Sherlock Holmes

Mason, Sir James Walter, Admiral Sinclair, Adolph Meyer, Louis La
Rothière, Hugo Oberstein.
Locations: 221B Baker Street; Woolwich Arsenal, Woolwich;
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Woolwich Station, Woolwich; Aldgate Underground Station;
Sir James Walter’s house, Woolwich; West’s house, Woolwich;
13 Caulfield Gardens, Kensington; Goldini’s Restaurant,
Gloucester Road, Kensington; Gloucester Road Station;
Sinclair’s house, Barclay Square; Woolwich Theatre, Woolwich; 13
Great George Street,Westminster; Campden Mansions, Notting Hill;
Hôtel du Louvre, Paris; Charing Cross Hotel,WC2.
Recorded Case:The Greek Interpreter.
Unrecorded Cases: Brooks,Woodhouse.
Holmes: Has begun to study the music of the Middle Ages. Has
heavy tufted brows. Keeps a big map of London. Drinks
curaçao (a liqueur flavoured with bitter oranges). Can totally
detach himself from the case when needs be. Has written the
definitive monograph on the Polyphonic Motets of Lassus.
Receives an emerald tiepin from Queen Victoria for recovering
the Bruce-Partington plans.
Mycroft: Is a man of strict habits and has only journeyed to 221B
Baker Street once before. Has a salary of £450 from a subordi-
nate job, but is the backbone of the whole government; the
knowledge of every department is passed to him, and he is
consulted on every decision. Can retain a huge array of facts,
neatly pigeon-holed in his brain. Is fat, and has steel-grey, deep-
set eyes.
Quotable Quote: ‘I play the game for the game’s own sake…’
Problems: A children’s party is taking place well after nine
o’clock at night. Holmes was already familiar with spies (cf.
The Second Stain, in which Oberstein receives a passing
mention), so it’s odd he asks Mycroft for a list. Why is the
fragile Sir James in charge of such an important project? The
newspaper cuttings could have been arranged in more than one
way and still have made sense.
Observations: Doyle based this story on an incident that
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occurred to his mother’s second cousin Sir Arthur Vicars,
Ulster King of Arms and Chief Herald of Ireland. On 6 July
1907 the Regalia of the Grand Order of St Patrick (commonly
referred to as the Irish Crown Jewels) were stolen. Although
Vicars was suspected, the real culprit was allegedly Frank
Shackleton, brother of Sir Ernest Shackleton the Antarctic
explorer.
Verdict: Another ‘stolen government document’ mystery, but
convincingly recounted. 5/5
43) The Adventure of the Devil’s Foot
UK: The Strand Magazine (December 1910, GH); USA: The
Strand Magazine (January-February 1911, GH)
The Case: Two men have gone mad and a woman lies dead in a
remote Cornish cottage…
Date: March 1897.
Characters: Dr Moore Agar, Rev. Roundhay, Mortimer
Tregennis, Owen Tregennis, George Tregennis, Brenda
Tregennis, Mrs Porter, Dr Leon Sterndale, Dr Richards, servant.
Locations: Poldhu Cottage, Mounts Bay, Cornwall; Tredannick
Wollas, Cornwall; Tredannick Wartha; Beauchamp Arriance; hotel,
Plymouth.
Holmes: Dislikes fame, always preferring that the official police
force gets the praise. Almost suffers a nervous breakdown due
to overwork and unknown ‘occasional indiscretions’. Is
studying the derivation of the Celtic language.
Quotable Quote: ‘…if the matter is beyond humanity it is
certainly beyond me.’