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The Beryl Coronet
The Great Sherlock Holmes
This week’s lesson is our introduction to the famous Sherlock Holmes—the detective’s detective. Holmes was everything an investigator should be: brilliant, calculating, determined, and creative in his investigation techniques.
"The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet" sees Sherlock Holmes dealing with a case of theft. However, it is a delicate matter for the consulting detective to deal with. Arguably, more important than solving the case is proving that the chief suspect is innocent. Holmes shows that the most obvious suspect is not always guilty (Quartermain, 2023).
I think you will see some familiar details and themes from last week’s “The Penny Black” episode of Saber of London. Jot down your observations!
Before we move into the particulars of the story, read on to learn about our author and his great detective.
Click here to download or print a pdf version of this lesson.
Let's Hear it for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Author….surgeon… spiritualist…. There are quite a few dimensions to Arthur Conan Doyle that many people don’t know.
For example, did you know that his work as a mystery writer was influenced by his training as a surgeon?
When he was a medical student at University of Edinburgh’s Medical School, Conan Doyle honed his skills of observation regarding the smallest details of his patients’ conditions. His diagnostic process as a physician parallels Sherlock Holmes impressive line of deductive reasoning.
Conan Doyle’s medical career shows up in several other works, including a collection of medical short stories (Round the Red Lamp, 1894), and several semiautobiographical novels, The Firm of Girdlestone (1890) and The Stark Munro Letters (1895).
Conan Doyle published Sherlock Holmes adventures from 1887 through 1926. He also wrote historical fiction (The White Company, 1891), and Sir Nigel (1906). He also wrote nonfiction works about the Boer War (where he served as a surgeon), Belgian atrocities in the Congo, and the British invasion in Flanders and France.
Although Conan Doyle was a strong believer in scientific evidence, interestingly he also believed in paranormal phenomenon and spiritualism. He believed that spirits of the dead existed and contacted the living. He spent much of his later life writing about and supporting spiritualism.
When he died in 1930, the spiritualist community held a celebration rather than a funeral. This included a large séance held in Royal Albert Hall in London.
Conan Doyle was married twice, and had five children.
As for the “Sir”: he was knighted in 1902 for his work during the Boer War in South Africa.
23-minute biography
About Sherlock Holmes
According the Arthur Conan Doyle Encyclopedia, Arthur Conan Doyle created the Sherlock Holmes character in 1887. The famous “consulting detective” resided at 221b Baker Street in London.
Holmes was in his sixties in the later mysteries (1914 or so). He came from a family of country squires, and had one older brother. Holmes was tall (6 feet) and thin with a “thin hawk-like nose” and black hair. He dressed formally, usually in a tweed suit. He smoked a pipe and occasionally cigars. He also might have dabbled in drugs.
Holmes was eccentric. He was easily bored, restless, and impatient. He had a strong natural curiosity, a nervous nature, and he bit his nails. When he was engrossed in a case, he was obsessed. He didn’t let his cases overlap; he followed each one through to its resolution. He had few friends. He had no romantic interests. He found that solitude and isolation were necessary in order to fully focus on his cases.
To solve his cases, he often stepped into an actor’s role and took on various disguises. This helped him engage with the criminal mind, as well as create a particular situation and see how characters behaved. Although he doesn’t go into character for this story, he does assemble a small team to be at the crime scene, waiting for the perpetrators to arrive.
How to Think Like Sherlock (10 minutes)
About "The Beryl Coronet"
"The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet" was the eleventh Sherlock Holmes story written out of a total of 56 short stories, and it, along with eleven others, would make up the compilation work, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, also published in 1892.
The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet is one of the stories from the canon of Sherlock Holmes that is often overlooked, and yet it is a story in keeping with many other Conan Doyle stories. Indeed, there is cause for the detective to don a disguise and even solve the case for the client with a dramatic flourish.
The case of the Beryl Coronet is brought to Holmes by Alexander Holder, a banker who had been entrusted with the precious crown. A theft had occurred, and some of the precious stones were missing; there seems to be only one suspect for the theft, Arthur Holder, Alexander’s son, as Arthur was apparently caught in the act.
Interesting Wiki Page About Coronets Below
Holmes, of course, looks beyond the obvious to discover the real solution to the case, with Holmes observing rather than simply seeing.
Making the obvious solution not the correct one was something that many other crime writers have subsequently taken up. Agatha Christie indeed was famous for making Inspector Japp and Captain Hastings take the obvious as read, while Poirot would use his "little grey cells."
"The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet" is perhaps overlooked because it was not one of the Sherlock Holmes stories adapted by Granada TV, with Jeremy Brett starring as Holmes. The short story, though, did make an appearance as an episode in the 1965 BBC series of Sherlock Holmes, airing on the 10th of April 1965, with Douglas Wilmer in the lead role.
Audio version...
I don't have access to this recording, but if you wanted to pay a bit, you could let us know how it is!
Working Through the Story
Boredom is starting to set in at 221B Baker Street, with nothing to keep Holmes interested. To pass the time, Watson has taken to observing the world from the Baker Street windows. The actions of a madman draw Watson's attention, but Holmes' interest is piqued as he sees not a madman but a potential client in an agitated state.
