The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes

Also known as the woman’s agent · the amiable and simple-minded Nonconformist clergyman · the drunken-looking groom

A brilliant consulting detective known for observation, deduction, and disguises. He investigates cases for clients including Irene Adler, Jabez Wilson, Helen Stoner, and Alexander Holder.

Irene Adler

Also known as the woman · Irene Norton · née Adler · Madame Norton

An American-born opera singer and actress who outwits Holmes and keeps a photograph that could compromise the King of Bohemia. She marries Godfrey Norton and leaves England with him.

Dr. Watson

Also known as Watson · Doctor

Holmes’s friend, former flatmate, doctor, and the narrator of these cases. He assists Holmes and records his investigations.

Wilhelm Gottsreich Sigismond von Ormstein

Also known as Count Von Kramm · the King of Bohemia · his Majesty

King of Bohemia and Grand Duke of Cassel-Felstein. He hires Holmes to recover a compromising photograph before marrying Clotilde Lothman von Saxe-Meningen.

Watson’s wife

Watson’s unnamed wife, whose family and home life draw him away from Holmes. She encourages him to join the Boscombe Valley case and is visiting her mother when the Openshaw case begins.

Mary Jane

Watson’s careless servant girl; his wife has given her notice.

Trepoff

A murder victim in Odessa, mentioned as the subject of a case Holmes solved.

the Atkinson brothers

Brothers involved in a tragedy at Trincomalee that Holmes solved; their individual names are not given.

Clotilde Lothman von Saxe-Meningen

Second daughter of the King of Scandinavia and the intended bride of the King of Bohemia. Her family’s strict principles make the compromising photograph a threat to the marriage.

Godfrey Norton

Also known as Mr. Norton

An English lawyer of the Inner Temple and Irene Adler’s husband. He marries her shortly before she leaves England.

John

Irene Adler’s coachman, whom she sends to watch Holmes.

the elderly servant

Also known as the elderly woman

Irene Adler’s unnamed servant, who tells Holmes that Irene has left England with her husband.

the clergyman

Also known as the surpliced clergyman

An unnamed clergyman at St. Monica’s Church who marries Irene Adler and Godfrey Norton.

the King of Scandinavia

Clotilde Lothman von Saxe-Meningen’s father and ruler of Scandinavia.

Mrs. Turner

Holmes and Watson’s landlady, who brings them food.

Jabez Wilson

Also known as Mr. Wilson

A red-haired pawnbroker who consults Holmes after a supposed job with the Red-Headed League abruptly ends.

Ezekiah Hopkins

Also known as the late Ezekiah Hopkins

A deceased American millionaire from Lebanon, Pennsylvania, whose bequest supposedly funds the Red-Headed League.

Duncan Ross

Also known as William Morris

The red-haired man who recruits Jabez Wilson into the supposed Red-Headed League. He uses the name William Morris while renting an office.

Vincent Spaulding

Jabez Wilson’s assistant, who directs him to the Red-Headed League and looks after his business. He is actually John Clay.

the fourteen-year-old girl

An unnamed girl who lives with Jabez Wilson and helps with cooking and cleaning.

the landlord

An unnamed accountant who rents an office to the man calling himself William Morris.

Sarasate

A musician whose performance at St. James’s Hall Holmes and Watson attend.

John Hare

Also known as Mr. John Hare

An actor Watson mentions as someone who could match Holmes’s disguise as a benevolent clergyman.

John Clay

Also known as the intruder · the criminal

A polished, highly skilled criminal with royal ancestry and a history of theft, murder, forgery, and fraud. He poses as Vincent Spaulding and tunnels from Wilson’s cellar into a bank.

Archie

Also known as the red-haired accomplice

John Clay’s small, pale accomplice with very red hair, whose coloring inspires the Red-Headed League scheme. He helps attempt the bank robbery and is caught by police waiting outside.

Peter Jones

Also known as Mr. Jones · the official police agent · the police agent

A Scotland Yard detective who joins Holmes and Watson in the bank robbery stakeout and helps capture John Clay and his accomplice.

