Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Illustrated

- By A. Conan Doyle
info
Font Size
British writer and physician (1859–1930) "Conan Doyle" redirects here. For the rugby player, see Conan Doyle (rugby union). For the South African cricketer, see Conan Doyle (cricketer). SirArthur Conan DoyleKStJ, DLDoyle in 1914BornArthur Ignatius Conan Doyle(1859-05-22)22 May 1859Edinburgh, ScotlandDied7 July 1930(1930-07-07) (aged 71)Crowborough, Sussex, EnglandOccupation Writer physician EducationUniversity of EdinburghGenre Detective fiction fantasy science fiction historical novels non-fiction Notable works Stories of Sherlock Holmes The Lost World Spouse Louisa Hawkins ​ ​(m. 1885; died 1906)​ Jean Leckie ​(m. 1907)​ Children5, including Adrian and JeanParentsCharles Altamont DoyleMary FoleySignatureWebsitewww.conandoyleestate.com Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle KStJ, DL (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for A Study in Scarlet, the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Holmes and Dr. Watson. The Sherlock Holmes stories are milestones in the field of crime fiction. Doyle was a prolific writer; other than Holmes stories, his works include fantasy and science fiction stories about Professor Challenger, and humorous stories about the Napoleonic soldier Brigadier Gerard, as well as plays, romances, poetry, non-fiction, and historical novels. One of Doyle's early short stories, "J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement" (1884), helped to popularise the mystery of the Mary Celeste. Name[edit] Doyle is often referred to as "Sir Arthur Conan Doyle" or "Conan Doyle", implying that "Conan" is part of a compound surname rather than a middle name. His baptism entry in the register of St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh, gives "Arthur Ignatius Conan" as his given names and "Doyle" as his surname. It also names Michael Conan as his godfather.[1] The catalogues of the British Library and the Library of Congress treat "Doyle" alone as his surname.[2] Steven Doyle, publisher of The Baker Street Journal, wrote: "Conan was Arthur's middle name. Shortly after he graduated from high school he began using Conan as a sort of surname. But technically his last name is simply 'Doyle'."[3] When knighted, he was gazetted as Doyle, not under the compound Conan Doyle.[4] Early life[edit] Portrait of Doyle by Herbert Rose Barraud, 1893 Title page from Arthur Conan Doyle's thesis Doyle was born on 22 May 1859 at 11 Picardy Place, Edinburgh, Scotland.[5][6] His father, Charles Altamont Doyle, was born in England, of Irish Catholic descent, and his mother, Mary (née Foley), was Irish Catholic. His parents married in 1855.[7] In 1864 the family scattered because of Charles's growing alcoholism, and the children were temporarily housed across Edinburgh. Arthur lodged with Mary Burton, the aunt of a friend, at Liberton Bank House on Gilmerton Road, while studying at Newington Academy.[8] In 1867, the family came together again and lived in squalid tenement flats at 3 Sciennes Place.[9] Doyle's father died in 1893, in the Crichton Royal, Dumfries, after many years of psychiatric illness.[10][11] Beginning at an early age, throughout his life Doyle wrote letters to his mother, and many of them were preserved.[12] Supported by wealthy uncles, Doyle was sent to England, to the Jesuit preparatory school Hodder Place, Stonyhurst in Lancashire, at the age of nine (1868–70). He then went on to Stonyhurst College, which he attended until 1875. While Doyle was not unhappy at Stonyhurst, he said he did not have any fond memories of it because the school was run on medieval principles: the only subjects covered were rudiments, rhetoric, Euclidean geometry, algebra, and the classics.[13] Doyle commented later in his life that this academic system could only be excused "on the plea that any exercise, however stupid in itself, forms a sort of mental dumbbell by which one can improve one's mind".[13] He also found the school harsh, noting that, instead of compassion and warmth, it favoured the threat of corporal punishment and ritual humiliation.[14] From 1875 to 1876, he was educated at the Jesuit school Stella Matutina in Feldkirch, Austria.[9] His family decided that he would spend a year there in order to perfect his German and broaden his academic horizons.[15] He later rejected the Catholic faith and became an agnostic.[16] One source attributed his drift away from religion to the time he spent in the less strict Austrian school.[14] He also later became a spiritualist mystic.[17] Medical career[edit] From 1876 to 1881, Doyle studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh Medical School; during this period he spent time working in Aston (then a town in Warwickshire, now part of Birmingham), Sheffield and Ruyton-XI-Towns, Shropshire.[18] Also during this period, he studied practical botany at the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh.[19] While studying, Doyle began writing short stories. His earliest extant fiction, "The Haunted Grange of Goresthorpe", was unsuccessfully submitted to Blackwood's Magazine.[9] His first published piece, "The Mystery of Sasassa Valley", a story set in South Africa, was printed in Chambers's Edinburgh Journal on 6 September 1879.[9][20] On 20 September 1879, he published his first academic article, "Gelsemium as a Poison" in the British Medical Journal,[9][21][22] a study which The Daily Telegraph regarded as potentially useful in a 21st-century murder investigation.[23] Professor Challenger by Harry Rountree in the novella The Poison Belt published in The Strand Magazine Doyle was the doctor on the Greenland whaler Hope of Peterhead in 1880.[24] On 11 July 1880, John Gray's Hope and David Gray's Eclipse met up with the Eira and Leigh Smith. The photographer W. J. A. Grant took a photograph aboard the Eira of Doyle along with Smith, the Gray brothers, and ship's surgeon William Neale, who were members of the Smith expedition. That expedition explored Franz Josef Land, and led to the naming, on 18 August, of Cape Flora, Bell Island, Nightingale Sound, Gratton ("Uncle Joe") Island, and Mabel Island.[25] After graduating with Bachelor of Medicine and Master of Surgery (M.B. C.M.) degrees from the University of Edinburgh in 1881, he was ship's surgeon on the SS Mayumba during a voyage to the West African coast.[9] He completed his Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degree (an advanced degree beyond the basic medical qualification in the UK) with a dissertation on tabes dorsalis in 1885.[26][27] In 1882, Doyle partnered with his former classmate George Turnavine Budd in a medical practice in Plymouth, but their relationship proved difficult, and Doyle soon left to set up an independent practice.[9][28] Arriving in Portsmouth in June 1882, with less than £10 (£1100 in 2019[29]) to his name, he set up a medical practice at 1 Bush Villas in Elm Grove, Southsea.[30] The practice was not successful. While waiting for patients, Doyle returned to writing fiction. Doyle was a staunch supporter of compulsory vaccination and wrote several articles advocating the practice and denouncing the views of anti-vaccinators.[31][32] In early 1891, Doyle embarked on the study of ophthalmology in Vienna. He had previously studied at the Portsmouth Eye Hospital in order to qualify to perform eye tests and prescribe glasses. Vienna had been suggested by his friend Vernon Morris as a place to spend six months and train to be an eye surgeon. But Doyle found it too difficult to understand the German medical terms being used in his classes in Vienna, and soon quit his studies there. For the rest of his two-month stay in Vienna, he pursued other activities, such as ice skating with his wife Louisa and drinking with Brinsley Richards of the London Times. He also wrote The Doings of Raffles Haw. After visiting Venice and Milan, he spent a few days in Paris observing Edmund Landolt, an expert on diseases of the eye. Within three months of his departure for Vienna, Doyle returned to London. He opened a small office and consulting room at 2 Upper Wimpole Street, or 2 Devonshire Place as it was then. (There is today a Westminster City Council commemorative plaque over the front door.) He had no patients, according to his autobiography, and his efforts as an ophthalmologist were a failure.[33][34][35] Literary career[edit] Main article: Arthur Conan Doyle bibliography Sherlock Holmes[edit] Portrait of Sherlock Holmes by Sidney Paget, 1904 Doyle struggled to find a publisher. His first work featuring Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, A Study in Scarlet, was written in three weeks when he was 27 and was accepted for publication by Ward Lock & Co on 20 November 1886, which gave Doyle £25 (equivalent to £2,900 in 2019) in exchange for all rights to the story. The piece appeared a year later in the Beeton's Christmas Annual and received good reviews in The Scotsman and the Glasgow Herald.[9] Holmes was partially modelled on Doyle's former university teacher Joseph Bell. In 1892, in a letter to Bell, Doyle wrote, "It is most certainly to you that I owe Sherlock Holmes ... round the centre of deduction and inference and observation which I have heard you inculcate I have tried to build up a man",[36] and in his 1924 autobiography, he remarked, "It is no wonder that after the study of such a character [viz., Bell] I used and amplified his methods when in later life I tried to build up a scientific detective who solved cases on his own merits and not through the folly of the criminal."[37] Robert Louis Stevenson was able to recognise the strong similarity between Joseph Bell and Sherlock Holmes: "My compliments on your very ingenious and very interesting adventures of Sherlock Holmes. ... can this be my old friend Joe Bell?"[38] Other authors sometimes suggest additional influences—for instance, Edgar Allan Poe's character C. Auguste Dupin, who is mentioned, disparagingly, by Holmes in A Study in Scarlet.[39] Dr. (John) Watson owes his surname, but not any other obvious characteristic, to a Portsmouth medical colleague of Doyle's, Dr. James Watson.[40] Sherlock Holmes statue in Edinburgh, erected opposite the birthplace of Doyle, which was demolished c. 1970 A sequel to A Study in Scarlet was commissioned, and The Sign of the Four appeared in Lippincott's Magazine in February 1890, under agreement with the Ward Lock company. Doyle felt grievously exploited by Ward Lock as an author new to the publishing world, and so, after this, he left them.[9] Short stories featuring Sherlock Holmes were published in the Strand Magazine. Doyle wrote the first five Holmes short stories from his office at 2 Upper Wimpole Street (then known as Devonshire Place), which is now marked by a memorial plaque.[41] Doyle's attitude towards his most famous creation was ambivalent.[40] In November 1891, he wrote to his mother: "I think of slaying Holmes, ... and winding him up for good and all. He takes my mind from better things." His mother responded, "You won't! You can't! You mustn't!"[42] In an attempt to deflect publishers' demands for more Holmes stories, he raised his price to a level intended to discourage them, but found they were willing to pay even the large sums he asked.[40] As a result, he became one of the best-paid authors of his time. Statue of Holmes and the English Church in Meiringen In December 1893, to dedicate more of his time to his historical novels, Doyle had Holmes and Professor Moriarty plunge to their deaths together down the Reichenbach Falls in the story "The Final Problem". Public outcry, however, led him to feature Holmes in 1901 in the novel The Hound of the Baskervilles. Holmes's fictional connection with the Reichenbach Falls is celebrated in the nearby town of Meiringen. In 1903, Doyle published his first Holmes short story in ten years, "The Adventure of the Empty House", in which it was explained that only Moriarty had fallen, but since Holmes had other dangerous enemies—especially Colonel Sebastian Moran—he had arranged to make it look as if he too were dead. Holmes was ultimately featured in a total of 56 short stories—the last published in 1927—and four novels by Doyle, and has since appeared in many novels and stories by other authors. Other works[edit] Doyle's house in South Norwood, Croydon, south-east London, with a close up of the commemorative blue plaque at the address Doyle's first novels were The Mystery of Cloomber, not published until 1888, and the unfinished Narrative of John Smith, published only posthumously, in 2011.[43] He amassed a portfolio of short stories, including "The Captain of the Pole-Star" and "J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement", both inspired by Doyle's time at sea. The latter popularised the mystery of the Mary Celeste[44] and added fictional details such as that the ship was found in perfect condition (it had actually taken on water by the time it was discovered), and that its boats remained on board (the single boat was in fact missing). These fictional details have come to dominate popular accounts of the incident,[9][44] and Doyle's alternative spelling of the ship's name as the Marie Celeste has become more commonly used than the original spelling.[45] Between 1888 and 1906, Doyle wrote seven historical novels, which he and many critics regarded as his best work.[40] He also wrote nine other novels, and—later in his career (1912–29)—five narratives (two of novel length) featuring the irascible scientist Professor Challenger. The Challenger stories include his best-known work after the Holmes oeuvre, The Lost World. His historical novels include The White Company and its prequel Sir Nigel, set in the Middle Ages. He was a prolific author of short stories, including two collections set in Napoleonic times and featuring the French character Brigadier Gerard. Doyle's works for the stage include Waterloo, which centres on the reminiscences of an English veteran of the Napoleonic Wars and features a character Gregory Brewster, written for Henry Irving; The House of Temperley, the plot of which reflects his abiding interest in boxing; The Speckled Band, adapted from his earlier short story "The Adventure of the Speckled Band"; and an 1893 collaboration with J. M. Barrie on the libretto of Jane Annie.[46] Sporting career[edit] While living in Southsea, the seaside resort near Portsmouth, Doyle played football as a goalkeeper for Portsmouth Association Football Club, an amateur side, under the pseudonym A. C. Smith.[47] Doyle was a keen cricketer, and between 1899 and 1907 he played 10 first-class matches for the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC).[48] He also played for the amateur cricket teams the Allahakbarries and the Authors XI alongside fellow writers J. M. Barrie, P. G. Wodehouse and A. A. Milne.[49][50] His highest score, in 1902 against London County, was 43. He was an occasional bowler who took one first-class wicket, W. G. Grace, and wrote a poem about the achievement.[51] In 1900, Doyle founded the Undershaw Rifle Club at his home, constructing a 100-yard range and providing shooting for local men, as the poor showing of British troops in the Boer War had led him to believe that the general population needed training in marksmanship.[52][53] He was a champion of "miniature" rifle clubs, whose members shot small-calibre firearms on local ranges.[54][55] These ranges were much cheaper and more accessible to working-class participants than large "fullbore" ranges, such as Bisley Camp, which were necessarily remote from population centres. Doyle went on to sit on the Rifle Clubs Committee of the National Rifle Association.[56] In 1901, Doyle was one of three judges for the world's first major bodybuilding competition, which was organised by the "Father of Bodybuilding", Eugen Sandow. The event was held in London's Royal Albert Hall. The other two judges were the sculptor Sir Charles Lawes-Wittewronge and Eugen Sandow himself.[57] Doyle was an amateur boxer.