The Adventure of the Totally Cryptic Story

Last updated on: March 26, 2021 at 6:50 am by Philip Jenkins

The Adventure of the Totally Cryptic Story 2021-03-26T06:50:35-04:00 Philip Jenkins

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I have a dilemma. I want to rave about a literary work that depends upon a wonderful twist of the plot, which you would never see coming until it actually hits you. But if I tell you the twist, or even that there is a twist, then I detract from the power of the story, even if I don’t actually ruin it. On the other hand, if I tell you nothing about the story at all, then perhaps you would never discover it. What on earth to do? Here is my compromise. I am going to tell you about a story, which is one of the Sherlock Holmes stories of Arthur Conan Doyle. But I will not actually tell you which one it is except in a link, which leaves you the option of following it or not.

Doyle often used US themes and ideas for his stories. Variously, he dealt with the Molly Maguires, with Chicago gangsters, and with Mormon Danite death squads roaming London. In some matters, he presented views that were amazingly liberal or radical for the time, and that was especially true in matters of race. In 1882, he had a transformational encounter with the leading Black American activist Henry Highland Garnet, a former slave and abolitionist, who shared with Doyle his radical perspective on recent US history.

We see that impact in several later Doyle stories. In the 1891 “The Five Orange Pips,” a series of dreadful crimes in England is traced back to the Ku Klux Klan, which is depicted as a cultish homicidal gang – as international terrorists, in fact. But to appreciate just how sneakily subversive the story is, you have to read it very carefully. To explain the Klan, Holmes refers to an American Encyclopedia which states that the organization was opposed by the US government, and by “the better classes of the community in the South.” Well, in that case, why was the Klan out to kill American fugitives in England? The victims are former Klan associates who have absconded with records revealing the organization’s inmost secrets, and these powerfully suggest that the “better classes” were in reality deeply involved in the movement, whatever the encyclopedia might have said. As Holmes explains: “You can understand that this register and diary may implicate some of the first men in the South, and that there may be many who will not sleep easy at night until it is recovered.” Hmm, I wonder what real life Southern leaders – or indeed, what esteemed Confederate veterans – we are meant to think of as being so desperate to conceal their secret Klan involvement?

Do note that the story never overtly points out the contradiction between the “better classes” remark, and “the first men in the south.” Blink and you will miss it, but Doyle is subtly mocking the way in which official American histories and stolid encyclopedias are misleadingly trying to draw a sharp line to separate the terrorist violence of the Reconstruction years from the established power of the Democratic state regimes after 1877. That is a fascinating sidelight on the evolution of the Lost Cause mythology in these years. It is also pretty good for a story written only a decade or so after the end of Reconstruction. Just how much had Garnet told Doyle? The story’s American political context fits the date of that 1882 meeting much better than it does the actual publication date of 1891.

That brings me to the cryptic story that I want to discuss here, which was published in 1893, and I stress the date. The story centrally concerns race, and specifically relations between a black American man and a white woman. Both in the US and Britain at this time, racist ideas of white supremacy were very widespread, and were being given scientific support. Yet Holmes’s story assumes that the reader should have no negative feelings whatever towards mixed marriage, or to a mixed-race child (and a very dark-skinned child at that). When a character turns out to have highly liberal and accepting opinions on such issues, Dr. Watson is delighted to observe the fact, and the reader is encouraged to share his “stand up and cheer” position. For the time, this is mind-boggling. The story had to have a couple of small but significant edits before it could be published in the US.

The story in question is sadly under-rated, and is not as often read or dramatized as some. I don’t think there has ever been a film version (Sorry, I see there is a 1921 short: happy centennial!) For much of its history, the story in question was dismissed as minor throwaway Holmesiana. That is grossly unfair. Its racial message apart, it is perhaps the nearest thing to a comic story of Holmes, where he turns out to have read the situation totally and embarrassingly wrongly, and is duly penitent for his stupidity. It’s really funny.

If you decide you want to read the story, even though you will now know the plot twist, then please follow this link. You can read more about it here. And do see the illustration.

We often hear about authors being denounced for expressing racist ideas in their work, which for some raises questions about how or even whether they should still be read today. How very pleasant, then, to have the opposite issue, of highlighting a long dead author who by the standards of 2021 is self-evidently right.

