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The Adventure of the Copper Beeches
The Adventure of the Copper Beeches | Arthur Conan Doyle
11 posts | 14 read
Violet Hunter has been offered a position as a governess by Jephro Rucastle, owner of the country estate the Copper Beaches, in Hampshire. She wants to have Sherlock Holmes opinion, as to whether or not she should accept the position. The pay is three times what she is used to but it comes with strange conditions, such as having to cut her long hair short. Yet her would-be-employer seems nice enough and finally, Violet takes the job. Holmes tells her to send him a telegram if she ever needs him. Two weeks later, a telegram comes in begging him to come to her. "The Adventure of the Cooper Beeches" is part of "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes". Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) was born in Scotland and studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh. After his studies, he worked as a ships surgeon on various boats. During the Second Boer War, he was an army doctor in South Africa. When he came back to the United Kingdom, he opened his own practice and started writing crime books. He is best known for his thrilling stories about the adventures of Sherlock Holmes. He published four novels and more than 50 short-stories starring the detective and Dr Watson, and they play an important role in the history of crime fiction. Other than the Sherlock Holmes series, Doyle wrote around thirty more books, in genres such as science-fiction, fantasy, historical novels, but also poetry, plays, and non-fiction.
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dabbe
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Librarybelle Other than the ending with the dog, I liked it. I think this shows that Holmes is not the only one who can solve a situation - Mrs. Toller and the suitor working together. 6mo
IndoorDame @Librarybelle i agree about the dog, those scenes are always so hard to read! But in general I really liked this one. My major complaint is actually how painfully naive Miss Hunter was 6mo
Librarybelle @IndoorDame She was so naive! 6mo
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Aimeesue This is one of my favorites, illustrating, as it does, the changing roles and relationships of both women and animals in society. (edited) 6mo
CogsOfEncouragement At the end, Watson comments that Sherlock had no further interest in Miss Hunter after the mystery was solved. Then he immediately updates the reader that she has a wonderful job. I think we are meant to read between the lines that Sherlock set her up in that position and didn't brag about doing it. Watson doesn't know how much Sherlock did indeed care about what happened to Miss Hunter. How else does she go from no prospects to an excellent job? 6mo
dabbe @CogsOfEncouragement Excellent point. I kinda got the feeling that Watson also hoped she and Sherlock would get together, but since Irene Adler is forever known as THE woman in SH's life, that was never a possibility. 6mo
dabbe After reading this, I can't stop thinking about the horrid son of Rucastle, who enjoys “giving pain to any creature weaker than himself [for his] amusement, and he shows quite remarkable talent in planning the capture of mice, little birds, and insects.“ Is it me, or is this kid a serial killer in the making? Yikes. 😱 6mo
dabbe @Aimeesue I also enjoyed the fast-paced action, though not the animal abuse. 6mo
dabbe @IndoorDame “Painfully“ naive is spot-on! 6mo
kelli7990 I liked this story. 6mo
CrystalE02 It was okay. Not my favorite, I was okay with it until the dog part. I can't handle that. She was so naive it was annoying. 6mo
dabbe @kelli7990 It was one of the more fast-paced ones, wasn't it? 6mo
dabbe @CrystalE02 And the next story is about a horse named “Silver Blaze.“ I don't remember it very well, but based on how animals have been treated so far, we should, as Scar would say, #beprepared. 🐾 6mo
38 likes13 comments
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dabbe
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Librarybelle Maybe in some ways, but would Rucastle have had his conclusion??? 6mo
dabbe @Librarybelle That's pretty much the only thing I could think of that'd be different. The daughter would have been saved no matter what, so the dog enacting his revenge (like the snake in THE SPECKLED BAND) on his owner wouldn't have happened without SH, and there (perhaps) is the justice Rucastle deserves. 6mo
Librarybelle Agreed, @dabbe ! 6mo
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IndoorDame I also think the resolution would‘ve been basically identical, which I find so interesting as a formula to include in SH (for both Doyle and Watson). He solves the mystery, and reassures the client, but wasn‘t needed to help avert any actual danger, and decided that punishment was not necessary. So it‘s ALL about the mystery. 6mo
Aimeesue True, except for Violet Hunter. She‘d still be stuck with the horrible Rucastles, because THEY clearly want nothing to do with the child. They probably would‘ve scammed her out of what they promised to pay her, too. 6mo
CogsOfEncouragement If Holmes wasn't there the night that the daughter escaped, maybe the escape would have gone undetected for a bit? I'm not sure if Mr. Rucastle would have checked on his prisoner if he hadn't noticed that door was open. Then he would not have been attacked by the dog, and would have had his health. Even less consequence for Mr Rucastle. 6mo
dabbe @IndoorDame Agree 💯. For SH, it's ALL about the puzzle of the case. Everything else takes a back seat to that. 6mo
dabbe @Aimeesue Excellent point. I wonder what they would have done with Violet after knowing the daughter escaped, or if Violet would have figured it out and escaped somehow. She might have become their prisoner, too, since she already knew too much (the room she wasn't supposed to go in, the hair ...)--plus, he threatened to kill her with the dog! 😱 6mo
dabbe @CogsOfEncouragement Right. The only penalty would have been the loss of the $ from the daughter. Not much of a consequence for imprisoning her! 6mo
CrystalE02 I think it would have been the same. 6mo
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dabbe
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Librarybelle Legally, no. I think this is where we‘ve discussed in the past about Holmes‘ thoughts on Justice. Rucastle does pay a pretty big price - for me, animal neglect is reprehensible, and this whole scene had me feel awful for the dog. 6mo
IndoorDame At the start of this one Holmes says “Crime is common. Logic is rare.” I‘m starting to think he couldn‘t care less what happens to any of the players after he‘s solved the puzzle to his satisfaction and explained it to everyone. If the police had been involved from the beginning in this one the Rucastle‘s might be in jail, but since they weren‘t Holmes didn‘t care enough to call them in, and no one else contradicted him. 6mo
dabbe @Librarybelle Oh, I felt for the dog, too. I think I was vicious enough to want the dog to kill Rucastle for the horrendous abuse. One of the more gruesome SH scenes. 😱 6mo
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dabbe @IndoorDame I guess, too, that the fact that the daughter got away and is happy, the idea of “all's well that ends well“ comes into play. The Rucastles have to live with each other and are irretrievably broken. Perhaps that's enough. 6mo
Aimeesue "Justice" was very different at that time, yes? And there were plenty of men locking up their female relations in asylums to retain control of their $$$, so imprisoning women "for their own safety" was an accepted thing. Plenty of people still doing it today, right, Britney Spears? I was maybe a little too pleased that the Rucastles were doomed to suffer out the rest of their lives together, along with their bratty child. (edited) 6mo
dabbe @Aimeesue Me, too! I wrote on another post that I think the kid is a serial killer in the making! They most definitely deserve each other! 6mo
CrystalE02 Not one of my favorite stories. Maybe it was the time period, but I felt like the story was kind of creepy and weird. 6mo
dabbe @CrystalE02 It could almost have come across as a silent movie from the 1910s. 6mo
33 likes8 comments
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Read4life
The Adventure of the Copper Beeches | Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, P. James Macaluso
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Pickpick