[58] In 1909, he was invited to referee the James Jeffries–Jack Johnson heavyweight championship fight in Reno, Nevada. Doyle wrote: "I was much inclined to accept ... though my friends pictured me as winding up with a revolver at one ear and a razor at the other. However, the distance and my engagements presented a final bar."[58] Also a keen golfer, Doyle was elected captain of the Crowborough Beacon Golf Club in Sussex for 1910. He had moved to Little Windlesham house in Crowborough with Jean Leckie, his second wife, and resided there with his family from 1907 until his death in July 1930.[59] He entered the English Amateur billiards championship in 1913.[60] While living in Switzerland, Doyle became interested in skiing, which was relatively unknown in Switzerland at the time. He wrote an article, "An Alpine Pass on 'Ski'" for the December 1894 issue of The Strand Magazine,[61] in which he described his experiences with skiing and the beautiful alpine scenery that could be seen in the process. The article popularised the activity and began the long association between Switzerland and skiing.[62] Family life[edit] Doyle with his family c. 1923–1925 In 1885 Doyle married Louisa (sometimes called "Touie") Hawkins (1857–1906). She was the youngest daughter of J. Hawkins, of Minsterworth, Gloucestershire, and the sister of one of Doyle's patients. Louisa had tuberculosis.[63] In 1907, the year after Louisa's death, he married Jean Elizabeth Leckie (1874–1940). He had met and fallen in love with Jean in 1897, but had maintained a platonic relationship with her while his first wife was still alive, out of loyalty to her.[64] Jean outlived her husband and died during wartime on 27 June 1940.[65] Doyle fathered five children. He had two with his first wife: Mary Louise (1889–1976) and Arthur Alleyne Kingsley, known as Kingsley (1892–1918). He had an additional three with his second wife: Denis Percy Stewart (1909–1955), who became the second husband of Georgian Princess Nina Mdivani; Adrian Malcolm (1910–1970); and Jean Lena Annette (1912–1997).[66] None of Doyle's five children had children of their own, so he has no living direct descendants.[67][68] Political campaigning[edit] Arthur Conan Doyle by George Wylie Hutchinson, 1894 Doyle served as a volunteer physician in the Langman Field Hospital at Bloemfontein between March and June 1900,[69] during the Second Boer War in South Africa (1899–1902). Later that year, he wrote a book on the war, The Great Boer War, as well as a short work titled The War in South Africa: Its Cause and Conduct, in which he responded to critics of the United Kingdom's role in that war, and argued that its role was justified. The latter work was widely translated, and Doyle believed it was the reason he was knighted (given the rank of Knight Bachelor) by King Edward VII in the 1902 Coronation Honours.[70] He received the accolade from the King in person at Buckingham Palace on 24 October of that year.[71] He stood for Parliament twice as a Liberal Unionist: in 1900 in Edinburgh Central, and in 1906 in the Hawick Burghs, but was not elected.[72] He served as a Deputy-Lieutenant of Surrey beginning in 1902,[73] and was appointed a Knight of Grace of the Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem in 1903.[74] Doyle was a supporter of the campaign for the reform of the Congo Free State that was led by the journalist E. D. Morel and diplomat Roger Casement. In 1909 he wrote The Crime of the Congo, a long pamphlet in which he denounced the horrors of that colony. He became acquainted with Morel and Casement, and it is possible that, together with Bertram Fletcher Robinson, they inspired several characters that appear in his 1912 novel The Lost World.[75] Later, after the Irish Easter Rising, Casement was found guilty of treason against the Crown, and was sentenced to death. Doyle tried, unsuccessfully, to save him, arguing that Casement had been driven mad, and therefore should not be held responsible for his actions.[76] As the First World War loomed, and having been caught up in a growing public swell of Germanophobia, Doyle gave a public donation of 10 shillings to the anti-immigration British Brothers' League.[77] In 1914, Doyle was one of fifty-three leading British authors—including H. G. Wells, Rudyard Kipling and Thomas Hardy—who signed their names to the "Authors' Declaration", justifying Britain's involvement in the First World War. This manifesto declared that the German invasion of Belgium had been a brutal crime, and that Britain "could not without dishonour have refused to take part in the present war".[78] Legal advocate[edit] Doyle statue in Crowborough, East Sussex Doyle was also a fervent advocate of justice and personally investigated two closed cases, which led to two men being exonerated of the crimes of which they were accused. The first case, in 1906, involved a shy half-British, half-Indian lawyer named George Edalji, who had allegedly penned threatening letters and mutilated animals in Great Wyrley. Police were set on Edalji's conviction, even though the mutilations continued after their suspect was jailed.[79] Apart from helping George Edalji, Doyle's work helped establish a way to correct other miscarriages of justice, as it was partially as a result of this case that the Court of Criminal Appeal was established in 1907.[80] The story of Doyle and Edalji was dramatised in an episode of the 1972 BBC television series, The Edwardians. In Nicholas Meyer's pastiche The West End Horror (1976), Holmes manages to help clear the name of a shy Parsi Indian character wronged by the English justice system. Edalji was of Parsi heritage on his father's side. The story was fictionalised in Julian Barnes's 2005 novel Arthur and George, which was adapted into a three-part drama by ITV in 2015.[citation needed] The second case, that of Oscar Slater—a Jew of German origin who operated a gambling den and was convicted of bludgeoning an 82-year-old woman in Glasgow in 1908—excited Doyle's curiosity because of inconsistencies in the prosecution's case and a general sense that Slater was not guilty. He ended up paying most of the costs for Slater's successful 1928 appeal.[81] Freemasonry and spiritualism[edit] Doyle had a longstanding interest in mystical subjects and remained fascinated by the idea of paranormal phenomena, even though the strength of his belief in their reality waxed and waned periodically over the years. In 1887, in Southsea, influenced by Major-General Alfred Wilks Drayson, a member of the Portsmouth Literary and Philosophical Society, Doyle began a series of investigations into the possibility of psychic phenomena and attended about 20 seances, experiments in telepathy, and sittings with mediums. Writing to spiritualist journal Light that year, he declared himself to be a spiritualist, describing one particular event that had convinced him psychic phenomena were real.[82] Also in 1887 (on 26 January), he was initiated as a Freemason at the Phoenix Lodge No. 257 in Southsea. (He resigned from the Lodge in 1889, returned to it in 1902, and resigned again in 1911.)[83] In 1889, he became a founding member of the Hampshire Society for Psychical Research; in 1893, he joined the London-based Society for Psychical Research; and in 1894, he collaborated with Sir Sidney Scott and Frank Podmore in a search for poltergeists in Devon.[84] Doyle was also a member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.[85] Doyle and the spiritualist William Thomas Stead (who would die on the Titanic) were led to believe that Julius and Agnes Zancig had genuine psychic powers, and they claimed publicly that the Zancigs used telepathy. However, in 1924, the Zancigs confessed that their mind reading act had been a trick; they published the secret code and all other details of the trick method they had used under the title "Our Secrets!!" in a London newspaper.[86] Doyle also praised the psychic phenomena and spirit materialisations that he believed had been produced by Eusapia Palladino and Mina Crandon, both of whom were also later exposed as frauds.[87] In 1916, at the height of the First World War, Doyle's belief in psychic phenomena was strengthened by what he took to be the psychic abilities of his children's nanny, Lily Loder Symonds.[88] This and the constant drumbeat of wartime deaths inspired him with the idea that spiritualism was what he called a "New Revelation"[89] sent by God to bring solace to the bereaved. He wrote a piece in Light magazine about his faith and began lecturing frequently on spiritualism. In 1918, he published his first spiritualist work, The New Revelation. Some have mistakenly assumed that Doyle's turn to spiritualism was prompted by the death of his son Kingsley, but Doyle began presenting himself publicly as a spiritualist in 1916, and Kingsley died on 28 October 1918 (from pneumonia contracted during his convalescence after being seriously wounded in the 1916 Battle of the Somme).[89] Nevertheless, the war-related deaths of many people who were close to him appears to have even further strengthened his long-held belief in life after death and spirit communication. Doyle's brother Brigadier-general Innes Doyle died, also from pneumonia, in February 1919. His two brothers-in-law (one of whom was E. W. Hornung, creator of the literary character Raffles), as well as his two nephews, also died shortly after the war. His second book on spiritualism, The Vital Message, appeared in 1919. Doyle found solace in supporting spiritualism's ideas and the attempts of spiritualists to find proof of an existence beyond the grave. In particular, according to some,[90] he favoured Christian Spiritualism and encouraged the Spiritualists' National Union to accept an eighth precept – that of following the teachings and example of Jesus of Nazareth. He was a member of the renowned supernaturalist organisation The Ghost Club.[91] Doyle with his family in New York City, 1922 In 1919, the magician P. T. Selbit staged a séance at his flat in Bloomsbury, which Doyle attended. Although some later claimed that Doyle had endorsed the apparent instances of clairvoyance at that séance as genuine,[92][93] a contemporaneous report by the Sunday Express quoted Doyle as saying "I should have to see it again before passing a definite opinion on it" and "I have my doubts about the whole thing".[94] In 1920, Doyle and the noted sceptic Joseph McCabe held a public debate at Queen's Hall in London, with Doyle taking the position that the claims of spiritualism were true. After the debate, McCabe published a booklet Is Spiritualism Based on Fraud?, in which he laid out evidence refuting Doyle's arguments and claimed that Doyle had been duped into believing in spiritualism through deliberate mediumship trickery.[95] Doyle also debated the psychiatrist Harold Dearden, who vehemently disagreed with Doyle's belief that many cases of diagnosed mental illness were the result of spirit possession.[96] In 1920, Doyle travelled to Australia and New Zealand on spiritualist missionary work, and over the next several years, until his death, he continued his mission, giving talks about his spiritualist conviction in Britain, Europe, and the United States.[84] One of the five photographs of Frances Griffiths with the alleged fairies, taken by Elsie Wright in Cottingley, England in July 1917 Doyle wrote a novel The Land of Mist centred on spiritualist themes and featuring the character Professor Challenger. He also wrote many non-fiction spiritualist works. Perhaps his most famous of these was The Coming of the Fairies (1922),[97] in which Doyle described his beliefs about the nature and existence of fairies and spirits, reproduced the five Cottingley Fairies photographs, asserted that those who suspected them being faked were wrong, and expressed his conviction that they were authentic. Decades later, the photos—taken by cousins Frances Griffiths and Elsie Wright—were definitively shown to have been faked, and their creators admitted to the fakery, although both maintained that they really had seen fairies.[98] Doyle was friends for a time with the American magician Harry Houdini. Even though Houdini explained that his feats were based on illusion and trickery, Doyle was convinced that Houdini had supernatural powers and said as much in his work The Edge of the Unknown. Houdini's friend Bernard M. L. Ernst recounted a time when Houdini had performed an impressive trick at his home in Doyle's presence. Houdini had assured Doyle that the trick was pure illusion and had expressed the hope that this demonstration would persuade Doyle not to go around "endorsing phenomena" simply because he could think of no explanation for what he had seen other than supernatural power. However, according to Ernst, Doyle simply refused to believe that it had been a trick.[99] Houdini became a prominent opponent of the spiritualist movement in the 1920s, after the death of his beloved mother. He insisted that spiritualist mediums employed trickery, and consistently exposed them as frauds. These differences between Houdini and Doyle eventually led to a bitter, public falling-out between them.[100] 1922 photograph of Doyle by spirit photographer Ada Deane In 1922, the psychical researcher Harry Price accused the "spirit photographer" William Hope of fraud. Doyle defended Hope, but further evidence of trickery was obtained from other researchers.[101] Doyle threatened to have Price evicted from the National Laboratory of Psychical Research and predicted that, if he persisted in writing what he called "sewage" about spiritualists, he would meet the same fate as Harry Houdini.[102] Price wrote: "Arthur Conan Doyle and his friends abused me for years for exposing Hope."[103] In response to the exposure of frauds that had been perpetrated by Hope and other spiritualists, Doyle led 84 members of the Society for Psychical Research to resign in protest from the society on the ground that they believed it was opposed to spiritualism.[104] Doyle's two-volume book The History of Spiritualism was published in 1926. W. Leslie Curnow a spiritualist, contributed much research to the book.[105][106] Later that year, Robert John Tillyard wrote a predominantly supportive review of it in the journal Nature.[107] This review provoked controversy: Several other critics, notably A. A. Campbell Swinton, pointed out the evidence of fraud in mediumship, as well as Doyle's non-scientific approach to the subject.[108][109][110] In 1927, Doyle gave a filmed interview, in which he spoke about Sherlock Holmes and spiritualism.[111] Doyle and the Piltdown hoax[edit] Richard Milner, an American historian of science, argued that Doyle may have been the perpetrator of the Piltdown Man hoax of 1912, creating the counterfeit hominid fossil that fooled the scientific world for over 40 years. Milner noted that Doyle had a plausible motive—namely, revenge on the scientific establishment for debunking one of his favourite psychics—and said that The Lost World appeared to contain several clues referring cryptically to his having been involved in the hoax.[112][113] Samuel Rosenberg's 1974 book Naked Is the Best Disguise purports to explain how, throughout his writings, Doyle had provided overt clues to otherwise hidden or suppressed aspects of his way of thinking that seemed to support the idea that Doyle would be involved in such a hoax.[114] However, more recent research suggests that Doyle was not involved. In 2016, researchers at the Natural History Museum and Liverpool John Moores University analyzed DNA evidence showing that responsibility for the hoax lay with the amateur archaeologist Charles Dawson, who had originally "found" the remains. He had initially not been considered the likely perpetrator, because the hoax was seen as being too elaborate for him to have devised. However, the DNA evidence showed that a supposedly ancient tooth he had "discovered" in 1915 (at a different site) came from the same jaw as that of the Piltdown Man, suggesting that he had planted them both. That tooth, too, was later proven to have been planted as part of a hoax.