Canon Discussion: The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet

[alafaye]

This week we are reading The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet. It carries the themes of overly cautious and dishonor.



Our story opens on a winter morning, Watson enjoying the calm brought about by snow and Holmes -- though we don't know -- likely bemoaning the fact that the snow means few if any clients. Despite the snow however they soon receive a man who finds himself in a precarious position. A banker by trade he accepted a coronet from a high family (implying a member of the royal family??) as security for a loan. Being a public resource, the banker presumes to take the coronet home to ensure it remains safe when he is at home.

The first night however shows that his own rooms were no more safer than a bank safe which could be forced -- his own bureau could be forced with any old key. The household is simple, but the case zeroes in on a few characters. A son, a neice, and a maid who had a sweetheart. As we often find in Doyle's works, suspicions immediately fall on the most likely and with reason -- the son is found in the early hours with the coronet in hand and some of the beryls missing. He is arrested, but the banker asks Holmes to look into the matter because the beryls cannot be found.

Naturally the foot marks are difficult to make a clear case given there is a public path that encircles the house, but a look around and some inquiries leave Holmes to know for sure that the case is not as clear as it appears. He assures the banker he'll have an answer tomorrow and he and Watson make their way home. Watson entertains himself as is his usual while Holmes employs his acting abilities to chase down leads. The morning brings Holmes back home for good and the banker arrives promptly to get his answers, but also to deliver news of his own: his neice had run off.

A gentleman emerges from the edges of the case: Sir Burnwell. He knew the son from gambling dens and had been to the home a few times. He charmed the neice who told him about the coronet. Being in debt, Burnwell convinced her to bring him the coronet. But the nephew had seen the act and brought it back to the home. He realized that it had broken off and was in the act of straightening it when he was caught. He said nothing out of love for his cousin. Burnwell had decided to sell what piece he had for a small sum and Holmes bought it from the pawn shop that it had been sold to.

And so closes the case. It's a quick, brusque case that feels rather open ended. The banker's troubles are only beginning of course -- he'll have to return the coronet in pieces rather than whole. His nephew we can suspect will continue his bad habits despite his time in jail. The neice -- I wonder if she won't return asking for money for her paramour (whom I suspect will not marry her) or when she realizes she made a mistake. I do feel badly for her treatment here; I wonder if she actually chose to not have friends or if it was imposed on her by her uncle. Further of course that her uncle was not more cautious with Sir Burnwell being that he didn't have a good character. (Though of course we all know how well Doyle treats women in his stories.)

Thoughts?

Comments

[rachelindeed.livejournal.com]

I've always been fond of this one. I find it sweet that Holmes says that Arthur has acted like he would be proud to see any son of his act. To me, that says something about the kind of things that Holmes values and considers honorable. He is proud of Arthur for 1) having intervened to prevent a crime that would have profoundly hurt his father, showing a loyalty and a protective familial love that outweighed the antagonistic side of his relationship with his father, and 2) he was prepared to go to prison rather than implicate the person he romantically loved. I like the fact that Holmes openly admires these choices on Arthur's part, because it implies that he sees loyalty and self-sacrifice as being virtues that outweigh the more rakish set of flaws that Arthur also exhibits. I think that's a rather sweet glimpse into Holmes's personal ethics.

[alafaye]

Yes, you're right. There was something...wholesome? About this story. Family values and being a good son. A very Victorian tale this. And of course insight into Holmes is always welcome :)