The Adventure of the Illustrious Client, one of the 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories written by British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is one of 12 stories in the cycle collected as The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes. Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (May 22, 1859 – July 7, 1930) is the British author most famously known for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, which are generally considered a major innovation in the field of crime fiction. ... 1924 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes is the final collection of Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle. ... Members of the Royal Family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace after the Trooping the Colour ceremony The British Royal Family is a group of people closely related to the British monarch. ... Edward VII King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Emperor of India His Majesty King Edward VII (Albert Edward) (9 November 1841–6 May 1910) was the first British monarch of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. ... 1902 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Snidely Whiplash, a stereotypical villain. ... Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective of the late 19th and early 20th century, created by British author and physician Arthur Conan Doyle. ... Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (May 22, 1859 – July 7, 1930) is the British author most famously known for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, which are generally considered a major innovation in the field of crime fiction. ... The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes is the final collection of Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle. ...

Synopsis

Sir James Damery comes to see Holmes and Watson about his illustrious client's problem (the client's identity is never revealed to the reader, although Holmes and Watson find out at the end of the story). It would seem that old General de Merville's young daughter Violet has fallen madly in love with the roguish Austrian Baron Adelbert Gruner, who both Damery and Holmes are convinced is a murderer. The victim was his last wife, of whose murder he was acquitted owing to a legal technicality and a witness's untimely death. She met her end in the Splügen Pass. Various rulers or governments of Europe, of Tonga and of Japan bestow or recognise the title of baron. ...

Violet has a very strong will, and will not hear a word spoken against the Baron. He has even told her about his chequered past, but always spinning the tales to make himself appear the hapless victim. In public relations, spin is a usually pejorative term signifying a heavily biased portrayal in ones own favor of an event or situation that is designed to bring about the most positive result possible. ...

Holmes also finds out from Damery that the Baron has expensive tastes, is a collector, and a recognized authority on Chinese pottery. This will prove to be useful information later. A man shapes pottery as it turns on a wheel. ...

Holmes's first step is to go and see Baron Adelbert Gruner himself, who is amused to see Holmes trying to "play a hand with no cards in it". The Baron makes it quite clear that he will not be moved, and claims that he has used post-hypnotic suggestion to condition Violet's mind to reject anything bad that might be said about him. The meeting ends with an implied threat: Baron Gruner tells the story of Le Brun, a French agent who was beaten to death about a week after making similar inquiries into the Baron's personal business. Hypnosis, as defined by the American Psychological Association Division of Psychological Hypnosis, is a procedure during which a health professional or researcher suggests that a client, patient, or experimental participant experience changes in sensations, perceptions, thoughts, or behavior. ...

Holmes gets some help with his mission in the form of Shinwell Johnson, a former criminal who now acts as an informer for Holmes in London's underworld. Johnson rakes up Miss Kitty Winter, who was the Baron's last mistress, a woman now destroyed by the rascal. She is bent on revenge, and will do anything to help Holmes if it means laying the Baron low. Kitty tells Holmes that the Baron "collects women", and that he chronicles his conquests in a locked, leather-bound book, which the Baron once showed her when he had one night had a bit too much to drink. Holmes realizes that this book, written in Gruner's own hand, is the key to curing Violet de Merville of her sad devotion to the scoundrel who has such a firm grip on her heart. Kitty tells Holmes that this book is kept in the Baron's study. London is the capital city of the United Kingdom and of England. ... Organized crime is crime carried out systematically by formal criminal organizations. ...

First, Holmes goes to see Violet, bringing Kitty along with him. As might be expected, Violet is utterly proof against any of Holmes's words. She will not hear a word spoken against her fiancé. Kitty then chimes in, explaining exactly what the Baron is in her view, and what he has done to her. Kitty also makes it clear that Violet might well end up dead if she is foolish enough to marry Baron Gruner. Violet's reaction to Kitty is just as cold, and the meeting ends with Holmes narrowly averting a public scene involving the enraged Miss Kitty Winter.