[115] Chris Stringer, an anthropologist from the Natural History Museum, was quoted as saying: "Conan Doyle was known to play golf at the Piltdown site and had even given Dawson a lift in his car to the area, but he was a public man and very busy[,] and it is very unlikely that he would have had the time [to create the hoax]. So there are some coincidences, but I think they are just coincidences. When you look at the fossil evidence[,] you can only associate Dawson with all the finds, and Dawson was known to be personally ambitious. He wanted professional recognition. He wanted to be a member of the Royal Society and he was after an MBE [sic[116]]. He wanted people to stop seeing him as an amateur".[117] Architecture[edit] Façade of Undershaw with Doyle's children, Mary and Kingsley, on the drive Another of Doyle's longstanding interests was architectural design. In 1895, when he commissioned an architect friend of his, Joseph Henry Ball, to build him a home, he played an active part in the design process.[118][119] The home in which he lived from October 1897 to September 1907, known as Undershaw (near Hindhead, in Surrey),[120] was used as a hotel and restaurant from 1924 until 2004, when it was bought by a developer and then stood empty while conservationists and Doyle fans fought to preserve it.[63] In 2012, the High Court in London ruled in favor of those seeking to preserve the historic building, ordering that the redevelopment permission be quashed on the ground that it had not been obtained through proper procedures.[121] The building was later approved to become part of Stepping Stones, a school for children with disabilities and special needs. Doyle made his most ambitious foray into architecture in March 1912, while he was staying at the Lyndhurst Grand Hotel: He sketched the original designs for a third-storey extension and for an alteration of the front facade of the building.[122] Work began later that year, and when it was finished, the building was a nearly exact manifestation of the plans Doyle had sketched. Superficial alterations have been subsequently made, but the essential structure is still clearly Doyle's.[123] In 1914, on a family trip to the Jasper National Park in Canada, he designed a golf course and ancillary buildings for a hotel. The plans were realised in full, but neither the golf course nor the buildings have survived.[124] In 1926, Doyle laid the foundation stone for a Spiritualist Temple in Camden, London. Of the building's total £600 construction costs, he provided £500.[125] Crimes Club[edit] The Crimes Club was a private social club founded by Doyle in 1903, whose purpose was discussion of crime and detection, criminals and criminology, and continues to this day as "Our Society", with membership numbers limited to 100. The club meets four times a year at the Imperial Hotel, Russell Square, London, where all proceedings are strictly confidential ("Chatham House rules"). Its logo is a silhouette of Doyle.[126] The club's earliest members included John Churton Collins, Japanologist Arthur Diósy, Sir Edward Marshall Hall, Sir Travers Humphreys, H. B. Irving, author (Thou Shalt Do No Murder) Arthur Lambton, William Le Queux, A. E. W. Mason, coroner Ingleby Oddie, Sir Max Pemberton, Bertram Fletcher Robinson, George R. Sims, Sir Bernard Spilsbury, Sir P. G. Wodehouse, and Filson Young.[127] Death[edit] Doyle's grave at Minstead in Hampshire Doyle in 1930, the year of his death, with his son Adrian Doyle was found clutching his chest in the hall of Windlesham Manor, his house in Crowborough, Sussex, on 7 July 1930. He died of a heart attack at the age of 71. His last words were directed toward his wife: "You are wonderful."[128] At the time of his death, there was some controversy concerning his burial place, as he was avowedly not a Christian, considering himself a Spiritualist. He was first buried on 11 July 1930 in Windlesham rose garden. In his will, he bequeathed £250 per year to Alfred Wood, who had served as his private secretary since 1897.[129] He was later reinterred together with his wife in Minstead churchyard in the New Forest, Hampshire.[9] Carved wooden tablets to his memory and to the memory of his wife, originally from the church at Minstead, are on display as part of a Sherlock Holmes exhibition at Portsmouth Museum.[130][131] The epitaph on his gravestone in the churchyard reads, in part: "Steel true/Blade straight/Arthur Conan Doyle/Knight/Patriot, Physician and man of letters".[132] A statue honours Doyle at Crowborough Cross in Crowborough, where he lived for 23 years.[133] There is a statue of Sherlock Holmes in Picardy Place, Edinburgh, close to the house where Doyle was born.[134] Honours and awards[edit] Knight Bachelor (1902)[4] Knight of Grace of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (1903) Queen's South Africa Medal (1901) Knight of the Order of the Crown of Italy (1895) Order of the Medjidie – 2nd Class (Ottoman Empire) (1907) Commemoration[edit] Doyle has been commemorated with statues and plaques since his death. In 2009, he was among the ten people selected by the Royal Mail for their "Eminent Britons" commemorative postage stamp issue.[135] Portrayals[edit] Arthur Conan Doyle has been portrayed by many actors, including: Television series[edit] Nigel Davenport in the BBC Two series The Edwardians, in the episode "Conan Doyle" (1972)[136] Michael Ensign in the Voyagers! episode "Jack's Back" (1983) Robin Laing and Charles Edwards in Murder Rooms: Mysteries of the Real Sherlock Holmes (2000–2001) Geraint Wyn Davies in Murdoch Mysteries, 3 episodes (2008–2013) Alfred Molina in the Drunk History (American series) episode "Detroit" (2013) David Calder in the miniseries Houdini (2014) Martin Clunes in the miniseries Arthur & George (2015) Bruce Mackinnon and Bradley Walsh in Drunk History (British series), in series 2, episodes 5 and 8 respectively (2016)[137][138] Stephen Mangan in Houdini & Doyle (2016) Michael Pitthan in the German TV series Charité episode "Götterdämmerung" (2017) Bill Paterson in the Urban Myths episode "Agatha Christie" (2018) Television films[edit] Peter Cushing in The Great Houdini (1976) David Warner in Houdini (1998) Richard Wilson in Reichenbach Falls (2007) Michael McElhatton in Agatha and the Truth of Murder (2018) Theatrical films[edit] Paul Bildt in The Man Who Was Sherlock Holmes (1937) Peter O'Toole in FairyTale: A True Story (1997) Edward Hardwicke in Photographing Fairies (1997) Tom Fisher in Shanghai Knights (2003) Ian Hart in Finding Neverland (2004) Other media[edit] Carleton Hobbs in the BBC radio drama Conan Doyle Investigates (1972)[139] Iain Cuthbertson in the BBC radio drama Conan Doyle and The Edalji Case (1987)[140] Peter Jeffrey in the BBC radio drama Conan Doyle's Strangest Case (1995)[141] Adrian Lukis in the stage adaptation of the novel Arthur & George (2010)[142] Chris Tallman in Chapter 10 of The Dead Authors Podcast (2012)[143] Steven Miller in the Jago & Litefoot audio drama "The Monstrous Menagerie" (2014)[144] Eamon Stocks in the video game Assassin's Creed Syndicate (2015)[145] Ryohei Kimura in the mobile game Ikémen Vampire: Temptation in the Dark (2019)[146] In fiction[edit] Arthur Conan Doyle is the ostensible narrator of Ian Madden's short story "Cracks in an Edifice of Sheer Reason".[147] Sir Arthur Conan Doyle features as a recurring character in Pip Murphy's Christie and Agatha's Detective Agency series, including A Discovery Disappears[148] and Of Mountains and Motors.[149] See also[edit] Biography portalChildren's literature portalPoetry portal William Gillette, a personal friend who performed the most famous stage version of Sherlock Holmes List of notable Freemasons Physician writer References[edit] ^ Stashower says that the compound version of his surname originated from his great-uncle Michael Conan, a distinguished journalist, from whom Arthur and his elder sister, Annette, received the compound surname of "Conan Doyle" (Stashower 20–21). The same source points out that in 1885 he was describing himself on the brass nameplate outside his house, and on his doctoral thesis, as "A. Conan Doyle" (Stashower 70). ^ Redmond, Christopher (2009). Sherlock Holmes Handbook 2nd ed. Dundurn. p. 97. Google Books. Retrieved 11 February 2017. ^ Doyle, Steven; Crowder, David A. (2010). Sherlock Holmes for Dummies. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. p. 51. ^ a b "No. 27494". The London Gazette. 11 November 1902. p. 7165. The entry, 'Arthur Conan Doyle, Esq., M.D., D.L.', is alphabetised based on 'Doyle'. ^ "Scottish Writer Best Known for His Creation of the Detective Sherlock Holmes". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on 27 May 2009. Retrieved 30 December 2009. ^ "Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Biography". sherlockholmesonline.org. Archived from the original on 2 February 2011. Retrieved 13 January 2011. ^ The details of the births of Arthur and his siblings are unclear. Some sources say there were nine children, some say ten. It seems three died in childhood. See Owen Dudley Edwards, "Doyle, Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan (1859–1930)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; Encyclopædia Britannica Archived 27 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine; Arthur Conan Doyle: A Life in Letters, Wordsworth Editions, 2007 p. viii; ISBN 978-1-84022-570-9. ^ "Liberton Bank House, 1, Gilmerton Road, Edinburgh". Register for Scotland: Buildings at Risk. Retrieved 28 April 2020. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Owen Dudley Edwards, "Doyle, Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan (1859–1930)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004. ^ Lellenberg, Jon; Stashower, Daniel; Foley, Charles (2007). Arthur Conan Doyle: A Life in Letters. HarperPress. pp. 8–9. ISBN 978-0-00-724759-2. ^ Stashower, pp. 20–21. ^ Jon Lellenberg; Daniel Stashower; Charles Foley, eds. (2008). Arthur Conan Doyle: A Life in Letters. HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-00-724760-8. ^ a b Pascal, Janet (2000). Arthur Conan Doyle: Beyond Baker Street. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 14. ISBN 0-19-512262-3. ^ a b O'Brien, James (2013). The Scientific Sherlock Holmes: Cracking the Case with Science and Forensics. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 1. ISBN 978-0-19-979496-6. ^ Miller, Russell (2010). The Adventures of Arthur Conan Doyle. New York: Random House. ISBN 978-1-4070-9308-6. ^ Golgotha Press (2011). The Life and Times of Arthur Conan Doyle. BookCaps Study Guides. ISBN 978-1-62107-027-6. In time, he would reject the Catholic religion and become an agnostic. ^ Pascal, Janet B. (2000). Arthur Conan Doyle: Beyond Baker Street. Oxford University Press. p. 139. ^ Brown, Yoland (1988). Ruyton XI Towns, Unusual Name, Unusual History. Brewin Books. pp. 92–93. ISBN 0-947731-41-5. ^ McNeill, Colin (6 January 2016). "Mystery solved of how Sherlock Holmes knew so much about poisonous plants". Herald Scotland. Archived from the original on 26 January 2016. Retrieved 9 January 2016. ^ Stashower, Daniel (2000). Teller of Tales: The Life of Arthur Conan Doyle. Penguin Books. pp. 30–31. ISBN 0-8050-5074-4. ^ Doyle, Arthur Conan (20 September 1879). "Arthur Conan Doyle takes it to the limit (1879)". BMJ. 339. BMJ Publishing Group Ltd: b2861. doi:10.1136/bmj.b2861. S2CID 220100995. Archived from the original on 4 February 2014. Retrieved 2 February 2014.(subscription required) ^ Doyle, Arthur Conan (20 September 1879). "Letters, Notes, and Answers to Correspondents". British Medical Journal. BMJ Publishing Group Ltd. (subscription required) ^ Robert Mendick (23 May 2015). "Russian supergrass 'poisoned after being tricked into visiting Paris'". The Sunday Telegraph. Archived from the original on 24 May 2015. ^ Conan Doyle, Arthur (Author), Lellenberg, Jon (Editor), Stashower, Daniel (Editor) (2012). Dangerous Work: Diary of an Arctic Adventure. University of Chicago Press; ISBN 978-0-226-00905-6. ^ Capelotti, P.J. (2013). Shipwreck at Cape Flora: The Expeditions of Benjamin Leigh Smith, England's Forgotten Arctic Explorer. New York: University of Calgary. pp. 156–162. ISBN 978-1-55238-712-2. ^ Available at the Edinburgh Research Archive Archived 11 November 2007 at the Wayback Machine. ^ "MD Thesis 1885, Unpaginated". images.is.ed.ac.uk. Retrieved 5 November 2022. ^ Stashower, pp. 52–59. ^ United Kingdom Gross Domestic Product deflator figures follow the MeasuringWorth "consistent series" supplied in Thomas, Ryland; Williamson, Samuel H. (2018). "What Was the U.K. GDP Then?". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 2 February 2020. ^ Stashower, pp. 55, 58–59. ^ "Compulsory Vaccination – The Evening Mail – The Arthur Conan Doyle Encyclopedia". www.arthur-conan-doyle.com. ^ "Compulsory Vaccination – The Hampshire County Times – The Arthur Conan Doyle Encyclopedia". www.arthur-conan-doyle.com. ^ Higham, Charles (1976). The Adventures of Conan Doyle. New York: W.W. Norton. pp. 86–87. ^ Diniejko, Andrzej. "Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: A Biographical Introduction". The Victorian Web. Retrieved 21 October 2016. ^ Stashower, pp. 114–118. ^ Independent, 7 August 2006 Archived 22 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine; ^ Doyle, Arthur Conan, Memories and Adventures (Reprint), Cambridge University Press, (Cambridge) 2012, p. 26. ^ Letter from R L Stevenson to Doyle 5 April 1893 The Letters of Robert Louis Stevenson Volume 2/Chapter XII. ^ Sova, Dawn B. Edgar Allan Poe: A to Z. New York: Checkmark Books, 2001. pp. 162–163. ISBN 0-8160-4161-X. ^ a b c d Carr, John Dickson (1947). The Life of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. ^ City of Westminster green plaques Archived 16 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine; accessed 22 March 2014. ^ Panek, LeRoy Lad (1987). An Introduction to the Detective Story. Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green State University Popular Press. p. 78. ISBN 0-87972-377-7. ^ Saunders, Emma (6 June 2011). "First Conan Doyle novel to be published". BBC. Archived from the original on 7 June 2011. ^ a b Macdonald Hastings, Mary Celeste, (1971); ISBN 0-7181-1024-2. ^ "Mary Celeste – definition of Mary Celeste in English from the Oxford dictionary". Archived from the original on 19 November 2015. Retrieved 19 November 2015. ^ "Jane Annie – J. M. Barrie and Doyle's Libretto Rather Puzzles London", The New York Times, 28 May 1893, p. 13. ^ Juson, Dave; Bull, David (2001). Full-Time at The Dell. Hagiology Publishing. p. 21. ISBN 0-9534474-2-1. ^ "Arthur Conan Doyle". ESPN Cricinfo. Archived from the original on 18 January 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2018. ^ "What is the connection between Peter Pan, Sherlock Holmes, Winnie the Pooh and the noble sport of cricket? Archived 6 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine. BBC. Retrieved 25 November 2014. ^ Parkinson, Justin (26 July 2014). "Authors and actors revive cricket rivalry". BBC News Magazine. Archived from the original on 11 April 2019. Retrieved 10 April 2019. ^ "London County v Marylebone Cricket Club at Crystal Palace Park, 23–25 Aug 1900". Static.cricinfo.com. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 2 March 2010. ^ "Champions of Civilian Marksmanship". American Rifleman. National Rifle Association of America. 8 October 2015. Archived from the original on 22 October 2021. Retrieved 1 September 2022. ^ Arthur Conan-Doyle (5 January 1901). "The Undershaw Rifle Club" (English). The Arthur Conan Doyle Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on 24 January 2021. Retrieved 1 September 2022. ^ "Rifle Shooting as a National Pursuit". The Arthur Conan Doyle Encyclopedia. 14 June 1905. Archived from the original on 13 August 2020. Retrieved 13 October 2022. ^ Captain Philip Trevor (June 1901). "A British Commando". The Arthur Conan Doyle Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on 7 August 2020. Retrieved 13 October 2022. ^ "History". National Rifle Association. Archived from the original on 1 September 2022. Retrieved 13 October 2022. ^ "Eugen Sandow: Bodybuilding's Great Pioneer". 