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On the Case with Holmes & Watson #14
On the Case with Holmes and Watson: #14 Sherlock Holmes and the Gloria Scott
What is the secret behind a letter that shocks a man to death?
Holmes was not always a famous detective. In Holmes's very first case, a simple letter shocked a man to death. Holmes explains to Watson how a voyage upon a ship called the Gloria Scott tortured a man for the rest of his life.
Holmes was not always a famous detective. In Holmes's very first case, a simple letter shocked a man to death. Holmes explains to Watson how a voyage upon a ship called the Gloria Scott tortured a man for the rest of his life.
48 pages, ebook
First published January 28, 2012
12 people are currently reading
102 people want to read
About the author
Murray Shaw
35 books6 followersMurray Shaw is a kitchen designer and a writer of books for children about Sherlock Holmes.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
February 5, 2021
Full review at a later date.
April 7, 2016
A recount of Sherlock's first case. Not much of a story but only the retelling of one, though it's nice to see a little more backstory on Holmes.
September 24, 2016
Sherlock Holmes on comic form i enjoyed following the adventures he has in this book. A must read.
February 19, 2022
In this story Sherlock Holmes is telling Dr. John H. Watson a story about his college friend's father (Mr. Trevor), whose house he had visited one summer.
Soon after Holmes' visit ends, Mr. Trevor had started writing an account of an experience he had had on board the Gloria Scott, a former China tea-trade bark in 1855, bound for Australia, from Falmouth, in a convict transportation.
At that time, Mr. Trevor was twenty-three years old and had previously been working in a bank.
Convict ships, built as such, were being used in the Black Sea during the Crimean war (1854-56).
The Hotspur, though, is the name of the passenger "brig" which eventually brings Mr. Trevor to Sydney, Australia.
Victor Trevor (son) and Sherlock Holmes had met at college, one Sunday morning, on the way to a religious service "through an accident of his bull terrier."
Victor's wealthy family home in Donnithorpe, north of Langmere in Norfolk.
At the end of Holmes' stay, Mr. Trevor (father) receives a visit from a old sailor, named Hudson. Hudson goes on to disturb the household for a few weeks over the summer with his rough manners:
"I'm just off a two-yearer in an eight-knot tramp." Hudson's surly behavior had triggered Mr. Trevor's confessional writing about the Gloria Scott.
Eventually, Hudson goes off to visit Mr. Trevor's friend, a Mr. Beddoes, who lives in Fordingham, Hampshire. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Trevor receives a cryptic message from his friend which greatly frightens him.
Both Mr. Beddoes and Hudson had been aboard the Gloria Scott, as well (with Mr. Trevor) during an uprising, which had been initiated by a man called Jack Prendergast.
Ingrained class structures come back to haunt Mr. Trevor at the time of Holmes' summer visit.
While On board the Gloria Scott, Mr. Trevor, Mr. Beddoes and Mr. Prendergast had been unable to come to an agreement for a safe passage despite the similarity of their professional backgrounds (usually a type of behavior representing capable and practical, and, ironically, honest men).
Later, Mr. Trevor and Mr. Beddoes had been unable to come to an agreement with Hudson because he is from the lower classes and, again, somewhat ironically, had had a dishonest nature.
Mr. Trevor and Mr. Beddoes had are represented as having got caught up in fraudulent activities despite their better natures. Mr. Prendergast though, is characterized as being dishonest despite himself; because of his "incurably vicious habits".
This is shown by their refusal to behave in an wantonly violent manner on board ship; and also by financial success in the colonies and an eventual return to England.
Captures the nineteenth century era of harsh penal servitude which existed at the expense of common humanity.
Soon after Holmes' visit ends, Mr. Trevor had started writing an account of an experience he had had on board the Gloria Scott, a former China tea-trade bark in 1855, bound for Australia, from Falmouth, in a convict transportation.
At that time, Mr. Trevor was twenty-three years old and had previously been working in a bank.
Convict ships, built as such, were being used in the Black Sea during the Crimean war (1854-56).
The Hotspur, though, is the name of the passenger "brig" which eventually brings Mr. Trevor to Sydney, Australia.
Victor Trevor (son) and Sherlock Holmes had met at college, one Sunday morning, on the way to a religious service "through an accident of his bull terrier."
Victor's wealthy family home in Donnithorpe, north of Langmere in Norfolk.
At the end of Holmes' stay, Mr. Trevor (father) receives a visit from a old sailor, named Hudson. Hudson goes on to disturb the household for a few weeks over the summer with his rough manners:
"I'm just off a two-yearer in an eight-knot tramp." Hudson's surly behavior had triggered Mr. Trevor's confessional writing about the Gloria Scott.
