THE ADVENTURE OF

THE BLUE CARBUNCLE

SHERLOCK HOLMES
Class VIII
About ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE
Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle was born on May 22, 1859, in Edinburgh, Scotland. The
Doyles were a prosperous Irish-Catholic family.  Mary Doyle, Arthur’s mother, had a
passion for books and was a master storyteller, and he inherited his mother’s talent
for storytelling.
After his ninth birthday he was sent away to England for further studies. Arthur went
on to become a doctor, but according to his autobiography, his efforts as an
ophthalmologist were a failure. While a medical student, Doyle took to writing. His
mentor Professor Dr. Joseph Bell, with his keen powers of observation inspired Doyle
to create his famed fictional detective character, Sherlock Holmes. The Sherlock
Holmes stories are generally considered milestones in the field of crime fiction.He
struggled to balance his medical career with his efforts to gain recognition as a writer,
and ultimately gave up medicine altogether to devote all his attention to writing.

Doyle was also a keen cricketer & a golfer, & an amateur boxer. He died on July 7,
1930, after being almost bedridden due to acute heart problems.
Characters in the story
• JOHN HORNER- the plumber charged with the crime of stealing the Blue Carbuncle; victim
• HENRY BAKER- the person who bought the goose from Mr.Breckinridge ; from whom the goose
was stolen
• COUNTESS OF MORCAR-one who had possession of the Blue Carbuncle when it was stolen
• PETERSON- the commissionaire who saved Baker from the hoodlums & brought the goose to
Holmes; his wife found the gem inside the goose
• JAMES RYDER- hotel attendant ,accused the plumber of the theft; the villain
• MRS.OAKSHOTT- woman who reared geese for meat; sister of Ryder
• MR. BRECKINRIDGE-the goose seller
• SHERLOCK HOLMES- the detective
• DR. WATSON- Holmes’s friend
 summary
The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle is the ninth Holmes story first published in The Strand
Magazine in January 1892.
While going home, Peterson, the commissionaire, witnesses a fight between a man and
some thugs. In the fight, the man looses his hat and a goose. At the sight of Peterson’s
uniform all flee, leaving the hat and goose. He brings the hat and goose to Holmes. Holmes
advises him to eat the goose and give him the hat, from which he deduces that it belongs to
a Mr. Henry Baker. While cooking the goose, Peterson's wife discovers a priceless gem inside
the bird. It was the very stone stolen from the Countess of Morcar a few days ago at
the Cosmopolitan Hotel. John Horner, a plumber working at the hotel, was accused of the
theft and arrested on the testimony of James Ryder, the hotel attendant. Holmes publishes
an ad in the newspapers to find Mr. Henry Baker. He succeeds to trace back the history of
the goose and finds James Ryder, the real thief of the stone. The carbuncle is returned to
the Countess and Peterson receives a reward of £1,000
Character analysis:
Peterson
He was an honest commissionaire
with a willingness to help others.
When he saw a man being
assaulted by a group of assailants,
he tries to save him from them.
He also reports the matter to
Holmes. When he finds the
precious gem inside the goose, he
does not secretly sell it, but brings
it to Holmes.
SHERLOCK HOLMES
He is private detective with a
knack of seeing details that others
miss out. He was clever and
observant. His chief characteristic
is his method of deduction. He
deduced precisely with the
smallest amount of evidence. His
deductions about Henry Baker
from the hat were absolutely
correct.
 Some interesting observations

In this story, Holmes's deductions come from a single object: Henry Baker's
faded felt hat. Strangely, none of Holmes's Baker-related deductions really contribute to
the crime's solving.
The deductions he makes about Baker during his discussion with Watson are correct but
don't serve any greater purpose in the story. Henry Baker was brought to his house
through the advertisement in the newspaper, but he too plays no role in solving
the mystery . Holmes solves the crime merely by following the trail
of the stone. This is good detective work, but not quite Holmes-
level
detective work.
Comprehension:

Q1. Answer the questions with reference to the context:

‘While Sherlock Holmes and I were talking, Peterson rushed into the room.’
a) Identify the narrator.
b) Who is Peterson?
c) Why did he rush into the room?
Q2. Answer the following questions in 20-30 words:
a) Describe the scene that met Watson’s eyes when he entered Holmes’s house on the second
morning after Christmas.
b) How was Peterson left with a fat goose and a battered hat?
Q3. Describe the hat that Holmes was scrutinizing. (30-40 words)

Q4. HOTS
What were Holmes’s deductions about the owner of the hat that Peterson had handed over to him? What
can the readers conclude about Sherlock Holmes from his deductions? ( 40-50 words)

ACTIVITY

How did the blue carbuncle travel from the jewel case of the Countess of Morcar
to the crop of a goose in Tottenham Court Road?
Trace the sequence of events through a flow chart and upload it in the Assignment
Section on TEAMS.

Watch the movie :

https://youtu.be/_onKxD5Frso
Thank you