Mr. Merryweather

Also known as the bank director · the chairman of directors

A director and chairman of the City branch bank whose French gold is targeted by the robbers. He accompanies Holmes and the police during the stakeout.

the inspector

Also known as the inspector of constabulary

An unnamed police inspector who waits with two officers at the bank entrance to catch the robbers.

the two officers

Also known as the officers waiting at the front door

Two unnamed police officers stationed at the bank entrance to help arrest the robbers.

Gustave Flaubert

A French writer whose words Holmes quotes about the value of work over the individual.

George Sand

A French writer to whom Gustave Flaubert wrote the words Holmes quotes.

the King of Holland

Also known as the reigning family of Holland

The reigning Dutch royal family, which gave Holmes a ring in gratitude for confidential service.

the husband in the Dundas separation case

An unnamed teetotaler whose wife’s separation case Holmes mentions; he habitually threw his false teeth at her after meals.

the wife in the Dundas separation case

The unnamed wife of the man in the Dundas separation case, who complained that he threw his false teeth at her.

Miss Mary Sutherland

Also known as Mary Sutherland

A short-sighted typist with an independent income who asks Holmes to find her missing fiancé, Hosmer Angel. She is James Windibank’s stepdaughter and remains devoted to the supposed fiancé after the deception is exposed.

Mrs. Etherege

A woman who recommended Holmes to Mary Sutherland after he found her husband, whom the police had given up for dead.

Mr. Etherege

Mrs. Etherege’s husband, whom Holmes found after the police had given him up for dead.

Hosmer Angel

Also known as Mr. Hosmer Angel · the disappearing bridegroom · the missing man

The supposed fiancé of Mary Sutherland, a shy, weak-voiced cashier with tinted glasses who disappeared on their wedding day. He is James Windibank’s disguise, intended to keep Mary from marrying.

James Windibank

Also known as Mr. Windibank · Mary Sutherland’s stepfather

Mary Sutherland’s much younger stepfather, a wine-company traveller who disguises himself as Hosmer Angel to prevent her marriage and preserve access to her income. Holmes exposes him, though Windibank escapes prosecution.

Mary Sutherland’s mother

Also known as her mother

Mary Sutherland’s unnamed mother, who marries James Windibank and assists his deception by supporting the supposed courtship.

Mary Sutherland’s father

Also known as her father

Mary’s deceased father, an unnamed plumber who left a business in Tottenham Court Road; his widow later sold it at Windibank’s urging.

Uncle Ned

Mary Sutherland’s deceased uncle in Auckland, who left her an investment that provides her independent income.

Mr. Hardy

Also known as the foreman

The foreman who helped Mary Sutherland’s mother run her late husband’s plumbing business and later accompanies her and Mary to a ball.

the coroner

An unnamed coroner who examines James McCarthy at the inquest into his father’s death.

the Dundas magistrate

Also known as the magistrate

An unnamed magistrate whose platitudes Holmes says can overshadow important details in police reports.

the Westhouse & Marbank employee

Also known as the traveller

An unnamed employee of the wine importers identified by the firm’s letter as James Windibank.

the man in the Marseilles case

An unnamed person involved in an intricate case referred to Holmes from Marseilles.

the man who suffered in the Afghanistan campaign

An unnamed patient whose bedside care occupies Watson on the day Holmes investigates James Windibank.

Sherlock Holmes’s client

An unnamed client whose case Holmes says is among the uninteresting matters he has on hand.

James McCarthy

Also known as young Mr. McCarthy · the son

The eighteen-year-old son of Charles McCarthy, accused of murdering his father at Boscombe Pool. He secretly married a barmaid as a teenager, loves Alice Turner, and is acquitted after Holmes establishes his innocence.

John Turner

Also known as Mr. Turner

A wealthy Australian landowner and former highway robber known as Black Jack of Ballarat. He killed Charles McCarthy to stop him forcing a marriage between their children, confessed to Holmes, and died seven months later.

Charles McCarthy

Also known as Mr. McCarthy · the murdered man · the father · McCarthy senior

An ex-Australian farmer and tenant of John Turner, found murdered beside Boscombe Pool. He blackmailed Turner over their shared past and pressured his son to marry Alice Turner.

William Crowder

Also known as the game-keeper

A gamekeeper employed by John Turner and a witness who saw James McCarthy walking toward Boscombe Pool after his father.

the old woman

An unnamed witness who saw Charles McCarthy walking alone from Hatherley Farm toward Boscombe Pool.