Eventually, Hudson goes off to visit Mr. Trevor's friend, a Mr. Beddoes, who lives in Fordingham, Hampshire. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Trevor receives a cryptic message from his friend which greatly frightens him.
Both Mr. Beddoes and Hudson had been aboard the Gloria Scott, as well (with Mr. Trevor) during an uprising, which had been initiated by a man called Jack Prendergast.
Ingrained class structures come back to haunt Mr. Trevor at the time of Holmes' summer visit.
While On board the Gloria Scott, Mr. Trevor, Mr. Beddoes and Mr. Prendergast had been unable to come to an agreement for a safe passage despite the similarity of their professional backgrounds (usually a type of behavior representing capable and practical, and, ironically, honest men).
Later, Mr. Trevor and Mr. Beddoes had been unable to come to an agreement with Hudson because he is from the lower classes and, again, somewhat ironically, had had a dishonest nature.
Mr. Trevor and Mr. Beddoes had are represented as having got caught up in fraudulent activities despite their better natures. Mr. Prendergast though, is characterized as being dishonest despite himself; because of his "incurably vicious habits".
This is shown by their refusal to behave in an wantonly violent manner on board ship; and also by financial success in the colonies and an eventual return to England.
Captures the nineteenth century era of harsh penal servitude which existed at the expense of common humanity.
September 8, 2014
Another nice plot and Holmes again nail it. Holmes, in his university days, spent a month with his friend, Victor Trevor, at his father's estate in Norfolk. While there, Holmes amazed his host, Victor's father, who was a Justice of the Peace and a landowner besides. He had made his fortune in the goldfields in Australia. One of Holmes's deductions was that the elder Mr. Trevor was once connected with someone with the initials J. A. whom he wanted to forget. His host then passed out on the table. Holmes had touched a sore spot, and possibly did not believe the old man's explanation once he had come back to himself that J. A. had been an old lover.
Holmes perceived that he was making his host uncomfortable and decided to take his leave. The evening before he did this, another old man suddenly appeared at the house causing the elder Mr. Trevor to rush for a shot of brandy before greeting him. They had apparently been shipmates some 30 years earlier, and Mr. Trevor said something about finding him some work. Soon afterwards, Holmes and his friend found Mr. Trevor drunk.
Holmes spent the next seven weeks at his chemistry experiments, suddenly receiving a telegram from the younger Trevor begging him to come back to Norfolk. Once he got there, Victor told Holmes that his father was dying as a result of a stroke suffered after he received a letter. They found that he had died while Victor had been meeting Holmes at the station.
After Holmes had left the house seven weeks earlier, it seems that this old man who had come looking for work, and whose name was Hudson, proved to be as unruly an employee as could be imagined. He had demanded to be promoted from gardener to butler and had got what he wanted. He had taken unforgivable liberties which would normally have resulted in an employee's dismissal. He was often drunk. Victor could not stand him and would have beaten Hudson up if he had been younger. The other staff had complained about him. However, Victor's father always let him get away with any infamy. Suddenly, Hudson announced that he was leaving because he had tired of Norfolk, and he was going to Hampshire to see Beddoes, another old shipmate.
Now, Holmes's friend had become thin and careworn by the ordeal. He had thought that the trouble was over when Hudson had left, but then came the letter, from Fordingbridge in Hampshire. It read:
"The supply of game for London is going steadily up. Head-keeper Hudson, we believe, has been now told to receive all orders for fly-paper and for preservation of your hen pheasant's life."
It meant nothing to Victor, and it was quite a while before Holmes saw anything in it. He found the key. If one read every third word beginning with the first, there was an intelligible message: "The game is up. Hudson has told all. Fly for your life."
Holmes had deduced that the game was blackmail. Some guilty secret had been the power that Hudson had held over the elder Mr. Trevor. The old man's dying words to his doctor unlocked the secret. Some papers were found in Mr. Trevor's Japanese cabinet.
The document was a confession. The elder Mr. Trevor had once borne the name James Armitage (initials: J. A.) and had been a criminal having embezzled money from the bank where he worked and been caught. He was sentenced to Transportation.
Once on the ship, the Gloria Scott, bound for Australia from Falmouth, Armitage found out from a neighbouring prisoner that there was a conspiracy to take over the ship. The neighbour, Jack Prendergast, had financed the scheme out of the nearly £250,000 in unrecovered money from his crime. Many of the crew, even officers, were in his employ, and even the chaplain, who was not truly a clergyman at all. He, while pretending to minister to the prisoners, was actually furnishing them with pistols and other equipment to be used when the time was right. Armitage also drew his other neighbour, Evans, into the scheme.
