The play is set in verona english literature essay

Romeo and JulietAuthor: William ShakespeareFirst publication: 1591 – 1597Pages: 200Genre: Theatre play, tragedyPlace: The play is set in Verona (Italy)AuthorWilliam Shakespeare was born to John Shakespeare and mother Mary Arden some time in late April 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon. There is no record of his birth, but his baptism was recorded by the church, thus his birthday is assumed to be the 23 of April. His father was a prominent and prosperous alderman in the town of Stratford-upon-Avon, and was later granted a coat of arms by the College of Heralds. All that is known of Shakespeare’s youth is that he presumably attended the Stratford Grammar School, and did not proceed to Oxford or Cambridge. The next record we have of him is his marriage to Anne Hathaway in 1582. The next year she bore a daughter for him, Susanna, followed by the twins Judith and Hamnet two years later. Seven years later Shakespeare is recognized as an actor, poet and playwright, when a rival playwright, Robert Greene, refers to him as ” an upstart crow” in A Groatsworth of Wit. A few years later he joined up with one of the most successful acting troupe’s in London: The Lord Chamberlain’s Men. When, in 1599, the troupe lost the lease of the theatre where they performed, (appropriately called The Theatre) they were wealthy enough to build their own theatre across the Thames, south of London, which they called ” The Globe.” The new theatre opened in July of 1599, built from the timbers of The Theatre, with the motto ” Totus mundus agit histrionem” (A whole world of players) When James I came to the throne (1603) the troupe was designated by the new king as the King’s Men (or King’s Company). The Letters Patent of the company specifically charged Shakespeare and eight others ” freely to use and exercise the art and faculty of playing Comedies, Tragedies, Histories, Inerludes, Morals, Pastorals, stage plays … as well for recreation of our loving subjects as for our solace and pleasure.” Shakespeare entertained the king and the people for another ten years until June 19, 1613, when a canon fired from the roof of the theatre for a gala performance of Henry VIII set fire to the thatch roof and burned the theatre to the ground. The audience ignored the smoke from the roof at first, being to absorbed in the play, until the flames caught the walls and the fabric of the curtains. Amazingly there were no casualties, and the next spring the company had the theatre ” new builded in a far fairer manner than before.” Although Shakespeare invested in the rebuilding, he retired from the stage to the Great House of New Place in Statford that he had purchased in 1597, and some considerable land holdings , where he continued to write until his death in 1616 on the day of his 52nd birthday. CharactersRuling house of VeronaPrince Escalus is the ruling Prince of VeronaCount Paris is a kinsman of Escalus who wishes to marry Juliet.Mercutio is another kinsman of Escalus, and a friend of Romeo.House of CapuletCapulet is the patriarch of the house of Capulet.Capulet’s wife is the matriarch of the house of Capulet.Juliet is the 13-year-old daughter of Capulet, and the play’s female protagonist.Tybalt is a cousin of Juliet, and the nephew of Capulet’s wife.The Nurse is Juliet’s personal attendant and confidante.Rosaline is Lord Capulet’s niece, and Romeo’s love in the beginning of the story.Peter, Sampson and Gregory are servants of the Capulet household.House of MontagueMontague is the patriarch of the house of Montague.Montague’s wife is the matriarch of the house of Montague.Romeo is the son of Montague, and the play’s male protagonist.Benvolio is Romeo’s cousin and best friend.Abram and Balthasar are servants of the Montague household.OthersFriar Laurence is a Franciscan friar, and is Romeo’s confidant.Friar John is sent to deliver Friar Laurence’s letter to Romeo.An Apothecary who reluctantly sells Romeo poison.A Chorus reads a prologue to each of the first two acts. SummaryAct IThe opening lines sum up the entire play: Two families have fought each other for what could be over a century. A son from one house and a daughter from the other house fall in love, but this love is not meant to be. Both lovers will take their lives, and their deaths will bring peace to both houses. After the prologue, the scene shifts to the streets of Verona where two of Capulet’s men (Sampson and Gregory) discuss the tension between their lord and lord Montague. During their discussion they notice Abram and Balthasar, two of Montague’s men. After a littler prodding, Sampson gets Gregory to start an argument with the Montagues. A fight breaks out between the men, causing all of the people in the streets to begin fighting. Benvolio tries to stop the fight, but is attacked by Tybalt. The Prince arrives with his men and breaks up the fight. He announces that if anyone from either house disturbs the peace once more, they will be put to death. After the fight, Benvolio is sent to find Romeo. Romeo has been brooding all morning because the love of his life does not love him anymore. He can’t imagine how he can ever find joy, happiness, or love without Rosaline. Benvolio tries to cheer-up Romeo. During their conversation, a Capulet servant walks by and asks if they could read the note that he is carrying. The note is actually a list of people that are invited to Capulet’s house for a party. Benvolio, seeing Rosaline’s name on the list, persuades Romeo to go to the party and compare Rosaline’s beauty with the other women at the party. Basically, Benvolio is telling Romeo that there is more than one woman in the world. The next scene begins at the House of Capulet. The Nurse has raised Juliet since she was born, as was the custom for most births of royalty or nobles. Lady Capulet tells Juliet that Paris, a young count and cousin of the Prince, wishes to marry Juliet. Juliet is told that she will meet him at the party that night, and she is asked if she can like him. She states that she will try if that is what they want her to do. Later that evening, Romeo, Benvolio, Mercutio, and around five or six other men are making their way to the party. Mercutio tends to be a joker, and he makes fun of Romeo because of his attitude about love. Romeo then says he dreamt that it wasn’t a good idea to go to the party. Mercutio then says that dreams lie, and he begins a long speech about dreams. The speech becomes so strange that Romeo stops him and tells Mercutio that he speaks nonsense. In a way, I think the speech is a way for Mercutio to show Romeo that he shouldn’t just sit around thinking about lost love, but instead live life to the fullest. The group attends the party, but while they are there, Tybalt recognizes Romeo. He wants to kill Romeo, but Capulet refuses. As long as he is there and causing no trouble, Capulet doesn’t want the Prince’s wrath on his house. It isn’t long before Romeo sees Juliet, and all thoughts of Rosaline vanish. The two exchange words and are instantly attracted to one another. Of course, as the guests leave, both Romeo and Juliet learn that each have fallen in love with their enemy. Act IIAfter the party, Romeo sneaks away from his friends and cousin. He hides in the orchard below Juliet’s