The Adventure of the Devil's Foot
Encyclopedia
"The Adventure of the Devil's Foot" is one of the 56 Sherlock Holmes
short stories written by British author Arthur Conan Doyle
. It is one of eight stories in the cycle collected as His Last Bow
.
Doyle ranked "The Adventure of the Devil's Foot" ninth in his list of his twelve favorite Holmes stories.
one spring for the former’s health, but the holiday ends with a bizarre event. Mr. Mortimer Tregennis, a local gentleman, and Mr. Roundhay, the local vicar
, come to Holmes to report that Tregennis’s two brothers have gone insane
, and his sister has died. Tregennis had gone to visit them in their village (Tredannick Wollas), played whist
with them, and then left. When he came back in the morning, he found them still sitting in their places at the table, the brothers, George and Owen, laughing and singing, and the sister, Brenda, dead. The housekeeper had discovered them in this state, and fainted. The vicar has not been to see them yet. Tregennis says that he remembers one brother looking through the window, and then he himself turned to see some "movement" outside. He declares that the horrific event is the work of the devil
. Mortimer Tregennis was once estranged from his siblings by the matter of dividing the proceeds from the sale of the family business, but he insists that all was forgiven, although he still lives apart from them. The doctor
who was summoned reckoned that she had been dead for six hours. He also collapsed into a chair for a while after arriving.
Holmes goes to the house in question and, apparently carelessly, kicks over a watering pot, soaking everyone’s feet. The housekeeper tells Holmes that she heard nothing in the night, and that the family had been particularly happy and prosperous lately. Holmes observes the remains of a fire in the fireplace. Tregennis explains that it was a cold, damp night.
None of this seems to make for an elementary case, but soon, new questions are raised. Dr. Leon Sterndale, the famous hunter
and explorer
, has chosen to miss his ship out of Plymouth
to come back at news of this tragedy, the Tregennises being cousins of his. The vicar wired him with the news. He asks Holmes what his suspicions are, and is displeased when Holmes will not voice them. Holmes follows him discreetly after he leaves.
The morning after Holmes comes back to his room, apparently none the wiser for following Sterndale, the vicar arrives in a panic with the news that Mortimer Tregennis has now died in the same way as his sister. The two men, along with Watson, rush to Mortimer’s room, and find it foul and stuffy, even though the window has been opened. A lamp is burning on the table beside the dead man. Holmes rushes about, examining many things. The upstairs window seems especially interesting. He also scrapes some ashes out of the lamp, and puts them in an envelope. Holmes has already deduced how the victims died or went mad. It explains why people arriving later fainted or felt unwell in each case (a servant at the vicarage has also become sick).
. Watson is able to resist and drags Holmes out of the room just in time.
It also seems clear to Holmes that Mortimer Tregennis was guilty of using the poison on his siblings, but who killed him? Holmes’s investigation has made that quite clear. It is Dr. Sterndale. He left physical evidence
at the vicarage clearly implicating him. All that Holmes does not know is why Sterndale did it. Sterndale explains that he loved Brenda for years (but had been unable to marry her because of the current marriage laws which prevented him from divorcing his wife even though she abandoned him years ago) and killed Mortimer for what he had done. It also turns out that he knew about the poison long before Holmes. It is called Radix pedis diaboli (“Devil’s-foot root” in Latin
), and he brought it from Africa
as a curiosity, never meaning to use it. The toxic contents of the plant root are vapourised by heat and diffuse into the local atmosphere. However, he once explained to Mortimer what it was and what it was capable of, and he apparently stole some to murder
his siblings, throwing it on the fire that evening just before he left. Mortimer thought Sterndale would be at sea before news reached Plymouth. Sterndale, of course, recognized the poison’s effects from the vicar’s description of the tragedy, and deduced right away what had happened.
