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IN CONTEXT

TYPE

Short story

FIRST PUBLICATION

UK: May 1892

COLLECTION

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, 1892

CHARACTERS

Alexander Holder Prominent banker, who lives with his son and niece in Streatham.

Arthur Holder Son of Alexander, and a gambler in serious debt.

Mary Holder Niece and adopted daughter of Alexander.

Sir George Burnwell Disreputable friend of Arthur and lover of Mary.

This story is an excellent exemplar of Holmes and his methodology: logical but instinctive, methodical yet fearless. While those directly embroiled in the case find themselves blinded by suspicion and mistrust, Holmes is able to swiftly apply his ingenious logic and identify the true criminals in a masterful show of deductive superiority. And yet, while the crime is successfully solved, this is one of the few Holmes cases in which the perpetrators escape before they are brought to justice.

The client in question is an eminent banker, Alexander Holder, who has been entrusted with a precious beryl coronet to act as a guarantee against a substantial loan that is required by one of the “most exalted names in England.”—Burdened by the responsibility, Holder takes the coronet back to his house in Streatham. That night, he is disturbed by a noise and wakes to see his son Arthur standing in his dressing room, holding the slightly mangled coronet. Crucially, three of its beryls are missing.

"It appeared to you to be a simple case; to me it seems exceedingly complex."

Sherlock Holmes

The Holder household

Holder is demented with anxiety and can only conclude that Arthur, an irresponsible gambler, is guilty. Holder is a widower who has over-indulged his only child and now has little love for him. Holder reserves his affection for his adopted niece, Mary, an orphan with a loving, discreet, and loyal nature. Arthur is also devoted to Mary, and it is Holder’s dearest wish that son and niece should marry, but Mary has twice refused Arthur’s hand. It also transpires that a handsome and charismatic friend of Arthur’s, Sir George Burnwell, is a frequent visitor to the Holder home.

Holmes is immediately skeptical about Arthur’s guilt; why would he refuse to exonerate himself or give any explanation for the events of the night? How did he break the coronet without any audible noise? And where are the three beryls concealed?

A classic Holmes investigation ensues—various false clues are presented to him, but Holmes refuses to be thrown off the scent. He scrutinizes a windowsill with his magnifying glass, questions Mary, and observes a set of tracks in the snow that tell a complex tale.

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The Beryl Coronet was one of the 47 silent films (45 shorts and two features) of the Holmes stories made by Stoll Pictures between 1921–23; all starred Eille Norwood as Holmes.

Culprit revealed

Matters grow more complicated when Holder discovers a note from Mary telling him that she is leaving. Holmes soon reveals the truth behind her decision—and the crime. The true culprit is Sir George, “one of the most dangerous men in England—a ruined gambler, an absolutely desperate villain, a man without heart or conscience.” The scoundrel has inveigled himself into the household and become Mary’s lover. He persuaded her to steal the coronet and pass it to him through a window. Arthur had witnessed the theft, pursued Sir George and grappled him for the coronet, leaving evidence of their struggle in the snow. The coronet had been damaged in the skirmish, and Arthur was trying to straighten it before returning it to his father’s bureau when he was caught. Out of love and loyalty for Mary, he refused to reveal the truth and her role in it.

During this fast-paced case, Holmes plays the part of a true action hero, disguising himself to glean information, accosting Sir George over the theft, threatening him with a gun, and buying the missing beryls back from a third party (to whom Sir George had already sold them) for £3,000.

Holder had let his love for Mary cloud his judgment, and decided wrongly that his son’s lifestyle was a sign of his guilt. In fact, Arthur is unfailingly loyal to both his cousin, Mary, and his father. Mary, for her part, has foolishly abandoned the protection of her devoted stepfather and cousin for that of her dubious lover, and is likely to receive her retribution at Sir George’s own cruel hand. “Whatever her sins are, they will soon receive a more than sufficient punishment,” are Holmes’s final, ominous words on the case.

THE CORONET

Coronets are simple crowns worn by the various ranks of the British peerage as well as minor royalty, each rank distinguished by a different configuration of strawberry leaves and silver balls. Beryl is a colorless gemstone that is often tinted by impurities to appear yellow (known as heliodor), green (emerald), red (scarlet emerald), or blue (aquamarine).

The gold coronet that features in this story, adorned with 39 “enormous” beryls, is unusually elaborate. The man who entrusts Holder with the coronet estimates that it is worth around £100,000 ($12 million today), at least twice the value of the loan drawn on it. The reader does not learn the identity of the coronet’s owner, only that “his name… is a household word all over the earth,” which has led many to speculate that he is a member of the British royal family, probably the Prince of Wales (later Edward VII).

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