"The Adventure of the Yellow Face", one of the 56 short
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...
stories written by Sir
Arthur Conan Doyle
Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...
, is the third tale from ''
The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes
''The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes'' is a collection of short stories by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle, first published late in 1893 with 1894 date. It was first published in the UK by G. Newnes Ltd., and was published in the US by Harper & ...
''. It was first published in ''
The Strand Magazine
''The Strand Magazine'' was a monthly British magazine founded by George Newnes, composed of short fiction and general interest articles. It was published in the United Kingdom from January 1891 to March 1950, running to 711 issues, though the ...
'' in the United Kingdom in February 1893, and in ''
Harper's Weekly
''Harper's Weekly, A Journal of Civilization'' was an American political magazine based in New York City. Published by Harper & Brothers from 1857 until 1916, it featured foreign and domestic news, fiction, essays on many subjects, and humor, ...
'' in the United States on 11 February 1893.
One of Doyle's sentimental pieces, the story is remarkable in that Holmes' deduction during the course of it proves incorrect. According to
Dr. Watson:
...where he failed it happened too often that no one else succeeded... Now and again, however, it chanced that even when he erred the truth was still discovered.
Synopsis/plot
Sherlock Holmes, bored due to a want of cases, returns home from a walk with Dr. Watson early in spring to find he has missed a visitor but that the caller has left his
pipe
Pipe(s), PIPE(S) or piping may refer to:
Objects
* Pipe (fluid conveyance), a hollow cylinder following certain dimension rules
** Piping, the use of pipes in industry
* Smoking pipe
** Tobacco pipe
* Half-pipe and quarter pipe, semi-circular ...
behind. From it, Holmes deduces that he was disturbed of mind (because he forgot the pipe); that he valued it highly (because he had repaired with silver bands which costs more than the pipe cost, rather than replacing it, when it was broken); that he was muscular, left-handed, had excellent teeth, was careless in his habits and was not needed to practice economy.
None of these deductions is particularly germane to the story: they are merely Holmesian logical exercises. When the visitor, Mr. Grant Munro (whose name Holmes observed from his hatband) returns, Holmes and Watson hear the story of Munro's deception by his wife Effie. She had been previously married in America, but her husband and child had died of
yellow fever
Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. ...
, whereupon she returned to England and met and married Munro. Their marriage had been blissful says Grant Munro until she asked for a hundred pounds and begged him not to ask why. Two months later, Effie Munro was caught conducting secret liaisons with the occupants of a cottage near the Munro house in
Norbury
Norbury is an area of south London. It shares the postcode London SW16 with neighbouring Streatham. Norbury is south of Charing Cross.
Etymology
The name Norbury derives from ''North Burh'', (North Borough). Some local histories note that ...
. Grant Munro has seen a mysterious yellow-faced person in this cottage. Overcome with jealousy, he breaks in and finds the place empty. However, the room where he saw the mysterious figure is very comfortable and well furnished, with a portrait of his wife on the mantelpiece.
Holmes, after sending Munro home with instructions to wire for him if the cottage was reoccupied, confides in Watson his belief that the mysterious figure is Effie Munro's first husband. He postulates that the husband, having been left in America, has come to England to
blackmail
Blackmail is an act of coercion using the threat of revealing or publicizing either substantially true or false information about a person or people unless certain demands are met. It is often damaging information, and it may be revealed to fa ...
her.
After Munro summons Holmes and Watson, the three enter the cottage, brushing aside the entreaties of Effie Munro. They find the strange yellow-faced character, and Holmes peels the face away, showing it to be a mask, and revealing a young girl who is half-black. It is then revealed that Effie Munro's first husband was John Hebron, an African-American lawyer; he did die in America, but their daughter, Lucy, survived. At the time Effie came to England, she could not bring Lucy with her, as the child was still ill enough that the transition might have exacerbated her state. But later, after she and Grant were married, Effie got word that Lucy was alive and well. Upon hearing of this, Effie became overcome with desire to see her child again, so she asked for the hundred pounds and used it to bring Lucy and her nurse to England, and installed them in the cottage near the Munro house. She feared, however, that Grant might stop loving her if he found out that she was the mother of a
mixed race
Mixed race people are people of more than one race or ethnicity. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mixed race people in a variety of contexts, including ''multiethnic'', ''polyethnic'', occasionally ''bi-ethn ...
child, so all the while, she had made every endeavour to keep Lucy's existence a secret.