25 March 2010. Archived from the original on 25 March 2010. Retrieved 17 November 2020. ^ a b Rawson, Mitchell (13 March 1961). "A Case for Sherlock". Sports Illustrated Vault. Archived from the original on 24 July 2018. ^ Arthur Conan Doyle. "Memories and Adventures", p. 222. Oxford University Press, 2012; ISBN 1-4417-1928-8. ^ "Billiards: The Amateur Championship". The Manchester Guardian. 22 January 1913. p. 8 – via ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Guardian and The Observer. Retrieved 20 September 2019. ^ "An Alpine Pass on 'Ski'". Retrieved 19 January 2022. ^ "How Arthur's Secret Obsession Changed the World". 5 January 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2022. ^ a b Leeman, Sue, "Sherlock Holmes fans hope to save Doyle's house from developers", Associated Press, 28 July 2006. ^ Janet B. Pascal (2000). Arthur Conan Doyle: Beyond Baker Street. p. 95. Oxford University Press; ISBN 0-19-512262-3. ^ "No. 35171". The London Gazette. 23 May 1941. p. 2977. ^ "Obituary: Air Commandant Dame Jean Conan Doyle" Archived 18 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine. The Independent; retrieved 6 November 2012 ^ Itzkoff, Dave (18 January 2010). "Heirs to Sherlock Holmes Face Web of Ownership Issues". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 9 March 2018. ^ "Who owns Sherlock Holmes?". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 21 February 2018. Retrieved 18 July 2017. ^ Miller, Russell. The Adventures of Arthur Conan Doyle. New York: Thomas Dunne Books, 2008. pp. 211–217; ISBN 0-312-37897-1, ^ "The Coronation Honours". The Times. No. 36804. London. 26 June 1902. p. 5. ^ "No. 27494". The London Gazette. 11 November 1902. p. 7165. ^ "Arthur Conan Doyle: 19 things you didn't know" Archived 1 May 2018 at the Wayback Machine. The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 25 November 2014 ^ "No. 27453". The London Gazette. 11 July 1902. p. 4444. ^ "No. 27550". The London Gazette. 8 May 1903. p. 2921. ^ Spiring, Paul. "B. Fletcher Robinson & The Lost World". Bfronline.biz. Archived from the original on 3 October 2011. Retrieved 2 October 2011. ^ Wijesinha, Rajiva (2013). Twentieth Century Classics: Reflections on Writers and Their Times. Cambridge University Press. ^ Winder, Robert (2004). Bloody Foreigners. London: Little, Brown. p. 264. ISBN 978-0-349-13880-0. ^ Milne, Nick (20 October 2014). "1914 Authors' Manifesto Defending Britain's Involvement in WWI, Signed by H.G. Wells and Arthur Conan Doyle". Slate. Retrieved 27 February 2020. ^ International Commentary on Evidence, Volume 4, Issue 2 2006 Article 3, Boxes in Boxes: Julian Bardes, Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes and the Edalji Case, D. Michael Risinger ^ International Commentary on Evidence, Volume 4, Issue 2 2006 Article 3, Boxes in Boxes: Julian Barnes, Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes and the Edalji Case, D. Michael Risinger ^ Roughead, William (1941). "Oscar Slater". In Hodge, Harry (ed.). Famous Trials. Vol. 1. Penguin Books. p. 108. ^ Wingett, Matt (2016). Conan Doyle and the Mysterious World of Light, 1887–1920. Life Is Amazing. pp. 19–32. ISBN 978-0-9572413-5-0. ^ Beresiner, Yasha (2007). "Arthur Conan Doyle, Spiritualist and Freemason". Masonic papers. Pietre-Stones Review of Freemasonry. Archived from the original on 9 March 2015. ^ a b Wingett, Matt (2016). Conan Doyle and the Mysterious World of Light, 1887–1920. Life Is Amazing. pp. 32–36. ISBN 978-0-9572413-5-0. ^ Pernecky, Tomas, ed. (2019). Postdisciplinary Knowledge. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-0-429-60300-6. ^ John Booth. (1986). Psychic Paradoxes. Prometheus Books. p. 8; ISBN 978-0-87975-358-0. ^ William Kalush, Larry Ratso Sloman. (2006). The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America's First Superhero. Atria Books. ISBN 978-0-7432-7208-7. ^ Wingett, Matt (2016). Conan Doyle and the Mysterious World of Light, 1887–1920. Life Is Amazing. pp. 43–44. ISBN 978-0-9572413-5-0. ^ a b Wingett, Matt (2016). Conan Doyle and the Mysterious World of Light, 1887–1920. Life Is Amazing. pp. 44–48. ISBN 978-0-9572413-5-0. ^ Price, Leslie (2010). "Did Conan Doyle Go Too Far?". Psychic News (4037). ^ Ian Topham (31 October 2010). "The Ghost Club – A History by Peter Underwood". Mysteriousbritain.co.uk. Archived from the original on 3 July 2013. ^ Baker, Robert A. (1996). Hidden Memories: Voices and Visions from Within. Prometheus Books. p. 234. ISBN 978-1-57392-094-0. ^ Christopher, Milbourne. (1996). The Illustrated History of Magic. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 264. ISBN 978-0-435-07016-8. ^ Wingett, Matt (2016). Conan Doyle and the Mysterious World of Light, 1887–1920. Life Is Amazing. pp. 160–161. ISBN 978-0-9572413-5-0. ^ Joseph McCabe. (1920). Is Spiritualism Based On Fraud? The Evidence Given By Sir A. C. Doyle and Others Drastically Examined. Archived 3 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine. London Watts & Co. ^ Dearden, Harold. (1975 edition). Devilish But True: The Doctor Looks at Spiritualism. EP Publishing Limited. pp. 70–72. ISBN 0-7158-1041-3. ^ "The Coming of the Fairies". British Library catalogue. British Library. Archived from the original on 9 November 2021. Retrieved 12 June 2013. ^ "Fairies, Phantoms, and Fantastic Photographs". Presenter: Arthur C. Clarke. Narrator: Anna Ford. Arthur C. Clarke's World of Strange Powers. ITV. 22 May 1985. No. 6, season 1 ^ Polidoro, Massimo (July 2006). "Houdini's Impossible Demonstration". Skeptical Inquirer. The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. Archived from the original on 12 April 2017. Retrieved 7 July 2020. ^ Massimo Polidoro. (2003). Secrets of the Psychics: Investigating Paranormal Claims. Prometheus Books. pp. 120–124. ISBN 1-59102-086-7. ^ Massimo Polidoro (2011). "Photos of Ghosts: The Burden of Believing the Unbelievable by Massimo Polidoro". Csicop.org. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. ^ William Kalush, Larry Ratso Sloman. (2006). The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America's First Superhero. Atria Books. pp. 419–420. ISBN 978-0-7432-7208-7. ^ Massimo Polidoro. (2001). Final Séance: The Strange Friendship Between Houdini and Conan Doyle. Prometheus Books. p. 67. ISBN 978-1-57392-896-0. ^ G. K. Nelson. (2013). Spiritualism and Society. Routledge. p. 159; ISBN 978-0-415-71462-4. ^ Hall, Trevor H. (1978). Sherlock Holmes and his Creator. Duckworth. p. 121. ^ Stashower, Daniel (1999). Teller of Tales: The Life of Arthur Conan Doyle. Henry Holt & Company. "A Spiritualist researcher named W. Leslie Curnow contributed a great deal of material and wrote some of the chapters, which Conan Doyle freely admits in the book's preface." ^ Tillyard, Robert John (1926). "The History of Spiritualism". Nature. 118 (2961): 147–149. Bibcode:1926Natur.118..147T. doi:10.1038/118147a0. S2CID 4122097. ^ Swinton, A. A. Campbell (1926). "Science and Psychical Research". Nature. 118 (2965): 299–300. Bibcode:1926Natur.118..299S. doi:10.1038/118299a0. S2CID 4124050. ^ Donkin, Bryan (1926). "Science and Psychical Research". Nature. 118 (2970): 480. Bibcode:1926Natur.118Q.480D. doi:10.1038/118480a0. S2CID 4125188. ^ Donkin, Bryan (1926). "Science and Psychical Research". Nature. 118 (2975): 658–659. Bibcode:1926Natur.118..658D. doi:10.1038/118658a0. S2CID 4059745. ^ Arthur Conan Doyle Interviewed on Sherlock Holmes and Spirituality. 16 April 2009. Archived from the original on 29 December 2014 – via YouTube. ^ "Piltdown Man: Britain's Greatest Hoax". BBC. 17 February 2011. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 5 October 2014. ^ McKie, Robin (5 February 2012). "Piltdown Man: British archaeology's greatest hoax". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 8 October 2014. Retrieved 7 February 2022. ^ Samuel Rosenberg. (1974). Naked is the Best Disguise: The Death and Resurrection of Sherlock Holmes. Bobbs-Merrill. ISBN 0-14-004030-7. ^ "Piltdown Man". www.bournemouth.ac.uk. Retrieved 18 November 2019. ^ The latter honour did not exist in the lifetime of Dawson, who died in August 1916; the Order of the British Empire was founded on 4 June 1917. ^ Knapton, Sarah (10 August 2016). "Sir Arthur Conan Doyle cleared of Piltdown Man hoax". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. ^ Cooke, Simon, 2013, Introduction: Life and Controversy, "Charles Altamont Doyle", The Victorian Web. ^ Historic England. "Undershaw (1244471)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 19 October 2021. ^ Duncan, Alistair (2011). An Entirely New Country: Arthur Conan Doyle, Undershaw and the Resurrection of Sherlock Holmes. MX Publishing. ISBN 978-1-908218-19-3. ^ "Sir Arthur Conan Doyle house development appeal upheld". BBC News. 12 November 2012. Archived from the original on 16 November 2012. ^ Griffith, Carolyn. "Campaigner says hotel's writer link should secure landmark building". Lymington Times, 15 September 2017. ^ "Glasshayes House: The 1912 Extension of the Lyndhurst Grand Hotel". The Arthur Conan Doyle Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on 17 September 2017. Retrieved 6 September 2017. ^ The Golfball Factory, accessed September 2017, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – Golf Course Architect. Archived 17 September 2017 at the Wayback Machine. ^ Crossley, Frankie (17 August 2017). "Blur guitarist leads fight to save Camden Road Spiritualist Temple". Hampstead Highgate Express. ^ "Our Society". Retrieved 6 July 2022. ^ Carrie Selina Parris. The Crimes Club: The Early Years of Our Society (PDF) (Doctor of Philosophy thesis). p. 2. Retrieved 6 July 2022. ^ Stashower, p. 439. ^ "Death of Major A. H. Wood". Portsmouth Evening News. 22 April 1941. p. 4. Retrieved 24 March 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive. ^ "Stock Photo – Wooden headstone of Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle at a special display in the Town's museum. Portsmouth, Hampshire, UK". Alamy. Archived from the original on 26 May 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2016. ^ "City Museums". www.portsmouthcitymuseums.co.uk. Archived from the original on 21 March 2016. Retrieved 15 March 2016. ^ Johnson, Roy (1992). "Studying Fiction: A Guide and Study Programme", p. 15. Manchester University Press; ISBN 0-7190-3397-7. ^ "Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930)". librarything.com. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 17 March 2012. ^ "Sherlock Holmes statue reinstated in Edinburgh after tram works", bbc.co.uk; retrieved 6 November 2012. ^ "The Royal Mail celebrate eminent Britons". The Times. Retrieved 30 September 2022. ^ "The Edwardians: Conan Doyle". BBC Genome: Radio Times. BBC. 12 December 1972. Retrieved 10 November 2020. ^ "Drunk History Series 2, Episode 5". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 10 November 2020. ^ "Drunk History Series 2, Episode 8". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 10 November 2020. ^ "Saturday-Night Theatre: Conan Doyle Investigates". BBC Genome: Radio Times. BBC. 6 May 1972. Retrieved 10 November 2020. ^ "Saturday-Night Theatre: Conan Doyle and the Edalji Case". BBC Genome: Radio Times. BBC. 12 December 1987. Retrieved 10 November 2020. ^ "Saturday Playhouse: Conan Doyle's Strangest Case". BBC Genome: Radio Times. BBC. 14 January 1995. Retrieved 10 November 2020. ^ Michael, Billington (23 March 2010). "Arthur and George". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 November 2020. ^ "The Dead Authors Podcast: Chapter 10: Arthur Conan Doyle, featuring Chris Tallman". thedeadauthorspodcast.libsyn.com. Retrieved 23 September 2021. ^ "7. Jago & Litefoot Series 07". Big Finish Productions. Retrieved 10 November 2020. ^ "Assassin's Creed: Syndicate Cast". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 10 November 2020. ^ "アーサー・コナン・ドイル（CV：木村良平）のキャラクター紹介". ikemen.cybird.ne.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 17 November 2022. ^ Madden, Ian, "Cracks in an Edifice of Sheer Reason", in Maguire, Susie, & Tongue, Samuel (eds.) (2018), With Their Best Clothes On, New Writing Scotland 36, Association for Scottish Literary Studies, pp. 77–85. ISBN 978-1-906841-33-1 ^ Murphy, Pip (2021). A Discovery Disappears. Roberta Tedeschi, ill. Leicester: Sweet Cherry Publishing. ISBN 978-1-78226-796-6. OCLC 1263776847. ^ Murphy, Pip (2022). Of Mountains and Motors. Roberta Tedeschi, ill. Leicester: Sweet Cherry Publishing. ISBN 978-1-78226-815-4. OCLC 1295111029. Further reading[edit] Martin Booth (2000). The Doctor and the Detective: A Biography of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Minotaur Books. ISBN 0-312-24251-4. John Dickson Carr (2003 edition, originally published in 1949). The Life of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Carroll and Graf Publishers. Michael Dirda (2014). On Conan Doyle: or, The Whole Art of Storytelling. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-16412-0. Arthur Conan Doyle, Joseph McCabe (1920). Debate on Spiritualism: Between Arthur Conan Doyle and Joseph McCabe. The Appeal's Pocket Series. Bernard M. L. Ernst, Hereward Carrington (1932). Houdini and Conan Doyle: The Story of a Strange Friendship. Albert and Charles Boni, Inc. Margalit Fox (2018). Conan Doyle for the Defense. Random House. Kelvin Jones (1989). Conan Doyle and the Spirits: The Spiritualist Career of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Aquarian Press. Jon Lellenberg, Daniel Stashower, Charles Foley (2007). Arthur Conan Doyle: A Life in Letters. HarperPress. ISBN 978-0-00-724759-2 Andrew Lycett (2008). The Man Who Created Sherlock Holmes: The Life and Times of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Free Press. ISBN 0-7432-7523-3. Russell Miller (2008). The Adventures of Arthur Conan Doyle: A Biography. Thomas Dunne Books. Pierre Nordon (1967). Conan Doyle: A Biography. Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Ronald Pearsall (1977). Conan Doyle: A Biographical Solution. Littlehampton Book Services Ltd. Massimo Polidoro (2001). Final Séance: The Strange Friendship Between Houdini and Conan Doyle. Prometheus Books. ISBN 978-1-57392-896-0. Daniel Stashower (2000). Teller of Tales: The Life of Arthur Conan Doyle. Penguin Books. ISBN 0-8050-5074-4. External links[edit] Arthur Conan Doyle at Wikipedia's sister projects Media from CommonsQuotations from WikiquoteTexts from WikisourceData from Wikidata Library resources about Arthur Conan Doyle Resources in your library Resources in other libraries Digital collections Works by Arthur Conan Doyle in eBook form at Standard Ebooks Works by Arthur Conan Doyle at Project Gutenberg Works by Arthur Conan Doyle at Faded Page (Canada) Works by Arthur Conan Doyle at Project Gutenberg Australia Works by or about Arthur Conan Doyle at Internet Archive Works by Arthur Conan Doyle at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks) Poems by Arthur Conan Doyle Physical collections Arthur Conan Doyle Papers, Photographs, and Personal Effects at the Harry Ransom Center Arthur Conan Doyle Collection at Toronto Public Library Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Collection at Dartmouth College Library Arthur Conan Doyle Online Exhibition "Archival material relating to Arthur Conan Doyle". UK National Archives. C. Frederick Kittle's Collection of Doyleana Archived 6 January 2011 at the Wayback Machine at the Newberry Library Newspaper clippings about Arthur Conan Doyle in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW Biographical information Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan, Knt. – Cr. 1902 Archived 21 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine, The county families of the United Kingdom or Royal manual of the titled and untitled aristocracy of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, (Volume ed. 59, yr. 1919) (page 109 of 415) by Edward Walford The Arthur Conan Doyle Encyclopedia Conan Doyle in Birmingham Other references 1930 audio recording of Conan Doyle speaking Arthur Conan Doyle at Curlie The short film Arthur Conan Doyle (1927) (Fox newsreel interview) is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive. The Arthur Conan Doyle Society Arthur Conan Doyle quotes Arthur Conan Doyle at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database Arthur Conan Doyle at IMDb vteArthur Conan DoyleBibliographySherlock Holmes(canon) A Study in Scarlet (1887) The Sign of the Four (1890) The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1892) The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (1894) The Hound of the Baskervilles (1902) The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1904) The Valley of Fear (1914) His Last Bow (1917) The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes (1927) Professor Challenger The Lost World (1912) The Poison Belt (1913) The Land of Mist (1926) "When the World Screamed" (1928) "The Disintegration Machine" (1929) Other novels The Narrative of John Smith (1883) [2011] The Mystery of Cloomber (1889) Micah Clarke (1889) The Firm of Girdlestone (1890) The White Company (1891) The Doings of Raffles Haw (1892) Beyond the City (1892) The Great Shadow (1892) The Refugees (1893) The Parasite (1894) The Stark Munro Letters (1895) The Exploits of Brigadier Gerard (1896) Rodney Stone (1896) The Tragedy of the Korosko (1898) A Duet, with an Occasional Chorus (1899) Adventures of Gerard (1903) Sir Nigel (1906) The Maracot Deep (1929) Short stories "J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement" (1884) "Lot No. 249" (1892) "The Case of Lady Sannox" (1893) "The Club-Footed Grocer" (1898) "The Brown Hand" (1899) "The Terror of Blue John Gap" (1910) "The Horror of the Heights" (1913) Danger! and Other Stories (1918) Other "The Inner Room" (1898) "The Crime of the Congo" (1909) The Vital Message (1919) Depictions FairyTale: A True Story (1997 film) Photographing Fairies (1997 film) Arthur & George (2015 miniseries) Houdini & Doyle (2016 miniseries) Related Adrian Conan Doyle (son) Jean Conan Doyle (daughter) Charles Altamont Doyle (father) John Doyle (grandfather) The Great Wyrley Outrages Undershaw (home) vteArthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes Canon Adaptations Pastiches Popular culture Novels A Study in Scarlet (1887) The Sign of the Four (1890) The Hound of the Baskervilles (1902) The Valley of Fear (1915) Story collections The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1892) The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (1894) The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1905) His Last Bow (1917) The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes (1927) Characters Sherlock Holmes Dr. Watson Professor Moriarty Inspector Lestrade Mycroft Holmes Mrs. Hudson Irene Adler Colonel Moran Baker Street Irregulars Minor characters Uncollected stories "The Field Bazaar" (1896) "The Story of the Lost Special" (1898) "How Watson Learned the Trick" (1924) Universe 221B Baker Street Baritsu Diogenes Club The Dynamics of an Asteroid Reichenbach Falls A Treatise on the Binomial Theorem Studies Sherlockian game Holmesian studies The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes From Holmes to Sherlock The Great Detective Naked Is the Best Disguise Related Sherlock Holmes fandom Sherlockiana Sherlock Holmes Museum The Sherlock Holmes The Baker Street Irregulars The Baker Street Journal  The Bootmakers of Toronto Sidney Paget The Strand Magazine Undershaw Category vteArthur Conan Doyle's The Lost WorldNovels The Lost World (1912) The Poison Belt (1913) The Land of Mist (1926)  Short stories "When the World Screamed" (1928) "The Disintegration Machine" (1929) Characters Professor Challenger Lord John Roxton AdaptationsFilm The Lost World (1925) The Lost World (1960) The Lost World (1992) Return to the Lost World (1992) The Lost World (1998) Dinosaur Island (2002) King of the Lost World (2005) Television The Lost World (1999-2002) episodes "Heart of the Storm" The Lost World (2001) Related The Valley of Gwangi Dinosaur Summer Lost Continent Buddy's Lost World vteSpiritualism and spiritismHistory and beliefs Apport Automatic writing Cross-Correspondences Ectoplasm Faith healing Materialization Mediumship Séance Spirit guides Spiritual healing Spirit obsession Spirit photography Spirit possession Spirit world Table-turning Theism Spiritualists Derek Acorah Rosemary Altea Dan Aykroyd Charles Bailey Bangs Sisters Ada Besinnet Stephen E. Braude William Breeze Rosemary Brown Sylvia Browne Eva Carrière Doris Collins Florence Cook Mina Crandon William Crookes Geraldine Cummins Pearl Curran Frank Decker Arthur Conan Doyle Helen Duncan Eddy Brothers Harry Edwards John Edward William Eglinton Colin Evans Fox sisters Leslie Flint Arthur Ford Colin Fry Eileen Garrett Kathleen Goligher Rita Goold Jan Guzyk Robert Hare Alec Harris Gordon Higginson Richard Hodgson Daniel Dunglas Home Elizabeth Hope William Hope Swami Laura Horos Cecil Husk James H. Hyslop Allan Kardec Franek Kluski Gladys Osborne Leonard Oliver Lodge Heinrich Melzer Carmine Mirabelli Francis Ward Monck William Usborne Moore Lorin Morgan-Richards William Stainton Moses Einer Nielsen Eusapia Palladino Leonora Piper Ethel Post-Parrish James Van Praagh Bert Reese Estelle Roberts Jane Roberts William Roy Rudi Schneider Maria Silbert Henry Slade Doris Stokes Emanuel Swedenborg Rosina Thompson Stanisława Tomczyk Ena Twigg George Valiantine Jack Webber Etta Wriedt Chico Xavier Organizations List of Spiritualist organizations Spiritualist churches Spiritist centres London Spiritualist Alliance National Spiritualist Association of Churches Spiritualists' National Union Spiritualist Association of Great Britain Spiritual church movement Arthur Findlay College International Spiritualist Federation Skeptics David Abbott John Henry Anderson George Miller Beard Ruth Brandon Lionel Branson Derren Brown William Carpenter Milbourne Christopher Edward Clodd Edmund Smith Conklin Millais Culpin Stuart Cumberland Eric Dingwall Joseph Dunninger Henry Evans Chris French Martin Gardner G. Stanley Hall Trevor H. Hall William A. Hammond C. E. M. Hansel Carlos María de Heredia Carl Hertz Terence Hines Harry Houdini Joseph Jastrow Stanley LeFevre Krebs Rose Mackenberg David Marks John Nevil Maskelyne Henry Maudsley Joseph McCabe Henry C. McComas Georgess McHargue Charles Arthur Mercier Albert Moll John Mulholland Fulton Oursler Joe Nickell E. Clephan Palmer Ronald Pearsall Frank Podmore Massimo Polidoro Harry Price Julien J. Proskauer James Randi Donovan Rawcliffe Joseph F. Rinn C. E. Bechhofer Roberts Chung Ling Soo Gordon Stein Amy Tanner Ivor Lloyd Tuckett Lyttelton Winslow Richard Wiseman Authority control databases International FAST 2 ISNI VIAF National Norway Chile Spain France BnF data Argentina Catalonia Germany Italy Israel Finland Belgium United States Sweden Latvia Japan Czech Republic Australia Greece Korea Croatia Netherlands 2 Poland Portugal Vatican Academics CiNii Artists MusicBrainz Musée d'Orsay People Deutsche Biographie Trove Other SNAC IdRef
HOLMES," said I, as I stood one morning in our bow-window looking down the street, "here is a madman coming along. It seems rather sad that his relatives should allow him to come out alone." My friend rose lazily from his arm-chair and stood with his hands in the pockets of his dressing-gown, looking over my shoulder. It was a bright, crisp February morning, and the snow of the day before still lay deep upon the ground, shimmering brightly in the wintry sun. Down the centre of Baker Street it had been ploughed into a brown crumbly band by the traffic, but at either side and on the heaped-up edges of the foot-paths it still lay as white as when it fell. The gray pavement had been cleaned and scraped, but was still dangerously slippery, so that there were fewer passengers than usual. Indeed, from the direction of the Metropolitan Station no one was coming save the single gentleman whose eccentric conduct had drawn my attention. He was a man of about fifty, tall, portly, and imposing, with a massive, strongly marked face and a commanding figure. He was dressed in a sombre yet rich style, in black frock-coat, shining hat, neat brown gaiters, and well-cut pearl-gray trousers. Yet his actions were in absurd contrast to the dignity of his dress and features, for he was running hard, with occasional little springs, such as a weary man gives who is little accustomed to set any tax upon his legs. As he ran he jerked his hands up and down, waggled his head, and writhed his face into the most extraordinary contortions. "What on earth can be the matter with him?" I asked. "He is looking up at the numbers of the houses." "I believe that he is coming here," said Holmes, rubbing his hands. "Here?"
"Yes; I rather think he is coming to consult me professionally. I think that I recognize the symptoms. Ha! did I not tell you?" As he spoke, the man, puffing and blowing, rushed at our door and pulled at our bell until the whole house resounded with the clanging. A few moments later he was in our room, still puffing, still gesticulating, but with so fixed a look of grief and despair in his eyes that our smiles were turned in an instant to horror and pity. For a while he could not get his words out, but swayed his body and plucked at his hair like one who has been driven to the extreme limits of his reason. Then, suddenly springing to his feet, he beat his head against the wall with such force that we both rushed upon him and tore him away to the centre of the room. Sherlock Holmes pushed him down into the easy-chair, and, sitting beside him, patted his hand, and chatted with him in the easy, soothing tones which he knew so well how to employ. "You have come to me to tell your story, have you not?" said he. "You are fatigued with your haste. Pray wait until you have recovered yourself, and then I shall be most happy to look into any little problem which you may submit to me." The man sat for a minute or more with a heaving chest, fighting against his emotion. Then he passed his handkerchief over his brow, set his lips tight, and turned his face towards us. "No doubt you think me mad?" said he. "I see that you have had some great trouble," responded Holmes. "God knows I have!-a trouble which is enough to unseat my reason, so sudden and so terrible is it. Public disgrace I might have faced, although I am a man whose character has never yet borne a stain. Private affliction also is the lot of every man; but the two coming together, and in so frightful a form, have been enough to shake my very soul. Besides, it is not I alone. The very noblest in the land may suffer, unless some way be found out of this horrible affair." "Pray compose yourself, sir," said Holmes, "and let me have a clear account of who you are, and what it is that has befallen you." "My name," answered our visitor, "is probably familiar to your ears. I am Alexander Holder, of the banking firm of Holder & Stevenson, of Threadneedle Street." The name was indeed well known to us as belonging to the senior partner in the second largest private banking concern in the City of London. What could have happened, then, to bring one of the foremost citizens of London to this most pitiable pass? We waited, all curiosity, until with another effort he braced himself to tell his story.
"I feel that time is of value," said he; "that is why I hastened here when the police inspector suggested that I should secure your co-operation. I came to Baker Street by the Underground, and hurried from there on foot, for the cabs go slowly through this snow. That is why I was so out of breath, for I am a man who takes very little exercise. I feel better now, and I will put the facts before you as shortly and yet as clearly as I can. "It is, of course, well known to you that in a successful banking business as much depends upon our being able to find remunerative investments for our funds as upon our increasing our connection and the number of our depositors. One of our most lucrative means of laying out money is in the shape of loans, where the security is unimpeachable. We have done a good deal in this direction during the last few years, and there are many noble families to whom we have advanced large sums upon the security of their pictures, libraries, or plate. "Yesterday morning I was seated in my office at the bank when a card was brought in to me by one of the clerks. I started when I saw the name, for it was that of none other than-well, perhaps even to you I had better say no more than that it was a name which is a household word all over the earth-one of the highest, noblest, most exalted names in England. I was overwhelmed by the honor, and attempted, when he entered, to say so, but he plunged at once into business with the air of a man who wishes to hurry quickly through a disagreeable task. "'Mr. Holder,' said he, 'I have been informed that you are in the habit of advancing money.' "'The firm do so when the security is good,' I answered. "'It is absolutely essential to me,' said he, 'that I should have £50,000 at once. I could of course borrow so trifling a sum ten times over from my friends, but I much prefer to make it a matter of business, and to carry out that business myself. In my position you can readily understand that it is unwise to place one's self under obligations.'
"'For how long, may I ask, do you want this sum?' I asked. "'Next Monday I have a large sum due to me, and I shall then most certainly repay what you advance, with whatever interest you think it right to charge. But it is very essential to me that the money should be paid at once.' "'I should be happy to advance it without further parley from my own private purse,' said I, 'were it not that the strain would be rather more than it could bear. If, on the other hand, I am to do it in the name of the firm, then in justice to my partner I must insist that, even in your case, every business-like precaution should be taken.' "'I should much prefer to have it so,' said he, raising up a square, black morocco case which he had laid beside his chair. 'You have doubtless heard of the Beryl Coronet?' "'One of the most precious public possessions of the empire,' said I. "'Precisely.' He opened the case, and there, imbedded in soft, flesh-colored velvet, lay the magnificent piece of jewelry which he had named. 'There are thirty-nine enormous beryls,' said he, 'and the price of the gold chasing is incalculable. The lowest estimate would put the worth of the coronet at double the sum which I have asked. I am prepared to leave it with you as my security.' "I took the precious case into my hands and looked in some perplexity from it to my illustrious client. "'You doubt its value?' he asked. "'Not at all. I only doubt-' "'The propriety of my leaving it. You may set your mind at rest about that. I should not dream of doing so were it not absolutely certain that I should be able in four days to reclaim it. It is a pure matter of form. Is the security sufficient?' "'Ample.'
'You understand, Mr. Holder, that I am giving you a strong proof of the confidence which I have in you, founded upon all that I have heard of you. I rely upon you not only to be discreet and to refrain from all gossip upon the matter, but, above all, to preserve this coronet with every possible precaution, because I need not say that a great public scandal would be caused if any harm were to befall it. Any injury to it would be almost as serious as its complete loss, for there are no beryls in the world to match these, and it would be impossible to replace them. I leave it with you, however, with every confidence, and I shall call for it in person on Monday morning.' "Seeing that my client was anxious to leave, I said no more; but, calling for my cashier, I ordered him to pay over fifty £1000 notes. When I was alone once more, however, with the precious case lying upon the table in front of me, I could not but think with some misgivings of the immense responsibility which it entailed upon me. There could be no doubt that, as it was a national possession, a horrible scandal would ensue if any misfortune should occur to it. I already regretted having ever consented to take charge of it. However, it was too late to alter the matter now, so I locked it up in my private safe, and turned once more to my work.
