39% of cases where race was not included in the data. It would be sensible to assume that ethnicity was not recorded when the ethnicity of both perpetrators and the victim were the UK default.

Removing the selection criteria shows that people of Asian ethnicity are under-represented in child sex abuse cases compared to White British: https://www.csacentre.org.uk/app/uploads/2024/02/Trends-in-Offical-Data-2022-23-FINAL.pdf

Julie Blindel pushes back on the ‘Grooming Gang as Muslim problem’ narrative:

To say that the only reason the police were complacent when it came to the grooming gangs of Rochdale, Rotherham, Telford, and elsewhere was because (some of) these men were Pakistani Muslim, is madness. The ethnicity and religion of these men is relevant, but not in the way the racists would have us believe. It is relevant because it was seen as a phenomena perpetrated because of ethnicity as opposed to male violence towards females. Look at it any other way betrays the vast majority of girls that fall prey to these men.

The Epigraph Authors — and a hidden Book Behind the Book?

* Albert Pike, Confederate States of America General

* Louise Freeman Davis on John Oxenham’s Maid of the Silver Sea

* Aurora Leigh (Elizabeth Barret Browning) and Ink Black Heart

* The Ring and the Book (Robert Browning)

* Pompilia: A Feminist Reading of 'The Ring and the Book'

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