As might be expected, all did not go as planned. The takeover was accomplished unexpectedly when the ship's doctor discovered a pistol while treating a prisoner. The prisoners then had to make their move right away or they would lose the element of surprise. In the ensuing mêlée, many men were killed, and there arose a dispute between Prendergast with his supporters and a group including Armitage over what to do with the few loyal crewmen still left alive. Armitage and others would not stand for coldblooded murder. They asked to be cast adrift in a small boat to make their way as they would.
Shortly after leaving in their small boat, the Gloria Scott blew up as the result of the violence spreading to where the gunpowder was kept. The men in the small boat, among whom was also Evans, hurried back to the site and rescued one survivor — Hudson.
The next day, as luck would have it, the men were rescued by another ship, the Hotspur, also bound for Australia. They passed themselves off as survivors from a passenger ship and once in Australia, headed for the goldfields. Armitage changed his name to Trevor, and Evans changed his name to Beddoes. Both later returned to England as rich men.
All had gone well until Hudson had suddenly shown up.
Since no scandal involving the Gloria Scott ever followed the odd message from Beddoes (Evans), and since neither Hudson nor Evans was ever heard from again, the Police believed Hudson had done away with Beddoes while Holmes believed that Evans had likely killed Hudson, believing that he had told all, when in fact he had not, and then fled with as much money as he could lay his hands on.
Holmes perceived that he was making his host uncomfortable and decided to take his leave. The evening before he did this, another old man suddenly appeared at the house causing the elder Mr. Trevor to rush for a shot of brandy before greeting him. They had apparently been shipmates some 30 years earlier, and Mr. Trevor said something about finding him some work. Soon afterwards, Holmes and his friend found Mr. Trevor drunk.
Holmes spent the next seven weeks at his chemistry experiments, suddenly receiving a telegram from the younger Trevor begging him to come back to Norfolk. Once he got there, Victor told Holmes that his father was dying as a result of a stroke suffered after he received a letter. They found that he had died while Victor had been meeting Holmes at the station.
After Holmes had left the house seven weeks earlier, it seems that this old man who had come looking for work, and whose name was Hudson, proved to be as unruly an employee as could be imagined. He had demanded to be promoted from gardener to butler and had got what he wanted. He had taken unforgivable liberties which would normally have resulted in an employee's dismissal. He was often drunk. Victor could not stand him and would have beaten Hudson up if he had been younger. The other staff had complained about him. However, Victor's father always let him get away with any infamy. Suddenly, Hudson announced that he was leaving because he had tired of Norfolk, and he was going to Hampshire to see Beddoes, another old shipmate.
Now, Holmes's friend had become thin and careworn by the ordeal. He had thought that the trouble was over when Hudson had left, but then came the letter, from Fordingbridge in Hampshire. It read:
"The supply of game for London is going steadily up. Head-keeper Hudson, we believe, has been now told to receive all orders for fly-paper and for preservation of your hen pheasant's life."
It meant nothing to Victor, and it was quite a while before Holmes saw anything in it. He found the key. If one read every third word beginning with the first, there was an intelligible message: "The game is up. Hudson has told all. Fly for your life."
Holmes had deduced that the game was blackmail. Some guilty secret had been the power that Hudson had held over the elder Mr. Trevor. The old man's dying words to his doctor unlocked the secret. Some papers were found in Mr. Trevor's Japanese cabinet.
The document was a confession. The elder Mr. Trevor had once borne the name James Armitage (initials: J. A.) and had been a criminal having embezzled money from the bank where he worked and been caught. He was sentenced to Transportation.
Once on the ship, the Gloria Scott, bound for Australia from Falmouth, Armitage found out from a neighbouring prisoner that there was a conspiracy to take over the ship. The neighbour, Jack Prendergast, had financed the scheme out of the nearly £250,000 in unrecovered money from his crime. Many of the crew, even officers, were in his employ, and even the chaplain, who was not truly a clergyman at all. He, while pretending to minister to the prisoners, was actually furnishing them with pistols and other equipment to be used when the time was right. Armitage also drew his other neighbour, Evans, into the scheme.
As might be expected, all did not go as planned. The takeover was accomplished unexpectedly when the ship's doctor discovered a pistol while treating a prisoner. The prisoners then had to make their move right away or they would lose the element of surprise. In the ensuing mêlée, many men were killed, and there arose a dispute between Prendergast with his supporters and a group including Armitage over what to do with the few loyal crewmen still left alive. Armitage and others would not stand for coldblooded murder. They asked to be cast adrift in a small boat to make their way as they would.