window. Juliet appears and talks to herself about her love for Romeo. Unable to contain himself, Romeo leaps out from hiding. They talk to each other of love and each vow’s love to the other. Juliet says she will send her Nurse to Romeo tomorrow, and he is to tell her when and where they will be married. The next morning Romeo tells Friar Laurence about his plans to marry Juliet. He agrees to help the two lovers because he hopes that the marriage will end the feud between the two houses. Romeo meets up with Benvolio and Mercutio. Mercutio teases Romeo saying he left them to have sex (or maybe my mind is in the gutter, but if you read the dialog between the two, there are many sexual references). The Nurse comes soon after their dialog, and Romeo tells her that he wants Juliet to meet her at Friar Laurence’s cell. She agrees to tell Juliet the meeting place. Juliet waits impatiently for the Nurse’s return. When the Nurse arrives, she doesn’t tell Juliet the news right away. She is teasing Juliet, but she finally tells her the details of the plan. Juliet meets Romeo and Friar Laurence marries the two. Act IIIThis act returns to Mercutio, Benvolio, and the other men. They speak of how unusually hot the day is which can often cause people to anger quicker than usual. Soon Tybalt and some other Capulets confront Mercutio asking if he knows where Romeo is hiding. Romeo soon enters and Tybalt challenges him to a duel, but Romeo refuses saying that he must love Tybalt now (of course we know why – he married Juliet). However, Mercutio draws his sword and fights Tybalt. Romeo tries to stop the fight, but accidentally gets Mercutio mortally wounded. Mercutio dies. Romeo becomes so enraged that he challenges Tybalt. Romeo eventually kills Tybalt. The Prince learns of the deaths, but because Romeo killed Tybalt for killing Mercutio, Romeo is given the chance to leave Verona forever. If he is found within the city he will be executed. Juliet grieves for both Tybalt and Romeo. She has conflicting emotions about the events that have taken place, but she eventually gains her composure and stands behind her husband. She tells the Nurse to find Romeo and have him come to her before he leaves the city. Romeo goes to Friar Laurence. All Romeo can think about is dying, but the Friar chastises him for not thanking God for the Prince’s mercy. The Nurse enters and also scolds him for his lack of strength. Romeo tries to stab himself with a dagger, but the Nurse snatches it away. Friar Laurence tells Romeo to stop his crying and demands that he see Juliet. He then says that Romeo should stay out of the city until they can tell everyone about his marriage to Juliet and beg the Prince to pardon him. Romeo leaves to see Juliet one last time. Juliet and Romeo spend his last night in Verona together and he leaves. Lady Capulet enters her room and tells Juliet that Capulet has decided she will marry Paris that week. Juliet is of course angered by it. Capulet threatens to disown her if she does not marry Paris so she reluctantly agrees. When he leaves, she asks the Nurse what she should do, but the Nurse says she should marry Paris because Romeo is essentially dead if she can’t see him. Seeing that the Nurse will not help her, she lies and says to tell her mother that she is going to Laurence’s cell for confession because she disobeyed her father. Act IVParis tells the Friar that he is marrying Juliet on Thursday of that week. Juliet enters and Paris leaves. Juliet asks the Friar to help her, and he comes up with a plan. He gives her a potion that will make it appear as if she has died in her sleep. It will last for 42 hours and she will awake in the tomb. He will send a letter to Romeo to let him know what is happening so Romeo can be there to let her out of the tomb. Juliet takes the poison and returns home. Juliet acts as if nothing is wrong and continues to make the others believe she is preparing to marry Paris. While everyone is busy with the wedding preparations, Juliet takes the poison. They find her body the next morning. Act VWhile Romeo waits in Mantua, his servant comes and tells him that he saw Juliet being placed in the Capulet tomb. Romeo is not ready to believe she is dead. He buys a poison that will kill him instantly and leaves to see if her death is truth. In the meantime, Friar Laurence sends the letter to Romeo, but it is too late. When Romeo gets to the tomb, he encounters Paris. The two fight and Romeo kills Paris. He enters the tomb and sees Juliet. Thinking she is dead he drinks the poison and dies instantly. The Friar races to the tomb, but he is too late and sees Romeo dead on the floor beside Juliet. She awakens to find Romeo dead beside her. The town guards can be heard so the Friar leaves. Juliet takes Romeo’s dagger and stabs herself. Montague, Capulet, and the Prince arrive. The Friar explains everything that has happened. Montague and Capulet finally see how much damage their feuding has done so they decide to end the war between their houses.

Robinson CrusoeTitle: Robinson CrusoeAuthor: Daniel DefoeFirst publication: 1719Pages: 304Genre: historical fictionLocation: England, desert islandAuthorDaniel Defoe was born in 1660 in London, England. He became a merchant and participated in several failing businesses, facing bankruptcy and aggressive creditors. He was also a prolific political pamphleteer which landed him in prison for slander. Late in life he turned his pen to fiction and wrote Robinson Crusoe, one of the most widely read and influential novels of all time. Defoe died in 1731. CharactersRobinson Crusoe The narrator of the story. Crusoe sets sail at nineteen years of age, despite his father’s demand that he stay at home and be content with his ” middle station” in life. Crusoe eventually establishes a farm in Brazil and realizes he is living the life his father planned for him, but he is half a world away from England. Crusoe agrees to sail to the Guinea Coast to trade for slaves, but when a terrible storm blows up, he is marooned on an island, alone. He spends 35 years there, and his time on the island forms the basis of the novel.Captain’s Widow The wife of the first captain to take young Crusoe under his wing. Crusoe leaves his savings with the widow, who looks after his money with great care. Crusoe sees her again after he leaves the island and returns to England; she encourages him to settle in England.Xury A servant on the ship on which young Crusoe is a slave; Xury is loyal to Crusoe when the two escape. Xury’s devotion to Crusoe foreshadows the role Friday later plays, although young Crusoe later sells Xury back into slavery for a profit.the Captain of the Ship The captain of the ship that rescues young Crusoe and Xury; this man befriends young Crusoe and offers him money and guidance. They reunite after Crusoe’s 35 years on the island.Friday A ” savage” whom Crusoe rescues from certain death at the hands of cannibals. Friday is handsome, intelligent, brave, and loyal, none of which are qualities usually associated with ” savages.” He serves Crusoe faithfully throughout his life. SummaryRobinson Crusoe is an Englishman from the town of York in the seventeenth century, the youngest son of a merchant of German origin. Encouraged by his father to study law, Crusoe expresses his wish to go to