"The Adventure of the Copper Beeches", one of the 56 short Sherlock Holmes stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is the last of the twelve collected in ''

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes ''The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes'' is a collection of twelve short stories by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle, first published on 14 October 1892. It contains the earliest short stories featuring the consulting detective Sherlock Holmes, w ...

''. 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 June 1892.

Plot summary

Violet Hunter visits Holmes, asking whether she should accept a job as governess—a job with extraordinary conditions. She is enticed by the phenomenal salary which, as originally offered, is £100 a year, later increased to £120 when Miss Hunter balks at having to cut her long copper-coloured hair short (her previous position paid £48 a year). This is only one of many peculiar provisos to which she must agree. The employer, Jephro Rucastle, seems pleasant enough, yet Miss Hunter obviously has her suspicions. She announces to Holmes, after the raised salary offer, that she will take the job, and Holmes suggests that if he is needed, a telegram will bring him to

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

, where Mr. Rucastle's country estate, the Copper Beeches, is situated. After a fortnight, Holmes receives such a message, beseeching him to come and see her in Winchester. Miss Hunter tells them one of the most singular stories that they have ever heard. Mr. Rucastle would sometimes have Miss Hunter wear a particular electric blue dress and sit in the front room reading, with her back to the front window. She began to suspect that she was not supposed to see something outside the window, and a small mirror shard hidden in her handkerchief showed her that she was right: a man was standing there on the road looking towards the house. At another such session, Mr. Rucastle told a series of funny stories that made Miss Hunter laugh until she was quite weary. The one astonishing thing about this was that Mrs. Rucastle not only did not laugh but did not even smile. There were other unsavoury things about the household. The six-year-old child that she was supposed to look after was astonishingly cruel to small animals. The servants, Mr. and Mrs. Toller, were quite a sour pair. A great

mastiff A mastiff is a large and powerful type of dog. Mastiffs are among the largest dogs, and typically have a short coat, a long low-set tail and large feet; the skull is large and bulky, the muzzle broad and short ( brachycephalic) and the ears dr ...

was kept on the property and always kept hungry. It was let out to prowl the grounds at night, and Miss Hunter was warned not to cross the threshold after dark. Also, Mr. Toller, who was quite often drunk, was the only one who had control over the dog. There was also the odd discovery by Miss Hunter of what appeared to be her own tresses in a locked drawer. Upon checking her own luggage, however, they turned out to be another woman's, but identical in every way to Miss Hunter's, even to the unusual colour. However, the most disturbing thing of all about the household was the mystery wing. Miss Hunter had observed a part of the house that did not seem to be used. The windows were either dirty or shuttered, and once she saw Mr. Rucastle coming out of the door leading into the wing looking most perturbed. Later, he explained that he used the rooms as a

photographic darkroom A darkroom is used to process photographic film, to make prints and to carry out other associated tasks. It is a room that can be made completely dark to allow the processing of the light-sensitive photographic materials, including film and pho ...

, but Miss Hunter was not convinced. When he is drunk, Mr. Toller leaves the keys in the door to the mystery wing. Miss Hunter sneaks in. She finds the place spooky, and when she spots a shadow moving on the other side of a locked door, she panics and runs out into Mr. Rucastle's waiting arms. Mr. Rucastle does not reproach her; instead, he pretends to comfort her. However, he overdoes his act and alerts her suspicions, causing her to claim that she saw nothing. In an instant, his expression changes from comfort to rage. With the great detective's aid, it is discovered that someone has been kept a prisoner in the forbidden wing. The purpose of hiring Miss Hunter becomes clear: her presence is to convince the man watching from the road that Rucastle's daughter Alice, previously unknown to Miss Hunter and whom she resembles, is no longer interested in seeing him. Copp-09

Holmes, Watson, and Miss Hunter find Miss Rucastle's secret room empty; Rucastle arrives and thinks the trio has helped his daughter escape and goes to fetch the mastiff to set upon the trespassers. Unfortunately for Rucastle, the dog has been accidentally starved for longer than usual and attacks him instead. Watson shoots the dog with his revolver. Later, Mrs. Toller confirms Holmes' theory about Rucastle's daughter and reveals that when Alice came of age, she was to receive an annuity from her late mother's will; Rucastle tried to force his daughter to sign control of the inheritance over to him, which only resulted in Alice becoming ill with

brain fever Brain fever describes a medical condition where a part of the brain becomes inflamed and causes symptoms that present as fever. The terminology is dated and is encountered most often in Victorian literature, where it typically describes a potential ...

