Sherlockian Story Summaries

The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes

WARNING: These are summaries, not reviews, and may contain story spoilers.

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Adrian Conan Doyle "The Adventure of Foulkes Rath" (1953) Included in: The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes (Adrian Conan Doyle & John Dickson Carr) Story Type: Pastiche Untold Case: The Addleton Tragedy (GOLD) Canonical Characters: Sherlock Holmes; Dr. Watson; Mrs Hudson; Inspector Lestrade; ((Colonel Matthias / Squire) Addleton) Other Characters: Mr Vincent; Forest Row Station Master; Morstead; Mary Longton; Groom; Green Man Landlord; Thomas Greerly; (Percy Longton; Maidservants; Lodge-Keeper; Gamekeepers; Mary's Friends; Sergeant Clare; Jim Greerly; Kalgoorlie Gold-Stage Driver & Guard; Gold Digger; Cookboy; Corata) Locations: 221B, Baker Street; Forest Row Station; Green Man Inn; Pippinford Hill; Foulkes Rath; Ashdown Saw Mills Story: Lawyer Vincent consults Holmes over the Addleton Tragedy. Longton was found standing over his dead uncle, wealthy landowner and J.P., Colonel Addleton, clutching the murder weapon, an executioner's axe. Earlier in the evening, the two had been overheard arguing, by the butler, Morstead. The dying man's last words were "Long...tom", seeming to suggest that his nephew was the murderer. Addleton had been out riding earlier in the evening, and the front door was unlocked. Holmes and Watson travel with Vincent to Foulkes Rath manor house. They meet Lestrade there, and learn that for some time, Addleton had been selling of parts of the estate. It was this that the argument was over. Pine dust on the carpet, and an examination of a horse's hooves provide Holmes with the clues he needs to take Lestrade on a hike across the moors to get the murderer to reveal a story that began in the Australian gold fields and ends in a sawmill.
"The Adventure of the Abbas Ruby" (1953) Included in: The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes (Adrian Conan Doyle & John Dickson Carr) Story Type: Pastiche Untold Case: The Famous Card Scandal of the Nonpareil Club (HOUN) Canonical Characters: Sherlock Holmes; Dr. Watson; Tobias Gregson; Mrs Hudson Other Characters: Andrew Joliffe; Footman; Lady Doverton; Sir John Doverton; Nonpareil Manservant; Nonpareil Members; Captain Bruce Masterman; Nonpareil Porter; (Lord Brackminster; Lady Brackminster; Mrs Dunbar; The Rt Hon William Radford; Mrs Fitzsimmons-Leming; Stable Boy; Rogers) Date: November 10th, 1886 Locations: 221B, Baker Street; Marylebone Road; Manchester Square; Hansom Driver; St James's Street; Nonpareil Club Story: A new client collapses in the doorway of 221B. He is Joliffe, Sir John Doverton's butler, and a former jewel thief, and has come to beg Holmes to investigate the theft of the Abbas Ruby, which he fears he will be accused of stealing. The jewel had been brought out at a dinner party. The horticulturalist Sir John's prize red camellia blooms have also disappeared from the conservatory, and the jewel was taken from the library while Sir John and his guests had gone to the conservatory to confirm Joliffe's statement to this effect. Gregson arrives with the jewel case which has been found beneath Joliffe's bed, and arrests the butler, who had been given his job after being released from prison, through the good services of Lady Doverton's brother, Captain Masterman, secretary of the Nonpareil Club. Holmes and Watson visit Manchester Square, where Holmes pays attention to the camellia bloom worn by Lady Dovercourt, and examines the conservatory. A trip to the Nonpareil Club is aborted, and cursing himself for a fool, Holmes returns to the Dovercourt's house. After finding the flowers, the club visit goes ahead. Holmes engineers the return of the ruby, averts a scandal, and risks choking a horticulturalist.