sea instead. His family is against Crusoe going out to sea, and his father explains that it is better to seek a modest, secure life for oneself. Initially, Robinson is committed to obeying his father, but he eventually succumbs to temptation and embarks on a ship bound for London with a friend. When a storm causes the near deaths of Crusoe and his friend, the friend is dissuaded from sea travel, but Crusoe still goes on to set himself up as merchant on a ship leaving London. This trip is financially successful, and Crusoe plans another, leaving his early profits in the care of a friendly widow. The second voyage does not prove as fortunate: the ship is seized by Moorish pirates, and Crusoe is enslaved to a potentate in the North African town of Sallee. While on a fishing expedition, he and a slave boy break free and sail down the African coast. A kindly Portuguese captain picks them up, buys the slave boy from Crusoe, and takes Crusoe to Brazil. In Brazil, Crusoe establishes himself as a plantation owner and soon becomes successful. Eager for slave labor and its economic advantages, he embarks on a slave-gathering expedition to West Africa but ends up shipwrecked off of the coast of Trinidad. Crusoe soon learns he is the sole survivor of the expedition and seeks shelter and food for himself. He returns to the wreck’s remains twelve times to salvage guns, powder, food, and other items. Onshore, he finds goats he can graze for meat and builds himself a shelter. He erects a cross that he inscribes with the date of his arrival, September 1, 1659, and makes a notch every day in order never to lose track of time. He also keeps a journal of his household activities, noting his attempts to make candles, his lucky discovery of sprouting grain, and his construction of a cellar, among other events. In June 1660, he falls ill and hallucinates that an angel visits, warning him to repent. Drinking tobacco-steeped rum, Crusoe experiences a religious illumination and realizes that God has delivered him from his earlier sins. After recovering, Crusoe makes a survey of the area and discovers he is on an island. He finds a pleasant valley abounding in grapes, where he builds a shady retreat. Crusoe begins to feel more optimistic about being on the island, describing himself as its ” king.” He trains a pet parrot, takes a goat as a pet, and develops skills in basket weaving, bread making, and pottery. He cuts down an enormous cedar tree and builds a huge canoe from its trunk, but he discovers that he cannot move it to the sea. After building a smaller boat, he rows around the island but nearly perishes when swept away by a powerful current. Reaching shore, he hears his parrot calling his name and is thankful for being saved once again. He spends several years in peace. One day Crusoe is shocked to discover a man’s footprint on the beach. He first assumes the footprint is the devil’s, then decides it must belong to one of the cannibals said to live in the region. Terrified, he arms himself and remains on the lookout for cannibals. He also builds an underground cellar in which to herd his goats at night and devises a way to cook underground. One evening he hears gunshots, and the next day he is able to see a ship wrecked on his coast. It is empty when he arrives on the scene to investigate. Crusoe once again thanks Providence for having been saved. Soon afterward, Crusoe discovers that the shore has been strewn with human carnage, apparently the remains of a cannibal feast. He is alarmed and continues to be vigilant. Later Crusoe catches sight of thirty cannibals heading for shore with their victims. One of the victims is killed. Another one, waiting to be slaughtered, suddenly breaks free and runs toward Crusoe’s dwelling. Crusoe protects him, killing one of the pursuers and injuring the other, whom the victim finally kills. Well-armed, Crusoe defeats most of the cannibals onshore. The victim vows total submission to Crusoe in gratitude for his liberation. Crusoe names him Friday, to commemorate the day on which his life was saved, and takes him as his servant. Finding Friday cheerful and intelligent, Crusoe teaches him some English words and some elementary Christian concepts. Friday, in turn, explains that the cannibals are divided into distinct nations and that they only eat their enemies. Friday also informs Crusoe that the cannibals saved the men from the shipwreck Crusoe witnessed earlier, and that those men, Spaniards, are living nearby. Friday expresses a longing to return to his people, and Crusoe is upset at the prospect of losing Friday. Crusoe then entertains the idea of making contact with the Spaniards, and Friday admits that he would rather die than lose Crusoe. The two build a boat to visit the cannibals’ land together. Before they have a chance to leave, they are surprised by the arrival of twenty-one cannibals in canoes. The cannibals are holding three victims, one of whom is in European dress. Friday and Crusoe kill most of the cannibals and release the European, a Spaniard. Friday is overjoyed to discover that another of the rescued victims is his father. The four men return to Crusoe’s dwelling for food and rest. Crusoe prepares to welcome them into his community permanently. He sends Friday’s father and the Spaniard out in a canoe to explore the nearby land. Eight days later, the sight of an approaching English ship alarms Friday. Crusoe is suspicious. Friday and Crusoe watch as eleven men take three captives onshore in a boat. Nine of the men explore the land, leaving two to guard the captives. Friday and Crusoe overpower these men and release the captives, one of whom is the captain of the ship, which has been taken in a mutiny. Shouting to the remaining mutineers from different points, Friday and Crusoe confuse and tire the men by making them run from place to place. Eventually they confront the mutineers, telling them that all may escape with their lives except the ringleader. The men surrender. Crusoe and the captain pretend that the island is an imperial territory and that the governor has spared their lives in order to send them all to England to face justice. Keeping five men as hostages, Crusoe sends the other men out to seize the ship. When the ship is brought in, Crusoe nearly faints. On December 19, 1686, Crusoe boards the ship to return to England. There, he finds his family is deceased except for two sisters. His widow friend has kept Crusoe’s money safe, and after traveling to Lisbon, Crusoe learns from the Portuguese captain that his plantations in Brazil have been highly profitable. He arranges to sell his Brazilian lands. Wary of sea travel, Crusoe attempts to return to England by land but is threatened by bad weather and wild animals in northern Spain. Finally arriving back in England, Crusoe receives word that the sale of his plantations has been completed and that he has made a considerable fortune. After donating a portion to the widow and his sisters, Crusoe is restless and considers returning to Brazil, but he is dissuaded by the thought that he would have to become Catholic. He marries, and his wife dies. Crusoe finally departs for the East Indies as a trader in 1694. He revisits his island, finding that the Spaniards are governing it well and that it has become a prosperous colony.

