The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor
Encyclopedia
"The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor", one of the 56 short Sherlock Holmes
stories written by British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
, is the tenth of the twelve stories collected in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
. The story was first published in Strand Magazine
in April 1892 .
The story served as the very loose basis for the made-for-television film The Eligible Bachelor starring Jeremy Brett
as Holmes, Edward Hardwicke
as Watson and Simon Williams
as Lord Robert St Simon, the screenplay of which turned St Simon into a villainous "Bluebeard
" character who had married and disposed of a series of wealthy women before marrying Hatty Doran.
The story entails the bride of the fictional Lord Robert St. Simon disappearing on the day of their marriage. She attends (and participates in) the wedding, but disappears from the reception.
The events of the wedding day are most perplexing to Lord Robert as it seemed to him that his bride, Miss Hatty Doran of San Francisco, was full of enthusiasm about their impending marriage. St. Simon tells Holmes that he noticed a change in the young lady's mood just after the wedding ceremony. She was uncharacteristically sharp with him. The only obvious happening at the church where the wedding took place that was out of the ordinary was Hatty's little accident: She dropped her wedding bouquet and a gentleman in the front pew picked it up and handed it back to her.
A short time later, at the wedding breakfast, before the newlyweds arrived, a former companion of St. Simon, Flora Millar, caused a disturbance at the house, and was ejected. After Lord Robert's and Hatty's arrival, Hatty was seen talking to her maid
, and a short time later, it was realized that she had left.
There are many questions that Holmes must sift through. Who was that woman at the wedding breakfast? Who was that man in the front pew? Who was that man seen going into Hyde Park
with Hatty? Why were Hatty's wedding dress and ring found washed up on the shore of the Serpentine
? What had become of her?
For Holmes, however, it proves rather an elementary case, for he has dealt with other, similar cases, and this one is not so complex to unravel, much as it confuses Dr. Watson, and Inspector Lestrade
. Holmes finds Hatty and the strange man from the front pew, and the dénouement takes the form of Holmes having Hatty explain herself to Lord Robert. Hatty and the man, Francis H. Moulton, were husband and wife. Her husband saw very little of her while he was busy trying to amass a fortune by prospecting
. He was reported killed in an Apache
raid on a mining camp where he was working. Hatty had given him up for dead, met Lord Robert, and decided to marry him, even though her heart still belonged to Frank. Frank had not been killed by the Apache raid, it turns out, but taken prisoner, and he escaped and tracked Hatty to London, where she was to be married. He was the strange man in the pew, and she recognized him instantly. Rather than have her make a scene at the church, he gestured her to be silent, and wrote a note which he slipped to her as he recovered her bouquet. She had wanted to abscond without ever telling anybody, but Holmes had tracked them down and convinced them that it would be better to have the full truth. Lord Robert is unmoved by Hatty's apologies and feels that he has been very ill used.
Conan Doyle also broadly implies that Flora Millar was Lord Robert's mistress, whom he broke up with shortly before the wedding (and well after he met Hatty), and that Lord Robert is only marrying Hatty Doran for her money and has no real love for her, nor her for him. It was common in Victorian and Edwardian times for impecunious younger sons of the nobility to marry American heiresses; no reader of Conan Doyle's time would have needed to have it spelled out.
This is one of a number of stories in which Holmes bests Lestrade of Scotland Yard. Lestrade even goes as far as to imply that Holmes is mad as this case unfolds, but it is, as always, Holmes who solves the case. Lestrade had been convinced that Flora Millar, a jilted admirer of St. Simon, had had something to do with the disappearance, since he had recovered a note to Hatty signed with the initials "F.H.M.", but this was before anyone concerned with the case knew of Francis H. Moulton, and thus Ms. Millar is the classic example of a red herring
.
Commentary =
"Born in 1846. He's forty-one years of age..." — from these words can be inferred the year of the story's action, 1887 or 1888.
