Title: The Disappearance Of Lady Frances Carfax
Author: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Genre: Detective / Mystery
Summary:
➤ This Sherlock Holmes story follows the mysterious disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax, an independent woman who travels alone across Europe.
➤ Lady Frances suddenly stops writing letters to her old governess, which worries those who know her.
➤ Holmes is busy in London, so he sends Dr. Watson to Lausanne, Switzerland, to begin the investigation.
Watson’s discoveries:
➤ Watson learns that Lady Frances had been followed by a suspicious bearded man, Henry Shlessinger, an ex-clergyman with a criminal past.
➤ She had also been seen with a charming but dangerous man who tried to steal from her.
➤ Watson follows her trail through several hotels and discovers she was last confirmed alive in Germany.
Holmes joins in:
➤ Holmes later joins Watson and quickly realizes that Lady Frances is in grave danger.
➤ He deduces that Shlessinger and his wife have trapped her and intend to steal her valuables.
The coffin clue:
➤ Holmes discovers that a coffin containing a “dead woman” is being transported by the criminals.
➤ He realizes the woman inside is actually Lady Frances, alive but drugged and placed in the coffin to be killed and buried.
➤ Holmes and Watson open the coffin just in time and save her life.
Themes:
➤ Crime and deception: The story exposes how criminals use manipulation and false identities.
➤ Deduction and logic: Holmes’ sharp reasoning reveals the truth where others see nothing.
➤ Helplessness vs. protection: Lady Frances is vulnerable, and Holmes’ intervention becomes her only chance of survival.