Pride and PrejudiceTitle: Pride and PrejudiceAuthor: Jane Austen (1775 – 1817)First publication: 1813Pages: 304Genre: Novel of mannerPlace: England, (Hertfordshire, Derbyshire, London, Kent and fictional Meryton)AuthorJane Austen was born in the village of Steventon, Hampshire in 1775, within five years of Wordsworth and Scott. She was the seventh of eight children. Her father, George, had been a Fellow of St. John’s College, Oxford and lately Rector of Steventon. Her mother, Cassandra, nee Leigh, came from an ancient family, linked to the Leighs of Stonehill Abbey in Warwickshire. Jane and her sister, also Cassandra, were sent to school in Oxford and Southampton, before attending the Abbey School in Reading, and were encouraged to write from an early age. Jane started writing novels in 1790, at the age of only 14, while she was living in Steventon, although her first novel to be published, Sense and Sensibility, did not appear until 1811. Although her early life appeared secure enough, it was touched by tragedy. Her cousin, Eliza Hancock, married a French nobleman, who was arrested and guillotined on his return to Paris soon after the French Revolution. Her aunt, Mrs. Leigh Perrot, was arrested when falsely accused of stealing a card of lace, and suffered eight months imprisonment with the threat of the death penalty, before she was able to prove her innocence. On her father’s retirement, in 1801, the family moved to Bath. Jane’s years at Bath were not happy. The family made acquaintances, but few friends. Their stay at Bath was broken up by annual excursions to the seaside: to Sidmouth, Dawlish and Lyme Regis. As was the custom, the sons of the family pursued careers (two of Jane’s brothers joined the Navy), while the daughters stayed at home, awaiting marriage and involving themselves with domestic affairs. A neighbour from their Hampshire days, Harris Bigg-Wither of Manydown Park (Wootton St. Lawrence) asked Jane to marry him in the Winter of 1802. Though she initially accepted, a sleepless night saw the poor man turned down the following morning. In several of Jane’s letters from Bath to her sister, Cassandra, one senses her frustration at this sheltered existence. Tuesday, 12 May 1801. ” Another stupid party … with six people to look on, and talk nonsense to each other”. Some time after the death of Jane’s father in 1805, the family left Bath to stay with Jane’s brother, Frank, who was stationed at the Naval Dockyard, in Southampton. Jane’s brother, Edward, had been formally adopted by a rich and childless relative, which led to his elevation as a country gentleman. Cassandra had been sent to assist with his domestic arrangements at Godmersham Park, near Canterbury. He also owned Chawton House, Hampshire and in 1809 offered a home to his mother and sisters on the estate there. The family settled happily and it was here that Jane was to enjoy the success of the publication of her first novel. Initially, the secret of their authorship was kept, the author being referred to only as ” a lady”, but later, her proud brother, Henry, let it be known and she became instantly famous. Her last completed novel, Persuasion, was not published until after her death. By the time of its completion, she was seriously ill and not expected to live. During the last few weeks of her life, she lived in College Street, Winchester, to be close to her physician. She died in Cassandra’s arms in Winchester at the age of 41. The family exercised the right, as members of a clergyman’s family, that she should be buried in Winchester CathedralCharactersElizabeth Bennet The novel’s protagonist. The second daughter of Mr. Bennet, Elizabeth is the most intelligent and sensible of the five Bennet sisters. She is well read and quick-witted, with a tongue that occasionally proves too sharp for her own good. Her realization of Darcy’s essential goodness eventually triumphs over her initial prejudice against him.Fitzwilliam Darcy A wealthy gentleman, the master of Pemberley, and the nephew of Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Though Darcy is intelligent and honest, his excess of pride causes him to look down on his social inferiors. Over the course of the novel, he tempers his class-consciousness and learns to admire and love Elizabeth for her strong character.Jane Bennet The eldest and most beautiful Bennet sister. Jane is more reserved and gentler than Elizabeth. The easy pleasantness with which she and Bingley interact contrasts starkly with the mutual distaste that marks the encounters between Elizabeth and Darcy.Charles Bingley Darcy’s considerably wealthy best friend. Bingley’s purchase of Netherfield, an estate near the Bennets, serves as the impetus for the novel. He is a genial, well-intentioned gentleman, whose easygoing nature contrasts with Darcy’s initially discourteous demeanor. He is blissfully uncaring about class differences.Mr. Bennet The patriarch of the Bennet family, a gentleman of modest income with five unmarried daughters. Mr. Bennet has a sarcastic, cynical sense of humor that he uses to purposefully irritate his wife. Though he loves his daughters (Elizabeth in particular), he often fails as a parent, preferring to withdraw from the never-ending marriage concerns of the women around him rather than offer help.Mrs. Bennet Mr. Bennet’s wife, a foolish, noisy woman whose only goal in life is to see her daughters married. Because of her low breeding and often unbecoming behavior, Mrs. Bennet often repels the very suitors whom she tries to attract for her daughters.George Wickham A handsome, fortune-hunting militia officer. Wickham’s good looks and charm attract Elizabeth initially, but Darcy’s revelation about Wickham’s disreputable past clues her in to his true nature and simultaneously draws her closer to Darcy.Lydia Bennet The youngest Bennet sister, she is gossipy, immature, and self-involved. Unlike Elizabeth, Lydia flings herself headlong into romance and ends up running off with Wickham.Mr. Collins A pompous, generally idiotic clergyman who stands to inherit Mr. Bennet’s property. Mr. Collins’s own social status is nothing to brag about, but he takes great pains to let everyone and anyone know that Lady Catherine de Bourgh serves as his patroness. He is the worst combination of snobbish and obsequious.Miss Bingley Bingley’s snobbish sister. Miss Bingley bears inordinate disdain for Elizabeth’s middle-class background. Her vain attempts to garner Darcy’s attention cause Darcy to admire Elizabeth’s self-possessed character even more.Lady Catherine de Bourgh A rich, bossy noblewoman; Mr. Collins’s patron and Darcy’s aunt. Lady Catherine epitomizes class snobbery, especially in her attempts to order the middle-class Elizabeth away from her well-bred nephew.Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner Mrs. Bennet’s brother and his wife. The Gardiners, caring, nurturing, and full of common sense, often prove to be better parents to the Bennet daughters than Mr. Bennet and his wife.Charlotte Lucas Elizabeth’s dear friend. Pragmatic where Elizabeth is romantic, and also six years older than Elizabeth, Charlotte does not view love as the most vital component of a marriage. She is more interested in having a comfortable home. Thus, when Mr. Collins proposes, she accepts.Georgiana Darcy Darcy’s sister. She is immensely pretty and just as shy. She has great skill at playing the pianoforte.Mary Bennet The middle Bennet sister, bookish and pedantic.Catherine Bennet The fourth Bennet sister. Like Lydia, she is girlishly enthralled with the soldiers. SummarySet in the English countryside in a county roughly thirty miles from London, the novel opens with the Bennet family in Longbourn and their five unmarried daughters. The family itself is not nearly as rich as those they interact with and because they have no sons, the property is entailed to pass to a male heir, in this case Mr. Collins. Mrs. Bennet is intent on seeing her daughters married off to wealthy men and when Charles Bingley arrives at nearby Netherfield Park she is excited by the prospect of introducing her daughters to him. She immediately sends her husband to visit him on the first day he arrives. When he next arrives, Bingley brings with him Mr. Darcy and his two sisters, Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst. Bingley is immediately attracted to Jane Bennet, the oldest of the five sisters. Darcy, unlike the social apt Bingley, is proud and rude, immediately insulting Elizabeth Bennet when someone suggests he asks her to dance, insulting her appearance. Later, at the next dance after witnessing the sharpness of her mind, Darcy displays an attraction to Elizabeth at a second ball, but she refuses him because of how the insults he heaped upon her before. Jane and Bingley however only become closer and when Jane becomes ill on a visit to Netherfield, she stays there for a few days, asking Elizabeth to join her and help care for her. During her stay, Elizabeth is forced to confront Darcy again and again and while she is still disinterested in him, he begins to fall for her wit and frank approach to conversation, being so used to pretty words from other women. Elizabeth quickly realizes that Miss Bingley largely dislikes the Bennet family and that she only pretends to be friends with Jane. Soon after, Bingley, his sisters, and Darcy depart for London, announcing to Jane that they have no intentions of returning to Netherfield anytime soon and that Bingley will likely marry another woman, Miss Darcy, Mr. Darcy’s sister. Meanwhile, Elizabeth meets Mr. Wickham who she immediately is drawn towards. He tells her falsehoods about his relationship with Mr. Darcy, that he was cheated out of a piece of inheritance from Darcy’s father. However, Wickham soon takes up with another woman who he plans to marry and Elizabeth, after the careful warnings of her family leaves him be. Jane goes to stay in London after the Gardiners, her aunt and uncle, arrive and offer their residence for her upon hearing of her plight with Bingley. She tries repeatedly to see him but is rebuked by Miss Bingley from even letting Bingley know she is in London and she slowly begins to accept the rejection. Elizabeth goes to visit Mr. Collins and her friend Charlotte, recently married and there runs into Darcy again. He proposes marriage to her, but she flatly refuses, citing his treatment of Jane and Wickham. He however, gives her a letter explaining that Wickham had lied and that Jane had seemed largely disinterested by Bingley so he warned against the match. Elizabeth begins to believe him, but he has already left for London again. She returns home afterwards to find that her sister Lydia has been invited to Brighton to stay with a Colonel and the moving army regiment, which she advises her father against allowing. She however, leaves anyways. After a planned vacation to the lake country is cut short, Elizabeth spends a summer vacation with the Gardiners in Pemberley instead where she once again runs into Darcy. She also meets his sister who is quite nice and finds that Darcy himself is much more agreeable than before. Most of the bad traits she had disliked before seem to have vanished. She is however called back home quickly when it is revealed that Lydia has run off with Wickham. She returns home while her father and Mr. Gardiner search for the two in London. It’s revealed that Darcy actually finds them eventually and helps to pay the dowry for Wickham to take Lydia in marriage, an act that impresses Elizabeth greatly. Bingley reappears in Netherfield Park for a short while and resumes courting Jane, while Lady de Bourgh arrives and acts rudely towards the Bennet family, warning Elizabeth against marrying Darcy, as her daughter is supposed to marry him. A few days later Darcy returns himself and reproposes to Elizabeth to which she now accepts. Jane and Bingley are also engaged shortly before Elizabeth’s engagement. The two are married on the same day and Mrs. Bennet is ecstatic. Bingley and Jane move to Derbyshire after a year and Elizabeth and Darcy live together in Pemberley with often visits from many of her friends. The novel ends with everyone trying to get along after so many insults and poor relations. The Importance of Being EarnestTitle: The Importance of Being EarnestAuthor: Oscar WildeFirst publication: 1895Pages: 64Genre: Theatre play, comedyPlace: England, London and WooltonAuthorOscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 1854 – 30 November 1900) was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London’s most popular playwrights in the early 1890s. Today he is remembered for his epigrams and plays, and the circumstances of his imprisonment which was followed by his early death. Wilde’s parents were successful Anglo-Irish Dublin intellectuals. Their son became fluent in French and German early in life. At university Wilde read Greats; he proved himself to be an outstanding classicist, first at Dublin, then at Oxford. He became known for his involvement in the rising philosophy of aestheticism, led by two of his tutors, Walter Pater and John Ruskin. After university, Wilde moved to London into fashionable cultural and social circles. As a spokesman for aestheticism, he tried his hand at various literary activities: he published a book of poems, lectured in the United States and Canada on the new ” English Renaissance in Art”, and then returned to London where he worked prolifically as a journalist. Known for his biting wit, flamboyant dress, and glittering conversation, Wilde became one of the best-known personalities of his day. At the turn of the 1890s, he refined his ideas about the supremacy of art in a series of dialogues and essays, and incorporated themes of decadence, duplicity, and beauty into his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890). The opportunity to construct aesthetic details precisely, and combine them with larger social themes, drew Wilde to write drama. He wrote Salome (1891) in French in Paris but it was refused a licence. Unperturbed, Wilde produced four society comedies in the early 1890s, which made him one of the most successful playwrights of late Victorian London. At the height of his fame and success, while his masterpiece, The Importance of Being Earnest (1895), was still on stage in London, Wilde had the Marquess of Queensberry, the father of his lover, Lord Alfred Douglas, prosecuted for libel, a charge carrying a penalty of up to two years in prison. The trial unearthed evidence that caused Wilde to drop his charges and led to his own arrest and trial for gross indecency with other men. After two more trials he was convicted and