Conan Doyle (or at least Watson) gets Lord Robert St. Simon's style wrong in one place, calling him "Lord St. Simon" instead of "Lord Robert". But if he were "Lord St. Simon" he'd be the peer, and he wouldn't need to marry Hatty Doran for her money. Calling him "Lord St. Simon" actually takes away the subtext that Conan Doyle certainly meant the reader to catch on to: that he's only marrying Hatty for her money, because second sons of the nobility didn't inherit.
The coat of arms of Lord Robert St. Simon, as described in the story, is "Azure, three caltrops in chief over a fess sable", thus violating the rule of tincture
.
as 'The Hon Amelia'.
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
stories written by British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Arthur Conan Doyle
Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle DL was a Scottish physician and writer, most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, generally considered a milestone in the field of crime fiction, and for the adventures of Professor Challenger...
, is the tenth of the twelve stories collected in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is a collection of twelve stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, featuring his famous detective and illustrated by Sidney Paget....
. The story was first published in Strand Magazine
Strand Magazine
The Strand Magazine was a monthly magazine composed of fictional stories and factual articles founded by George Newnes. It was first published in the United Kingdom from January 1891 to March 1950 running to 711 issues, though the first issue was on sale well before Christmas 1890.Its immediate...
in April 1892 .
The story served as the very loose basis for the made-for-television film The Eligible Bachelor starring Jeremy Brett
Jeremy Brett
Jeremy Brett , born Peter Jeremy William Huggins, was an English actor, most famous for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes in four Granada TV series.-Early life:...
as Holmes, Edward Hardwicke
Edward Hardwicke
Edward Hardwicke , sometimes credited as Edward Hardwick, was an English actor.-Early life and career:...
as Watson and Simon Williams
Simon Williams (actor)
Simon Williams is an English actor known for playing James Bellamy in the period drama Upstairs, Downstairs. Frequently playing upper-class roles, he is also known for playing Dr...
as Lord Robert St Simon, the screenplay of which turned St Simon into a villainous "Bluebeard
Bluebeard
"Bluebeard" is a French literary folktale written by Charles Perrault and is one of eight tales by the author first published by Barbin in Paris in January 1697 in Histoires ou Contes du temps passé. The tale tells the story of a violent nobleman in the habit of murdering his wives and the...
" character who had married and disposed of a series of wealthy women before marrying Hatty Doran.
Synopsis
The events of the wedding day are most perplexing to Lord Robert as it seemed to him that his bride, Miss Hatty Doran of San Francisco, was full of enthusiasm about their impending marriage. St. Simon tells Holmes that he noticed a change in the young lady's mood just after the wedding ceremony. She was uncharacteristically sharp with him. The only obvious happening at the church where the wedding took place that was out of the ordinary was Hatty's little accident: She dropped her wedding bouquet and a gentleman in the front pew picked it up and handed it back to her.
A short time later, at the wedding breakfast, before the newlyweds arrived, a former companion of St. Simon, Flora Millar, caused a disturbance at the house, and was ejected. After Lord Robert's and Hatty's arrival, Hatty was seen talking to her maid
Maid
A maidservant or in current usage housemaid or maid is a female employed in domestic service.-Description:Once part of an elaborate hierarchy in great houses, today a single maid may be the only domestic worker that upper and even middle-income households can afford, as was historically the case...
, and a short time later, it was realized that she had left.
There are many questions that Holmes must sift through. Who was that woman at the wedding breakfast? Who was that man in the front pew? Who was that man seen going into Hyde Park
Hyde Park, London
Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, United Kingdom, and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.The park is divided in two by the Serpentine...
with Hatty? Why were Hatty's wedding dress and ring found washed up on the shore of the Serpentine
Serpentine (lake)
The Serpentine is a 28-acre recreational lake in Hyde Park, London, England, created in 1730. Although it is common to refer to the entire body of water as the Serpentine, strictly the name refers only to the eastern half of the lake...
? What had become of her?
For Holmes, however, it proves rather an elementary case, for he has dealt with other, similar cases, and this one is not so complex to unravel, much as it confuses Dr. Watson, and Inspector Lestrade
Inspector Lestrade
Inspector G. Lestrade is a fictional character, a Scotland Yard detective appearing in several of the Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle. Doyle used the name of a friend from his days at the University of Edinburgh, a Saint Lucian medical student by the name of Joseph Alexandre Lestrade....
