#Dr. Grimesby Roylott

[randomnessoffiction]

"Holmes the meddler! Holmes the busybody! Holmes the Scotland Yard Jack-in-office!

[flammentanz]

"Das gefleckte Band"

Erich Schellow: Sherlock Holmes Paul Edwin Roth: Dr. Watson Fritz Tillmann: Dr. Grimesby Roylott Astrid Frank: Helen Stoner

Watson: "What does that mean?" Holmes: "It means it's all over. Come on!" Helen Stoner: "What was this?" Holmes: "Go back to your room, we will come to you later." Holmes: "This was the speckled band." Watson: "A swamp cobra, the most dangerous venomous snake in India."

[sherlockianscholar]

the above is from granada's "the speckled band."

we all know that the sky's the limit when praising jeremy's acting, but i'll always be most in love with his eyes. he conveys so much power and depth through them. as this interaction with roylott plays out, holmes engages with him (for the most part) icily and concisely. but underneath it all, jeremy's eyes burn with an intensity and fire that's almost palpable through the screen. his revulsion towards roylott is visceral.

additional notes: watson's jump at the door opening. the iconic moment when holmes gulps at roylott bending the poker. all fantastic.

and now what more is there to say than i thank you, mrs. hudson, just another client.

[thestrandmag]

Sherlock Story of the Week: The Adventure of the Speckled Band

First published in The Strand Magazine in February 1892, The Adventure of the Speckled Band is one of those Sherlock Holmes stories that everyone seems to know—and for good reason. Even Doyle himself called it his best, and honestly, I can see why. It’s tense, chilling, and brilliantly constructed, with that perfect mix of intrigue and dread that makes a mystery unforgettable.

This story feels like Holmes at his most cinematic. From the moment Helen Stoner arrives at Baker Street, you’re gripped. Her account of her sister Julia’s death, punctuated by the eerie whistle in the night, sets the stage for one of Holmes’s most unsettling cases. Stoke Moran, the Stoner family estate, only deepens the unease—it’s a crumbling, isolated house filled with strange, almost surreal details that feel straight out of a Gothic novel.

The stakes in this story feel incredibly high, thanks to the locked-room nature of the mystery. Helen’s obvious terror makes you lean in closer, trying to figure out how all the pieces fit together: the bolted bed, the “ventilator,” the strange bell-pull, and the safe with its saucer of milk. Every clue adds a layer of physicality that makes the mystery feel almost like a puzzle you could solve yourself. As someone who’s an escape room fanatic, this one scratches a very specific itch. Every detail matters, and watching Holmes untangle it all is endlessly satisfying.

And of course, Dr. Grimesby Roylott looms large over everything—I think he might be one of Doyle’s most chilling villains, not because he’s especially complex, but because his menace is so straightforward. He’s a harsh, volatile presence throughout the story, and the more you learn about his actions, the worse it gets. When the truth finally comes out (that reveal!), it’s both horrifying and deeply satisfying.

Whether you’re revisiting The Speckled Band for the hundredth time or reading it for the first, it never loses its edge. It’s one of those stories where you can feel Doyle having fun with the craft of suspense, and it shows.

[allallestodo]

DR. GRIMESBY ROYLOTT: Which one of you is Holmes?

THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES 1.06 The Speckled Band

[kierrasreads]

The Adventure of the Speckled Band (The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes #8) by Arthur Conan Doyle Review

Plot

Can Sherlock Holmes solve the mystery of the death of Helen Stoner's sister in time to save Helen's own life? Or will Helen suffer the same fate as her sister?

Discussion

This one kept me guessing! Of course, there was no question that Dr. Grimesby Roylott was the mastermind behind this sinister plot. Even his name was an indication of his well...sinister nature. He wanted control over his stepdaughters' money, and he would stop at nothing to get it.

Thank goodness for Sherlock and Watson's quick thinking; Helen is free to marry her fiance and start her own life. If I were Helen, I would sell that house, that house has seriously bad juju.

