The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax
1911
The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax, written by Arthur Conan Doyle and first published in 1911, is a Sherlock Holmes short story that revolves around the mysterious vanishing of Lady Frances, a noblewoman. When her governess, Miss Dobney, reports her disappearance after five weeks of silence, Holmes and Dr. Watson embark on a perilous investigation that leads them to Switzerland and a web of deceit involving a sinister couple. This tale highlights themes of vulnerability and the complexities of human relationships, showcasing Watson's resourcefulness as he often acts independently of Holmes.
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“[O]n general principles it is best that I should not leave the country. Scotland Yard feels lonely without me, and it causes an unhealthy excitement among the criminal classes.””
— Arthur Conan Doyle
“One of the most dangerous classes in the world," said he, "is the drifting and friendless woman. She is the most harmless and often the most useful of mortals, but she is the inevitable inciter of crime in others. She is helpless. She is migratory. She has sufficient means to take her from country to country and from hotel to hotel. She is lost, as often as not, in a maze of obscure pensions and boardinghouses. She is a stray chicken in a world of foxes. When she is gobbled up she is hardly missed.””
— Arthur Conan Doyle
