The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone
"The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone" | |||
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Short story by Arthur Conan Doyle | |||
Publication | |||
Publication date | October 1921 | ||
Chronology | |||
Series | The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes | ||
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"The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone" is one of 12
Plot
Watson arrives in 221B Baker Street where the page boy Billy shows him a wax effigy of Holmes placed near a curtained window in the sitting room. The effigy produces a shadow on the curtain that, when viewed from outside, is the unmistakable profile of Sherlock Holmes. Using this visual trick, Holmes aims to give a perfect target to a would-be murderer with a rifle. Holmes names his murderer as Count Negretto Sylvius, the diamond thief he has been following in disguise. He gives the criminal's address to Watson, then sends the doctor out the back for the police. As the Count arrives, Holmes has Billy invite him inside, then takes him by surprise when he attempts an assault on the effigy. Holmes then offers the Count and his helper, boxer Sam Merton, freedom if they give up the jewel, or jail if not.
He invites them to discuss the deal while he plays violin in the next room. When the Count decides to double-cross Holmes and takes the stone from his secret pocket to show Sam in window light, the detective springs from the chair in place of his replica and grabs the £100K jewel. His bedroom has a gramophone and secret passage to behind the curtain.
After the police take away the villains, Lord Cantlemere sweeps in. Unlike the Prime Minister and Home Secretary, he did not want Holmes. When tricked into insisting on arrest for whoever is found possessing the diamond, he finds the jewel in his pocket – where Holmes has placed it – and apologizes. Finally, Holmes can eat.
Unusual aspects
It is notable for being one of only two Arthur Conan Doyle Holmes stories, aside from a couple of humorous vignettes, to be written in
The Crown Diamond, subtitled An Evening with Sherlock Holmes, was first performed on 2 May 1921 at the
According to
Publication history
"The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone" was published in the UK in
Adaptations
Film and television
A short silent film based on the story was released in 1923 as part of the Sherlock Holmes film series by Stoll Pictures, with Eille Norwood as Holmes and Hubert Willis as Watson.[9]
An episode of BBC's For the Children adapted the story for television in 1951.[10] Featuring Andrew Osborn as Holmes and Philip King as Watson, no footage is believed to have survived.[10]
This story was heavily rewritten for
"The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone" was adapted as "The Adventure of the Mazarin Chip" for a 2001 episode of the animated television show Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century.[12]
Radio
"The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone" was adapted by Edith Meiser as an episode of the American radio series The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. The episode aired on 9 February 1931, with Richard Gordon as Sherlock Holmes and Leigh Lovell as Dr. Watson.[13] Another dramatisation of the story adapted by Meiser aired on 23 May 1936 (with Gordon as Holmes and Harry West as Watson).[14]
Meiser also adapted the story as episodes of the American radio series The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes that aired on 5 January 1941 (with Basil Rathbone as Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Watson)[15] and 4 January 1948 (with John Stanley as Holmes and Alfred Shirley as Watson).[16]
Two BBC radio adaptations of the story aired as part of the 1952–1969 radio series starring Carleton Hobbs as Sherlock Holmes and Norman Shelley as Dr. Watson. The first aired on 2 December 1954 on the BBC Home Service and was dramatised by Felix Felton, with Ralph Truman as Count Negretto Sylvius. The second aired on 4 September 1962 on the BBC Light Programme, and was dramatised by Michael Hardwick, with Francis de Wolff as Count Sylvius.[17]
"The Mazarin Stone" was dramatised for BBC Radio 4 in 1994 by Bert Coules as part of the 1989–1998 radio series starring Clive Merrison as Holmes and Michael Williams as Watson. It featured Anthony Bate as Lord Cantlemere and Nigel Anthony as Count Sylvius.[18]
In 2006, the story was adapted for radio as part of
References
- ISBN 9780824720292. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
- ^ a b Smith 2014, p. 183
- ^ Hofstra University (1997). Theory and Practice of Classic Detective Fiction. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 29. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
- ^ a b Wainwright, Michael (September 2012). "Sherlock Holmes and Game Theory". Mosaic: a journal for the interdisciplinary study of literature. 12 (3). ProjectMUSE: 81–98. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
- ISBN 978-1-291-26421-0.
- ISBN 0-393-05916-2.
- ^ a b Cawthorne 2011, p. 155
- ^ Cawthorne 2011, p. 151
- ISBN 978-0060156206.
- ^ ISBN 1-903111-04-8.
- ^ ISBN 978-0857687760.
- ISBN 978-0857687760.
- ^ Dickerson 2019, p. 27
- ^ Dickerson 2019, p. 74
- ^ Dickerson 2019, p. 96
- ^ Dickerson 2019, p. 244
- ISBN 0-517-217597.
- ^ Coules, Bert. "The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes". The BBC complete audio Sherlock Holmes. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
- ^ Wright, Stewart (30 April 2019). "The Classic Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: Broadcast Log" (PDF). Old-Time Radio. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
Sources
- ISBN 978-0762444083.
- ISBN 978-1629335087.
- Smith, Daniel (2014) [2009]. The Sherlock Holmes Companion: An Elementary Guide (Updated ed.). Aurum Press. ISBN 978-1-78131-404-3.
External links
- The full text of The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone at Wikisource
- Media related to The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone at Wikimedia Commons
- The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes, including The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone at Standard Ebooks
- The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone public domain audiobook at LibriVox