“The Adventure of the Copper Beeches” was first published in the Strand Magazine in June, 1892.
The plot of this case was actually suggested by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s mother.
After writing the 5th adventure, ACD confessed to his Mother “I think of slaying Holmes in the sixth and winding him up for good and all. He takes my mind from other things. (from “Teller of Tales” by Daniel Stashower)
His mother (the Ma’am) replied, ” You won’t! You can’t! You mustn’t!”
She then suggested an idea for a story. The story, according to Charles Higham in his book “The Adventures of Conan Doyle“, the idea came from a true account (The Staunton Case) which reported the kidnapping and starving of a young girl.
ACD agreed and wrote “The Copper Beeches“. “He still lives, thanks to your entreaties.”
The Stormy Petrels of BC will meet (perhaps the last time via Zoom) at 7:00 pm, Tuesday Aug. 3
Contact Fran at: franziskah@shaw.ca if you would like more information.
Bonus questions:
- Who was Carlo ?
- What is the significance of the name?
- What is the significance of Holmes mentioning a sister?
- Who else lived at Montague Place besides Violet Hunter? (No. 23)
- Anagram “Violet Hunter”
Like this:
Like Loading...
Related
Published by Fran Martin
Fran Martin became a member of The Bootmakers of Toronto in 1987 and The Stormy Petrels of B.C. in 1988.
She has attended several Sherlockian conferences including: In 1992 "Aspects of Holmes" in Bradford, England (hosted by The Northern Musgraves); In 2006 "ACD at 35" in Toronto (hosted by The Bootmakers of Toronto); 2013 "Sherlock Holmes Through Time & and Place" in Minneapolis (hosted by The Norwegian Explorers); 2014 "Gillette to Brett IV" in Bloomington (hosted by Wessex Press); 2015 SherlockCon in Seattle; 2015 "A Scintillation of Scions VIII" in Baltimore (hosted by Watson's Tin Box); 2016 "The Misadventures of Sherlock Holmes" (hosted by The Norwegian Explorers); in 2018 in Dayton, Ohio for the "Holmes, Doyle & Friends" conference (hosted by the Agra Treasurers).
Fran has held several positions with The Stormy Petrels of B.C. including secretary, vice-president, special events coordinator and is currently president and editor of the "Petrel Flyer".
She was honoured with being awarded the title of "Master Bootmaker" in 2014. She was very pleased to present a paper to a meeting of Sir Hugo's Companions in Chicago in 2017.
Fran has contributed articles to Canadian Holmes magazine, the Watsonian and Chris Redmond's "About Sixty" and "Sherlock Holmes is Like...". In May, 2018 she attended the 78th annual Speckled Band of Boston dinner. She was very honoured to have been one of the first women invited.
View all posts by Fran Martin
The Stormy Petrels of BC 