imprisoned for two years’ hard labour. In 1897, in prison, he wrote De Profundis which was published in 1905, a long letter which discusses his spiritual journey through his trials, forming a dark counterpoint to his earlier philosophy of pleasure. Upon his release he left immediately for France, never to return to Ireland or Britain. There he wrote his last work, The Ballad of Reading Gaol (1898), a long poem commemorating the harsh rhythms of prison life. He died destitute in Paris at the age of forty-six. CharactersJohn ” Jack” Worthing is the play’s protagonist and the play’s most sympathetic character. He was found in a handbag on a railway line, and feels less at home in aristocratic society than does Algernon. He lives in the country but has invented a wicked brother named ” Ernest” whose scrapes require Jack’s attendance in the city.Algernon Moncrieff, the foil to Jack, is a hedonist who has created a friend named Bunbury whose status as a permanent invalid allows Algernon to leave the city whenever he pleases. He believes this activity, ” Bunburying,” is necessary, especially if one is going to get married-something he vows never to do.Lady Bracknell is the antagonist of the play, blocking both potential marriages. She embodies typical Victorian classism; she does not allow Gwendolen to marry Jack when she finds out he is an orphan, and she dislikes Cecily as a mate for her nephew Algernon until she learns that Cecily is wealthy.Gwendolen Fairfax is Lady Bracknell’s daughter, and is the object of Jack’s romantic attention. Though she returns his love, Gwendolen appears self-centered and flighty. Like Cecily, she desires nothing but to marry someone named Ernest.Cecily Cardew is Jack’s ward and lives with him in the country. Young and pretty, she is favored by Algernon, who pretends to be Jack’s brother Ernest. Cecily has heard about this brother, and has written correspondences between the two of them for months by the time she meets Algernon/Ernest. Like Gwendolen, she is only interested in marrying a man named Ernest.Miss Prism is the Cecily’s governess. She obviously loves Chasuble, though the fact that he is a priest prohibits her from telling him so directly.Lane is Algernon’s butler and delivers a number of droll lines which show that he is far from a passive servant.Chasuble is a rector, Chasuble frequently visits Jack’s country house to see Miss Prism. Though he is celibate, he seems well matched for the educated Miss Prism.Merriman is Jack’s butler, Merriman has a less significant role than Lane has, but in one scene he and another servant force the bickering Gwendolen and Cecily to maintain supposedly polite conversation. SummaryJack Worthing, the play’s protagonist, is a pillar of the community in Hertfordshire, where he is guardian to Cecily Cardew, the pretty, eighteen-year-old granddaughter of the late Thomas Cardew, who found and adopted Jack when he was a baby. In Hertfordshire, Jack has responsibilities: he is a major landowner and justice of the peace, with tenants, farmers, and a number of servants and other employees all dependent on him. For years, he has also pretended to have an irresponsible black-sheep brother named Ernest who leads a scandalous life in pursuit of pleasure and is always getting into trouble of a sort that requires Jack to rush grimly off to his assistance. In fact, Ernest is merely Jack’s alibi, a phantom that allows him to disappear for days at a time and do as he likes. No one but Jack knows that he himself is Ernest. Ernest is the name Jack goes by in London, which is where he really goes on these occasions—probably to pursue the very sort of behavior he pretends to disapprove of in his imaginary brother. Jack is in love with Gwendolen Fairfax, the cousin of his best friend, Algernon Moncrieff. When the play opens, Algernon, who knows Jack as Ernest, has begun to suspect something, having found an inscription inside Jack’s cigarette case addressed to ” Uncle Jack” from someone who refers to herself as ” little Cecily.” Algernon suspects that Jack may be leading a double life, a practice he seems to regard as commonplace and indispensable to modern life. He calls a person who leads a double life a ” Bunburyist,” after a nonexistent friend he pretends to have, a chronic invalid named Bunbury, to whose deathbed he is forever being summoned whenever he wants to get out of some tiresome social obligation. At the beginning of Act I, Jack drops in unexpectedly on Algernon and announces that he intends to propose to Gwendolen. Algernon confronts him with the cigarette case and forces him to come clean, demanding to know who ” Jack” and ” Cecily” are. Jack confesses that his name isn’t really Ernest and that Cecily is his ward, a responsibility imposed on him by his adoptive father’s will. Jack also tells Algernon about his fictional brother. Jack says he’s been thinking of killing off this fake brother, since Cecily has been showing too active an interest in him. Without meaning to, Jack describes Cecily in terms that catch Algernon’s attention and make him even more interested in her than he is already. Gwendolen and her mother, Lady Bracknell, arrive, which gives Jack an opportunity to propose to Gwendolen. Jack is delighted to discover that Gwendolen returns his affections, but he is alarmed to learn that Gwendolen is fixated on the name Ernest, which she says ” inspires absolute confidence.” Gwendolen makes clear that she would not consider marrying a man who was not named Ernest. Lady Bracknell interviews Jack to determine his eligibility as a possible son-in-law, and during this interview she asks about his family background. When Jack explains that he has no idea who his parents were and that he was found, by the man who adopted him, in a handbag in the cloakroom at Victoria Station, Lady Bracknell is scandalized. She forbids the match between Jack and Gwendolen and sweeps out of the house. In Act II, Algernon shows up at Jack’s country estate posing as Jack’s brother Ernest. Meanwhile, Jack, having decided that Ernest has outlived his usefulness, arrives home in deep mourning, full of a story about Ernest having died suddenly in Paris. He is enraged to find Algernon there masquerading as Ernest but has to go along with the charade. If he doesn’t, his own lies and deceptions will be revealed. While Jack changes out of his mourning clothes, Algernon, who has fallen hopelessly in love with Cecily, asks her to marry him. He is surprised to discover that Cecily already considers that they are engaged, and he is charmed when she reveals that her fascination with ” Uncle Jack’s brother” led her to invent an elaborate romance between herself and him several months ago. Algernon is less enchanted to learn that part of Cecily’s interest in him derives from the name Ernest, which, unconsciously echoing Gwendolen, she says ” inspires absolute confidence.” Algernon goes off in search of Dr. Chasuble, the local rector, to see about getting himself christened Ernest. Meanwhile, Gwendolen arrives, having decided to pay Jack an unexpected visit. Gwendolen is shown into the garden, where Cecily orders tea and attempts to play hostess. Cecily has no idea how Gwendolen figures into Jack’s life, and Gwendolen, for her part, has no idea who Cecily is. Gwendolen initially thinks Cecily is a visitor to