Patience Moran

A fourteen-year-old girl, daughter of the Boscombe Valley estate’s lodge-keeper. She witnesses the McCarthys quarrelling near the pool and later sees James arrive for help.

the lodge-keeper

The unnamed lodge-keeper of the Boscombe Valley estate and Patience Moran’s parent. James seeks the lodge-keeper after finding his father, and the lodge-keeper delivers Holmes’s note to John Turner.

John Cobb

Also known as the groom

Charles McCarthy’s groom, who accompanies him to Ross on the morning of the murder.

Lestrade

Also known as Mr. Lestrade

A Scotland Yard detective who investigates the Boscombe Valley murder and refers it to Holmes. He initially regards the evidence against James McCarthy as conclusive.

Alice Turner

Also known as Miss Turner

John Turner’s daughter and James McCarthy’s childhood friend, who insists he is innocent. She says Charles wanted them to marry, though both young people and her father opposed the match.

Dr. Willows

The doctor treating John Turner, who says Turner is gravely weakened and has a shattered nervous system.

John Turner’s wife

John Turner’s unnamed deceased wife and Alice’s mother.

Charles McCarthy’s wife

Charles McCarthy’s unnamed deceased wife and James’s mother.

the maid

An unnamed servant at Hatherley Farm who tells James that his father went to Ross with the groom, and later shows Holmes the men’s boots.

the servant-man

An unnamed male servant of Charles McCarthy who accompanies him to Ross before the murder.

the Bristol acquaintance

An unnamed person James McCarthy visits during his three-day stay in Bristol.

the juryman

An unnamed juryman who questions James McCarthy at the inquest about a grey object he recalls near his father’s body.

the surgeon

Also known as the surgeon at the inquest

An unnamed surgeon whose inquest testimony describes Charles McCarthy’s fatal skull injuries.

the barmaid wife

Also known as James McCarthy’s barmaid wife

An unnamed barmaid James McCarthy married at a registry office when young. She later writes that she has another husband in the Bermuda Dockyard and ends their tie.

the hotel waiter

An unnamed waiter who announces John Turner’s arrival at Holmes and Watson’s hotel.

the cab driver

Also known as John

An unnamed driver of Holmes’s dog-cart, paid and dismissed before Holmes and Watson travel to Lee.

John Openshaw

A young man from Horsham who consults Holmes after receiving a threatening letter and five orange pips. Nephew of Colonel Openshaw and son of Joseph Openshaw, he is later found dead in the Thames.

Colonel Openshaw

Also known as Elias Openshaw · my uncle

John Openshaw’s uncle, a former Confederate colonel and Florida planter who settled in Sussex. He fled America with Ku Klux Klan papers, burned most after a warning, and later died in a pond in circumstances ruled suicide.

Joseph Openshaw

Also known as John Openshaw’s father · my father

John’s father and Colonel Openshaw’s brother, who inherited the Sussex estate and the colonel’s money. After receiving a threatening letter and orange pips, he died in a chalk-pit fall ruled accidental.

the Openshaw grandfather

Also known as my grandfather

The unnamed grandfather of John Openshaw and father of Elias and Joseph Openshaw.

Mary

Colonel Openshaw’s unnamed servant, whom he asks John to tell to prepare a fire.

Mr. Fordham

Also known as the Horsham lawyer · the lawyer

The Horsham lawyer who witnesses Colonel Openshaw’s will.

Major Freebody

Also known as the major

An old friend of Joseph Openshaw who commands one of the forts on Portsdown Hill.

the inspector of police

Also known as the inspector

An unnamed police inspector who dismisses John Openshaw’s account of the threatening letters as a practical joke and assigns a policeman to guard him.

the policeman assigned to John Openshaw

An unnamed policeman assigned to remain at John Openshaw’s house for protection.

the passers-by

Unnamed people near Waterloo Bridge who try to help after hearing a cry and splash in the river.

Police-Constable Cook

Also known as Cook

An H Division constable on duty near Waterloo Bridge who hears a cry for help and a splash on the night John Openshaw dies.

