The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet

The Adventure of The Beryl Coronet is one of the most frustrating to try and pin down as to date and specific location. It has been deemed to take place between 1882 and 1891. It is one of 12 Sherlock Holmes short stories in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and was first published in The Strand Magazine in 1892. Alexander Holder, senior partner in the second largest private banking firm in the City, comes to beg Holmes’ help. He has lent money to a well-known aristocrat taking the famous Beryl coronet as collateral. Worried about its safety in the bank’s vaults he takes it home with him to his villa in Streatham. He only tells his son and niece that he has done this. During the night he awakens and finds his son holding the coronet which is now broken with three of the Beryls missing. The son refuses to explain the situation. The case against him appears overwhelming. Holmes again proves that appearances can be deceptive and those who appear beyond reproach may not be so.