Sherlock Holmes

The Case: A highly paid governess fears for her safety in an
eccentric country house…
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Characters: Violet Hunter, Jephro Rucastle, Mrs Toller, country
surgeon, Colonel Spence Munro, Miss Stoper, Mrs Rucastle, Alice
Rucastle, Mr Toller, Master  Rucastle, Fowler.
Recorded Cases: A Scandal in Bohemia, A Case of Identity, The Man
with the Twisted Lip,The Noble Bachelor,The Blue Carbuncle.
Locations: 221B Baker Street; The Copper Beeches,
Southampton Road, near Winchester, Hants; The Black Swan,
High Street, Winchester; Montague Place,WC1; Westaway’s,West
End.
Holmes: Smokes a long cherrywood pipe when he is in an argu-
mentative mood. Feels his time is being wasted with trivial
cases. Analyses acetones. Has devised seven separate explana-
tions for the mystery before even arriving at the crime scene.
Watson: Is repelled by Holmes’ egotism.
Quotable Quote: ‘It is my belief,Watson, founded upon my expe-
rience, that the lowest and vilest alleys in London do not
present a more dreadful record of sin than does the smiling and
beautiful countryside.’
Problems: Violet’s dress is ‘a peculiar shade of blue’ as well as ‘a
sort of beige’ – but beige means ‘the yellowish-grey colour of
undyed and unbleached wool’. It was a bit incompetent to give
Violet a key to the all-important drawer containing a lock of
Alice Rucastle’s hair.
Observations: Montague Place was where Doyle lived when he
worked as an ophthalmologist.The idea for this story allegedly
came from the author’s mother; and she persuaded him not to
kill Holmes in it, as was his original intention. Holmes
mentions a sister, but this is probably a figure of speech.
Verdict: A weak tale, the chief interest is its foreshadowing of
The Hound of the Baskervilles with its use of a giant dog.
Characterisation is in places sketchy, with the evil boy not even
receiving a name. But Violet Hunter is a splendid creation: a
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feisty, intelligent young woman who would have made an ideal
companion for Holmes. 3/5
15) The Adventure of Silver Blaze
UK: The Strand Magazine (December 1892, SP); USA: Harper’s
Weekly (25 February 1893,WHH)
The Case: A champion racehorse is stolen on the eve of an
important race…
Characters: Colonel Ross, Inspector Gregory, Silas Brown,
groom, stable lad, Silver Blaze, John Straker, Mrs Straker, Fitzroy
Simpson, Lord Blackwater, Ned Hunter, Edith Baxter, William
Darbyshire, Madame Darbyshire.
Locations: 221B Baker Street; King’s Pyland stables, Dartmoor,
Devon;Tavistock Station, Dartmoor, Devon; Capleton stables,
Dartmoor, Devon; Wessex Cup racecourse, near Winchester,
Hants.
Holmes: Smokes strong black tobacco. In the country he wears
an ear-flapped travelling cap. Uses his imagination and then
looks for clues to support it. Bets on horses. Delays revealing
the facts to Ross because of his rudeness.
Watson: Smokes a cigar.
Quotable Quote:
Gregory: ‘Is there any other point to which you would wish to
draw my attention?’
Holmes: ‘To the curious incident of the dog in the night-time.’
Gregory: ‘The dog did nothing in the night-time.’
Holmes: ‘That was the curious incident.’
Elementary: Holmes deduces the train’s speed using telegraph
posts.
Problems: It is debatable that Ross wouldn’t recognise his own
horse, despite its disguised markings. Pullmans had never been
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used on the West of England line, and the South Western’s
London terminus is not Victoria. Doyle was to later write that,
‘the racing detail in Silver Blaze is very faulty’.