The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle

By Arthur Conan Doyle

The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle, the only Holmes mystery set during the Christmas season, is the seventh story of twelve in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. During the festive season, newspapers report the theft of the near priceless jewel, The Blue Carbuncle, from the hotel suite of the Countess of Morcar. John Horner, a plumber and a previously convicted felon, is soon arrested for the theft. When the Blue Carbuncle appears in a goose's crop to an acquaintance of Sherlock Holmes, the hunt is on for the real thief. In the process, Holmes pretends to be an expert in geese husbandry to gain the information needed to vindicate John Horner.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dreamscape Media
• Release date: Aug 15, 2017
• ISBN: 9781974996988

Arthur Conan Doyle

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930) was a Scottish writer and physician, most famous for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes and long-suffering sidekick Dr Watson. Conan Doyle was a prolific writer whose other works include fantasy and science fiction stories, plays, romances, poetry, non-fiction and historical novels.

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cover.jpg

THE ADVENTURE

OF

THE BLUE CARBUNCLE

By

SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE

This edition published by Dreamscape Media LLC, 2017

www.dreamscapeab.com * [e-mail]

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THE ADVENTURE OF THE BLUE CARBUNCLE

I had called upon my friend Sherlock Holmes upon the second morning after Christmas, with the intention of wishing him the compliments of the season. He was lounging upon the sofa in a purple dressing-gown, a pipe-rack within his reach upon the right, and a pile of crumpled morning papers, evidently newly studied, near at hand. Beside the couch was a wooden chair, and on the angle of the back hung a very seedy and disreputable hard-felt hat, much the worse for wear, and cracked in several places. A lens and a forceps lying upon the seat of the chair suggested that the hat had been suspended in this manner for the purpose of examination.

You are engaged, said I; perhaps I interrupt you.

Not at all. I am glad to have a friend with whom I can discuss my results. The matter is a perfectly trivial one—he jerked his thumb in the direction of the old hat—but there are points in connection with it which are not entirely devoid of interest and even of instruction.

I seated myself in his armchair and warmed my hands before his crackling fire, for a sharp frost had set in, and the windows were thick with the ice crystals. I suppose, I remarked, that, homely as it looks, this thing has some deadly story linked on to it—that it is the clue which will guide you in the solution of some mystery and the punishment of some crime.

No, no. No crime, said Sherlock Holmes, laughing. Only one of those whimsical little incidents which will happen when you have four million human beings all jostling each other within the space of a few square miles. Amid the action and reaction of so dense a swarm of humanity, every possible combination of events may be expected to take place, and many a little problem will be presented which may be striking and bizarre without being criminal. We have already had experience of such.

So much so, I remarked, "that of the last six cases which I

Reviews for The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle

[john257hopper · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is Conan Doyle's Christmas Sherlock Holmes story, about a lost jewel concealed within the crop of a Christmas goose. It's a good story that manages to combine Christmas humour with a serious backdrop of a man wrongly accused with the theft of the jewel. Not one of Conan Doyle's very best, but always comes up well.

[kristelh_15 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A little Christmas story free from audible. A little grace handed out by Sherlock to one unfortunate man and a would be crook.

[grothenberger-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A classic Holmes story, and a classic reader. While I'm not a huge fan of Holmes, I've always enjoyed Alan Cumming's performances. He makes this one of the best readings I've heard in a long time. He distinguishes voices very clearly, and makes characters of different classes sound eerily accurate. The story, while not complex, is interesting. Really, though, it's the reading that makes it all worthwhile. If you can, get this edition.

[jlapac-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A short story or novella that I enjoyed, but didn't have much to it. I did enjoy turning over the word "carbuncle" in my mind. It is a word that we don't hear very often and certainly don't attribute to beautiful gems.

[fmrox · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Short story occurring during Christmas time about a missing goose. No murder involved. Minimal violence. Would be rated PG-13 if a movie!Enjoyable short about Sherlock discovery of a goose and hat found by local constable. Not complicated, but easily Sherlock.

[yougotamber · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Cute short Holmes mystery. Because it was so short, you really didn't get a chance to fall into the story like Doyle's longer works.

[mrslee_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

James Alexander narrates these one story wonders. I enjoyed the reading very much. This makes a great Christmas story, but always makes me want to eat goose for dinner.

[cbl_tn · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

At Christmastime, Sherlock Holmes is tasked with returning a lost goose to its rightful owner, whose identity Holmes deduces from the hat he lost with the goose. The case gains a new urgency when the goose is discovered to hold a valuable secret. This is one of the more familiar Holmes stories since it’s often included in anthologies of Christmas mysteries. It’s a good entry point to the Holmes canon. Holmes gives a magical performance as he extracts a man from his hat!