"The Adventure of the Dark Angels" (1953) Included in: The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes (Adrian Conan Doyle & John Dickson Carr) Story Type: Pastiche Untold Case: The Ferrers Documents (PRIO) Canonical Characters: Sherlock Holmes; Dr. Watson; Mrs Hudson; (Josua) Ferrers; (Sir Robert Norberton) Other Characters: Boer War Soldiers; Omnibus Driver; Petty Officer; Daphne Ferrers; Mrs Nordham; Constable Kibble; Fly Driver; Dr Nordham; James Tonston; (Cab Driver; McKinney; Mrs McKinney; Mrs McKinney's Sister; Lyndhurst Carrier; Repairman; Mala Vita Grand Master) Date: May, 1901 Locations: Baker Street; 221B, Baker Street; Waterloo Station; Train; Hampshire; Lyndhurst Road Station; Abbotstanding; The New Forest Story: Holmes and Watson return to Baker Street to find Daphne Ferrers, sent by Sir Robert Norberton, waiting for them. She lives with her father, Josua, who owns vineyards and olive groves in Sicily, where he spent his early life, but now lives in the manor house of Abbotstanding, near Beaulieu. Five months earlier, she had found a print of nine dark angels nailed to an oak tree. Since that day her father has not left the house. A further print, bearing six angels has appeared, and a man has been seen outside the window. Another print has recently appeared on the breakfast table. Holmes believes he will be unable to save her father, but they travel to Abbotstanding, where they learn that Ferrers is indeed dead, his throat cut. Examining the man's gun, Holmes deduces that something had been hidden inside it. Holmes links Ferrers' death to the Sicilian secret society, the Mala Vita.
	"The Adventure of the Deptford Horror" (1953) Included in: The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes (Adrian Conan Doyle & John Dickson Carr); Seventeen Steps to 221B (James Edward Holroyd); The Mammoth Book of Historical Whodunnits (Mike Ashley) (as "The Case of the Deptford Horror") Story Type: Pastiche Untold Case: Wilson, the Notorious Canary Trainer (BLAC) Canonical Characters: Sherlock Holmes; Dr. Watson; Inspector Lestrade; (Theobold) Wilson, the Notorious Canary Trainer; (Cardinal Tosca; Mrs Hudson) Other Characters: Janet Wilson; Cabby; (Horatio Wilson; Horatio's Wife; Phineas Wilson; Doctor; Constable; Barge Night Watchman; Servant Woman; Phineas's Doctor; Police Surgeon) Date: June, 1895 Locations: Café Royal; 221B, Baker Street; A Four-Wheeler; Deptford Story: Lestrade finds Holmes and Watson at the Café Royal, and tells them of the Wilson family of Deptford. Horatio Wilson drowned three years previously, and his wife died of a heart attack a year later, leaving their son and daughter in the care of his younger brother, Theobold, a canary trainer. The daughter, Janet, has recently found her brother dead in his chair, and now plans to sell the house and move overseas. Her uncle has called on Lestrade, asking if the police can set her mind at ease. Lestrade advised him to consult Holmes. Theobold calls on them the next morning, and they accompany him to Deptford, where they are given a tour of the house by Janet. Ants emerging from a pot-bellied stove, whorls of soot on the ceiling, and canaries trained to sing at night put Holmes on the trail of an inhuman killer, which he and Watson face, armed only with golf-clubs, during a night-time vigil.
	"The Adventure of the Red Widow" (1953) Included in: The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes (Adrian Conan Doyle & John Dickson Carr); The Adventure of the Plated Spoon and Other Tales of Sherlock Holmes (Loren D. Estleman); The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Richard Lancelyn Green) (as "The Adventure of Arnsworth Castle") Story Type: Pastiche Untold Case: The Arnsworth Castle Business (SCAN) Canonical Characters: Sherlock Holmes; Dr. Watson; Tobias Gregson; (Mary Morstan; Bert Stevens; Mrs Hudson) Other Characters: St Pancras Guard; Stephen; Lord Jocelyn Cope; Lady Cope; (Captain Jasper Lothian; Groom; Marquis de Rennes) Date: December 30th - 31st, 1887 Locations: 221B, Baker Street; St Pancras Station; Train; Derbyshire; Arnsworth Castle; The Queen's Head; Holmes's Sussex Villa Story: Watson is visiting Holmes, and having his mind read, when Gregson calls and whisks them off to Derbyshire to investigate the murder of the county's Deputy-Lieutenant, Cope, at Arnsworth Castle. He has been beheaded in a guillotine housed at the castle museum, and his cousin, Jasper, has been accused of the murder. Lord Jocelyn's head has disappeared, as has a horse from the stables. Holmes spills matches in the library and lights a fire in the hall to reveal the secrets of the castle. Watson brings his casebook to a close in Sussex.