On a somewhat related matter, for connoisseurs of the Benedict Cumberbatch Sherlock series, one great line of my Cryptic Story features prominently in the 2017 episode of “The Six Thatchers.” I’m not sure that even the obsessive Sherlock fans appreciated all the resonances in that reference, so let me explain. Bear with me on this one, it’s devious:

1.My original Cryptic Story takes place in Norbury. At the end, Sherlock asks Watson to use the name as a call to modesty: “if it should ever strike you that I am getting a little over-confident in my powers, or giving less pains to a case than it deserves, kindly whisper ‘Norbury’ in my ear, and I shall be infinitely obliged to you.”

2.Fast forward to the twentieth century, IN REAL LIFE, when probably the most dangerous and effective Soviet spy in Britain was Melita Norwood. She was a seemingly bland, harmless, and even dowdy middle-aged secretary, who had a kind of secret identity. For several decades. she was passing key secrets to the Soviets. She was exposed in 1999.

3.In the episode of “The Six Thatches,” Sherlock meets a seemingly bland, harmless, and even dowdy middle-aged secretary, named Vivian Norbury, who had a kind of secret identity. She turns out to be a lethal assassin, who kills Mary Watson. Her career, like her name, was clearly inspired by Melita Norwood.

4.At the end of “The Six Thatchers,” Sherlock asks Mrs Hudson, “If you ever think I’m becoming a bit full of myself. Cocky or overconfident. Would you just say the word “Norbury” to me. Would you? … I’d be very grateful.”

So somebody else read that Cryptic Story.

Philip Jenkins

Henry Highland Garnet

Previous Post

March 25, 2021

White Evangelical Racism

Next Post

March 27, 2021 "Praise the Lord and Pass the Ball": Basketball and the Rise, Fall, and Rebirth of Oral Roberts University

