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Arthur Conan Doyle Classic tales Illustrated by
Tyto Alba
EDELVIVES
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Historical Background The three stories in this book are set during the time of Queen Victoria. In The Adventure of the Dancing Men, Holmes’ client had come up to London for the Jubilee celebrations in 1887. There were processions and parties, and dancing and music to commemorate the 50th anniversary of her reign as Queen of England. It was a time of peace and prosperity for the country and the Victorian period is remembered for its many positive changes in society and technology.
Diamond Jubilee procession to celebrate 60 years of the reign of Queen Victoria.
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At the end of the nineteenth century there were also two influential Prime Ministers, William Gladstone and Benjamin Disraeli, who, in spite of their opposing political views and personal hatred of each other, modernised the country. We often hear Sherlock Holmes refer to his love of science, and in The Adventure of the Final Problem we learn that Moriarty, his arch-enemy, is a mathematical genius. The growing importance of the study of physics, chemistry and maths was based on discoveries such as those behind Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of the Species published in 1859, and influenced inventions including Coca-Cola, toilet paper and the diesel-fuelled internal combustion engine. The Industrial Revolution which began during that century in Britain and then spread throughout Europe, North America and Japan, also led to laws protecting children working in factories, votes for women and compulsory education for children under ten years old. In the story of the Dancing Men Conan Doyle made an interesting reference to the past and present of England when he wrote that the cities were polluted and the countryside was empty. London was the largest city in the world, growing from 1 million inhabitants in 1800, to a population of 6.7 million in 1900. All those people needed to cook and keep warm and the cities were very polluted from the wood-burning fires in their houses. In London this contamination mixed with the natural mists and fogs 9
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common to the geography of the area, to make the famous thick yellow “smog” of Jack the Ripper’s times. Homes still used candles, oil lamps and gas lamps and, even though the first electric streetlights were already lighting London in 1878, it took another thirty years before people had electric lights in their houses. Conan Doyle mentions a lot of aspects of his day-to-day life which might seem curious to a modern reader, including the common forms of communication and transport. Nobody had even dreamed of the Internet, but they had a fantastic postal service - in London there were between 6 and 12 deliveries every day -, an excellent newspaper industry with over 50 newspapers in London alone, and the telephone was beginning to be used in private homes. Even though the first telephone connection between England and France was opened in the year the story takes place, the fastest way to communicate was by telegraph and Morse code. Holmes and Watson move around a lot and, in spite of the fact the carriages pulled by horses were much slower that today’s cars, and the steam trains were noisy and dirty, they were always ready to travel to the next adventure and there was always a cab or carriage, ship or train ready Late 19th century illustration depicting Holmes and Watson. to take them. 10
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Holmes had been sitting in silence for a long time, with his long, thin back bent over the table as he worked on a new, horribly smelly chemical. His face was turned down and he looked from where I sat like a strange bird, with grey feathers and a black head. “Tell me, Watson,” he said, suddenly, “is it true you do not want to invest1 money in South African gold?” 1 invest
Put money into a business with the idea of making more money
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The Adventure of the Dancing Men
I jumped in surprise. Even though I know all about Holmes’ clever and curious abilities, I could not explain how he had suddenly read my private thoughts. “How on earth do you know that?” I asked. He turned round on his chair, with a glass tube of bubbling chemicals in his hand, and a smile in his clever eyes. “Now, Watson, confess to me that you are totally surprised,” said he. “I am.” “I’m thinking of asking you to write your name on a paper to make it official.” “Why?” “Because in five minutes you will say that it is all absurdly easy.” “I am sure that I will say nothing like that.” “You see, my dear Watson” - he put his test-tube2 on the table, and began to talk to me like a university professor teaching his class -“it is not 2 test-tube
A long cylinder made of glass scientists use for chemical experiments 13
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really difficult to construct a list of ideas, where each one is connected to the idea before it on the list and where each individual idea is an easy one. If, after doing this, one simply takes away all the central ideas and gives one’s audience the initial idea and the conclusion, one may produce a surprising, though possibly a false, effect. Now, it was not really difficult for me because, by inspecting the part of your hand between your left index finger and thumb, it was possible to be sure that you did not plan to invest the small amount of money you have in the bank in the gold fields of South Africa.” “I cannot see the connection.” “You very probably cannot; but I can quickly show you a close connection. Here are the missing links of the very simple chain: 1. You had chalk3 between your left finger and thumb when you returned from the club last night. 2. You put chalk there when you play billiards, to steady the cue4 . 3. You never play billiards except with Thurston.
3 chalk
Used for example, by teachers to write on the blackboard 4 cue The long wooden stick you use to play billiards 14
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4. You told me, four weeks ago, that Thurston had the option to buy some South African property - but only for a month - and he wanted you to collaborate with him. 5. Your cheque book is locked in my drawer, and you have not asked me for the key. 6. You do not want to invest your money in this way.” “How absurdly easy!” I shouted. “Exactly!” said he, a little angry. “Every problem looks very childish5 after it has been explained to you. Here is an unexplained one. What do you see there, friend Watson?” He threw a piece of paper on the table, and turned back to his chemical analysis. I looked with surprise at the absurd hieroglyphics on the paper. “Well, Holmes, it is a child’s drawing,” I said. “Oh, that’s your idea!” “What else could it be?” “That is what Mr. Hilton Cubitt, of Riding Thorpe
5 childish
Easy or silly enough for a child to do 15
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Manor6 , Norfolk, is very anxious to know. This little puzzle arrived this morning in the first post, and Hilton had the intention to follow by the next train. There’s a ring at the bell, Watson. I would not be very surprised if this was Mr Hilton himself.” We heard heavy feet on the stairs, and a moment later a tall, red-faced gentleman came into the room. His clear eyes and rosy cheeks indicated that he lived far away from the fogs of Baker Street. He brought the smell of the strong, fresh, eastcoast air with him as he entered our rooms. He shook hands with both of us and he was going to sit down, when he saw the paper with the curious drawings, which I had been examining and had put on the table a moment before. 2
“Well, Mr. Holmes, what do you see there?” he asked. “They told me that you liked strange mysteries, and I don’t think you can find a stranger one than that. I sent you the paper this morning, so that you might have time to study it before I came.” 6 manor
A very big house with a lot of land - for gardens and agriculture - Mr Cubitt is probably part of an important, old family
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“It is certainly quite a curious production,” said Holmes. “At first sight it looks like some childish joke. It consists of a number of absurd little people dancing across the paper. Why do you give any importance to something so grotesque?” “I would never have done myself, Mr. Holmes. But my wife does. It is frightening her to death. She says nothing, but I can see terror in her eyes. That’s why I want to discover exactly what is happening.” Holmes held up the paper so that the sun shone through the window onto it. It was a page taken 17
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from a notebook. The marks were made in pencil, and looked like this:
Holmes examined it for a long time, and then, folding it carefully, he put it in his pocketbook. “This is going to be a very interesting and unusual case,” said he. “You gave me a few details in your letter, Mr. Hilton Cubitt, but I would be very pleased if you could kindly repeat everything again for my friend, Dr. Watson.” “I’m not a very good story-teller,” said our visitor, nervously opening and closing his big strong hands. “You must ask me anything that I don’t explain clearly. I’ll start when I got married last year, but I want to say first of all that I’m not a rich man, but my family has been at Riding Thorpe for more than five centuries, and everybody in the County of Norfolk knows my family. Last year I came up to London for the Queen’s Jubilee, and I stayed at a small hotel in Russell Square, because Parker, the vicar of our local church, was staying in it. There was an American young lady there - Patrick was her name 18
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