I’ll be uploading rankings of Sherlock Holmes stories from my new book, Wherever Fact May Lead Me: A Ranking of the Sherlock Holmes Stories, every day till we reach the best story. After that, I’ll share my ranking of the best villains in the Holmes canon. You can find the rankings on my website, and you can buy a copy of the book on Amazon.
Ranking the Sherlock Holmes Stories
19. The Adventure of the Copper Beeches (June 1892, Adventures)
A tale devoted almost entirely to its telling by Miss Violet Hunter, The Adventure of the Copper Beeches is one of those stories where Holmes does very little. I doubt there is a story in the Holmes canon in which a single character is as responsible for as much expostulation as Miss Violet Hunter, but, since her character is a pleasant and reasonable one, she’s as easy to follow along with as Watson is. Doyle doesn’t give us much time to linger over mystery here. Hunter tells her story, and, for a fortnight, Watson and Holmes wait for developments. Hunter’s wire appears, asking them to visit the Copper Beeches on the outskirts of Winchester. Watson and Holmes travel to meet Miss Hunter, and, once there, she apprises them of the happenings at the Copper Beeches estate. After hearing her narrative, Holmes guesses at the state of the affairs, and his supposition is very near to the actual truth. The three investigate the mysterious tower that evening, where they find that Mr. Rucastle’s daughter has been spirited away by her young lover. (The two lovers subsequently flee to the far side of the world, to Mauritius, which was British from 1810 to 1968.)
My memories of reading this story for the first time many years ago are still clear. I was favorably impressed by Miss Hunter, and I was fascinated by the description of an “electric blue” dress. Doyle describes Hunter quite adroitly as, “plainly but neatly dressed, with a bright, quick face, freckled like a plover’s egg, and with the brisk manner of a woman who has had her own way to make in the world.” The description is one of his better ones, and, over the years, I have had cause, when encountering certain women, to apply this thought to them: She has the brisk manner of a woman who has had her own way to make in the world. It’s a description that suits some bright and confident and savvy women very admirably, I think, and these sorts of women are always, in my opinion, good conversationalists from whom I may learn something. The description of the dress’ color as “electric blue” also caught my attention, for Doyle’s colors are usually more muted—though there are, of course, exceptions—but this, to me, seems to be the strongest color description in the Holmes canon. Occasionally there are examples of flashy individuals (Hugh Boone and Wilhelm Gottsreich Sigismond von Ormstein spring to mind), but typically Doyle’s England is populated by people with a more muted sense of fashion. The apparel of such folk as Black Peter, the inhabitants of the Abbey Grange, Mr. Jonas Oldacre, Dr. Leslie Armstrong, Miss Violet Smith, and others seems subdued and nearly de rigueur.
Despite this story’s high ranking, I have wished for a scene in which Holmes does some sleuthing, and perhaps a scene in which the imprisoned daughter is able to confront (and get the better of) her terrible father. (Frankly, it would not have bothered me greatly if Watson’s shot had gone amiss, and he’d have blown the brains out of Jephro Rucastle, rather than the abused dog. Imagine if Carlo the dog were saved! Holmes and Watson could have adopted and healed the dog throughout the stories, and Carlo would have made for an interesting companion who, more often than not, lay sprawled in front of the Baker Street hearth fire but, when necessary, provided a bit of teeth-baring, growling menace any time that an unruly individual threatened Holmes or Watson. Carlo could also have become a begrudging favorite of Mrs. Hudson, who would slip him treats on the sly.) Overall, in this solidly written story, but one which has opportunities for improvement, readers may be glad that Rucastle’s daughter, Alice, escaped, and that Miss Violet Hunter went on to better things after The Adventure of the Copper Beeches.
