The Helensburgh and Gareloch Times for 1 July 1931 reports that, at the Larchfield School Speech Day, 'the boys entertained the company with two little plays, and their clever acting and clear enunciation won the approval of their audience. The first play, Sherlock Holmes chez Duhamel, was written by Mr Auden for performance by Form V. It was a representation of a visit of Sherlock Holmes to France, and showed the attitude of the French towards his methods of deduction.' The report passes over the play in silence, preferring the scenes from The Wind in the Willows performed by Forms I and II, to conclude with a sentence that reads like a spoof news item by Auden himself: 'The company afterwards adjourned to the lawn, where tea was served, and the boys gave a clever display of Swedish drill.'

LRB 11 January 1990 | PDF Download