the Manor House and is disconcerted to learn that Cecily is ” Mr. Worthing’s ward.” She notes that Ernest has never mentioned having a ward, and Cecily explains that it is not Ernest Worthing who is her guardian but his brother Jack and, in fact, that she is engaged to be married to Ernest Worthing. Gwendolen points out that this is impossible as she herself is engaged to Ernest Worthing. The tea party degenerates into a war of manners. Jack and Algernon arrive toward the climax of this confrontation, each having separately made arrangements with Dr. Chasuble to be christened Ernest later that day. Each of the young ladies points out that the other has been deceived: Cecily informs Gwendolen that her fiancé is really named Jack and Gwendolen informs Cecily that hers is really called Algernon. The two women demand to know where Jack’s brother Ernest is, since both of them are engaged to be married to him. Jack is forced to admit that he has no brother and that Ernest is a complete fiction. Both women are shocked and furious, and they retire to the house arm in arm. Act III takes place in the drawing room of the Manor House, where Cecily and Gwendolen have retired. When Jack and Algernon enter from the garden, the two women confront them. Cecily asks Algernon why he pretended to be her guardian’s brother. Algernon tells her he did it in order to meet her. Gwendolen asks Jack whether he pretended to have a brother in order to come into London to see her as often as possible, and she interprets his evasive reply as an affirmation. The women are somewhat appeased but still concerned over the issue of the name. However, when Jack and Algernon tell Gwendolen and Cecily that they have both made arrangements to be christened Ernest that afternoon, all is forgiven and the two pairs of lovers embrace. At this moment, Lady Bracknell’s arrival is announced. Lady Bracknell has followed Gwendolen from London, having bribed Gwendolen’s maid to reveal her destination. She demands to know what is going on. Gwendolen again informs Lady Bracknell of her engagement to Jack, and Lady Bracknell reiterates that a union between them is out of the question. Algernon tells Lady Bracknell of his engagement to Cecily, prompting her to inspect Cecily and inquire into her social connections, which she does in a routine and patronizing manner that infuriates Jack. He replies to all her questions with a mixture of civility and sarcasm, withholding until the last possible moment the information that Cecily is actually worth a great deal of money and stands to inherit still more when she comes of age. At this, Lady Bracknell becomes genuinely interested. Jack informs Lady Bracknell that, as Cecily’s legal guardian, he refuses to give his consent to her union with Algernon. Lady Bracknell suggests that the two young people simply wait until Cecily comes of age, and Jack points out that under the terms of her grandfather’s will, Cecily does not legally come of age until she is thirty-five. Lady Bracknell asks Jack to reconsider, and he points out that the matter is entirely in her own hands. As soon as she consents to his marriage to Gwendolen, Cecily can have his consent to marry Algernon. However, Lady Bracknell refuses to entertain the notion. She and Gwendolen are on the point of leaving when Dr. Chasuble arrives and happens to mention Cecily’s governess, Miss Prism. At this, Lady Bracknell starts and asks that Miss Prism be sent for. When the governess arrives and catches sight of Lady Bracknell, she begins to look guilty and furtive. Lady Bracknell accuses her of having left her sister’s house twenty-eight years before with a baby and never returned. She demands to know where the baby is. Miss Prism confesses she doesn’t know, explaining that she lost the baby, having absentmindedly placed it in a handbag in which she had meant to place the manuscript for a novel she had written. Jack asks what happened to the bag, and Miss Prism says she left it in the cloakroom of a railway station. Jack presses her for further details and goes racing offstage, returning a few moments later with a large handbag. When Miss Prism confirms that the bag is hers, Jack throws himself on her with a cry of ” Mother!” It takes a while before the situation is sorted out, but before too long we understand that Jack is not the illegitimate child of Miss Prism but the legitimate child of Lady Bracknell’s sister and, therefore, Algernon’s older brother. Furthermore, Jack had been originally christened ” Ernest John.” All these years Jack has unwittingly been telling the truth: Ernest is his name, as is Jack, and he does have an unprincipled younger brother—Algernon. Again the couples embrace, Miss Prism and Dr. Chasuble follow suit, and Jack acknowledges that he now understands ” the vital Importance of Being Earnest.”

The Hound of the BaskervillesTitle: The Hound of the BaskervillesAuthor: Sir Arthur Conan DoyleFirst publication: 1902Pages: 359Genre: Detective fictionPlace: LondonAuthorArthur Ignatius Conan Doyle was born on 22 May 1859 in Edinburgh, Scotland, the eldest son born to Roman Catholic parents Mary née Foley (1838-1921) and artist Charles Altamont Doyle (1832-1893). Charles would lead a life troubled by alcoholism and depression; after spending much time in mental institutions, he died in Scotland in 1893. Supported by an uncle, young Arthur’s education started in 1868 at the Jesuit preparatory school Hodder in the Ribble Valley of Lancashire, England. He then attended Stonyhurst College, graduating in 1875; next he travelled to the town of Feldkirch in Austria to study at the Jesuit college. At Edinburgh University he studied medicine and met his mentor, professor and doctor Joseph Bell. Conan Doyle worked as doctor’s assistant and ship’s doctor, travelling to Africa on the steamer Mayumba. He graduated in 1885, publishing his thesis ” An Essay Upon the Vasomotor Changes in Tabes Dorsalis”. During his years of studies and afterwards he wrote numerous articles and stories for such publications as the Edinburgh Journal, The Lancet, The Pall Mall Gazette, London Society, William Makepeace Thackeray’s The Cornhill, and Charles Dickens’s All The Year Round. They include ” The Captain of the Pole-Star”, ” The Five Orange Pips”, ” The Heiress of Glenmahowley”, ” J. Habakuk Jephson’s Statement”, and ” The Man From Archangel”. In June of 1882 Conan Doyle settled in Southsea, Portsmouth, England, where he opened his own successful medical practice. He continued to write and travelled often to London. In August of 1885 he married Louise Hawkins (1856-1906), with whom he would have two children: daughter Mary Louise (b. 1889) and son Alleyne Kingsley (1892-1918). Arthur and Louise honeymooned in Ireland and while Conan Doyle continued to practice medicine he also kept up his prodigious output of fiction. First published in Beeton’s Christmas Annual in 1887 and favourably reviewed, A Study in Scarlet was published in book form in 1888. The same year, his first novel The Mystery of Cloomber (1888) was released. Based on the Monmouth Rebellion of 1865, Micah Clark was next published in 1889. It was followed by The Sign of the Four (1890) and The Firm of Girdlestone (1890). The same year that The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1891) was published, the Conan Doyles moved to