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The Berrell Coronet Mystery

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Brief overview

Holmes proves the banker's son innocent: the niece and Sir George Burnwell stole the coronet's gems.

  1. Silence is not the same as guiltArthur said nothing to protect Mary, and his father read that silence as a confession.
  2. The snow held the whole storyBoot-marks, bare feet, toe-and-heel prints and drops of blood told Holmes who ran where, and after whom.
  3. Exclude the impossible, keep the improbableOnce Holder and the maids were ruled out, only the niece and her lover remained.
Executive Summary AI
  • Alexander Holder, senior partner of Holder and Stevenson of Threadneedle Street, arrives at Baker Street distraught after lending fifty thousand pounds to an illustrious client who left the Beryl Coronet, with its thirty-nine stones, as security until Monday.
  • Fearing for it in the office safe, Holder carried the case home to Streatham and locked it in his dressing-room bureau, having already refused his son Arthur two hundred pounds for club debts that evening.
  • At about two in the morning he woke to footsteps, found Arthur holding and apparently wrenching the coronet, and discovered a gold corner with three beryls torn away; Arthur refused to explain and was given into custody.
  • The next morning Holmes returns the three missing stones, takes a cheque for four thousand pounds covering a thousand pounds apiece plus a reward, and tells Holder he owes his son a humble apology.
  • Holmes explains that Mary handed the coronet through the hall window to her lover Sir George Burnwell, that Arthur fought him barefoot in the snow and saved the rest, and that Holmes traced Burnwell by boot-marks, his cut head, and the receiver who had bought the gems for six hundred.
Key Quote
“You villain! you thief! How dare you touch that coronet!”
— Gesine
Key Quote
“Keep your forgiveness for those who ask for it,”
— Gesine
Key Quote
“My God, what shall I do? I have lost my honour, my gems, and my son, in one night.”
— Gesine

Transcript

0:00 THE ADVENTURE OF THE BERRELL CORONET
0:23 Holmes, said I, as I stood one morning in our bow window looking down the street here is a madman comingbruary morning and the snow of the day before still lay on the heaped-up edges of the footpaths
1:07 it still lay as white as when it fell. The grey pavement had been cleaned and scraped,
1:13 but was still dangerously slippery, so that there were fewer passengers than usual.
1:19 Indeed, from the direction of Metropolitan Station no one was coming save the single gentleman whose eccentric conduct had
1:27 drawn my attention. He was a man of about fifty, tall, portly, and imposing, with a massive,
1:34 strongly marked face, and a commanding figure. He was dressed in a sombre yet rich style,
1:41 in black frock coat, shining hat, neat brown gaiters, and well-cut pearl-gray trousers.
1:48 Yet his actions were an absurd contrast to the dignity of his dress and features,
1:53 for he was running hard, with occasional little springs, such as a weary man gives
1:58 who is little accustomed to set any tacks upon his legs. As he ran, he jacked his hands up and down, waggled his head,
2:08 and writhed his face into the most extraordinary contortions.
2:12 What on earth can be the matter with him? I asked. He is looking up at the numbers of the houses.
2:19 I believe that he is coming here, said Holmes, rubbing his hands.
2:24 Here? Yes, I rather think he is coming to, said Holmes, rubbing his hands. Here? Yes, I rather think he is coming
2:28 to consult me professionally. I think that I recognise the symptoms. Ah, did I not tell you?
2:36 As he spoke, the man, puffing and blowing, rushed at our door and pulled at our bell,
2:41 until the whole house resounded with a clanging. A few moments later he was
2:46 in our room, still puffing, still gesticulating, but with so fixed a look of grief and despair
2:52 in his eye, that our smiles were turned in an instant to horror and pity. For a while
2:58 he could not get his words out, but swayed his body and plucked at his hair, like one
3:03 who has been driven to the extreme limits of his reason. Then, suddenly springing to his feet, he beat his head against the wall
3:11 with such force that we both rushed upon him and tore him away to the centre of the room.
3:18 Sherlock Holmes pushed him down into the easy chair, and, sitting beside him, patted his
3:23 hand and chatted with him in the easy
3:26 soothing tones which he knew so well how to employ you have come to tell me your
3:32 story have you not said he you are fatigued with your haste pray wait
3:38 until you have recovered yourself and then I shall be most happy to look into
3:41 any little problem which you may submit to me. The man sat for a minute or more with a heaving chest, fighting against his emotion. Then
3:51 he passed his handkerchief over his brow, set his lips tight, and turned his face towards
3:56 us.
3:58 No doubt you think me mad, said he.
4:01 I see that you have had some great trouble, responded Holmes. God knows I have. A trouble
4:08 which is enough to unseat my reason, so sudden and so terrible is it, public disgrace I might
4:14 have faced, although I am a man whose character has never yet borne a stain. Private affliction
4:20 also is the lot of every man, but the two coming together, and in so frightful a form,
4:26 have been enough to shake my very soul. Besides, it is not I alone. The very noblest in the land
4:34 may suffer, unless some way be found out of this horrible affair.
4:40 Precompose yourself, sir, said Holmes, and let me have a clear account of who you are and what it
4:46 is that has befallen you. My name, answered our visitor, is probably familiar to your ears.

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