Captain James Calhoun

Also known as Captain Calhoun

The captain of the barque Lone Star and leader of the gang Holmes identifies as responsible for the Openshaw family deaths.

the two mates

The unnamed mates aboard the Lone Star; Holmes identifies them, with Captain Calhoun, as the ship’s only native-born Americans and suspected gang members.

Isa Whitney

Watson’s friend and medical patient, and brother of Elias Whitney. He is addicted to opium and is found by Watson at the Bar of Gold.

Elias Whitney

Also known as the late Elias Whitney · Elias Whitney, D.D.

The late brother of Isa Whitney and Principal of the Theological College of St. George’s; mentioned by Watson.

Kate Whitney

Isa Whitney’s wife and an old friend and school companion of Watson’s wife. Worried when Isa disappears into an opium den, she asks Watson for help.

the Malay attendant

Also known as the attendant

An unnamed attendant at the Bar of Gold opium den who offers Watson a pipe and drug.

the manager of the Bar of Gold

Also known as the manager

The unnamed manager of the opium den in Upper Swandam Lane.

the rascally Lascar

Also known as the Lascar who runs the den

The unnamed proprietor of the Bar of Gold opium den, who has sworn vengeance on Holmes. He also operates the den where Neville St. Clair disguises himself as a beggar.

Neville St. Clair

Also known as Mr. St. Clair · Hugh Boone

A respectable Lee resident, husband, and father who secretly earns money as a professional beggar disguised as Hugh Boone. Holmes reveals his identity after his wife sees him at the opium den; he asks Holmes to keep the secret from his children.

Mrs. St. Clair

Also known as Neville St. Clair’s wife

Neville St. Clair’s unnamed wife and mother of their two children. She sees him at the opium den, presses Holmes to investigate, and receives a reassuring note and his signet ring.

the Dane

Also known as the Dane who acts as assistant

An unnamed Danish assistant at the opium den who helps the Lascar force Mrs. St. Clair back into the street.

the crippled lodger

An unnamed resident of the opium den’s second floor, found there during the search for Neville St. Clair.

Inspector Barton

Also known as the inspector

The inspector in charge of the initial investigation into Neville St. Clair’s disappearance. He searches the opium den and arrests Hugh Boone.

the two constables

Two unnamed constables who accompany Mrs. St. Clair and Inspector Barton to the opium den.

Neville St. Clair’s father

Also known as his father

An unnamed schoolmaster in Chesterfield who educated Neville St. Clair.

the editor

An unnamed editor of a London evening paper who assigns Neville St. Clair articles about begging.

the creditor

An unnamed creditor who serves Neville St. Clair with a writ over a bill he backed for a friend.

the Lascar’s sailor customer

An unnamed sailor customer who likely carried Neville St. Clair’s note and ring to his wife.

Mrs. Hudson

Holmes’s housekeeper, whom he considers asking to check a woodcock’s crop.

Peterson

Also known as the commissionaire

An honest commissionaire who brings Holmes a lost hat and goose, then finds the blue carbuncle in the goose’s crop.

the unknown hat owner

Also known as the unknown gentleman

The unnamed owner of the battered hat and Christmas goose, later identified as Henry Baker. Holmes deduces that he has fallen on hard times.

the roughs

Also known as a little knot of roughs

A group of unnamed men who quarrel with Henry Baker, knock off his hat, and cause him to flee.

the Countess of Morcar

Also known as the Countess

The owner of the blue carbuncle, stolen from her jewel-case at the Hotel Cosmopolitan. She offers a reward for its return.

John Horner

Also known as the plumber

A plumber accused of stealing the Countess of Morcar’s blue carbuncle after repairing a grate in her room. He insists he is innocent; James Ryder frames him.

James Ryder

Also known as John Robinson · the upper-attendant · the head attendant

The Hotel Cosmopolitan’s head attendant who steals the Countess of Morcar’s blue carbuncle and frames John Horner. He hides it in a goose, loses track of the bird, and is exposed by Holmes.

Catherine Cusack

Also known as the maid to the Countess · her ladyship’s waiting-maid

The Countess of Morcar’s maid, who tells James Ryder about the blue carbuncle and helps him frame John Horner.

the stable-boy

An unnamed stable boy who prepares Holmes and Watson’s horse and trap in Lee.

Inspector Bradstreet

Also known as Bradstreet

A tall, stout Bow Street inspector who lets Holmes see Hugh Boone in the cells and helps resolve Neville St. Clair’s case.

Henry Baker

Also known as Mr. Henry Baker

A learned, middle-aged man fallen on hard times who loses his hat and Christmas goose in a street scuffle. He belongs to the Alpha Inn’s goose club and knows nothing of the carbuncle hidden in the bird.

Henry Baker’s wife

An unnamed woman whom Holmes infers is Henry Baker’s wife, based on the Christmas goose and its identifying card.

Windigate

Also known as Mr. Windigate · the landlord of the Alpha Inn

The landlord of the Alpha Inn, who organized a goose club and bought geese from Breckinridge.

Breckinridge

Also known as Mr. Breckinridge

A Covent Garden poultry salesman who supplied geese to the Alpha Inn and sold Mrs. Oakshott’s poultry.

the boy at Breckinridge’s stall

Also known as Bill

An unnamed boy who works at Breckinridge’s stall and fetches the account books.

the little inquirer

An unnamed, rat-faced man who pesters Breckinridge about geese and is later revealed to be James Ryder.

Mrs. Oakshott

Also known as Maggie · Ryder’s sister

James Ryder’s sister, married to Mr. Oakshott, who fattens geese for market at her Brixton Road home. She gives Ryder his choice of a Christmas goose.

Mr. Oakshott

Also known as Oakshott

Mrs. Oakshott’s unnamed husband, mentioned as her spouse.

Maudsley

A former friend of James Ryder who served time in Pentonville and is said to know how thieves dispose of stolen goods.

Helen Stoner

Also known as Miss Stoner · Miss Roylott

A frightened young woman who asks Holmes to investigate her twin sister Julia’s mysterious death and a renewed threat to her own life. She lives with Dr. Grimesby Roylott and is engaged to Percy Armitage.

Mrs. Farintosh

A woman Holmes previously helped in a case concerning an opal tiara; she recommends him to Helen Stoner.

Dr. Grimesby Roylott

Also known as Dr. Roylott · the Doctor

Helen and Julia Stoner’s violent stepfather and the last survivor of the Roylotts of Stoke Moran. He tries to kill his stepdaughters with a trained snake and dies from its bite.

the last squire of Stoke Moran

Also known as the last squire

An unnamed impoverished Roylott who lived out his life in the old family house after the estates were lost.

the Regency gambler

Also known as a gambler

An unnamed Roylott heir whose gambling completed the family’s ruin.

the four successive heirs

Four unnamed Roylott heirs described as dissolute and wasteful; their excesses helped ruin the family.

the relative who financed Dr. Roylott

Also known as a relative

An unnamed relative who advanced money enabling Roylott to study medicine and go to Calcutta.

Dr. Roylott’s native butler

Also known as the native butler

An unnamed butler in India whom Roylott beat to death after a theft; Roylott was imprisoned for the killing.

Mrs. Stoner

Also known as Helen and Julia’s mother

Helen and Julia’s mother, a young widow who married Dr. Roylott in India. She left him her income with provisions for her daughters upon marriage and died in a railway accident near Crewe.

Major-General Stoner

Also known as the late Major-General Stoner

Mrs. Stoner’s deceased first husband and father of Helen and Julia.

Julia Stoner

Also known as Helen’s sister

Helen’s twin sister, who died two years before Helen consulted Holmes, shortly before her planned wedding. Her dying words included “The speckled band.”

Miss Honoria Westphail

Also known as Helen and Julia’s aunt

The unmarried sister of Mrs. Stoner, who lives near Harrow and sometimes hosted Helen and Julia.

the half-pay major of marines

Also known as Julia’s fiancé

An unnamed major whom Julia met at her aunt’s house and became engaged to shortly before her death.

Percy Armitage

Also known as Armitage

Helen Stoner’s longtime friend and fiancé, the second son of Mr. Armitage of Crane Water.

Mr. Armitage

Also known as Mr. Armitage of Crane Water

Percy Armitage’s father, who lives at Crane Water near Reading.

the local blacksmith

An unnamed blacksmith whom Dr. Roylott hurled over a parapet into a stream; Helen paid to prevent public exposure.

the village housekeeper

Also known as the housekeeper

An unnamed elderly servant at Stoke Moran who works in the house when Helen visits Holmes.

the county coroner

The unnamed coroner who investigates Julia Stoner’s death but cannot determine its cause.

the two village doctors

Also known as the doctors

Unnamed doctors who examine Julia Stoner for poison without finding any.

the village medical aid

An unnamed medical practitioner summoned when Julia Stoner collapses; help comes too late.

the village inn landlord

Also known as the landlord of the Crown

The unnamed landlord of the Crown Inn, who hears Holmes explain that he and Watson may spend the night visiting an acquaintance.

the Surrey trap driver

Also known as the driver

An unnamed driver who takes Holmes and Watson toward Stoke Moran and points out the house and a shortcut across the fields.

the lad driving Dr. Roylott

Also known as the boy who drove him

An unnamed boy who drives Dr. Roylott’s trap and struggles with the manor’s heavy iron gates.

the baboon

Dr. Roylott’s pet baboon, which roams freely around Stoke Moran and startles Holmes and Watson.

the cheetah

Dr. Roylott’s pet cheetah, which roams freely around Stoke Moran.

the swamp adder

Also known as the snake · the serpent · the terrible occupant

A deadly snake from India that Dr. Roylott trains to crawl through a ventilator and attack his stepdaughters. It bites and kills him after Holmes strikes it.

the guard

Also known as Watson’s old ally

An unnamed railway guard and former patient of Watson who brings Victor Hatherley to the doctor after his injury.

Watson’s maid

Also known as the maid at Watson’s consulting room

An unnamed servant who receives Victor Hatherley’s card when he arrives at Watson’s home.

Victor Hatherley

Also known as Mr. Hatherley

A young hydraulic engineer who comes to Holmes after a criminal attack in which his thumb is cut off. He recounts being lured to a remote house to inspect a machine.

the Paddington patient

An unnamed railway official whom Watson cured and who recommends Watson to other sufferers.

the Paddington guard

Also known as the old ally

An unnamed railway guard who escorts Hatherley to Watson’s consulting room.

the clerk at Victoria Street

Also known as Hatherley’s clerk

Victor Hatherley’s unnamed clerk, who announces that Colonel Lysander Stark is waiting to see him.

Colonel Lysander Stark

Also known as the colonel · Fritz · the sinister German

A suspicious German criminal who hires Victor Hatherley under a false story to inspect a hydraulic press used in counterfeiting. He traps Hatherley in the press, attacks him, and escapes with accomplices.

the woman at the house

Also known as the frightened woman · Elise · the beautiful woman

An unnamed woman at Stark’s remote house who speaks a foreign language and warns Hatherley to escape. She helps him flee and later leaves with the other criminals.

Mr. Ferguson

Also known as the secretary and manager · the fat manager

A short, thick man with a chinchilla beard, introduced as Stark’s secretary and manager. He accompanies Stark and Hatherley through the house.

the sleepy porter

Also known as the porter at Eyford

An unnamed porter with a lantern at Eyford station when Hatherley arrives late at night.

the hansom cab driver

An unnamed driver who takes Watson and Hatherley from Watson’s home to Baker Street.

Watson’s wife’s mother

Also known as her mother

Watson’s unnamed mother-in-law, whom Watson mentions when explaining his domestic life.

Colonel Warburton

A man whose madness is one of two cases Watson says he introduced to Holmes; no further details are given.

Jeremiah Hayling

Also known as the missing hydraulic engineer

A twenty-six-year-old hydraulic engineer who disappeared after going out at night to overhaul Stark’s machine. His fate is not given.

the plain-clothes man

An unnamed Scotland Yard detective who accompanies Holmes, Watson, Inspector Bradstreet, and Hatherley to Eyford.

Dr. Becher

An English doctor whose house burns down near Eyford; a foreign patient is staying with him.

the station-master

The unnamed Eyford station-master who reports the fire at Dr. Becher’s house and describes the doctor and his foreign patient.

the peasant

An unnamed peasant who sees a cart carrying several people and bulky boxes speeding toward Reading after the criminals flee.

the silent Englishman

Also known as the morose Englishman

An unnamed English accomplice in Stark’s gang. Holmes suspects he helped Elise carry the unconscious Hatherley away from the burning house.

Lord Robert St. Simon

Also known as Lord St. Simon · Robert St. Simon · Lord Robert Walsingham de Vere St. Simon · the noble bachelor · the bridegroom

A British peer and second son of the Duke of Balmoral who marries Hatty Doran. His bride disappears on their wedding day after her former husband reappears.

Hatty Doran

Also known as Miss Hatty Doran · Lady St. Simon · Mrs. Francis Hay Moulton

A Californian heiress who marries Lord Robert St. Simon, then leaves him after seeing her first husband at the wedding. She had believed Frank dead and promised to wait for him.

Francis Hay Moulton

Also known as Frank · Mr. Moulton · Mr. Francis H. Moulton · the gentleman in the pew

Hatty Doran’s first husband, whom she secretly married in a mining camp before he left to seek his fortune. Presumed dead after an Apache attack, he survives captivity and reunites with her in London.

Aloysius Doran

Also known as Mr. Aloysius Doran · Pa · Hatty Doran’s father

A wealthy California mining magnate and Hatty Doran’s father. He opposed her engagement to Frank Moulton and brought her to England, where she married Lord St. Simon.

Lord Backwater

A peer who recommends Holmes to Lord Robert St. Simon and offers his country home near Petersfield for the honeymoon.

the Duke of Balmoral

Lord Robert St. Simon’s father, formerly Secretary for Foreign Affairs and head of a financially strained noble family.

the Duchess of Balmoral

Lord Robert St. Simon’s mother, present at his wedding.

Lord Eustace St. Simon

Lord Robert St. Simon’s younger brother, present at the wedding.

Lady Clara St. Simon

Lord Robert St. Simon’s younger sister, present at the wedding.

Lady Alicia Whittington

A guest at Lord Robert St. Simon and Hatty Doran’s wedding.

the unnamed woman at the wedding breakfast

Also known as the woman who claimed to Lord St. Simon

An unnamed woman who tries to force her way into Aloysius Doran’s house after the wedding, claiming a connection to Lord St. Simon. The text does not identify her further.

the butler

An unnamed servant who helps eject the woman who interrupts the wedding party at the Doran house.

the footman

Also known as one of the footmen

An unnamed servant at the Doran house who sees a woman leave wearing an ulster and bonnet but does not realize she is the bride.

Alice

Also known as Hatty Doran’s maid

Hatty Doran’s American maid from California and friend of Frank Moulton. She helps Hatty prepare to leave the wedding breakfast and keep their reunion quiet.

Flora Millar

Also known as Miss Flora Millar

A former danseuse at the Allegro who had been closely attached to Lord St. Simon. Arrested after causing a disturbance at the Doran house, she is wrongly suspected of abducting the bride.

the clergyman at St. George’s

An unnamed clergyman who performs Lord St. Simon and Hatty Doran’s wedding.

the park-keeper

An unnamed park-keeper who finds Hatty Doran’s wedding clothes floating near the Serpentine.

the page-boy

Holmes and Watson’s unnamed page-boy, who announces Lord Robert St. Simon.

the confectioner’s man

An unnamed deliveryman who brings supper to Holmes and Watson’s rooms.

the youth accompanying the confectioner’s man

An unnamed youth who helps unpack and lay out supper at Holmes and Watson’s lodging.

Alexander Holder

Also known as Mr. Holder

The senior partner of Holder & Stevenson, a London banking firm. He asks Holmes to investigate the theft and damage of the Beryl Coronet, accepted as loan security.

the exalted client

Also known as the noble client · the owner of the Beryl Coronet

An unnamed, exceptionally high-ranking Englishman who pledges the Beryl Coronet to Alexander Holder as security for a short-term loan. His identity is not disclosed.

Arthur Holder

Also known as Arthur · Holder’s son

Alexander Holder’s only son, a pleasure-loving gambler who has repeatedly asked his father for money. He is innocent of stealing the coronet and stays silent to protect his cousin Mary, whom he loves.

Lucy Parr

Also known as Lucy · the second waiting-maid

A young servant in Alexander Holder’s household. She has admirers and is reported to have slipped out of the house on the night the coronet was damaged.

Sir George Burnwell

Also known as Sir George

A charming, worldly gambler and dangerous villain who draws Arthur Holder into dissolute company. He seduces Mary Holder and steals the coronet’s missing gems, then flees with her.

Mary Holder

Also known as Mary · Holder’s niece

Alexander Holder’s niece, whom he adopted as his daughter after her father died. She loves Sir George Burnwell, helps him steal the coronet, and flees with him; she had also been loved by Arthur.

Alexander Holder’s brother

Also known as Holder’s brother

The deceased father of Mary Holder, who left her an orphan five years before the coronet case.

Holder’s cashier

Also known as the cashier

An unnamed bank cashier whom Alexander Holder instructs to pay the exalted client fifty £1,000 notes.

the inspector who recommends Holmes

Also known as the police inspector

An unnamed police inspector who suggests that Alexander Holder seek Holmes’s help in the coronet case.

the housemaid

An unnamed servant in Alexander Holder’s household, sent to summon the police after Holder discovers the damaged coronet.

the constable

An unnamed constable who enters Alexander Holder’s house with the inspector to investigate the coronet theft.

Miss Violet Hunter

Also known as Violet Hunter · Miss Hunter

A resourceful governess who consults Holmes about an unusually well-paid position at the Copper Beeches. She discovers clues that Alice Rucastle is imprisoned there and helps Holmes investigate; she later becomes head of a successful private school at Walsall.

Colonel Spence Munro

Also known as the colonel

Violet Hunter’s former employer, who moves to Halifax, Nova Scotia, with his children, leaving her without a position.

Miss Stoper

The manager of Westaway’s governess agency, who interviews Violet Hunter and passes her address to Jephro Rucastle.

Jephro Rucastle

Also known as Mr. Rucastle

A wealthy Hampshire householder who hires Violet Hunter as governess under strange conditions. He imprisons his daughter Alice and uses Hunter to impersonate her; the mastiff savages him, leaving him a broken man cared for by his wife.

Mrs. Rucastle

Also known as Mr. Rucastle’s wife

Jephro Rucastle’s much younger second wife and mother of his son Edward. She helps maintain the deception around Alice and remains devoted to her husband, caring for him after he is horribly injured.

Edward Rucastle

Also known as little Edward · the child

Jephro and Mrs. Rucastle’s spoiled, cruel young son, whose violent disposition alarms Violet Hunter and Holmes.

Alice Rucastle

Also known as Mr. Rucastle’s daughter · the prisoner · Miss Alice · Miss Rucastle

Jephro Rucastle’s adult daughter by his first wife, confined by her father after she refuses to sign away control of her money. She marries her devoted suitor Mr. Fowler after escaping the Copper Beeches.

the man in the Southampton Road

Also known as the small bearded man

An unnamed man who watches Violet Hunter at the Copper Beeches, apparently Alice Rucastle’s suitor or friend.

Toller

Also known as old Toller · the groom · the elderly man with a red face

Jephro Rucastle’s rough, frequently drunk servant and groom. He alone can control the mastiff; after Rucastle returns, he hurries for help when the dog attacks him.

Toller’s wife

Also known as Mrs. Toller

An unnamed, tall, strong, sour-faced servant at the Copper Beeches, married to Toller. She is Alice’s friend and explains to Holmes how Rucastle imprisoned his daughter and how Mr. Fowler helped her escape.

Carlo

Also known as the mastiff

Jephro Rucastle’s savage mastiff, kept chained by day and released at night to guard the Copper Beeches. It attacks Rucastle after being left unfed and is shot by Watson.

Lord Southerton

The owner of the wooded preserves surrounding the Copper Beeches; mentioned but does not appear.

the man with a wooden leg

Also known as Wooden-leg

An unnamed greengrocer’s deliveryman and Lucy Parr’s sweetheart, identified as Francis Prosper. He meets her by the kitchen entrance at Fairbank.

Francis Prosper

Also known as the greengrocer

A greengrocer who delivers vegetables to Fairbank and is Lucy Parr’s sweetheart. He has a wooden leg and is seen meeting her at the kitchen entrance.

Mr. Fowler

Also known as the seaman · Alice Rucastle’s suitor

A kind-spoken, free-handed seaman who falls in love with Alice Rucastle and persists despite her father’s efforts to separate them. He helps her escape and marries her in Southampton; he later holds a government appointment in Mauritius.