Note: the tab marked "Explanation" reveals the ending of the story. Do not view that if you are reading the story for the first time and do not want to spoil your enjoyment.
| Title: | The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier | Collection: | The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year published: | 1926 (October) | Year set in: | 1903 |
| Mystery: | Why is a man's whereabouts being kept secret? | ||
| Apparent crime: | None | Actual crime: | Shown below (possible spoiler) |
| Summary: | When a former soldier tries to contact his friend, he finds the latter's family secretive and hostile. | ||
- Introduction
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After fighting in the Boer War, James Dodd tries to contact his closest friend, Godfrey Emsworth, who had been injured in the war. After receiving a couple of letters, the contacts dry up and, when he inquires with the family, he finds them evasive and secretive.
- Actual crime
- None
- Explanation (spoiler alert)
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Emsworth had appeared to have contracted leprosy and they were keeping him hidden to avoid him being taken away.
- Quotations in this story (3)
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Quote "You see everything."
"I see no more than you, but I have trained myself to notice what I see.""How do you know?" he gasped, sitting down heavily in his chair.
"It is my business to know things. That is my trade.""That process," said I, "starts upon the supposition that when you have eliminated all which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."
- Characters in this story (1)
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Surname First name Title Holmes Sherlock
- Locations in this story (2)
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Location Town/City County 221b Baker Street London Tuxbury Old Park Near Bedford Bedfordshire
- Other notes
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Narrated by Holmes. Reported that Watson has remarried.
- Keywords
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James Dodd Tuxbury Godfrey Emsworth Ralph leprosy Kent Baldy Simpson Anderson Saunders