Holmes inspects the thumb print. Sidney Paget, Strand Magazine, 1903.
"The Adventure of the Norwood Builder" is a Sherlock Holmes short story by the British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It was first published in the October 31, 1903, issue of the weekly Collier's magazine in the United States and in the November 1903 issue of Strand Magazine in England. The story was later collected in The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1905). "The Adventure of the Norwood Builder" is the twenty-sixth short story and the twenty-ninth tale of the Sherlock Holmes Canon.
The plot is set in motion when a desperate young solicitor named John Hector McFarlane bursts into the apartment shared by Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. Inspector Lestrade arrives shortly afterwards and arrests McFarlane for the murder of Jonas Oldacre, a retired builder. McFarlane, the beneficiary of Oldacre's will, was the last person known to have seen Oldacre alive, and his walking stick was found at the scene with blood on its handle. Holmes' investigation fails to uncover any evidence to exonerate his client. Meanwhile, McFarlane's thumb print in blood is discovered which appears to clinch Lestrade's case against the young man.
"The Adventure of the Norwood Builder" is notable for being the first story in the Sherlock Holmes Canon to reference fingerprint analysis.[1] The story had been adapted for radio, television, and film.
Plot[]
A disheveled young man bursts in. Sidney Paget, Strand Magazine, 1903.
One morning, Sherlock Holmes complains to Dr. Watson that London has become quite uninteresting for a criminal expert since Professor Moriarty's death.[2] It has been some months since Holmes made his return,[3] and Watson, having sold his practice at Holmes' request, is once again sharing the old quarters in Baker Street with the great detective. As Holmes begins to unfold his morning paper, there is a commotion downstairs. Then a young man bursts into the room looking pale and disheveled. He looks at Holmes and Watson and, suddenly becoming conscious of his bad manners, cries out his apologies and announces "I am the unhappy John Hector McFarlane" - as if he expects Holmes and Watson to recognize his name and understand the reason for his intrusion.
Holmes invites McFarlane to sit down and explain himself. McFarlane says he is about to be arrested on a murder charge and begs Holmes for help. He then reaches for Holmes' newspaper and reads aloud the headlines: "Mysterious Affair at Lower Norwood. Disappearance of a Well-known Builder. Suspicion of Murder and Arson. A Clue to the Criminal."
According to the newspaper, a suspicious fire started around midnight in the small timber yard at the back of Deep Dene House. The house is owned by Mr. Jonas Oldacre, a wealthy retired builder and a well-known eccentric bachelor. Oldacre is missing, and the safe in his room was found open with important papers scattered about. There were signs of struggle in the room, and a walking stick with blood stains on its handle was found. The stick has been identified as the property of a young London solicitor named John Hector McFarlane who visited Oldacre in the evening. The French windows in the room were open, and there were marks made by a bulky object being dragged to the wood pile. Charred remains were found among the ashes. A warrant has been issued for McFarlane.
McFarlane says he stayed overnight in Norwood and did not go home. He was in the train headed for work this morning when he saw the paper and decided to come straight to Holmes. At that moment, the doorbell rings. Inspector Lestrade comes up the stairs followed by uniformed policemen. Lestrade arrests McFarlane for the murder, but before he can take him away, Holmes intervenes and asks for half an hour to hear McFarlane's account of the affair. Lestrade agrees to wait but warns McFarlane that anything he says may be used against him.
McFarlane states that Oldacre, whom he had never met before, came to his office yesterday with a draft of his will (which he produces and lays down on the table) and asked him to put it into legal form. As he began copying the document, McFarlane realized he was the beneficiary of Oldacre's will. Oldacre offered the explanation that he is a bachelor with few living relatives and had known McFarlane's parents in his youth. After the will was finished, Oldacre insisted McFarlane come to his house that night to see some important documents. He also made McFarlane promise to keep it a secret from his parents until after everything was settled.
After sending a telegraph to his parents at home in Blackheath to say he would be late, McFarlane left for Norwood. Oldacre had asked him to come at 9:00pm for supper, but he had trouble finding the place and did not arrive till 9:30. The housekeeper opened the door and showed him into the sitting room. After supper, they went into Oldacre's bedroom where the heavy safe stood and went over the documents together. It was 11:00 or 12:00 by the time they finished, and McFarlane was shown out through the French window so as not to disturb the housekeeper. He could not find his walking stick and was made to leave without it. When he left, the safe was open and the papers were on the table in packets. It was too late to return to Blackheath, so he stayed at a local inn.
Lestrade asks Holmes if he has any more questions for McFarlane. Holmes replies "Not until after I have been to Blackheath." Lestrade assumes he meant Norwood, and Holmes smiles enigmatically in response. Lestrade looks at him curiously before ordering the constables to take McFarlane away. Holmes looks through the draft of the will with keen interest then pushes the sheets over to Lestrade. Lestrade is puzzled by the handwriting. Some of the lines are easy to read while others are difficult or almost illegible. Holmes suggests the will was written in a train; good writing at stations, bad during movement, and very bad while passing over points. Judging by the quick succession of points, Holmes adds, it was written on a suburban line, an express which stopped only once between Norwood and London Bridge. He remarks that it is curious Oldacre drew up such an important document so haphazardly. Lestrade thinks the case against McFarlane is strong, but Holmes disagrees.
After Lestrade leaves, Holmes announces his plan to start his investigation in Blackheath. He explains to Watson that there were two singular incidents, the curious will and the murder, and it is logical to begin the investigation with the first. Declining Watson's offer to come along, Holmes leaves for Blackheath in good spirits.
Mrs. McFarlane produces a mutilated photograph of herself. Sidney Paget, Strand Magazine, 1903.
When he returns late in the evening, Holmes looks haggard and anxious. He tells Watson that McFarlane's mother spoke with such bitterness of Oldacre that he is afraid her evidence would go against their client. Mrs. McFarlane had once been engaged to Oldacre but broke it off when she found out what a cruel man he was. She produced for Holmes an old photograph of herself which had been returned from Oldacre, mutilated with a knife, on her wedding day. Not finding anything helpful in Blackheath, Holmes proceeded to Norwood.
Lestrade was not at Deep Dene House, but Holmes learned from the constable that they had recovered from the ashes some trouser buttons marked with the name of Oldacre's tailor. Examination of the grounds and the house did not yield any new evidence. Looking through the papers, however, Holmes thought that some valuable deeds were missing. If it can be proven, it would help their case since McFarlane would not have stolen something that he would inherit soon enough. Otherwise, he did not find anything to McFarlane's advantage. The housekeeper was uncooperative and it was clear she was hiding something. Holmes says he knows it is all wrong, but it does not look good for McFarlane and he fears Lestrade will win out in the end. Lacking any good leads to follow, Holmes intends to make inquiries next at the bank about some large checks Oldacre made out, according to his bank book, to a Mr. Cornelius during the last year which have depleted his account.
The following morning, Holmes receives a telegram from Lestrade which reads: "Important fresh evidence to hand. McFarlane's guilt definitely established. Advise you to abandon case." Holmes and Watson head out to Norwood and are greeted by the triumphant Lestrade. After teasing Holmes a great deal, Lestrade leads them to a dark hallway and strikes a match to reveal a thumb print in blood on the wall near some hat pegs. Then he takes out the wax impression of McFarlane's right thumb.[4] The prints are clearly identical. Lestrade declares "That is final." Holmes says "It is final" in response, but in such a way as to make Watson take notice - he is trying desperately not to laugh. After the crowing inspector goes off to write his reports, Holmes tells Watson that there is a serious flaw in the new evidence – the thumb print was not there the day before when he examined the hall.
Holmes then leads Watson out for a walk around the garden and examines each face of the house. Afterwards, returning inside, Holmes goes over the whole building from the basement up, examining each room minutely. On the top-floor corridor along unused bedrooms, Holmes finally finds what he was looking for and decides it is time to bring in Lestrade. He wants to have a little fun first, however, since Lestrade chaffed him earlier.
They find Lestrade in the parlor writing his report. Holmes interrupts and informs him that there is an important witness he has not yet interviewed. Lestrade tells Holmes to produce the witness. Holmes asks the inspector to summon his constables. He then asks the men to carry in two bundles of straw and follow him up to the top landing. Next Holmes instructs them to bring buckets of water and pile the straw on the floor away from the walls. Then he asks Watson to open the window and set fire to the straw. As the smoke swirls down the corridor, Holmes tells everyone to cry out "Fire!" After the third call, a door suddenly opens up out of the wall at the end of the corridor and a man comes darting out. Holmes asks Watson to pour water on the fire then introduces the missing witness – Mr. Jonas Oldacre.
A concealed door suddenly opens up and a man darts out. Sidney Paget, Strand Magazine, 1903.
Lestrade stares at the man in amazement then furiously demands to know what he has been doing. Oldacre shrinks back and whimpers that it was just a practical joke. Lestrade orders the constables to take him away. He then praises Holmes for his brilliance and for saving an innocent man's life. He also credits Holmes with saving his professional reputation. With a smile, Holmes slaps Lestrade on the shoulder and tells him to keep his name out of the report and take the credit for solving the case. He then leads Lestrade and Watson into Oldacre's hideout. Beyond the concealed door is a six-foot furnished space with food and other supplies.
Lestrade asks Holmes how he knew about the secret room. Holmes explains that he knew Oldacre was hiding in the house so he made a close examination and found the top corridor six feet shorter than the one below. Holmes then reveals to Lestrade that the thumb print had appeared overnight, indicating Oldacre's presence. Oldacre must have made a wax impression of McFarlane's thumb from the wax seal on the document packets. Holmes also tells Lestrade about McFarlane's mother and how Oldacre had longed for vengeance. When financial difficulties arose a year or two ago, Oldacre decided to swindle his creditors. He established a false identity for himself and made out checks to his alias with the intention of taking the money and disappearing. He then decided to make it look like he was murdered so no one will look for him, framing McFarlane at the same time. Holmes comments that Oldacre spoiled a good plan by planting the unnecessary evidence.
Adaptations[]
The Norwood Builder (1922), third of the fifteen short silent films of The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes series starring Eille Norwood, is an adaptation of "The Adventure of the Norwood Builder."
The story was adapted for the second season of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Granada TV series starring Jeremy Brett. In the episode, which first aired on the ITV network on September 8, 1985, Watson takes an active role in the investigation, accompanying Holmes to Blackheath and Norwood. It is Watson who examines the papers and finds the financial discrepancies. Meanwhile, Holmes discovers that a tramp recently disappeared after going to Oldacre's for handouts. In the original story, it is speculated that Oldacre burned animal remains. In the Granada version, Oldacre and his housekeeper are arrested for the murder of the tramp.
"The Adventure of the Norwood Builder" has been dramatized many times for various radio adaptations of the Sherlock Holmes series. The first version, an episode of the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes show starring Richard Gordon, was broadcast in America on April 13, 1931 by NBC. Other notable radio adaptations include "The Norwood Hills Mystery," a second-season episode of The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes series starring Basil Rathbone (first broadcast on NBC on November 17, 1940), and "The Norwood Builder" done for The BBC Presents: Sherlock Holmes series with Clive Merrison in the role of Holmes (first aired on BBC Radio 4 on March 3, 1993).
Footnotes[]
- ↑ Although there were earlier interests and articles on the subject of fingerprints, the 1892 book Finger Prints by Francis Galton was the first to apply scientific methods to fingerprint analysis. Galton calculated the statistical likelihood of two people's having the same print, introduced the modern classification system, and recommend forensic use of fingerprints. A Fingerprint Bureau was established in India in 1897, and Scotland Yard followed with its own bureau in 1901.
- ↑ See "The Final Problem."
- ↑ See "The Adventure of the Empty House."
- ↑ Most Sherlockian chronologists agree "The Adventure of the Norwood Builder" is set in August 1894, two years after the publication of Finger Prints and seven years before Scotland Yard adopted fingerprinting. While it is not surprising to see Sherlock Holmes already familiar with the new science, it is interesting to find Inspector Lestrade putting it into practice.