Sherlock Holmes

particular way, not a crystallised carbon like a diamond. The
story ends with John Horner still wrongfully accused.
Observations: Doyle was paid £300 in total for this and the next
five stories.
Verdict: A sort of literary ‘Christmas special’, this is a deliber-
ately comic tale with more than its fair share of humour. Even
Holmes is not above cracking the odd pun. 4/5
10) The Adventure of the Speckled Band
UK: The Strand Magazine (February 1892, SP)
The Case: A woman dies of fright in a locked room, and her
sister thinks she’ll be next…
Date: Early April 1883.
T H E C A N O N
• 39 •

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Characters: Helen Stoner, Dr Grimesby Roylott, Julia Stoner,
Honoria Westphail, Percy  Armitage.
Locations: 221B Baker Street; Stoke Moran Manor House, Stoke
Moran, Surrey; Crown Inn, Stoke Moran, Surrey.
Unrecorded Case: Mrs Farintosh and the opal tiara (pre-1880).
Holmes: Is usually a late riser. Can straighten a steel poker.
Thinks a revolver and a toothbrush are the only items needed
when journeying to a crime scene.
Watson: Has been chronicling Holmes’ exploits for eight years,
totalling 70 cases. Is a bachelor at the time of this case and is
regular in his habits.
Elementary: Deduces Helen Stoner’s modes of transport to
Baker Street.
Quotable Quote: ‘Ah, me! It’s a wicked world, and when a clever
man turns his brain to crime it is the worst of all.’
Problems: There are no baboons in India.The swamp adder is an
invented species (although the North American massasauga
comes close), and snakes are deaf and dislike milk. A snakebite
would have been easily observed by a coroner.
Observations: Reference is made to real-life poisoners William
Palmer (hanged 1856) and Edward William Pritchard (hanged
1863). Both were physicians, but despite what Holmes says,
neither were ‘at the head’ of their profession.
Verdict: A genuinely creepy and well-constructed mystery, its
solution is logical yet unexpected – a perfect combination.
5/5
11) The Adventure of the Engineer’s Thumb
UK: The Strand Magazine (March 1892, SP)
The Case: An engineer escapes from counterfeiters with the loss
of his thumb…
S H E R L O C K H O L M E S
• 40 •

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Date: Summer 1889.
Characters: Train guard, Victor Hatherley, Dr Becher, Inspector
Bradstreet, plain-clothes policeman, stationmaster, Colonel
Lysander Stark, Ferguson, Elise.
Locations:Watson’s house; 221B Baker Street; 16a Victoria  Street;
house in Eyford, Berks.
Unrecorded Case: Colonel Warburton’s  madness.
Holmes: Has a pre-breakfast pipe consisting of the remains of
the previous day’s tobacco. Enjoys a hearty breakfast of bacon
and eggs.
Watson: Has been married for a short time and has a steadily
increasing practice near Paddington Station. Still visits Holmes
and encourages him to visit him and his wife.
Problems: It is not made clear whether ‘Lysander Stark’ and ‘Mr
Ferguson’ are aliases for Fritz and Dr Becher (or vice versa),
and the role of Elise is unclear. It is prescient of Holmes to ask
about the horse’s condition before he is told of the long
journey.There is some confusion as to how Hatherley’s thumb
was severed: in the Strand text he is hanging by his fingers only
(his thumbs are under the sill), and this is reflected by Paget’s
illustration.Why was the massive (and heavy) press installed on
the first floor and not the ground?