Shortly after leaving in their small boat, the Gloria Scott blew up as the result of the violence spreading to where the gunpowder was kept. The men in the small boat, among whom was also Evans, hurried back to the site and rescued one survivor — Hudson.
The next day, as luck would have it, the men were rescued by another ship, the Hotspur, also bound for Australia. They passed themselves off as survivors from a passenger ship and once in Australia, headed for the goldfields. Armitage changed his name to Trevor, and Evans changed his name to Beddoes. Both later returned to England as rich men.
All had gone well until Hudson had suddenly shown up.
Since no scandal involving the Gloria Scott ever followed the odd message from Beddoes (Evans), and since neither Hudson nor Evans was ever heard from again, the Police believed Hudson had done away with Beddoes while Holmes believed that Evans had likely killed Hudson, believing that he had told all, when in fact he had not, and then fled with as much money as he could lay his hands on.
September 17, 2021
Nun habe ich alle 14 Comics gelesen und ich bin nach wie vor begeistert. Klar sind es keine neuen Geschichten, Doyle kann ja keine mehr schreiben 🙈, aber ich finde die Umsetzung zu Comics einfach toll. Die Figuren sind gut gezeichnet und es macht richtig Spaß zu lesen. Und definitiv nicht nur für Kinder!! 😎
***
Interesse am Austausch übers englisch lernen durch lesen? Dann komm doch in meine Goodreads Gruppe
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
***
Interesse am Austausch übers englisch lernen durch lesen? Dann komm doch in meine Goodreads Gruppe
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
March 11, 2024
Enjoyed this one a lot. A lot of character exploration / exposition. A little difficult to deduce anything alongside the characters because he’s fully reciting a story from his past, but the story itself was interesting. His first case, helping a college friend with his father’s past and reckoning with the re-appearance of a seaman aboard their mutinied prisoner ship
July 24, 2017
It's Sherlock, it's 5 stars. 1st case sets tone for career. Disgraced landed gentleman not who/what he purports writes letter of explanation (not contrition) to son. There's a mutiny aboard ship and some of the bad guys are worse than others. Oops, there's an explosion, gotta go.
December 27, 2022
Not my favorite of the Holmes series. Sherlock didn't do much sleuthing and I felt the storyline was weak as there wasn't really any evidence for the blackmail. I did appreciate that it was his first mystery to solve.
March 20, 2020
The first case showing Mr Holmes"s childhood, overall fantastic read
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 9, 2020
6,5/10
April 20, 2020
Short story but can turn to be a great movie!
August 1, 2022
I found this an interesting tale.. made me also wonder as to how the past can haunt people, even when all has been done to correct/forget it. I guess an evil deed will not let the doer go unpunished?
January 30, 2023
A simple tale from Holmes perspective about his only friend and uncovering the truth his father isn't who he says he is.
October 24, 2023
While an interesting tale, this is a much less solvable mystery.
April 4, 2024
A respectable businessman drops down dead upon receiving a letter. Holmes knows the man's son and goes to decipher the message to find out the truth.
This was ok. A bit daft but readable.
This was ok. A bit daft but readable.
March 10, 2017
What has Hudson told and to whom that would make Mr. Trevor so afraid and what role did Gloria Scott play into that fear?
It had been a while since I’d read a Sherlock Holmes story and I must say I truly enjoyed it. Young readers will enjoy solving the mystery with clues from the illustrations.
It had been a while since I’d read a Sherlock Holmes story and I must say I truly enjoyed it. Young readers will enjoy solving the mystery with clues from the illustrations.
December 22, 2015
This was an unconventional Holmes mystery. We get to understand what first launched Sherlock's brilliant career in observation and putting it to use against crime. However, there isn't necessarily a crime that Sherlock must solve in this story, aside from an extremely simple riddle. Even though we don't really have a mystery to solve, we still get an exciting story that unravels in ways that are both entertaining and exciting. I enjoyed this story a lot. Yes, it was extremely different, but that is what made it even better.
November 4, 2016
Sherlock Holmes, His Most Famous Mysteries
My Rating System:
* couldn't finish, ** wouldn't recommend, *** would recommend, **** would read again, ***** have read again.
My Rating System:
* couldn't finish, ** wouldn't recommend, *** would recommend, **** would read again, ***** have read again.
June 22, 2015
As a podcast ( http://www.sherlock-holmes.org.uk ) this was an enjoyable tale.
July 27, 2016
Amazing Adventure !
July 24, 2013
For some reason this one confused me more than amused me.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews