The Copper Beeches – Arthur Conan Doyle

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The story at a glance

"The Adventure of the Copper Beeches" (1892) by Arthur Conan Doyle — the last of the twelve stories in×The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes×.
Narrated by Dr Watson. A young governess, Violet Hunter, asks Sherlock Holmes whether to accept a strangely well-paid post with Mr Jephro Rucastle at the Copper Beeches, near Winchester.
Rucastle's odd demands — cut her hair short, wear an electric-blue dress, sit with her back to the window — hide a crime: he has imprisoned his daughter Alice to control her money.
Key ideas: appearance and reality, women's vulnerability and courage, greed and control, the menace of the isolated countryside, reason and deduction.

The offer

The story opens with Holmes complaining that his cases are becoming trivial — and that Watson's accounts dwell on the sensational.
Violet Hunter, a governess who earned £4 a month, is offered £100 a year by the fat, smiling Rucastle — if she will cut her hair quite short.
She refuses, then accepts a raised offer of £120 a year: very few governesses earn so much. Holmes warns there must be a strong reason behind it.
Rucastle's little son Edward delights in killing cockroaches with a slipper — "Smack! smack! smack!" — a sign of cruelty in the family.
Holmes, impatient for facts: "Data! data! data! I can't make bricks without clay."

Strange happenings

Violet must wear an electric-blue dress and sit with her back to the window while Rucastle tells funny stories.
Using a piece of broken mirror hidden in her handkerchief, she sees a man watching from the Southampton road; she is then told to wave him away.
The mastiff Carlo, starved and savage, is let loose every night; only the drunken servant Toller can handle him.
In a locked drawer she finds a coil of hair exactly like the hair she cut off — but hers is still in her trunk.
A locked, empty wing of the house frightens her; Rucastle threatens to throw her to the mastiff if she crosses the threshold.

Holmes solves it

On the train, Holmes tells Watson that "the lowest and vilest alleys in London do not present a more dreadful record of sin than does the smiling and beautiful countryside" — isolation lets crime go unseen.
He deduces the truth: Violet is being used to impersonate Rucastle's daughter Alice — to convince Alice's suitor that Alice is happy and no longer wants him.
Alice, entitled to money by will, refused to sign it over to her father; after brain-fever her hair was cut, and she was imprisoned in the locked wing.
Her fiancé, the seaman Mr Fowler, won over Mrs Toller and kept Toller supplied with drink; with a ladder, Alice escapes before Holmes arrives.
Rucastle, thinking Holmes has stolen her, lets the dog loose — the starving Carlo attacks Rucastle. Watson shoots the dog; Rucastle survives, "a broken man".

The ending

Alice and Fowler marry by special licence in Southampton; he takes a post in Mauritius.
The Rucastles live on with their old servants, who "know so much" that he cannot dismiss them.
Violet Hunter becomes head of a private school at Walsall.
Watson notes, "rather to my disappointment", that Holmes showed no further interest in her once she stopped being "the centre of one of his problems".

Methods and themes

First-person narrator (Watson) — admiring, and slightly behind Holmes, so the reader is kept in suspense.
Gothic elements: an isolated house, a locked wing, a savage dog, a hidden prisoner.
Appearance and reality: Rucastle's jolly smiles; the beautiful countryside hiding sin.
Women's position: Violet's courage and intelligence; Alice's powerlessness over her own inheritance.
Structure: a mystery built from strange clues, a reveal, then a violent climax where the villain's weapon turns on him (poetic justice).
Section B pairings: "A Warning to the Curious" (suspense), "Gabriel-Ernest" (danger in the countryside), "George Silverman's Explanation" (greed and inheritance).

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Übungsfragen

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1.Who narrates 'The Copper Beeches'?
Easy
- ADr Watson
- BSherlock Holmes
- CViolet Hunter
- DMr Rucastle
2.What is Violet Hunter's job?
Easy
- ANurse
- BCook
- CSecretary
- DGoverness
3.Near which city is the Copper Beeches?
Easy
- ABath
- BOxford
- CWinchester
- DLondon
4.What unusual demand does Rucastle make of Violet's appearance?
Medium
- AWear a veil
- BCut her hair quite short
- CDye her hair blue
- DWear spectacles
5.What salary does Violet finally accept?
Medium
- A£120 a year
- B£4 a month
- C£40 a year
- D£1,000 a year
6.What does little Edward enjoy doing?
Medium
- AReading poetry
- BFeeding the dog
- CPlaying the piano
- DKilling cockroaches with a slipper
7.What does Holmes cry when he lacks information?
Medium
- AThe game is afoot!
- BQuick, Watson, the dog!
- CData! data! data! I can't make bricks without clay.
- DElementary, my dear Watson.
8.What colour dress must Violet wear?
Medium
- AScarlet
- BElectric blue
- CBlack
- DWhite

Mehr Fragen

9.How does Violet see the man in the road behind her?
Medium
- AWith a piece of broken mirror hidden in her handkerchief
- BBy turning round
- CThrough a telescope
- DMrs Toller tells her
10.What is the name of the mastiff?
Medium
- AToby
- BRex
- CHector
- DCarlo
11.What does Violet find in a locked drawer?
Medium
- AA letter from Alice
- BThe key to the empty wing
- CA coil of hair exactly like her own
- DA pistol
12.Why has Rucastle hired Violet?
Medium
- ATo guard the dog
- BTo impersonate his daughter and deceive her suitor
- CTo teach Alice
- DTo marry her
13.Why did Rucastle imprison Alice?
Medium
- ATo make her sign over money she had by will
- BBecause she was ill
- CTo stop her going to school
- DBecause she stole from him
14.Who is Alice's fiancé?
Medium
- AMr Toller
- BColonel Spence Munro
- CDr Watson
- DMr Fowler, a seaman
15.What happens to Rucastle at the climax?
Medium
- AHe escapes to America
- BHe falls down the stairs
- CHis own starving mastiff attacks him
- DHe is arrested by Holmes
16.What is Holmes's view of the 'smiling and beautiful countryside'?
Medium
- AIt is full of art
- BIts isolation allows more dreadful sin than London's worst alleys
- CIt is safer than the city
- DIt is boring
17.What does Watson regret at the end?
Medium
- AThat Holmes showed no further interest in Violet once the case was over
- BThat Rucastle survived
- CThat Alice married
- DThat he shot the dog
18.Why is the ending an example of poetic justice?
Medium
- AViolet becomes rich
- BHolmes is thanked
- CToller stops drinking
- DThe dog Rucastle used to terrorise others turns on him
19.Which of Rucastle's requests are strange? (select all that apply)
Medium
- ATeach Edward French
- BTake Sundays off
- CCut her hair short
- DWear an electric-blue dress
- ESit with her back to the window
20.Which Gothic features does the story contain? (select all that apply)
Medium
- AA cheerful picnic
- BAn isolated house
- CA locked, forbidden wing
- DA savage dog
- EA crowded city street
21.Which details show Violet's courage and intelligence? (select all that apply)
Medium
- AUsing a mirror in her handkerchief
- BExploring the locked wing
- CSeeking Holmes's advice
- DFainting at the first danger
- ESigning Alice's papers
22.Violet refuses to cut her hair at first.
Easy
True or false?
23.Alice is really in Philadelphia, as Rucastle claims.
Easy
True or false?
24.Mrs Toller helps Alice escape.
Easy
True or false?
25.Holmes finds Alice still locked in the room.
Medium
True or false?
26.Rucastle dies from the dog's attack.
Medium
True or false?
27.Violet becomes head of a school in Walsall.
Medium
True or false?
28.Alice and Fowler marry and go to Mauritius.
Medium
True or false?
29.Match each character to their role.
Medium
- Violet Hunter
- Jephro Rucastle
- Alice Rucastle
- Mr Fowler
- Brave governess who seeks Holmes's help
- Smiling villain
- Imprisoned daughter
- Faithful seaman fiancé
30.Match each clue to what it reveals.
Medium
- The short hair
- The electric-blue dress
- The man in the road
- The coil of hair
- Violet must look like Alice
- Alice's own dress
- Fowler, watching the house
- Alice's hair, cut off during illness
31.Put these events in order.
Medium
- Carlo attacks Rucastle
- Violet consults Holmes about the offer
- Violet finds the coil of hair
- Holmes and Watson find the locked room empty
32.Complete Holmes's words.
Easy
I can't make bricks without ____.
33.Complete the sentence.
Medium
Rucastle's drunken servant is called ____.
34.Complete the quotation.
Medium
the lowest and vilest alleys in London do not present a more dreadful record of sin than does the smiling and beautiful ____.
35.What is the name of Rucastle's daughter?
Easy
36.In which town does Violet end up running a school?
Medium
37.Explain how Doyle builds suspense at the Copper Beeches.
Medium
38.Explore how Doyle presents Violet Hunter.
Hard

Lernnotizen

## Overview - Arthur Conan Doyle, **1892** (*The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes*). Narrated by **Watson**. ## Plot - Governess **Violet Hunter** (£4 a month) offered **£100**, then **£120 a year** by **Jephro Rucastle** of the Copper Beeches, near **Winchester** — if she **cuts her hair**. Son **Edward** kills cockroaches. Holmes: "Data! data! data! I can't make bricks without clay." - **Electric-blue** dress; back to the window; **mirror in her handkerchief** shows a man in the road. Mastiff **Carlo**; drunken **Toller**. **Coil of hair**; **locked wing**; threat of the dog. - Holmes: "the smiling and beautiful **countryside**" worse than London's alleys. - Truth: Violet impersonates **Alice**, imprisoned for refusing to sign away money left by will; fiancé **Mr Fowler** + **Mrs Toller** + ladder → escape. **Carlo attacks Rucastle**; Watson shoots it. - Rucastle "a broken man"; Alice and Fowler to **Mauritius**; Violet heads a school at **Walsall**; Holmes loses interest. ## Themes - Appearance vs reality; women and money; greed; isolation; poetic justice.

Governess: A woman employed to teach children in a private household.
Impersonation: Pretending to be someone else — Violet posing as Alice.
Gothic: Fiction with dark, isolated settings, secrets and terror.
Poetic justice: A villain punished by his own evil — Rucastle and the dog.
Deduction: Reasoning from evidence to a conclusion.
Special licence: Permission to marry quickly without the usual waiting period.
Narrator: The storyteller — here Dr Watson.
Red herring: A misleading clue.

Karteikarten

Who asks Holmes for help?

Violet Hunter, a governess.

The strange condition of the job?

Cut her hair quite short.

Salary accepted?

£120 a year.

Holmes's cry for facts?

'Data! data! data! I can't make bricks without clay.'

How does Violet see the watcher?

With a piece of broken mirror hidden in her handkerchief.

The dog?

Carlo, a starving mastiff let loose at night.

What is in the drawer?

A coil of hair exactly like Violet's — Alice's.

Why was Alice imprisoned?

To force her to sign over money left to her by will.

How does Rucastle end up?

Mauled by his own dog; 'a broken man'.

Holmes on the countryside?

It has a more dreadful record of sin than London's vilest alleys.

What happens to Violet?

She becomes head of a private school at Walsall.

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