"When evening came I felt that it would be an imprudence to leave so precious a thing in the office behind me. Bankers' safes had been forced before now, and why should not mine be? If so, how terrible would be the position in which I should find myself! I determined, therefore, that for the next few days I would always carry the case backward and forward with me, so that it might never be really out of my reach. With this intention, I called a cab, and drove out to my house at Streatham, carrying the jewel with me. I did not breathe freely until I had taken it up-stairs and locked it in the bureau of my dressing-room. "And now a word as to my household, Mr. Holmes, for I wish you to thoroughly understand the situation. My groom and my page sleep out of the house, and may be set aside altogether. I have three maid-servants who have been with me a number of years, and whose absolute reliability is quite above suspicion. Another, Lucy Parr, the second waiting-maid, has only been in my service a few months. She came with an excellent character, however, and has always given me satisfaction. She is a very pretty girl, and has attracted admirers who have occasionally hung about the place. That is the only drawback which we have found to her, but we believe her to be a thoroughly good girl in every way.
"So much for the servants. My family itself is so small that it will not take me long to describe it. I am a widower, and have an only son, Arthur. He has been a disappointment to me, Mr. Holmes-a grievous disappointment. I have no doubt that I am myself to blame. People tell me that I have spoiled him. Very likely I have. When my dear wife died I felt that he was all I had to love. I could not bear to see the smile fade even for a moment from his face. I have never denied him a wish. Perhaps it would have been better for both of us had I been sterner, but I meant it for the best. "It was naturally my intention that he should succeed me in my business, but he was not of a business turn. He was wild, wayward, and, to speak the truth, I could not trust him in the handling of large sums of money. When he was young he became a member of an aristocratic club, and there, having charming manners, he was soon the intimate of a number of men with long purses and expensive habits. He learned to play heavily at cards and to squander money on the turf, until he had again and again to come to me and implore me to give him an advance upon his allowance, that he might settle his debts of honor. He tried more than once to break away from the dangerous company which he was keeping, but each time the influence of his friend Sir George Burnwell was enough to draw him back again.
"And, indeed, I could not wonder that such a man as Sir George Burnwell should gain an influence over him, for he has frequently brought him to my house, and I have found myself that I could hardly resist the fascination of his manner. He is older than Arthur, a man of the world to his finger-tips, one who had been everywhere, seen everything, a brilliant talker, and a man of great personal beauty. Yet when I think of him in cold blood, far away from the glamour of his presence, I am convinced from his cynical speech, and the look which I have caught in his eyes, that he is one who should be deeply distrusted. So I think, and so, too, thinks my little Mary, who has a woman's quick insight into character. "And now there is only she to be described. She is my niece; but when my brother died five years ago and left her alone in the world I adopted her, and have looked upon her ever since as my daughter. She is a sunbeam in my house-sweet, loving, beautiful, a wonderful manager and house-keeper, yet as tender and quiet and gentle as a woman could be. She is my right hand. I do not know what I could do without her. In only one matter has she ever gone against my wishes. Twice my boy has asked her to marry him, for he loves her devotedly, but each time she has refused him. I think that if any one could have drawn him into the right path it would have been she, and that his marriage might have changed his whole life; but now, alas! it is too late-for ever too late!
"Now, Mr. Holmes, you know the people who live under my roof, and I shall continue with my miserable story. "When we were taking coffee in the drawing-room that night, after dinner, I told Arthur and Mary my experience, and of the precious treasure which we had under our roof, suppressing only the name of my client. Lucy Parr, who had brought in the coffee, had, I am sure, left the room; but I cannot swear that the door was closed. Mary and Arthur were much interested, and wished to see the famous coronet, but I thought it better not to disturb it. "'Where have you put it?' asked Arthur. "'In my own bureau.'
"'Well, I hope to goodness the house won't be burgled during the night,' said he. "'It is locked up,' I answered. "'Oh, any old key will fit that bureau. When I was a youngster I have opened it myself with the key of the box-room cupboard.' "He often had a wild way of talking, so that I thought little of what he said. He followed me to my room, however, that night with a very grave face. "'Look here, dad,' said he, with his eyes cast down, 'can you let me have £200?' "'No, I cannot!' I answered, sharply. 'I have been far too generous with you in money matters.' "'You have been very kind,' said he: 'but I must have this money, or else I can never show my face inside the club again.' "'And a very good thing, too!' I cried. "'Yes, but you would not have me leave it a dishonored man,' said he. 'I could not bear the disgrace. I must raise the money in some way, and if you will not let me have it, then I must try other means.' "I was very angry, for this was the third demand during the month. 'You shall not have a farthing from me,' I cried; on which he bowed and left the room without another word.
"When he was gone I unlocked my bureau, made sure that my treasure was safe, and locked it again. Then I started to go round the house to see that all was secure-a duty which I usually leave to Mary, but which I thought it well to perform myself that night. As I came down the stairs I saw Mary herself at the side window of the hall, which she closed and fastened as I approached. "'Tell me, dad,' said she, looking, I thought, a little disturbed, 'did you give Lucy, the maid, leave to go out to-night?' "'Certainly not.' "'She came in just now by the back door. I have no doubt that she has only been to the side gate to see some one; but I think that it is hardly safe, and should be stopped." "'You must speak to her in the morning, or I will, if you prefer it. Are you sure that everything is fastened?' "'Quite sure, dad.' "'Then, good-night.' I kissed her, and went up to my bedroom again, where I was soon asleep. "I am endeavoring to tell you everything, Mr. Holmes, which may have any bearing upon the case, but I beg that you will question me upon any point which I do not make clear." "On the contrary, your statement is singularly lucid." "I come to a part of my story now in which I should wish to be particularly so. I am not a very heavy sleeper, and the anxiety in my mind tended, no doubt, to make me even less so than usual. About two in the morning, then, I was awakened by some sound in the house. It had ceased ere I was wide awake, but it had left an impression behind it as though a window had gently closed somewhere. I lay listening with all my ears. Suddenly, to my horror, there was a distinct sound of footsteps moving softly in the next room. I slipped out of bed, all palpitating with fear, and peeped round the corner of my dressing-room door. "'Arthur!' I screamed, 'you villain! you thief! How dare you touch that coronet?' "The gas was half up, as I had left it, and my unhappy boy, dressed only in his shirt and trousers, was standing beside the light, holding the coronet in his hands. He appeared to be wrenching at it, or bending it with all his strength. At my cry he dropped it from his grasp, and turned as pale as death. I snatched it up and examined it. One of the gold corners, with three of the beryls in it, was missing.
"'You blackguard!' I shouted, beside myself with rage. 'You have destroyed it! You have dishonored me for ever! Where are the jewels which you have stolen?' "'Stolen!' he cried. "'Yes, you thief!' I roared, shaking him by the shoulder. "'There are none missing. There cannot be any missing,' said he. "'There are three missing. And you know where they are. Must I call you a liar as well as a thief? Did I not see you trying to tear off another piece?' "'You have called me names enough,' said he; 'I will not stand it any longer. I shall not say another word about this business since you have chosen to insult me. I will leave your house in the morning and make my own way in the world.' "'You shall leave it in the hands of the police!' I cried, half-mad with grief and rage. 'I shall have this matter probed to the bottom.' "'You shall learn nothing from me,' said he, with a passion such as I should not have thought was in his nature. 'If you choose to call the police, let the police find what they can.' "By this time the whole house was astir, for I had raised my voice in my anger. Mary was the first to rush into my room, and, at the sight of the coronet and of Arthur's face, she read the whole story, and, with a scream, fell down senseless on the ground. I sent the house-maid for the police, and put the investigation into their hands at once. When the inspector and a constable entered the house, Arthur, who had stood sullenly with his arms folded, asked me whether it was my intention to charge him with theft. I answered that it had ceased to be a private matter, but had become a public one, since the ruined coronet was national property. I was determined that the law should have its way in everything.
"'At least,' said he, 'you will not have me arrested at once. It would be to your advantage as well as mine if I might leave the house for five minutes.' "'That you may get away, or perhaps that you may conceal what you have stolen,' said I. And then realizing the dreadful position in which I was placed, I implored him to remember that not only my honor, but that of one who was far greater than I was at stake; and that he threatened to raise a scandal which would convulse the nation. He might avert it all if he would but tell me what he had done with the three missing stones. "'You may as well face the matter,' said I; 'you have been caught in the act, and no confession could make your guilt more heinous. If you but make such reparation as is in your power, by telling us where the beryls are, all shall be forgiven and forgotten.' "'Keep your forgiveness for those who ask for it,' he answered, turning away from me, with a sneer. I saw that he was too hardened for any words of mine to influence him. There was but one way for it. I called in the inspector, and gave him into custody. A search was made at once, not only of his person, but of his room, and of every portion of the house where he could possibly have concealed the gems; but no trace of them could be found, nor would the wretched boy open his mouth for all our persuasions and our threats. This morning he was removed to a cell, and I, after going through all the police formalities, have hurried round to you, to implore you to use your skill in unravelling the matter. The police have openly confessed that they can at present make nothing of it. You may go to any expense which you think necessary. I have already offered a reward of £1000. My God, what shall I do! I have lost my honor, my gems, and my son in one night. Oh, what shall I do!" He put a hand on either side of his head, and rocked himself to and fro, droning to himself like a child whose grief has got beyond words. Sherlock Holmes sat silent for some few minutes, with his brows knitted and his eyes fixed upon the fire. "Do you receive much company?" he asked.
"None, save my partner with his family, and an occasional friend of Arthur's. Sir George Burnwell has been several times lately. No one else, I think." "Do you go out much in society?" "Arthur does. Mary and I stay at home. We neither of us care for it." "That is unusual in a young girl." "She is of a quiet nature. Besides, she is not so very young. She is four-and-twenty." "This matter, from what you say, seems to have been a shock to her also." "Terrible! She is even more affected than I." "You have neither of you any doubt as to your son's guilt?" "How can we have, when I saw him with my own eyes with the coronet in his hands." "I hardly consider that a conclusive proof. Was the remainder of the coronet at all injured?" "Yes, it was twisted." "Do you not think, then, that he might have been trying to straighten it?" "God bless you! You are doing what you can for him and for me. But it is too heavy a task. What was he doing there at all? If his purpose were innocent, why did he not say so?"
"Precisely. And if it were guilty, why did he not invent a lie? His silence appears to me to cut both ways. There are several singular points about the case. What did the police think of the noise which awoke you from your sleep?" "They considered that it might be caused by Arthur's closing his bedroom door." "A likely story! As if a man bent on felony would slam his door so as to wake a household. What did they say, then, of the disappearance of these gems?" "They are still sounding the planking and probing the furniture in the hope of finding them." "Have they thought of looking outside the house?" "Yes, they have shown extraordinary energy. The whole garden has already been minutely examined." "Now, my dear sir," said Holmes, "is it not obvious to you now that this matter really strikes very much deeper than either you or the police were at first inclined to think? It appeared to you to be a simple case; to me it seems exceedingly complex. Consider what is involved by your theory. You suppose that your son came down from his bed, went, at great risk, to your dressing-room, opened your bureau, took out your coronet, broke off by main force a small portion of it, went off to some other place, concealed three gems out of the thirty-nine, with such skill that nobody can find them, and then returned with the other thirty-six into the room in which he exposed himself to the greatest danger of being discovered. I ask you now, is such a theory tenable?"