Soon, the agitated man is admitted to Holmes' rooms, the man being Alexander Holder, a wealthy banker and partner in one of London's most prestigious private banks.
Holder has been directed to Holmes because of the sensitive nature of the problem the banker faces; Holder explains the predicament.
A prominent individual has taken out a loan with the bank for £50,000 (a sum of about £4 million today) and, as collateral for the loan, has handed over a beryl coronet. The coronet is a type of crown worn by the English nobility at ceremonial events, and the example offered as collateral contained 39 beryl stones (possibly green emeralds) and was said to be worth twice the value of the loan.
Due to the value of the coronet and the fact that the loan had only been taken out for a few days, Holder decides to keep the coronet safe in his own home rather than the bank. So, the beryl coronet is locked away in a bureau in the dressing room of Alexander Holder.
Holder trusts his household, a household that comprises his son Arthur, his niece Mary, and six trusted servants, although one of the servants, Lucy Parr, is new. Arthur and Mary, though, are the only people informed of the coronet being put in the bureau.
The interactions between household members are interesting. Arthur is regarded as somewhat of a rogue, known to have relatively large gambling debts, and is often proposing marriage to Mary.
When told of the coronet, Arthur, though, had tried to warn his father about the insecure nature of the bureau, but Alexander refused to pay any heed. This refusal came about more because Arthur had immediately angered his father by asking for a loan, which Alexander knew would end up just being gambled away.
On the face of it, it seems an open and shut case, with Arthur Holder caught in the act; Alexander Holder seems to have no doubt about his son's guilt, and yet Sherlock Holmes is not so sure.
Holmes concludes that since the missing stones are at the core of the mystery, he must determine the roles of each member of the household, as well as their whereabouts the night of the burglary.
A list of suspects includes:
Sir George Burnwell (bad influence on young Holder)
Niece Mary (points the blame at new servant Lucy)
Francis Prosper, boyfriend of Lucy
Holmes hones in on a number of strange details, such as the fact that Arthur was barefoot when he was discovered. Holmes also points out that breaking into the treasure would be noisy (and the break-in wasn’t).
The next day there is another development: niece Mary has run away. Holmes does not seem surprised. Indeed, he asks Holder to write a check for the return of the missing stones. With that, Holmes produces the broken section of the coronet and the jewels.
It turns out that Mary was in cahoots (and in love) with Sir George Burnwell. She apparently stole the jewels for Burnwell. Arthur is also in love with Mary. Although he sees Burnwell receive the jewels, he wants to protect Mary. This gets him even deeper in trouble, as he appears guilty of theft. Yet Holmes insists that Holder owes his son an apology.
How does Holmes discern the truth? He saw evidence on the ground that a man in boots was waiting outside the Holder window (for the jewels), and footsteps of a barefoot man.
When Holmes confronts Burnwell about the theft, the detective finds that the thief has already fenced the stones, although Burnwell only received a fifth of what Holmes offered to retrieve the stones for. So, Holmes makes his way to the fence and buys the missing part of the coronet, and the stones, for £3,000; the other £1,000 Holmes keeps for his own living expenses.
Holder agrees that he does indeed owe his son a heartfelt apology but also asks whether Holmes would be able to trace his missing niece for him. Holmes, of course, recognizes that it would be an easy prospect to find Mary, she will, after all, be with Burnwell, but he refuses the job, as it is not worth his time. He has already seen that justice was served.
Final Thoughts
As you read “The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet” notice in particular:
How does Doyle (or I should say Mr. Watson) narrate the story, and what effect does this have on the reader?
What details help portray the main characters, particularly Holmes, Watson,
How does the plot develop?
How does Holmes proceed with his questioning, and his overall investigation?
How do you imagine this story may have affected British readers of the time? And their American counterparts, once the story was published in the U.S.?
Consider the moral or themes of this story. What would you say are the main take-aways?
Whether this is your first Sherlock Holmes story, or you have read stories over and over, this is a good one to ponder. Following his standard approach, Conan Doyle lays out the plot through dialogue between Holmes and Watson. Watson, as usual, lags behind his friend’s deductive line of reasoning (as we readers do) and asks questions to fill in the blanks.
We gradually gain insight about our characters and their actions. Sir Conan Doyle usually wraps up the case with a twist and a lesson learned.
Perhaps now you can better see the influence of this story’s style (and even content) on future generations of mystery writers.
Works Cited
Quartermain. C. (2023). “The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet.” Retrieved from https://owlcation.com/humanities/Plot-Summary-of-the-Adventure-of-the-Beryl-Coronet
Sherlock Holmes (2021). Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Sherlock-Holmes
Sherlock Holmes (2020). Retrieved from https://www.arthur-conan-doyle.com/index.php/Sherlock_Holmes
The Sherlock Holmes Encyclopedia. (2022). Retrieved from From The Sherlock Holmes Encyclopedia
Wilson, P. (2020). Arthur Conan Doyle. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Arthur-Conan-Doyle