Next, Holmes is attacked by two men, and the newspapers imply that he is near death. A shocked Watson goes to 221B Baker Street only to discover that Holmes's injuries have been exaggerated somewhat to give the impression that he will be out of action for quite a while, if not for good. There is no doubt that Baron Adelbert Gruner sent those men to attack Sherlock Holmes, and Holmes believes it wise to have Shinwell Johnson remove Miss Kitty Winter from the city for a while, as she may also be a target. (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, A Study in Scarlet, 1887) 221B Baker Street is the fictional London residence of the detective Sherlock Holmes, created by author Arthur Conan Doyle. ...

Several days later, despite grave reports in the press, Holmes is sufficiently recovered to be out of bed, and although perhaps not quite ready to go out about his business, he is nonetheless forced to do so by circumstances. It seems that the Baron is planning a trip to the United States just before the wedding, and will be leaving in three days. Holmes knows that Gruner will take his incriminating book along with him, never daring to leave it behind in his study. Action must be taken before then.

Holmes orders Watson to learn everything that he can about Chinese pottery in the next 24 hours. Although Watson cannot imagine why he must do this, he knows Holmes well enough to know that it is important to obey; Holmes never does anything without a good reason.

The next day, Holmes presents Watson with a fake business card styling him as "Dr. Hill Barton", and an actual piece of Ming pottery. He is to go to Baron Gruner's house and pose as a collector and connoisseur of Chinese pottery, and try to sell the pot. Again, Watson cannot quite imagine why, but he does as Holmes tells him. However, things quickly become alarming, as Watson cannot fool the Baron for very long. Gruner realizes who has sent Watson, and the climax follows immediately. The Ming Dynasty (Chinese: 明朝; Pinyin: míng cháo) was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, though claims to the Ming throne (now collectively called the Southern Ming) survived until 1662. ...

A noise interrupts what might have turned out to be Watson's murder, and the Baron rushes into his study just in time to see Holmes, his head still bandaged, jump out the window into the garden, the "lust book" in his hand. The Baron rushes to the window, and gets vitriol thrown in his face by a woman who has been hiding just outside. It is Kitty Winter, of course. Vitriol is the name that alchemists gave to sulfuric acid. ...

Watson ministers to the Baron's injuries until his own doctor arrives.

The Baron is now hideously disfigured, and his book of conquests is now in Holmes's hands. It has the desired effect. When Violet sees the book, written in her fiancé's own handwriting, she finally is made to realize what a rogue he is. An announcement in The Morning Post says that the marriage between Baron Adelbert Gruner and Miss Violet de Merville is off.

Commentary

One odd thing about the story is its mention of the Splügen Pass. It seems a bit peculiar that a court in Prague, then in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, would try a case relating to a crime allegedly committed in a place outside the Empire; The Splügen Pass is on the border between Switzerland and Italy. Prague (Praha in Czech) is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. ... Austria-Hungary, also known as the Dual monarchy (or: the k. ...

This Sherlock Holmes story is also unusual, although by no means unique, in that there is no actual mystery to solve. All is quite plain. Holmes is presented instead with the challenge of making a love-blinded woman see some sense.

In the early part of this story, Holmes, who is an accomplished violinist, makes reference to a real-life criminal, Charles Peace, who among other talents, was also a virtuoso, and who carried his burglary tools in a violin case. Charles Peace (May 14, 1832 – February 25, 1879) was a notorious British burglar and murderer, whose somewhat remarkable life – though terrifying at the time – later spawned dozens of romanticized novels and films. ...

External links

• The Adventure of the Illustrious Client (http://sherlock-holmes.classic-literature.co.uk/the-adventure-of-the-illustrious-client/) - in easy to read HTML format.
• Full text of The Adventure of the Illustrious Client (http://www.bakerstreet221b.de/canon/illu.htm)