I‘m really enjoying our #NoPlaceLikeHolmes group. This is another pick for me. Discussion today.

#BookSpinBingo #readyourebooks #readyourTBR #ReadAway2024 #SeriesLove2024

dabbe 🤩😀🤗 6mo
Cuilin 🎉🤩 6mo
TheSpineView 👍🤩🌞 6mo
42 likes3 comments
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LitsyEvents
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repost for @dabbe:

#NoPlaceLikeHolmes @Cuilin

Next up, the final story in THE ADVENTURES OF (TAo) SH: “TAo The Copper Beeches .“ Below is information on this story, including a summary (spoiler alert!). Next discussion with @dabbe on 5/25

Click here for the link: https://bit.ly/4dZseFx

original link:
https://www.litsy.com/web/post/2735516

dabbe Thank you! 🤩🤩🤩 6mo
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dabbe
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#NoPlaceLikeHolmes @Cuilin #LitsyEvents

Interesting discussion so far today, Sherlockians! If you haven't already joined in, please do so when you can!

Next up, the final story in THE ADVENTURES OF (TAo) SH: “TAo The Copper Beeches .“ Below is information on this story, including a summary (spoiler alert!). Next discussion with @dabbe on 5/25

Click here for the link: https://bit.ly/4dZseFx

44 likes3 comments
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MariaW
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Pickpick

So, I went to another one of the Sherlock Holmes stories in one go. It still keeps me wondering that they are this short, but it is fine for my commute. This one reminded me somehow of “Jane Eyre” and the mysterious woman in the attic.

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Malisa
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Pickpick

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Another good one!! #sherlock #sherlockholmes #arthurconandoyle #finished #completed #husband

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AdaChivers
The Adventure of the Copper Beeches | Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, P. James Macaluso
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Panpan

I think the stamp says all...
#sherlocked #readalong #serialreader

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jpmcwisemorgan
The Adventure of the Copper Beeches | Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, P. James Macaluso

The last story in our current round of the #sherlocked read along with the @SerialReader app. The next set of stories, in publication order, come from the Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes. We can keep going if there's interest and if they're all available (I haven't checked yet) or do we need to take a breather of some sort?

Daisey I'm interested in reading more, but I also would be perfectly happy to switch it up for a while. I don't have anything else in particular in mind at the moment. 8y
Kathrin I think I need a break from Sherlock! 8y
jpmcwisemorgan @Daisey & @Kathrin I'm fine either way. Did y'all want to try something different? 8y
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Kathrin @jpmcwisemorgan @Daisey How about Jack London's Iron Heel? I just picked the first thing that I saw. 8y
Kathrin Or Herland? 8y
Daisey @jpmcwisemorgan @kathrin I have been curious about Iron Heel since it's a book by London that I've just recently heard about. I know we also talked about reading The Jungle Book with @Theresa at some point. Do we want to consider that? 8y
jpmcwisemorgan @Daisey & @Kathrin I'm up for either, or even something else. I'm waiting for others to chime in - even people I didn't tag! 8y
moranadatter I haven't read Anne of Green Gables or Frederick Douglass' autobiography. 8y
Theresa @jpmcwisemorgan @Daisey @Kathrin I think I need a break from Sherlock, too. I'm in a bit of a reading slump so I need something to pick me up. I'm open to trying anything!! 8y
jpmcwisemorgan @Theresa @Kathrin @kmdartist @Daisey We can add The Jungle Book to the choices because it's on Theresa's list. 8y
Kathrin @jpmcwisemorgan @Theresa @kmdartist @Daisey I have already read Frederick Douglass, otherwise any of the suggestions are fine with me. 8y
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Cinfhen
The Adventure of the Copper Beeches | Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, P. James Macaluso
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Pickpick

#DeweysReadathon Thanks to #serialreader I finished my second #readathon book 📚 Again, it was a series I started a few days back. I'm loving Sherlock Holmes💗💙❤️and @SerialReader

KCorter I'm going to start Sherlock Holmes on Serial Reader as well! It seems like a good format for the story. 8y
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