The snake sounded interesting! I do love snakes, to a degree. Little snakes? Sure, no problem! I'll hold them (like I did in high school. My teacher had several king snakes in his classroom and would let us handle them, supervised of course). But snakes that are large enough to eat me? No way! Anyway, I suspect that this snake was inspired by numerous species of snakes, such as the puff adder. Regardless, this snake tipped the scales (get it?) towards its rating of 5/5. It's a welcome change from the recent stories that I read!

I read somewhere that Doyle considers this story as his best, and I have to agree!

Rating

5/5

[tenth-sentence]

Such are the true facts of the death of Dr. Grimesby Roylott, of Stoke Moran.

"The Illustrated Sherlock Holmes Treasury" - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

[whats-in-a-sentence]

"(...) In this way I am no doubt indirectly responsible for Dr. Grimesby Roylott's death, and I can't say that it is likely to weigh very heavily upon my conscience."

"The Illustrated Sherlock Holmes Treasury" - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

[randomnessoffiction]

Is that Dr. Grimesby Roylott in the doorway?

Sherlock Holmes “La bande mouchetée” (Arthur Conan Doyle). Editions Belin, mars 2023.

[oxalisvulcanicola]

"Having once made up my mind, you know the steps which I took in order to put the matter to the proof. I heard the creature hiss as I have no doubt that you did also, and I instantly lit the light and attacked it.” “With the result of driving it through the ventilator.” “And also with the result of causing it to turn upon its master at the other side. Some of the blows of my cane came home and roused its snakish temper, so that it flew upon the first person it saw. In this way I am no doubt indirectly responsible for Dr. Grimesby Roylott’s death, and I cannot say that it is likely to weigh very heavily upon my conscience.”

[bettism]

Dr. Grimesby Roylott

グリムズビー・ロイロット博士

from "The Adventure of the Speckled Band"

「まだらの紐」より

[47gaslamps]

It's a shame Father Brown might not even be in seminary yet. He would have words about this.

[faithful-grigori]

”#i want a scene like that Indiana Jones one except Watson vs Roylett”

“I should be very much obliged if you would slip your revolver into your pocket. An Eley's No. 2 is an excellent argument with gentlemen who can twist steel pokers into knots.”

Holmes grinning at Roylott braiding a bar of metal: Very cute. Anyway, my dear friend here has a gun.

[pop-goes-the-weasel]

There is a discourse going on, that says Dr. Roylott would have been unable to bring back a cheetah and a baboon from India. as these are not found in the country.

Do I agree with these? Yes and no.

While baboons are not found in the country, the story of cheetahs is long and interesting. In Doyle's time, the cheetah was found abundantly in the country. Cheetahs played an important role in India's cultural life, with medieval paintings showing them as both the hunter and the hunted.

Then, why are cheetahs today almost exclusively associated with Africa? They were simply hunted to extinction. The last of the cheetahs were shot in the year of 1948, officially making them extinct in the subcontinent.

Interestingly, the cheetah is back in the country. In Seprember 2022, 8 cheetahs were introduced from Namibia in the Kuno-Palpur Wildlife Sanctuary, which is located in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Results look promising; for they have adjusted to the local diet of the spotted deer.

So in summary

Regarding the animals Grimesby Roylott took to England? The baboon, absolutely not possible. The Cheetah, absolutely yes.

[organchordsandlightning]

Speckled Band Part 3

"Can I be of assistance?" "Your presence might be invaluable." "Then I shall certainly come." "It is very kind of you."

extremely soft over this dialogue. watson is his partner, and holmes is still like ‘look, you can wait in the hotel if you want’

"Subtle enough and horrible enough. When a doctor does go wrong he is the first of criminals. He has nerve and he has knowledge. Palmer and Pritchard were among the heads of their profession.

as someone with a hobby knowledge of the history of toxicology, it really is fascinating to see this as written in 1892. at this point, we have an okay-ish knowledge of what household things are poisonous (at the very least, the UK at this time was much better about banning stuff like arsenic in candy than the US) but we’re still about ... like, thirty-forty years out from being able to reliably identify non-plant-based poisons (like arsenic, etc etc) in the human body after death. a lot of poisonings got away with it because, frankly, a lot of people were getting accidentally poisoned all the time anyway, and if you couldn’t identify arsenic or what-have-you in a corpse ... no case!