"But what other is there?" cried the banker, with a gesture of despair. "If his motives were innocent, why does he not explain them?" "It is our task to find that out," replied Holmes; "so now, if you please, Mr. Holder, we will set off for Streatham together, and devote an hour to glancing a little more closely into details." My friend insisted upon my accompanying them in their expedition, which I was eager enough to do, for my curiosity and sympathy were deeply stirred by the story to which we had listened. I confess that the guilt of the banker's son appeared to me to be as obvious as it did to his unhappy father, but still I had such faith in Holmes's judgment that I felt that there must be some grounds for hope as long as he was dissatisfied with the accepted explanation. He hardly spoke a word the whole way out to the southern suburb, but sat with his chin upon his breast and his hat drawn over his eyes, sunk in the deepest thought. Our client appeared to have taken fresh heart at the little glimpse of hope which had been presented to him, and he even broke into a desultory chat with me over his business affairs. A short railway journey and a shorter walk brought us to Fairbank, the modest residence of the great financier. Fairbank was a good-sized square house of white stone, standing back a little from the road. A double carriage-sweep, with a snow-clad lawn, stretched down in front to two large iron gates which closed the entrance. On the right side was a small wooden thicket, which led into a narrow path between two neat hedges stretching from the road to the kitchen door, and forming the tradesmen's entrance. On the left ran a lane which led to the stables, and was not itself within the grounds at all, being a public, though little used, thoroughfare. Holmes left us standing at the door, and walked slowly all round the house, across the front, down the tradesmen's path, and so round by the garden behind into the stable lane. So long was he that Mr. Holder and I went into the dining-room and waited by the fire until he should return. We were sitting there in silence when the door opened and a young lady came in. She was rather above the middle height, slim, with dark hair and eyes, which seemed the darker against the absolute pallor of her skin. I do not think that I have ever seen such deadly paleness in a woman's face. Her lips, too, were bloodless, but her eyes were flushed with crying. As she swept silently into the room she impressed me with a greater sense of grief than the banker had done in the morning, and it was the more striking in her as she was evidently a woman of strong character, with immense capacity for self-restraint. Disregarding my presence, she went straight to her uncle, and passed her hand over his head with a sweet womanly caress.
"You have given orders that Arthur should be liberated, have you not, dad?" she asked. "No, no, my girl, the matter must be probed to the bottom." "But I am so sure that he is innocent. You know what women's instincts are. I know that he has done no harm and that you will be sorry for having acted so harshly." "Why is he silent, then, if he is innocent?" "Who knows? Perhaps because he was so angry that you should suspect him." "How could I help suspecting him, when I actually saw him with the coronet in his hand?" "Oh, but he had only picked it up to look at it. Oh do, do take my word for it that he is innocent. Let the matter drop and say no more. It is so dreadful to think of our dear Arthur in prison!" "I shall never let it drop until the gems are found-never, Mary! Your affection for Arthur blinds you as to the awful consequences to me. Far from hushing the thing up, I have brought a gentleman down from London to inquire more deeply into it." "This gentleman?" she asked, facing round to me. "No, his friend. He wished us to leave him alone. He is round in the stable lane now." "The stable lane?" She raised her dark eyebrows. "What can he hope to find there? Ah! this, I suppose, is he. I trust, sir, that you will succeed in proving, what I feel sure is the truth, that my cousin Arthur is innocent of this crime." "I fully share your opinion, and I trust, with you, that we may prove it," returned Holmes, going back to the mat to knock the snow from his shoes. "I believe I have the honor of addressing Miss Mary Holder. Might I ask you a question or two?" "Pray do, sir, if it may help to clear this horrible affair up." "You heard nothing yourself last night?" "Nothing, until my uncle here began to speak loudly. I heard that, and I came down." "You shut up the windows and doors the night before. Did you fasten all the windows?" "Yes."
"Were they all fastened this morning?" "Yes." "You have a maid who has a sweetheart? I think that you remarked to your uncle last night that she had been out to see him?" "Yes, and she was the girl who waited in the drawing-room, and who may have heard uncle's remarks about the coronet." "I see. You infer that she may have gone out to tell her sweetheart, and that the two may have planned the robbery." "But what is the good of all these vague theories," cried the banker, impatiently, "when I have told you that I saw Arthur with the coronet in his hands?" "Wait a little, Mr. Holder. We must come back to that. About this girl, Miss Holder. You saw her return by the kitchen door, I presume?" "Yes; when I went to see if the door was fastened for the night I met her slipping in. I saw the man, too, in the gloom." "Do you know him?" "Oh yes; he is the green-grocer who brings our vegetables round. His name is Francis Prosper." "He stood," said Holmes, "to the left of the door-that is to say, farther up the path than is necessary to reach the door?" "Yes, he did." "And he is a man with a wooden leg?" Something like fear sprang up in the young lady's expressive black eyes. "Why, you are like a magician," said she. "How do you know that?" She smiled, but there was no answering smile in Holmes's thin, eager face. "I should be very glad now to go up-stairs," said he. "I shall probably wish to go over the outside of the house again. Perhaps I had better take a look at the lower windows before I go up."
He walked swiftly round from one to the other, pausing only at the large one which looked from the hall onto the stable lane. This he opened, and made a very careful examination of the sill with his powerful magnifying lens. "Now we shall go up-stairs," said he, at last. The banker's dressing-room was a plainly furnished little chamber, with a gray carpet, a large bureau, and a long mirror. Holmes went to the bureau first and looked hard at the lock. "Which key was used to open it?" he asked. "That which my son himself indicated-that of the cupboard of the lumber-room." "Have you it here?" "That is it on the dressing-table." Sherlock Holmes took it up and opened the bureau. "It is a noiseless lock," said he. "It is no wonder that it did not wake you. This case, I presume, contains the coronet. We must have a look at it." He opened the case, and, taking out the diadem, he laid it upon the table. It was a magnificent specimen of the jeweller's art, and the thirty-six stones were the finest that I have ever seen. At one side of the coronet was a cracked edge, where a corner holding three gems had been torn away. "Now, Mr. Holder," said Holmes, "here is the corner which corresponds to that which has been so unfortunately lost. Might I beg that you will break it off." The banker recoiled in horror. "I should not dream of trying," said he. "Then I will." Holmes suddenly bent his strength upon it, but without result. "I feel it give a little," said he; "but, though I am exceptionally strong in the fingers, it would take me all my time to break it. An ordinary man could not do it. Now, what do you think would happen if I did break it, Mr. Holder? There would be a noise like a pistol shot. Do you tell me that all this happened within a few yards of your bed, and that you heard nothing of it?" "I do not know what to think. It is all dark to me." "But perhaps it may grow lighter as we go. What do you think, Miss Holder?" "I confess that I still share my uncle's perplexity." "Your son had no shoes or slippers on when you saw him?" "He had nothing on save only his trousers and shirt."
"Thank you. We have certainly been favored with extraordinary luck during this inquiry, and it will be entirely our own fault if we do not succeed in clearing the matter up. With your permission, Mr. Holder, I shall now continue my investigations outside." He went alone, at his own request, for he explained that any unnecessary footmarks might make his task more difficult. For an hour or more he was at work, returning at last with his feet heavy with snow and his features as inscrutable as ever. "I think that I have seen now all that there is to see, Mr. Holder," said he; "I can serve you best by returning to my rooms." "But the gems, Mr. Holmes. Where are they?" "I cannot tell." The banker wrung his hands. "I shall never see them again!" he cried. "And my son? You give me hopes?" "My opinion is in no way altered." "Then, for God's sake, what was this dark business which was acted in my house last night?" "If you can call upon me at my Baker Street rooms to-morrow morning between nine and ten I shall be happy to do what I can to make it clearer. I understand that you give me carte blanche to act for you, provided only that I get back the gems, and that you place no limit on the sum I may draw." "I would give my fortune to have them back." "Very good. I shall look into the matter between this and then. Good-bye; it is just possible that I may have to come over here again before evening." It was obvious to me that my companion's mind was now made up about the case, although what his conclusions were was more than I could even dimly imagine. Several times during our homeward journey I endeavored to sound him upon the point, but he always glided away to some other topic, until at last I gave it over in despair. It was not yet three when we found ourselves in our room once more. He hurried to his chamber, and was down again in a few minutes dressed as a common loafer. With his collar turned up, his shiny, seedy coat, his red cravat, and his worn boots, he was a perfect sample of the class. "I think that this should do," said he, glancing into the glass above the fireplace. "I only wish that you could come with me, Watson, but I fear that it won't do. I may be on the trail in this matter, or I may be following a will-of-the-wisp, but I shall soon know which it is. I hope that I may be back in a few hours." He cut a slice of beef from the joint upon the sideboard, sandwiched it between two rounds of bread, and, thrusting this rude meal into his pocket, he started off upon his expedition. I had just finished my tea when he returned, evidently in excellent spirits, swinging an old elastic-sided boot in his hand. He chucked it down into a corner and helped himself to a cup of tea. "I only looked in as I passed," said he. "I am going right on." "Where to?" "Oh, to the other side of the West End. It may be some time before I get back. Don't wait up for me in case I should be late." "How are you getting on?" "Oh, so so. Nothing to complain of. I have been out to Streatham since I saw you last, but I did not call at the house. It is a very sweet little problem, and I would not have missed it for a good deal. However, I must not sit gossiping here, but must get these disreputable clothes off and return to my highly respectable self." I could see by his manner that he had stronger reasons for satisfaction than his words alone would imply. His eyes twinkled, and there was even a touch of color upon his sallow cheeks. He hastened up-stairs, and a few minutes later I heard the slam of the hall door, which told me that he was off once more upon his congenial hunt. I waited until midnight, but there was no sign of his return, so I retired to my room. It was no uncommon thing for him to be away for days and nights on end when he was hot upon a scent, so that his lateness caused me no surprise. I do not know at what hour he came in, but when I came down to breakfast in the morning, there he was with a cup of coffee in one hand and the paper in the other, as fresh and trim as possible. "You will excuse my beginning without you, Watson," said he; "but you remember that our client has rather an early appointment this morning." "Why, it is after nine now," I answered. "I should not be surprised if that were he. I thought I heard a ring." It was, indeed, our friend the financier. I was shocked by the change which had come over him, for his face, which was naturally of a broad and massive mould, was now pinched and fallen in, while his hair seemed to me at least a shade whiter. He entered with a weariness and lethargy which was even more painful than his violence of the morning before, and he dropped heavily into the arm-chair which I pushed forward for him. "I do not know what I have done to be so severely tried," said he. "Only two days ago I was a happy and prosperous man, without a care in the world. Now I am left to a lonely and dishonored age. One sorrow comes close upon the heels of another. My niece, Mary, has deserted me." "Deserted you?" "Yes. Her bed this morning had not been slept in, her room was empty, and a note for me lay upon the hall table. I had said to her last night, in sorrow and not in anger, that if she had married my boy all might have been well with him. Perhaps it was thoughtless of me to say so. It is to that remark that she refers in this note: "'My dearest Uncle,-I feel that I have brought trouble upon you, and that if I had acted differently this terrible misfortune might never have occurred. I cannot, with this thought in my mind, ever again be happy under your roof, and I feel that I must leave you for ever. Do not worry about my future, for that is provided for; and, above all, do not search for me, for it will be fruitless labor and an ill-service to me. In life or in death, I am ever your loving
"It is, unfortunately, more than possible; it is certain. Neither you nor your son knew the true character of this man when you admitted him into your family circle. He is one of the most dangerous men in England-a ruined gambler, an absolutely desperate villain, a man without heart or conscience. Your niece knew nothing of such men. When he breathed his vows to her, as he had done to a hundred before her, she flattered herself that she alone had touched his heart. The devil knows best what he said, but at least she became his tool, and was in the habit of seeing him nearly every evening." "I cannot, and I will not, believe it!" cried the banker, with an ashen face.
"I will tell you, then, what occurred in your house last night. Your niece, when you had, as she thought, gone to your room, slipped down and talked to her lover through the window which leads into the stable lane. His footmarks had pressed right through the snow, so long had he stood there. She told him of the coronet. His wicked lust for gold kindled at the news, and he bent her to his will. I have no doubt that she loved you, but there are women in whom the love of a lover extinguishes all other loves, and I think that she must have been one. She had hardly listened to his instructions when she saw you coming down-stairs, on which she closed the window rapidly, and told you about one of the servants' escapade with her wooden-legged lover, which was all perfectly true. "Your boy, Arthur, went to bed after his interview with you, but he slept badly on account of his uneasiness about his club debts. In the middle of the night he heard a soft tread pass his door, so he rose, and looking out, was surprised to see his cousin walking very stealthily along the passage, until she disappeared into your dressing-room. Petrified with astonishment, the lad slipped on some clothes, and waited there in the dark to see what would come of this strange affair. Presently she emerged from the room again, and in the light of the passage-lamp your son saw that she carried the precious coronet in her hands. She passed down the stairs, and he, thrilling with horror, ran along and slipped behind the curtain near your door, whence he could see what passed in the hall beneath. He saw her stealthily open the window, hand out the coronet to some one in the gloom, and then closing it once more hurry back to her room, passing quite close to where he stood hid behind the curtain. "As long as she was on the scene he could not take any action without a horrible exposure of the woman whom he loved. But the instant that she was gone he realized how crushing a misfortune this would be for you, and how all-important it was to set it right. He rushed down, just as he was, in his bare feet, opened the window, sprang out into the snow, and ran down the lane, where he could see a dark figure in the moonlight. Sir George Burnwell tried to get away, but Arthur caught him, and there was a struggle between them, your lad tugging at one side of the coronet, and his opponent at the other. In the scuffle, your son struck Sir George, and cut him over the eye. Then something suddenly snapped, and your son, finding that he had the coronet in his hands, rushed back, closed the window, ascended to your room, and had just observed that the coronet had been twisted in the struggle, and was endeavoring to straighten it when you appeared upon the scene."
Current Page: 1