; hence, the cut hair. Rucastle then tried to keep Alice away from her fiancé by locking her up in the mystery wing and hiring Miss Hunter to impersonate Alice. Rucastle's daughter escapes with her fiancé, and they marry soon after. Watson notes that Holmes appears to have been drawn to Miss Hunter. However, to his disappointment, Holmes does not show any interest in Miss Hunter after the mystery has been solved, which was the real force behind his feelings. Rucastle survives as an invalid, kept alive solely by his second wife. Miss Hunter later becomes principal of a girls' school, where she meets with "considerable success."

Publication history

"The Adventure of the Copper Beeches" was first published in the UK in ''

'' in June 1892, and in the United States in the US edition of the ''Strand'' in July 1892. The story was published with nine 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 Magazine''.Cawthorne (2011), p. 72. It was included in the short story collection ''

'', which was published in October 1892.

Adaptations

Film and television

The story was adapted as the short film ''The Copper Beeches'' (1912), starring

Georges Tréville Georges Tréville (28 July 1875 – 30 May 1944) was a French actor and film director. Born as Georges Troly, during the silent era, he played the gentlemen thief Arsène Lupin in several short films. He also went to Britain to direct and star ...

and directed, though uncredited, by

Adrien Caillard Adrien is a given name and surname, and the French spelling for the name Adrian. It is also the masculine form of the feminine name Adrienne. It may refer to: People Given name * Adrien Auzout (1622–1691), French astronomer * Adrien Baillet (1 ...

, as part of the Éclair film series. ''The Copper Beeches'' (1912) was one of a series of eight silent film adaptations of the Holmes stories that were actually supervised by Conan Doyle. It is the only one that has survived. It is altered in several respects. Instead of beginning with Ms Hunter's visit to Baker Street to tell her story, it starts with Rucastle trying to force his daughter to sign away her rights to her fortune, and then ordering her fiance off his property. Rucastle subsequently locks up his daughter. The film only has Holmes (no Watson), and there is no appearance of Mrs Rucastle nor the servants. Nor is there any mastiff hound. The scheme of why Rucastle wants Ms Hunter to trim her hair and stand by the window is the same, but the motive is different: Rucastle seeking to lure the fiance back so he can pretend he shot him as a trespasser. In the end Holmes and the police capture Rucastle, and the daughter and her fiance are united. Another short film adaptation, ''The Copper Beeches'' (1921), was released as part of the Stoll film series starring

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 ...

. The story was adapted as "The Copper Beeches", a 1965 episode of '' Sherlock Holmes'' starring

Douglas Wilmer Douglas Wilmer (8 January 1920 – 31 March 2016) was an English actor, best known for playing Sherlock Holmes in the 1965 TV series ''Sherlock Holmes''. Early life Wilmer was born in Brentford, Middlesex, and received his education at Kin ...

as Holmes, Nigel Stock as Watson, Suzanne Neve as Violet Hunter and Patrick Wymark as Jephro Rucastle. "The Copper Beeches" is a 1985 episode of ''

'' starring Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes, with

Natasha Richardson Natasha Jane Richardson (11 May 1963 – 18 March 2009) was an English actress of stage and screen. A member of the Redgrave family, Richardson was the daughter of actress Vanessa Redgrave and director/producer Tony Richardson and the granddaug ...

as Miss Hunter and Joss Ackland as Rucastle.

Radio

"The Copper Beeches" was adapted by

Edith Meiser Edith Meiser (May 9, 1898 – September 26, 1993) was an American author and actress, who wrote mystery novels, stage plays, and numerous radio dramas. She is perhaps best known for bringing adaptations of Sherlock Holmes stories to radio in the ...

as an episode of the radio series ''

''. The episode aired on 17 November 1930, with Richard Gordon as Sherlock Holmes and Leigh Lovell as Dr. Watson. Another radio dramatisation of the story aired on 5 May 1935 (with

Louis Hector Louis Hector (March 19, 1883 – October 1968) was an American radio, theater, film, and television actor. He is best known for his roles of Sherlock Holmes in the 1937 broadcast of ''The Three Garridebs'' (the first US televised portrayal of Sir ...

as Holmes and Lovell as Watson). Meiser also adapted the story as an episode of ''

The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes ''The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes'' is a radio drama series which aired in the USA from 1939 to 1950, it ran for 374 episodes, with many of the later episodes considered lost media. The series was based on the Sherlock Holmes stories by Ar ...

