The Adventure of The Naval Treaty - About The Story

About The Story

The story gives the modern reader two incidental interesting insights into the period of its writing. First, that at the time it was in no way shameful for a government official to admit that he got his job directly by the favour of his uncle, a cabinet minister – nepotism in the most literal sense. Secondly, that when the story was written, France and Czarist Russia – who were to become Britain's staunch allies in the First World War – were perceived as enemies. In a spy story set in his present, it was as natural for Doyle to portray these two countries as the potential purveyors of the stolen naval treaty as it would have been to portray the Soviet Union in that role in a Cold War spy thriller. And in fact, this story is one of the very first in the emerging genre of spy story.

This is the longest of the short stories published in the Strand Magazine before Sherlock Holmes's 'death' in "The Adventure of the Final Problem". As such, it was originally published in two parts: the first describes the events before the interview with Lord Holdhurst, while the second explains all events thereafter.

This story contains the first reference to "The Adventure of the Second Stain", which would not be published until around 11 years later.

The school buildings "rising up above the slates, like brick islands in a lead-coloured sea", which Holmes points out to Watson from a train near Clapham Junction still exist today, and can still be seen by passengers on that railway line.