"The Adventure of the Two Women" (1953) Included in: The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes (Adrian Conan Doyle & John Dickson Carr) Story Type: Pastiche Untold Case: One of the most revered names in England is being besmirched by a blackmailer (HOUN) Canonical Characters: Sherlock Holmes; Dr. Watson; Baker Street Irregulars; Mrs Hudson; (Sir Henry Baskerville) Other Characters: Billy; Footman Boyce; Lady Constance Ellington, Duchess of Carringford; Policeman; Edith von Lammerain; (Henry Corwyn Gladsdale, Duke of Carringford; Lady Mary Gladsdale; Sir James Fortesque; Françoise Pelletan; Madgern) Date: September, 1886 Locations: 221B, Baker Street; Portland Place; Carringford House; Charles II Street; St James's Square Story: Watson receives a message from an Irregular, telling Holmes to "beware of footman Boyce". Holmes is investigating the blackmail of Lady Carringford, widow of the Under Secretary for Foreign Affairs, who, the blackmailer suggests was already married, thus making her marriage bigamous, and her daughter, soon to be married to a cabinet minister, illegitimate. The blackmail demand is not for money, but for state papers. Holmes suspects the involvement of the spy, Edith von Lammerain, but he has been unable to make any progress with the case. Holmes tells Watson that Footman Boyce is not a footman, but the leader of a gang of 'slashers and racing touts'. He conceals Watson in the bedroom when Boyce comes calling and threatens Holmes to stay out of the affair. Holmes and Watson visit the Duchess, and arrange that she will visit Edith von Lammerain, and lure her away from her library and the safe where the incriminating documents are kept. Holmes and Watson indulge in some housebreaking, and confront von Lammerain. An examination of the ink on the document closes the case.
Adrian Conan Doyle & John Dickson Carr "The Adventure of the Black Baronet" (1953) Included in: The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes (Adrian Conan Doyle & John Dickson Carr) Story Type: Pastiche Untold Case: Madame Montpensier (HOUN) Canonical Characters: Sherlock Holmes; Dr. Watson; Tobias Gregson; Mme. Montpensier Other Characters: Cobbler; Farmer; Inn Landlord; Coachman; Gillings; Sergeant Bassett; Lady Lavington; Colonel Jocelyn Dalcy; Sir Reginald Lavington; (Sir John Lavington; Two Knights; A Squire; Two Farmers) Date: October, 1889 Locations: Sussex; An Inn near East Grinstead; Kent; Lavington; Lavington Court; The Three Owls Inn Story: Gregson finds Holmes and Watson at their holiday retreat in Sussex and takes them to Lavington Court in Kent where Dalcy, a guest of Sir Reginald Lavington, has been stabbed to death. The murder appears to have been committed with a knife which Lavington claims to have taken fishing that morning and lost, and Lady Lavington, the former actress Margaret Montpensier, appears to have been in a relationship with Dalcy. Dalcy died after drinking from an ornate cup - the Luck of Lavington, to celebrate a racing victory. Holmes journeys to Maidstone, where he learns the story of the Luck of Lavington. He uncovers the means of death, and uncovers a blackmailer, and makes his own decision about the nature of the justice of the case.
"The Adventure of the Gold Hunter" (1953) Included in: The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes (Adrian Conan Doyle & John Dickson Carr) Story Type: Pastiche Untold Case: The Camberwell Poisoning (FIVE) Canonical Characters: Sherlock Holmes; Dr. Watson; Mrs. Hudson; Inspector Lestrade Other Characters: Rev. James Appley; Dolores Dale; Jeffrey Ainsworth; Dr. Paul Griffin; John Trelawney; (Sir Leopold Harper; Appley's Groom; Trelawney's Stable Boy; Trelawney's Housemaid) Date: 1887 Locations: 221B, Baker Street; A Train; Somerset; Camberwell; The Camberwell Arms; Goodman's Rest Story: Appley consults Holmes over the death of an elderly landowner. Although he appears to have died of natural causes in his bed, the police believe he was murdered. The local doctor, Griffin (Appley's nephew), has been accused of the murder. Holmes travels to the village of Camberley, and is able to solve the mystery by re-winding the dead man's watch.
"The Adventure of the Highgate Miracle" (1953) Included in: The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes (Adrian Conan Doyle & John Dickson Carr) Story Type: Pastiche Untold Case: James Phillimore (THOR) Canonical Characters: Sherlock Holmes; Dr. Watson; Mrs. Hudson; Inspector Lestrade; James Phillimore Other Characters: Gloria Cabpleasure; James Cabpleasure; Omnibus Passengers; Constable Burton; Constable Murdock; Harold Mortimer Brown; Alf Peters; Police Constables; Cab Driver; (Umbrella Maker) Date: December, 1893 Locations: 221B, Baker Street; Happiness Villa, The Arbour, Highgate; Story: Gloria Cabpleasure irritates Holmes intensely, but her problem is so intriguing that he agrees to take her case. Her husband James, a diamond broker, has taken to worshipping his umbrella, refusing to let it out of his sight. He has just returned from a six month absence on business in Europe. She has opened a telegram from his business associate and learned that 26 diamonds are missing from his office, and she has overheard him planning a liaison for the following morning. The next day at the appointed time, Holmes and Watson are outside the Cabpleasure house, as are Lestrade - who has it ringed with constables, Cabpleasure's partner, Brown, and a milkman. Cabpleasure steps out of his house, realises he has left his umbrella inside, returns for it, and is seen no more. Both Watson and Lestrade offer solutions to the mystery, but naturally it is Holmes who sees the correct one, and who assists the perpetrator in carrying it through to completion.
