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The Adventure of the Veiled Lodger
The Complete Sherlock Holmes
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The Complete Sherlock Holmes - The Adventure of the Veiled Lodger
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The Adventure of the Veiled Lodger (The Case-book of Sherlock Holmes)
Discussion Questions
1) “But the most terrible human tragedies were often involved in those cases which brought him the fewest personal opportunities, and it is one of these which I now desire to record.” What did Watson mean in this passage when he was talking about Sherlock Holmes?
2) Why is it a problem for Watson to choose but not to find a case to publish among society?
3) Why do you think Mrs. Ronder sent Mrs. Merrilow to fetch Holmes for her?
4) What was the reason Mrs. Merrilow came to Holmes in the first place despite being able to receive rent from Mrs. Ronder?
This was a love triangle with two terrible twists. The first was the action of the lion in attacking the attacker (or at least the attacker’s accomplice) and the second was the action of the lover in turning his back on the stricken woman.Holme’s decision not to go to the police about the disfigured woman’s role in her vicious husband’s death was probably prompted by the terrible aftermath.
’ From keeping beasts in a cage, the woman seemed, by some retribution of Fate, to have become herself a beast in a cage.’
This was a ‘case’ where Holmes actually did nothing but listen to a confession of a woman with a tormented mind.
https://gazetteer.sherlock-holmes.org...
Yes, this was a curious story, as Holmes had nothing to solve and the action was all in the past.I might be in the minority here but I found Holmes's response to the veiled woman supremely unhelpful. Not that I wished her to commit suicide but surely "suffer in silence in this stuffy room to set an example" isn't the answer. It occurred to me that after injuries like that, Mrs Ronder might be in some considerable pain, constantly. But she also could certainly benefit from getting out more, which might mean a) accepting what she looks like and that someone might see her occasionally and b) finding others to help. She could adopt an orphan, perhaps a rejected one with a hare lip or similar. She could meet other people who have suffered, and make friends.
I really think ACD didn't see women as fully human sometimes. The loss of one's face is of course terrible, but it isn't the loss of everything.
The Adventure of the Veiled Lodger (The Case-book of Sherlock Holmes)
Availability The Case-book of Sherlock Holmes: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/69700
Background Information
"The Adventure of the Veiled Lodger", 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.
Publication History
"The Adventure of the Veiled Lodger" was first published in the US in Liberty in January 1927, and was first published in the UK in The Strand Magazine in February 1927. The story was published with four illustrations by Frederic Dorr Steele in Liberty, and with three illustrations by Frank Wiles in the Strand. It was included in the short story collection The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes, which was published in the UK and the US in June 1927.
A Short Summary
"The Adventure of the Veiled Lodger" is a Sherlock Holmes: a short story exploring a tragic past. A woman, hiding her disfigured face, confesses to Holmes about a murder she committed years ago with her lover. The story highlights the psychological toll of guilt and the pursuit of justice within a limited mystery framework.