London, settling in South Norwood. In 1892 Louise contracted tuberculosis and the Conan Doyles moved to Hindhead, Haslemere, Surrey where the air was healthier for her. In 1894 Conan Doyle embarked on a lecture tour of the United States and Canada. In 1900 Conan Doyle served as a doctor at the Longman Hospital during the South African War. His first of many war-related works, The Great Boer War (1900), was followed by The War in South Africa: its Cause and Conduct (1902), which earned him the title Knight bachelor in 1902 from King Edward VII. After serving as military correspondent during the First World War he wrote British Campaign in France and Flanders (1920). He also continued to write fiction including and The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1905). The same year Sir Nigel (1906) was published, Louise died of tuberculosis. A year later, on 18 September 1907 Conan Doyle married Jean Blyth Leckie (1872-1940) with whom he would have three children: Denis (b. 1909), Adrian (b. 1910), and Jean Lena Annette (b. 1912). For many years Conan Doyle had strayed from his religious upbringing and by the 1920’s was profoundly interested in Spiritualism, begun by Swedish mystic and philosopher Emmanuel Swedenborg. Proponents including Elizabeth Barrett Browning believed that the living could communicate with the dead. Conan Doyles’s’ spiritualist writings include The Wanderings of a Spiritualist (1921), The History of Spiritualism (1926), and Pheneas Speaks: Direct Spirit Communications in the Family Circle (1927). One of his last works, The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes was published in 1927. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle died at his home ” Windlesham” in Crowborough, Sussex, on 7 July 1930. He was first buried in the rose garden of Windlesham. When ” His Beloved, His Wife” Jean died in 1940 he was reinterred to rest with her, ” reunited”, in the Minstead churchyard of Hampshire, England. His grave memorial in part reads ” Steel True, Blade Straight, Arthur Conan Doyle, Knight, Patriot, Physician, & Man of Letters.” CharactersSherlock Holmes – The world’s first consulting private detective (as he described himself in his initial adventure, A Study in Scarlet). Possessed of a keen intellect and a master of rational, deductive thought (as opposed to giving any credence to superstition or supernatural explanations, as others in The Hound of the Baskervilles do), Holmes may sometimes prove lacking in ordinary interpersonal relationships, but does understand the place and power of human emotions as motivating factors in criminal cases—and manages to maintain a close friendship with his roommate, Dr. John Watson.Dr. John Watson – A physician who served the British Army in Afghanistan (as established in A Study in Scarlet) but who, at the time of this adventure, is sharing rooms with Holmes at 221B Baker Street, London. (In other Holmes stories, which occur after this one according to internal chronology, Watson has moved out of Baker Street to marry and resume private medical practice.) In The Hound of the Baskervilles, Watson proves his loyalty and utility to Holmes (although the detective seems to grant it slightly begrudgingly) by accompanying Sir Henry Baskerville to his family estate to investigate the death of Sir Henry’s predecessor, Sir Charles.Sir Henry Baskerville – The young nobleman who has inherited Baskerville Hall following the mysterious death of its former master, Sir Charles. Sir Henry is dedicated to rebuilding both the family manor and the family reputation, and refuses to be scared away from doing so by the legend of a supernatural ” hell-hound” that haunts the family in retribution for an ancestor’s long-ago crimes.Mr. and Mrs. Barrymore – Two long-time personal servants to the Baskerville family, who plan to leave Baskerville Hall once Sir Henry has established himself as lord of the manor. Unbeknownst to anyone, they are giving assistance to Selden, an escaped convict from a nearby prison who is, in fact, Mrs. Barrymore’s brother.Jack Stapleton – A naturalist with a special interest in catching and collecting butterflies. Stapleton is secretly a member of the Baskerville clan. He is responsible for unleashing his specially bred and phosphorous-decorated hound upon Sir Charles, causing Sir Charles’ death; and is scheming to kill Sir Henry as well when Holmes and Watson become involved in the case. He enlists as his unwilling accomplice his wife, Beryl (Garcia) Stapleton, originally of Costa Rica, whom Jack presents to the world as his sister. Beryl eventually fears for Sir Henry’s life and attempts to warn him of her husband’s plot.Mrs. Laura Lyons – A young wife who suffers an estranged relationship from her father, the litigious Mr. Frankford, and an abusive relationship with her husband, whom she is attempting to divorce (a bold move for women in Victorian Britain). At the suggestion of Jack Stapleton—she believed him to be single and intending to marry her once her divorce was final—she had made an appointment to meet with Sir Charles the night of his death in order to discuss any financial assistance he might render her; however, she canceled the appointment, again at Jack’s suggestion, unwittingly giving Jack the opportunity to arrange Sir Charles’ murder. SummaryOur first glimpse of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson is in their home office at 221b Baker Street in London. Watson examines a mysterious cane left in the office by an unknown visitor, and Holmes sits with his back facing his friend. Holmes asks Watson what he makes of it, and Watson declares that his friend must ” have eyes in the back of [his] head,” since he saw what he was doing. Holmes admits that he saw Watson’s reflection in the coffee service, proving to Watson and us that he is an astute observer. Watson offers up his theory as to the origin of the walking stick, declaring that the inscription, ” To James Mortimer, M. R. C. S., from his friends of the C. C. H.,” suggests an elderly doctor who was awarded the object after years of faithful service. Holmes encourages Watson’s speculation, and the doctor continues, saying that the well-worn stick implies a country practitioner who walks about quite a bit. In addition, the C. C. H., he suggests, is probably the mark of ” the something hunt,” a local group to whom Mortimer provided some service. Holmes congratulates Watson, and goes on to examine the cane himself as Watson basks in the glory of Holmes’ compliment. However, Holmes quickly contradicts almost all of Watson’s conclusions. Holmes suggests that while the owner is clearly a country practitioner, C. C. H. actually means Charing Cross Hospital. The cane was probably presented on the occasion of the man’s retirement from the hospital, and only a young man would have retired from a successful city practice to move to a rural one. Holmes goes on to suggest that the man must possess a small spaniel, given the bite marks on the cane, and, he playfully announces, given the appearance of master and dog at their front door. Mortimer arrives, introduces himself, and talks to the embarrassed Watson. An ardent phrenologist, Mortimer admires Holmes’ skull and announces his desire to consult with ” the second highest expert in Europe,” a moniker which Holmes disputes.