"The Adventure of the Sealed Room" (1953) Included in: The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes (Adrian Conan Doyle & John Dickson Carr) Story Type: Pastiche Untold Case: Colonel Warburton's Madness (ENGR) Canonical Characters: Dr. Watson; Mary Morstan; Watson's Maid; Sherlock Holmes; Inspector Alec MacDonald; Mrs Hudson (Captain Arthur Morstan; Colonel (George) Warburton; Irene Adler) Other Characters: Cora Murray; Chundra Lal; Major Earnshaw; Captain Jack Lasher; Cabby (Captain Murray; Eleanor (Grant) Warburton) Date: April 12th - 13th, 1888 Locations: Watson's Paddington Practice; 221B, Baker Street; 9, Cambridge Terrace Story: Watson finds Mary's old friend from India on his Paddington doorstep. She lives with Colonel and Mrs Warburton, but in their Cambridge Terrace house, the Colonel is lying dead and his wife is terribly wounded in a Bayswater nursing home. She believes that an indian death-mask must have driven the Colonel mad, leading him to shoot himself and his wife in a locked room. Watson takes her to Holmes, who visits the Warburton house, where MacDonald is investigating. An investigation of the room, the french window that was broken to get in and a Dutch cigar butt are enough to prove to Holmes that he is dealing with a murder, not a suicide. Watson returns to Baker Street later that day to find Holmes firing a revolver in the sitting room. They return to the Warburtons' house that night, Holmes having laid a trap, and wait for the murderer to return to the scene of the crime.
"The Adventure of the Seven Clocks" (1952) Included in: The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes (Adrian Conan Doyle & John Dickson Carr) Story Type: Pastiche Untold Case: The Trepoff Murder (SCAN) Canonical Characters: Sherlock Holmes; Dr. Watson; Thurston; Mary Morstan; Trepoff Historical Figures: Grand Duke Alexei Other Characters: Coachman; Celia Forsythe; Trepley; Billings; Lady Mayo (Charles Hendon; Lady Mayo; M. Branger; Splendide Guests; Hotel Servant) Date: Wednesday, November 16th - Wednesday, November 23rd, 1887 Locations: 221B, Baker Street; Watson's House; Baker Street; Waterloo Station; A Train; Groxton Station; (A Train; Grindelwald; The Hotel Splendide; Odessa) Story: Celia Forsythe consults Holmes over a man she met while travelling in Europe, Charles Hendon, who in the last two weeks has developed an unaccountable fear of clocks, and has smashed, buried or hidden seven of them. He left their hotel in Switzerland after receiving a letter from Holmes and has not been seen since. Holmes travels to Europe in search of the man, but on returning, learns that he is at Groxton Low Hall - Lady Mayo, Celia's employer's residence. Holmes hurries out to the house to prevent an assassination.
"The Adventure of the Wax Gamblers" (1953) Included in: The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes (Adrian Conan Doyle & John Dickson Carr) Story Type: Pastiche Canonical Characters: Sherlock Holmes; Dr. Watson; Mrs. Watson; Mrs. Hudson; (Anstruther) Other Characters: Eleanor Baxter; Sam Baxter; Robert Parsnip; Cab Driver; Intoxicated Gentleman; Sir Gervase Darlington (Bully Boy Rasher; Lord Hove; Sir Phileas Belch) Date: March, 1890 Locations: Watson's Paddington House; 221B, Baker Street; Madame Taupin's Waxworks Story: While Holmes is laid up with a sprained ankle after a prizefight with Bully Boy Rasher, Eleanor Baxter brings her grandfather, night-watchman at Madame Taupin's Waxworks to consult with him. The cards in a tableaux showing two gamblers have been changing as if the models are playing a game. Holmes sends Watson to the waxworks to bring back the cards. Sir Gervase Darlington, a sportsman and gambler, suspected of illegal dealings on the Turf arrives at Baker Street asking Holmes to take part in a prizefight for him. Holmes is able to link the two events together, but Watson's sense of honour decides the final outcome. NOTE: The fight with Bully Boy Rasher is also referred to in The Giant Rat of Sumatra by Richard L. Boyer