. Holmes finds Hatty and the strange man from the front pew, and the dénouement takes the form of Holmes having Hatty explain herself to Lord Robert. Hatty and the man, Francis H. Moulton, were husband and wife. Her husband saw very little of her while he was busy trying to amass a fortune by prospecting
Prospecting
Prospecting is the physical search for minerals, fossils, precious metals or mineral specimens, and is also known as fossicking.Prospecting is a small-scale form of mineral exploration which is an organised, large scale effort undertaken by mineral resource companies to find commercially viable ore...
. He was reported killed in an Apache
Apache
Apache is the collective term for several culturally related groups of Native Americans in the United States originally from the Southwest United States. These indigenous peoples of North America speak a Southern Athabaskan language, which is related linguistically to the languages of Athabaskan...
raid on a mining camp where he was working. Hatty had given him up for dead, met Lord Robert, and decided to marry him, even though her heart still belonged to Frank. Frank had not been killed by the Apache raid, it turns out, but taken prisoner, and he escaped and tracked Hatty to London, where she was to be married. He was the strange man in the pew, and she recognized him instantly. Rather than have her make a scene at the church, he gestured her to be silent, and wrote a note which he slipped to her as he recovered her bouquet. She had wanted to abscond without ever telling anybody, but Holmes had tracked them down and convinced them that it would be better to have the full truth. Lord Robert is unmoved by Hatty's apologies and feels that he has been very ill used.
Conan Doyle also broadly implies that Flora Millar was Lord Robert's mistress, whom he broke up with shortly before the wedding (and well after he met Hatty), and that Lord Robert is only marrying Hatty Doran for her money and has no real love for her, nor her for him. It was common in Victorian and Edwardian times for impecunious younger sons of the nobility to marry American heiresses; no reader of Conan Doyle's time would have needed to have it spelled out.
This is one of a number of stories in which Holmes bests Lestrade of Scotland Yard. Lestrade even goes as far as to imply that Holmes is mad as this case unfolds, but it is, as always, Holmes who solves the case. Lestrade had been convinced that Flora Millar, a jilted admirer of St. Simon, had had something to do with the disappearance, since he had recovered a note to Hatty signed with the initials "F.H.M.", but this was before anyone concerned with the case knew of Francis H. Moulton, and thus Ms. Millar is the classic example of a red herring
Red herring (plot device)
Red herring is an idiomatic expression referring to the rhetorical or literary tactic of diverting attention away from an item of significance...
.
Commentary =
"Born in 1846. He's forty-one years of age..." — from these words can be inferred the year of the story's action, 1887 or 1888.
Conan Doyle (or at least Watson) gets Lord Robert St. Simon's style wrong in one place, calling him "Lord St. Simon" instead of "Lord Robert". But if he were "Lord St. Simon" he'd be the peer, and he wouldn't need to marry Hatty Doran for her money. Calling him "Lord St. Simon" actually takes away the subtext that Conan Doyle certainly meant the reader to catch on to: that he's only marrying Hatty for her money, because second sons of the nobility didn't inherit.
The coat of arms of Lord Robert St. Simon, as described in the story, is "Azure, three caltrops in chief over a fess sable", thus violating the rule of tincture
Rule of tincture
The first rule of heraldic design is the rule of tincture: metal should not be put on metal, nor colour on colour . This means that Or and argent may not be placed on each other; nor may any of the colours be placed on another colour...
.
Media Adaptations
This case was adapted for television by Granada Television as The Eligible Bachelor (1992), with significant changes from the original story, and the inclusion of elements from other parts of the Holmes canon. It starred Heather ChasenHeather Chasen
Heather Jean Chasen is a Singapore-born English actress. Her best known roles are playing Valerie Pollard in the ITV soap opera Crossroads and voicing many roles in BBC Radio 2's The Navy Lark...
as 'The Hon Amelia'.