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category abolitionism Abortion Abraham Joshua Heschel Abraham Kuyper Abraham Lincoln Academia Activism Adam Renberg Advent Adventist africa African American Religion Agnes Howard Albert Camus American History American Religious History American Revolution American West Anabaptists Ancient History Andrea Turpin Andrei Tarkovsky Anglicanism Annales Ansley Lillian Quiros anti-Catholicism Antisemitism Anxious Bench apologetics Apparitions Arash Azizi Archaeology archives art Artificial Intelligence Asia Asian Americans Augustine Authors Bad Bunny Baptism Baptists Barack Obama Battle of Hastings Benjamin Franklin Bernard-Henri Levy Beth Allison Barr Beth Moore Bethany Mannon Bible Bill Cunningham Billy Graham Black Music Bob Dylan Body Boenhoffer Books Breastfeeding Bruce Springsteen C.S. Lewis Calvinism Cancel Culture Capitalism Carmelites Catholicism Cedric Robinson Cesar Chavez Charismaticism charity Charles Dickens Charles Lindbergh Che Guevara Chicago Children Chinese Christianity Chris Gehrz Christ Christian death Christian Higher Education Christian life Christian Nation Christian Nationalism Christianity Today Christmas Church life Church Practice cinema Civil Religion Civil Rights Movement Civil War civility Classics Climate Change Cold War Colonial Mexico colonialism Comer Communism community complementarianism Conference on Faith and History Congregationalism Conspiracies Conspiracy Conversion Narratives Coronavirus Costa Rica Council of Nicaea Covid-19 Creation Critical Race Theory Crusades Culture culture wars Daniel K. Williams David Barton David Swartz Death Ways death with dignity DEI democracy Democratic Party Devotion Digital Age Diplomacy discipleship diversity Donald Trump Drama Dua Lipa Early Church early modern Early modern Catholicism Easter Eastern Christianity economic exploitation Education elections Elie Wiesel Elizabeth II Elizabeth Taylor emotions Empire Engineering England enslavement Entertainment Episcopal Church Erica Ramirez eschatology Eurocentrism Evangelicalism Evangelicals Exegesis Family Feminism Film Flannery O'Connor folk music Food Foreign Policy founding fathers Franciscans Franciscus Junius fundamentalism Funerals G.K. Chesterton Gender Genocide genre geography George W. Bush George Washington George Whitefield Global Christianity Global church Grief Guadalupe guest post Guest Post gun control gun violence Gustavo Gutierrez Hamid Dabashi Harold John Ockenga Harvest Hate Hawaiian Christianity Healing health care Heather Cox Richardson Hell Heresy Hermeneutics Higher Education Hinduism Hippocratic oath Historical Fiction Historical Methodology Historical Profession Historical Profession Historical Theology Historical Thinking historiography Holidays Holocaust horror movies Human rights Humanitarian Work humanities Hummingbirds Hungary hymns Imago Dei Immigration Injustice Interviews Iran Islam Islamophobia Israel Ivan's Childhood Jacob Randolph James Bratt Janine Giordano Drake Japanese history Japanese Literature Jean Paul Sartre Jesse Miranda Jesus Jesus Christ Jimmy Carter Joan Baez Joan Didion Joanne Freeman João B. Chaves Joao Chaves Joey Cochran John Calvin John Fea John Tillotson John Turner Johnny Cash Jonathan Edwards Jonathan Tran Joseph Smith Josh Howerton Journalism Jr. Judaism Jürgen Moltmann Just War Justice Justin Brierley Karl Barth Katelyn Beaty koi ponds Kris Kristofferson Kristin Kobes Du Mez Latin American Religious History Latino Americans Lectio Divina Leisure Lent Leonard Cohen liberal arts liberalism Liberation Theology Linda Ronstadt Lisa Clark Diller Literature Lou Reed Lynchings Lynneth Miller Renberg Mainline Protestantism Malcolm Foley Marilyn Monroe Maritime history Mark Noll Marriage Martin Luther Martin Luther King Martyrdom Marxism Mary Masih Alinejad mass shootings material culture medieval Christianity Medieval Ethiopia Melissa Borja memory Mennonites Mental Health Mental Illness Methodism Mexican Americans Mexicans Mike Madrid Miles Mullin Min Jin Lee Miscarriage Missionaries Mister Rogers Mitt Romney modernity Monasticism Mormonism Motherhood Mothers of the Church Moving Music Musicals Nadya Williams Nahua Christianity Native Americans Natsume Sōseki New Contributor New England New Year New York Nico Non-Violent Protest Orthodoxy pacifism Paleo Evangelicals Palestinians Parenting Patti Smith Paul Kingsnorth Pedro Calderón de la Barca Pentecostalism Philip Jenkins Phillis Wheatley physician-assisted suicide pilgrimage Pilgrims pluralism Plutocracy Poetry Politics Pope Francis Pope Leo XIV post-modernism prayer preaching Presbyterians prosperity gospel Protest Public history Publishing Puritans purity culture Quakers race Race Massacres Racial Capitalism racial reconciliation racialization Racism Raha Bahloulipour Re-Enchantment reading Reformation Refugees religion and the university religion and war Religious Freedom Religious Nones Religious Pluralism Religious Symbols religious violence Republican Party Revival Rita Coolidge Ritual Roger Williams Roman Catholic church Royalty Russell Moore same-sex marriage Sarah Irving-Stonebraker Scandinavia Science Science and Technology Scopes trial Scriptural Interpretation secularism Selena Quintanilla seminary Seventh-Day Adventists sexual morality Sexuality Sikhs Silence slaveholders theology Slavery Slavoj Zizek social justice Social Media Southern Baptist Convention Southern Religion Spain Spiritual Autobiography Spiritual but not religious Spiritual Discipline Sports Stanley Hauerwas Suffering Summer Camps Sunday Night Odds and Ends Supernatural Supreme Court Syriac Christianity Tal Howard Taylor Swift Teaching Technology Television Thanksgiving The Beatles The Mission theater TheoBros Theology Thomas Dixon Thomas Jefferson Thomas Kidd Thomas Merton Tim Gloege Tim Walz Tom Holland Tourism tradition Tragedy Translation Transnationalism Travel Trump Ukraine Uncategorized Unitarians United Methodist Church US History Vanessa Chan Velvet Underground Verónica A. Gutiérrez Veronica Gutierrez Vikings Violence Virgin Mary Virtue Virtue ethics Visions Voting War WCTU Wendell Berry Westminster Assembly White Evangelicalism Wildfires Winnie the Pooh Witches women Women in Ministry Women's and Gender Studies Work Worship writing Yasunari Kawabata Zena Hitz

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

How many days did God take to create the world?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Seven Ten Six Five