Holmes’s sympathies in this matter lie with Sterndale, and he tells him to go back to his work in Africa
.
as Sherlock Holmes
, episode of the 1965 television series Sherlock Holmes
starring Douglas Wilmer
, and a 1988 episode of The Return of Sherlock Holmes starring Jeremy Brett
. Also, the 1944 film The Spider Woman is based on several of Doyle's Holmes stories, among them "The Devil's Foot."
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
short stories written by British author Arthur Conan Doyle
Arthur Conan Doyle
Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle DL was a Scottish physician and writer, most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, generally considered a milestone in the field of crime fiction, and for the adventures of Professor Challenger...
. It is one of eight stories in the cycle collected as His Last Bow
His Last Bow
His Last Bow is a collection of seven Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, as well as the title of the last story in that collection...
.
Doyle ranked "The Adventure of the Devil's Foot" ninth in his list of his twelve favorite Holmes stories.
Synopsis
Holmes and Dr. Watson find themselves in CornwallCornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
one spring for the former’s health, but the holiday ends with a bizarre event. Mr. Mortimer Tregennis, a local gentleman, and Mr. Roundhay, the local vicar
Vicar
In the broadest sense, a vicar is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior . In this sense, the title is comparable to lieutenant...
, come to Holmes to report that Tregennis’s two brothers have gone insane
Mental illness
A mental disorder or mental illness is a psychological or behavioral pattern generally associated with subjective distress or disability that occurs in an individual, and which is not a part of normal development or culture. Such a disorder may consist of a combination of affective, behavioural,...
, and his sister has died. Tregennis had gone to visit them in their village (Tredannick Wollas), played whist
Whist
Whist is a classic English trick-taking card game which was played widely in the 18th and 19th centuries. It derives from the 16th century game of Trump or Ruff, via Ruff and Honours...
with them, and then left. When he came back in the morning, he found them still sitting in their places at the table, the brothers, George and Owen, laughing and singing, and the sister, Brenda, dead. The housekeeper had discovered them in this state, and fainted. The vicar has not been to see them yet. Tregennis says that he remembers one brother looking through the window, and then he himself turned to see some "movement" outside. He declares that the horrific event is the work of the devil
Devil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
. Mortimer Tregennis was once estranged from his siblings by the matter of dividing the proceeds from the sale of the family business, but he insists that all was forgiven, although he still lives apart from them. The doctor
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
who was summoned reckoned that she had been dead for six hours. He also collapsed into a chair for a while after arriving.
Holmes goes to the house in question and, apparently carelessly, kicks over a watering pot, soaking everyone’s feet. The housekeeper tells Holmes that she heard nothing in the night, and that the family had been particularly happy and prosperous lately. Holmes observes the remains of a fire in the fireplace. Tregennis explains that it was a cold, damp night.
The case
Afterwards, Holmes lays the case out to Watson thus:- Quite obviously, there is no point in attributing the tragedy to the Devil; therefore, what took place can only be the work of a person.
- Whatever happened to those people happened right after Tregennis left, for they had not moved and everything was in the same place;
- Mortimer Tregennis went swiftly back to the vicarage where he lives (a footprint sample was obtained in the watering pot “accident”);
- The only suggestion of an explanation — the "movement" — comes from Mortimer Tregennis;
- Given the weatherWeatherWeather is the state of the atmosphere, to the degree that it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. Most weather phenomena occur in the troposphere, just below the stratosphere. Weather refers, generally, to day-to-day temperature and precipitation activity, whereas climate...
, anyone appearing at the window and doing something horrifying enough to instantly kill someone would have had to trample the flowerbed, which is still intact, and come right up to the window; - What on earth could this person have done to cause such horror?
None of this seems to make for an elementary case, but soon, new questions are raised. Dr. Leon Sterndale, the famous hunter
Hunting
Hunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...
and explorer
Exploration
Exploration is the act of searching or traveling around a terrain for the purpose of discovery of resources or information. Exploration occurs in all non-sessile animal species, including humans...
