- published: 04 Oct 2015
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"The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone" 1921 is one of 12 Sherlock Holmes short stories (56 total) by Arthur Conan Doyle in The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes first published Strand Magazine October 1921 - April 1927.
It is notable for being the one of only two Arthur Conan Doyle Holmes stories, aside from a couple of humorous vignettes, to be written in third person. The other is "His Last Bow". "The Mazarin Stone" was written this way because it was adapted from a stage play, "The Crown Diamond", in which Watson hardly appeared. Its adaptation from the theatre also explains why the action in this story is confined to one room.
In the original play, the hero was Holmes's enemy Colonel Sebastian Moran of "The Adventure of the Empty House" infamy, not Count Negretto Sylvius.
Watson arrives at 221B Baker Street to find Holmes in bed at seven in the evening while Billy the page explains that Holmes has been hot on the trail of a missing jewel, a Crown diamond no less, worth about £100,000. He has been disguised as a jobless workman, and even as an old woman while pursuing the thief across London. He has also not been eating, believing that hunger sharpens his wits. The Prime Minister and the Home Secretary have been to see Holmes, along with Lord Cantlemere, who is apparently no great fan of Sherlock Holmes and no believer in his deductive powers. He is opposed to engaging Holmes to recover the precious gem.
Sherlock Holmes ( /ˈʃɜrlɒk ˈhoʊmz/) 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 adopt almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve difficult cases.
Holmes, who first appeared in publication in 1887, was featured in four novels and 56 short stories. The first novel, A Study in Scarlet, appeared in Beeton's Christmas Annual in 1887 and the second, The Sign of the Four, in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine in 1890. The character grew tremendously in popularity with the first series of short stories in Strand Magazine, beginning with A Scandal in Bohemia in 1891; further series of short stories and two novels published in serial form appeared between then and 1927. The stories cover a period from around 1880 up to 1914.
All but four stories are narrated by Holmes's friend and biographer, Dr. John H. Watson; two are narrated by Holmes himself ("The Blanched Soldier" and "The Lion's Mane") and two others are written in the third person ("The Mazarin Stone" and "His Last Bow"). In two stories ("The Musgrave Ritual" and "The Gloria Scott"), Holmes tells Watson the main story from his memories, while Watson becomes the narrator of the frame story. The first and fourth novels, A Study in Scarlet and The Valley of Fear, each include a long interval of omniscient narration recounting events unknown to either Holmes or Watson.
I've been pushing stones away far from these shores
I pretend that it's all OK
Till on the brink of what can't be adored
We survive
Well we can change
So let it fade
Just let it go
We pretend so nothing does change
We're flowers never breaking through the stone.
I pretended and prayed it all away, searching for a place to hide
But I don't need afflicted memories to fade,
I just want to feel something real inside.
We survive
Well we can change
So let it fade
Just let it go
We pretend so nothing does change
We're flowers never breaking through the stone.
I've been pushing stones away
Far from these shores
Pretend that it's all OK
Till on the brink of what (can be endured)??
We survive
What we can't change
So let it fade
Just let it go
We pretend so nothing does change