Holmes was for the moment as startled as I. His hand closed like a vise upon my wrist in his agitation. Then he broke into a low laugh and put his lips to my ear.

"It is a nice household," he murmured. "That is the baboon."

“It is a nice household” mixed with watson’s “MY GOD!? A CHILD!?” is so funny

I do love that Watson is writing these stories down for publication, but he’s freely admitting to burglary here

How long they seemed, those quarters! Twelve struck, and one and two and three, and still we sat waiting silently for whatever might befall.

god I’m remembering how well-done this scene is in Granada, and you can really feel the tension here

I could, however, see that his face was deadly pale and filled with horror and loathing.

oh holmes is SCARED scared “you won’t inject my body with an undetectable non-plant-based poison you son of a bitch”

"It is a swamp adder!" cried Holmes; "the deadliest snake in India. He has died within ten seconds of being bitten. Violence does, in truth, recoil upon the violent, and the schemer falls into the pit which he digs for another.

such a good reveal

Some of the blows of my cane came home and roused its snakish temper, so that it flew upon the first person it saw. In this way I am no doubt indirectly responsible for Dr. Grimesby Roylott's death, and I cannot say that it is likely to weigh very heavily upon my conscience."

(a) snakish lmao (b) this brings up an interesting legal question of whether holmes is guilty of murder.  while I don’t think this falls under the legal definition of murder (no pre-intent) or manslaughter (frankly, it’s more self-defense than anything - you see a snake hissing at you, you gotta hit that bad boy with a cane, that it went back to its master and bit him is none of your business as far as you’re concerned) however, i did look up to see that the felony murder rule was still in place in the UK at that time (called constructive malice) -- essentially saying that the courts could attribute malice aforethought (’i’m gonna go kill that guy) to you if a death was caused during the commission of another felony (say .... burglary) EDITED WITH FURTHER LEGAL THOUGHTS -- HELEN INVITED THEM INSIDE THE HOUSE, I DON’T THINK IT COUNTS AS BURGLARY ANYMORE, SHERLOCK HOLMES IS MURDER-FREE

[faithful-grigori]

”#look you can get mixed up about the names of snake species, #their appearance, #their relative venomousness, #but you can't get around the concept of training a snake to heel, #by giving it milk as a treat”

Letters from Watson, catching Up

The Speckled Band Published 1892 Set: April 1883 [Baring Gould] This year is confirmed in the text and I don’t see any reason to dispute it.  Watson notes in the opening paragraph that he’s been taking notes on Holmes’ cases for eight years, strengthening two elements of my fictionalization hypothesis: first, that he does not write up these cases verbatim as they happen, and second, that he often waits to write up stories until they are rendered publishable: presumably in this case by the death of his and Holmes’ client. It’s possible that the intro is a leftover and he first prepared the case for publication in 1888 or 1889, which is something that makes me think this case was, despite the death of Miss Roylott making it nearly impossible for the details to harm anyone, heavily edited and fictionalized, to a greater extent than most of the other short stories. I’ll present more evidence for it in the case wrap up. I strongly believe that when Watson was working on it in 1888 or so, it was originally intended to be presented as a novel rather than a short story, possibly with a long stretch on the history of those concerned with the case, as we see in Study in Scarlet and Valley of Fear, or a sequence with a more involved breakdown of the case investigation, as is present in The Sign of The Four. Possibly, as in Hound of the Baskervilles, the case was truly solved over a longer period of time than one dramatic night. After reacquainting himself with the case, Watson initially decided against continuing, and only came back to the case after he’d decided to focus on short stories rather than novels.  The other thing that makes me think that The Speckled Band was heavily fictionalized is the snake: more on that later.