'' with Basil Rathbone as Holmes and

Nigel Bruce William Nigel Ernle Bruce (4 February 1895 – 8 October 1953) was a British character actor on stage and screen. He was best known for his portrayal of Dr. Watson in a series of films and in the radio series ''The New Adventures of Sherlock ...

as Watson. The episode aired on 6 October 1940. Other dramatisations of the story aired on 7 May 1943 (again with Rathbone and Bruce) and in November 1947 (with John Stanley as Holmes and Alfred Shirley as Watson). The story was adapted by

Felix Felton Robert Forbes Felton (12 August 1911 – 21 October 1972), known professionally as Felix Felton, was a British film, television, stage and voice actor as well as a radio director, composer and author. Radio work In his earlier years Felton cons ...

as a radio production that aired on the

BBC Light Programme The BBC Light Programme was a national radio station which broadcast chiefly mainstream light entertainment and light music from 1945 until 1967, when it was replaced by BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 1. It opened on 29 July 1945, taking over the ...

in 1955, as part of the 1952–1969 radio series starring

Carleton Hobbs Carleton Percy Hobbs, OBE (18 June 1898 – 31 July 1978) was an English actor with many film, radio and television appearances. He portrayed Sherlock Holmes in 80 radio adaptations in a series of Sherlock Holmes radio dramas (1952–1969), ...

as Holmes and

Norman Shelley Norman Shelley (16 February 1903 – 21 August 1980) was a British actor, best known for his work in radio, in particular for the BBC's ''Children's Hour''. He also had a recurring role as Colonel Danby in the long-running radio soap opera ''T ...

as Watson. An adaptation aired on BBC radio in 1978, starring Barry Foster as Holmes and

David Buck David Keith Rodney Buck (17 October 1933 – 27 January 1989) was an English actor. Buck was born in London, the son of Joseph Buck and Enid Marguerite (née Webb). He starred in many television productions from 1959 until 1989. One of his ea ...

as Watson. It was adapted by

Michael Bakewell Michael Bakewell (born 1931) is a British television producer. Bakewell was born in Birmingham, Warwickshire in England. He is best known for his work during the 1960s, when he was the first Head of Plays at the BBC, after Sydney Newman divid ...

. "The Copper Beeches" was dramatised by Peter Mackie for

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

in 1991 as an episode of the 1989–1998 radio series starring

Clive Merrison Clive Merrison (born 15 September 1945) is a British actor of film, television, stage and radio. He trained at Rose Bruford College. He is best known for his long running BBC Radio portrayal of Sherlock Holmes, having played the part in all 64 ...

as Holmes and Michael Williams as Watson. It featured Roger Hammond as Jephro Rucastle and

Imogen Stubbs Imogen Stubbs (born 20 February 1961) is an English actress and writer. Her first leading part was in '' Privileged'' (1982), followed by '' A Summer Story'' (1988). Her first play, '' We Happy Few'', was produced in 2004. In 2008 she joined ...

as Violet Hunter. The story was adapted as a 2015 episode of the radio series ''

The Classic Adventures of Sherlock Holmes ''Imagination Theatre'' is an American syndicated radio drama program airing on FM and AM radio stations across the United States. It features modern radio dramas. The program first aired in 1996. Originally produced by Jim French Productions, t ...

'', with

John Patrick Lowrie John Patrick Lowrie (born June 28, 1952) is an American actor, musician and author best known for voicing the Sniper in ''Team Fortress 2'' and various characters in '' Dota 2''. He has played Sherlock Holmes in the radio series ''The Further A ...

as Holmes and Lawrence Albert as Watson.

Print

Peter Cannon Peter H. Cannon (born 1951 in California) is an H. P. Lovecraft scholar and an author of Cthulhu Mythos fiction. Cannon works as an editor for ''Publishers Weekly'', specializing in thrillers and mystery. He lives in New York City and is marrie ...

has pointed to parallels between "The Adventure of the Copper Beeches" and H. P. Lovecraft's story " The Picture in the House".Peter Cannon, ''Lovecraft Studies'' No. 1 (Fall 1979); cited in Joshi and Schultz, p. 207. In '' Sherlock Holmes's War of the Worlds'', Violet Hunter becomes the second wife of

Dr. Watson John H. Watson, known as Dr. Watson, is a fictional character in the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Along with Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson first appeared in the novel ''A Study in Scarlet'' (1887). The last work by Doyle f ...

mentioned in " The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier". Hunter was said to have been married to the first mate on .

References

;Notes ;Sources * * *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Adventure Of The Copper Beeches 1892 short stories Copper Beeches Works originally published in The Strand Magazine Articles containing video clips Short stories adapted into films