Word Lists:

Gem : a precious or semiprecious stone, especially when cut and polished or engraved.
Bureau : a chest of drawers.
Unimpeachable : not able to be doubted, questioned, or criticized; entirely trustworthy
Dishonor : a state of shame or disgrace
Remunerative : financially rewarding; lucrative
Reliability : the quality of being trustworthy or of performing consistently well
Seedy : sordid and disreputable
Stealthily : in a cautious and surreptitious manner, so as not to be seen or heard
Ashen : of the pale gray color of ash
Contortion : a twisted or bent condition, state, or form

More...

Additional Information:

Rating: A Words in the Passage: 7964 Unique Words: 1,615 Sentences: 634
Noun: 2097 Conjunction: 713 Adverb: 567 Interjection: 26
Adjective: 501 Pronoun: 1300 Verb: 1540 Preposition: 893
Letter Count: 31,795 Sentiment: Positive / Positive / Positive Tone: Conversational Difficult Words: 1025
EdSearch WebSearch
Questions and Answers

Please wait while we generate questions and answers...

Popular Passages:

Paired Passages:

Related Passages:

Related Passages

Ratings & Comments

Write a Review
5 Star
0
0
4 Star
0
0
3 Star
0
0
2 Star
0
0
1 Star
0
0
0

0 Ratings & 0 Reviews

Report an Error