Both Watson and Holmes are touched by Munro's response. Watson observes:
...when unro'sanswer came it was one of which I love to think. He lifted the little child, kissed her, and then, still carrying her, he held his other hand out to his wife and turned towards the door. "We can talk about it more comfortably at home," said he. "I am not a very good man, Effie, but I think I am a better one than you have given me credit for being."
Holmes excuses himself and Watson, and, that evening, after they have returned to Baker Street, says:
Watson, if it should ever strike you that I am getting a little overconfident in my powers, or giving less pains to a case than it deserves, kindly whisper 'Norbury' in my ear, and I shall be infinitely obliged to you.
Treatment of race
Doyle's sympathetic treatment of
interracial marriage
Interracial marriage is a marriage involving spouses who belong to different races or racialized ethnicities.
In the past, such marriages were outlawed in the United States, Nazi Germany and apartheid-era South Africa as miscegenation. In 1 ...
, between an Englishwoman and a black lawyer in Atlanta, Georgia, appears extraordinarily liberal for the 1890s. Though the story has the widow treating her dead husband's race as a secret whose revelation might entail negative reactions, the marriage is not illegal in Britain, and her second husband's loving response is reported approvingly by Watson. This story, however, should be set alongside Doyle's stereotyped caricature of a thuggish black boxer, in "
The Adventure of the Three Gables" (1926).
Publication history
"The Adventure of the Yellow Face" was published in the UK in ''
The Strand Magazine
''The Strand Magazine'' was a monthly British magazine founded by George Newnes, composed of short fiction and general interest articles. It was published in the United Kingdom from January 1891 to March 1950, running to 711 issues, though the ...
'' in February 1893, and in the US in ''
Harper's Weekly
''Harper's Weekly, A Journal of Civilization'' was an American political magazine based in New York City. Published by Harper & Brothers from 1857 until 1916, it featured foreign and domestic news, fiction, essays on many subjects, and humor, ...
'' on 11 February 1893. It was also published in the US edition of ''The Strand Magazine'' in March 1893.
[Smith (2014), p. 76.] The story was published with seven illustrations by
Sidney Paget
Sidney Edward Paget () (4 October 1860 – 28 January 1908) was a British artist of the Victorian era, best known for his illustrations that accompanied Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories in ''The Strand Magazine''.
Life
Sid ...
in the ''Strand'',
[Cawthorne (2011), p. 77.] and with two illustrations by W. H. Hyde in ''Harper's Weekly''. It was included in the short story collection ''
The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes
''The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes'' is a collection of short stories by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle, first published late in 1893 with 1894 date. It was first published in the UK by G. Newnes Ltd., and was published in the US by Harper & ...
'',
which was published in December 1893 in the UK and February 1894 in the US.
Adaptations
Film and television
The story was adapted as a short film released in 1921 as part of the
Stoll film series, featuring
Eille Norwood
Eille Norwood (born Anthony Edward Brett; 11 October 1861 – 24 December 1948) was an English stage actor, director, and playwright best known today for playing Sherlock Holmes in a series of silent films.
Early life
He was born 11 October 18 ...
as Holmes.
The story is also alluded to in the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
is painted on the wall of Sherlock's flat. Additionally, quotes from the story are used as plot points in "
". In addition, the town of Norbury from the story is represented in the episode "
" in the form of Vivian Norbury, the main adversary of the episode.
as Holmes and Leigh Lovell as Watson.
"The Yellow Face" was dramatised by Gerry Jones for
as Watson. It featured
as Holmes and Lawrence Albert as Watson. It was the first episode in the series.