, has chosen to miss his ship out of Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
to come back at news of this tragedy, the Tregennises being cousins of his. The vicar wired him with the news. He asks Holmes what his suspicions are, and is displeased when Holmes will not voice them. Holmes follows him discreetly after he leaves.
The morning after Holmes comes back to his room, apparently none the wiser for following Sterndale, the vicar arrives in a panic with the news that Mortimer Tregennis has now died in the same way as his sister. The two men, along with Watson, rush to Mortimer’s room, and find it foul and stuffy, even though the window has been opened. A lamp is burning on the table beside the dead man. Holmes rushes about, examining many things. The upstairs window seems especially interesting. He also scrapes some ashes out of the lamp, and puts them in an envelope. Holmes has already deduced how the victims died or went mad. It explains why people arriving later fainted or felt unwell in each case (a servant at the vicarage has also become sick).
Solution
He tests his hypothesis by buying a lamp like the one in Tregennis’s room. He lights it and puts in some of the "ashes" that he collected from the other lamp. The effect is immediate. It is clear that the smoke from this powder is a potent poisonPoison
In the context of biology, poisons are substances that can cause disturbances to organisms, usually by chemical reaction or other activity on the molecular scale, when a sufficient quantity is absorbed by an organism....
. Watson is able to resist and drags Holmes out of the room just in time.
It also seems clear to Holmes that Mortimer Tregennis was guilty of using the poison on his siblings, but who killed him? Holmes’s investigation has made that quite clear. It is Dr. Sterndale. He left physical evidence
Evidence
Evidence in its broadest sense includes everything that is used to determine or demonstrate the truth of an assertion. Giving or procuring evidence is the process of using those things that are either presumed to be true, or were themselves proven via evidence, to demonstrate an assertion's truth...
at the vicarage clearly implicating him. All that Holmes does not know is why Sterndale did it. Sterndale explains that he loved Brenda for years (but had been unable to marry her because of the current marriage laws which prevented him from divorcing his wife even though she abandoned him years ago) and killed Mortimer for what he had done. It also turns out that he knew about the poison long before Holmes. It is called Radix pedis diaboli (“Devil’s-foot root” in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
), and he brought it from Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
as a curiosity, never meaning to use it. The toxic contents of the plant root are vapourised by heat and diffuse into the local atmosphere. However, he once explained to Mortimer what it was and what it was capable of, and he apparently stole some to murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
his siblings, throwing it on the fire that evening just before he left. Mortimer thought Sterndale would be at sea before news reached Plymouth. Sterndale, of course, recognized the poison’s effects from the vicar’s description of the tragedy, and deduced right away what had happened.
Holmes’s sympathies in this matter lie with Sterndale, and he tells him to go back to his work in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
.
Other media
"The Devil's Foot" served as the basis for a 1921 short film starring Eille NorwoodEille Norwood
Eille Norwood was a British actor who spent most of his screen career playing Sherlock Holmes. He was born Anthony Edward Brett in York, England. He apparently took his stage name from his lady friend Eileen and the town of Norwood...
as Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
, episode of the 1965 television series Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes (1965 TV series)
Sherlock Holmes was a series of Sherlock Holmes adaptations produced by British television company BBC between 1965 and 1968.-Production:...
starring Douglas Wilmer
Douglas Wilmer
-Early life:Wilmer was born in London and educated at King's School, Canterbury and Stonyhurst College. He trained at RADA but was called up to the Army in World War II. Posted to an antitank battery in the Royal West African Frontier Force, he was invalided out after he acquired tuberculosis. He...
, and a 1988 episode of The Return of Sherlock Holmes starring Jeremy Brett
Jeremy Brett
Jeremy Brett , born Peter Jeremy William Huggins, was an English actor, most famous for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes in four Granada TV series.-Early life:...
. Also, the 1944 film The Spider Woman is based on several of Doyle's Holmes stories, among them "The Devil's Foot."