The Hidden Narratives and Interpretive Ciphers Beneath the Surface Story of Hallmarked Man

In yesterday’s Hallmarked Man Notes: The Christmas Charm Bracelet Decoded, Tod Jameson and the Ectopic Pregnancy, and Venetian Blinds, Ed Shardlow explained three sub-texts within Strike 8 that, though invisible on first and second reading, pop up during structural analysis and in light of other Rowling-Galbraith notes.* The Christmas gift charm bracelet that Strike gives to Robin, for example, appears to be a ring and a key to Hallmarked Man, a meaning that occurred to Ed in light of Rowling’s own bracelet gift to fandom last year as a key to Sleep Tight, Evangeline;* John Granger’s posts about Strike 8’s cryptonyms similarly encouraged Ed to think about the meaning of ‘Todd Jameson’ and how the “egg-shaped” man had several names and seemed to be stuck on the Tube; and* Ed’s efforts to finish his charting of each Part of Hallmarked Man brought up the theme of Robin’s blindness and mental struggles in Part Three’s chapter correspondences.In conversation with Nick and John explore these ideas as well as the potential importance of A. H. Murdoch, a historical figure that Rowling-Galbraith invented whole-cloth, the meaning of his name (‘Alexander Hughson’), and the passages from his book, Secrets of the Craft, which of course are also Rowling-written.Below are relevant links to the subjects the trio discuss and copies of the ten questions John and Nick asked Ed. Enjoy!Links to Conversation Subjects* Hallmarked Man Notes: The Christmas Charm Bracelet Decoded, Tod Jameson and the Ectopic Pregnancy, and Venetian BlindsCharm Bracelets* The Christmas Charm Bracelet of Strike 9 Clues (Part One)* The Christmas Charm Bracelet of Strike 9 Clues (Part Two)* 'Sleep Tight, Evangeline,' Miniature Psalters, and the Head of Persephone: A Conversation with Dimitra FimiCryptonyms of Hallmarked Man* The Allegorical Cryptonyms of The Hallmarked Man, Part One* What do Tyler Powell, Rupert Fleetwood, Jolanda Lindvall, and Lady Jensen Have in Common?* The Allegorical Cryptonyms of The Hallmarked Man, Part Two* Wet Squibs, Islamic Cub Names, the Seven Strike Series Structure Theories, and How a Human Being Reads a Story* The Lost Child Golden Thread in the Work of J. K. Rowling (Kanreki)* The Pre Natal Infanticide Theory Explaining the Lost Child Golden Thread (Kanreki)Rowling as Sacred Artist: A Perennialist Reading* Ray Livingston's 'The Traditional Theory of Literature' (Chapter 1: Preface and Prologue)* Ray Livingston's 'The Traditional Theory of Literature' (Chapter 2: Man, Society, Art )* Ray Livingston's 'The Traditional Theory of Literature' (Chapter 3: The Creative Process)* Martin Lings’ The Sacred Art of Shakespeare* J. K. Rowling’s ‘G-Spot’ and ‘Triple Play:’ The Lake & Shed Secret of Her SuccessThe Ring Readings of Rowling’s Hallmarked Man Chapter Sets* Index to the Group Adventure of Charting Hallmarked Man (scroll to bottom)* Ed Shardlow’s ring notes for Part ThreeA. H. Murdoch’s Secrets of the Craft Excerpt in Hallmarked Man:[Strike skim read the entry under Degree Thirty Two.]The Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret becomes with the degree’s endowment none other than a Christian Knight, the spiritual and legitimate successor of the Knights Templar…When she elevates and illuminates, a pure and chaste woman is as silver, or the moon. The […] Freemason is sure never to mistake base lead for the nobler metal, else he may find himself forever entombed in the dungeons of lust and lasciviousness. (ch 53, pp 400-401)The parenthetic ellipsis is in text, presumably there because “Murdoch’s book hadn’t been properly formatted, but scanned into digital form, so that the occasional word was illegible.” The Ten Questions1. We have a special guest today, Ed Shardlow, the author of a commissioned post that went up this week, one we begged him to write up. It’s a weird post erven for a site that embraces the exotic, weird in the sense that it’s actually three posts rolled into one. What’s up with that, Ed?2. So the three topics are:* The charms on the Christmas gift bracelet Strike gives to Robin;* The meaning of Todd Jameson’s name; and* Robin’s sight and memory issues, ‘Venetian Blinds’Is there a thread running through these ideas?3. Tell us your charm bracelet idea and the meaning you think each charm has --4. And it’s a ring, right? What a hoot. --5. I loved the charm bracelet piece, not only because you read it as a ring and showed that the charms together and separately act as something of a cipher for the book, but because you linked it with Rowling’s Strike 9 charm bracelet. Do you think per Shanker’s advice that Rowling-Galbraith is giving us jewelry as a gift, one that acts as a key to the work in Hallmarked and before Evangeline, because she wants to make up with us for the hardship readers are having with the book?6. True confession, though I was laughing out loud and delighted with your breaking the Todd Jameson cryptonym, I was also pretty disappointed; that name was number 1 on my not-yet-written third cryptonym post. What consoles me is that I doubt I would have picked up on what you saw, which is mind-blowing. Tell us how you figured it out as well as what you found --7. Now this is a new variant of Rowling-Galbraith inserting a text within the text. This ectopic sub-story isn’t a written text, a fairy tale, an epigraph, a song playing in the background, an illustration based on a mad detective’s Tarot card throws, or the story the bad guy is selling that we have to unwind and re-write; we’ve seen those books-inside-the-book before. This is Rowling concealing a narrative inside the narrative with really only the name to act as the cipher for the coded message. Hence her talking up the importance of names in this book (e.g. Jolanda -- violets)?8. You make a fascinating connection with Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, and Todd Jameson, the Son Who Killed His Mother (?). Do you think she finally wrote in a Chosen One echo in the Strike series via Jameson?9. I want to leave the board here because I know you have to run -- thank you for joining us on such short notice! -- and talk about something you’ve been sharing on the Moderator’s Back Channels, namely, A. H. Murdock. His Secrets of the Craft is another text within a text, right? Have you thought about his name or why Rowling gave his book that title?10. When will you be done with The Ickabog project? Inquiring minds want to know! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit hogwartsprofessor.substack.com/subscribe