The Doings of Raffles Haw
Encyclopedia
The Doings of Raffles Haw (1891
) is a novel
by Scottish author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
.
. Even before he arrives, people start gossiping about him. As his house is being constructed, people wonder at the number of workers, their speed and the complete disregard for the amount of money spent which the unknown millionaire manifests. When he arrives, he strikes an acquaintance with the McIntyre family, which consists of Robert, his sister Laura, and their father. McIntyre senior had been a prosperous gun merchant but had gone bankrupt and lost his sanity. Laura is engaged to the vicar Mr.Spurling's son, Hector Spurling, who is a sailor and is summoned for duty in the navy at the start of the novel.
Through the siblings (he disregards McIntyre senior as a greedy beggar) and the vicar Mr.Spurling, Raffles Haw sets about to alleviate the misery of the people of Tamfield. He saves many families and businesses with his timely financial succour. He has incredible amounts of money. It turns out that he has found a way to turn lead into solid gold. With the passage of time, he becomes disillusioned because his philanthropic activities don't benefit anyone. Instead, most people now become parasites, knowing that there is always hope for alms from the millionaire. Raffles Haw is engaged to Laura McIntyre, who keeps her engagement with Hector Spurling a secret from him. One day, in a mood of despondency, he goes to the one person he supposes to be true to her and not greedy for money, Laura McIntyre. As they are talking, Hector Spurling unexpectedly enters. His voyage had been shorter than expected. When Raffles Haw discovers the secret of the engagement, and the fact that not only Laura but her brother Robert had kept him in dark about it, he is totally heartbroken
. He locks himself up in his laboratory and burns all his gold and gems, worth millions, and is found dead later.
1891 in literature
The year 1891 in literature involved some significant new books.-Events:*Guy de Maupassant is officially diagnosed as insane.*Tristan Bernard has his first work published in La Revue Blanche....
) is a novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by Scottish author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Arthur Conan Doyle
Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle DL was a Scottish physician and writer, most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, generally considered a milestone in the field of crime fiction, and for the adventures of Professor Challenger...
.
Plot outline
A mysterious millionaire Raffles Haw comes to reside in Tamfield in StaffordshireStaffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
. Even before he arrives, people start gossiping about him. As his house is being constructed, people wonder at the number of workers, their speed and the complete disregard for the amount of money spent which the unknown millionaire manifests. When he arrives, he strikes an acquaintance with the McIntyre family, which consists of Robert, his sister Laura, and their father. McIntyre senior had been a prosperous gun merchant but had gone bankrupt and lost his sanity. Laura is engaged to the vicar Mr.Spurling's son, Hector Spurling, who is a sailor and is summoned for duty in the navy at the start of the novel.
Through the siblings (he disregards McIntyre senior as a greedy beggar) and the vicar Mr.Spurling, Raffles Haw sets about to alleviate the misery of the people of Tamfield. He saves many families and businesses with his timely financial succour. He has incredible amounts of money. It turns out that he has found a way to turn lead into solid gold. With the passage of time, he becomes disillusioned because his philanthropic activities don't benefit anyone. Instead, most people now become parasites, knowing that there is always hope for alms from the millionaire. Raffles Haw is engaged to Laura McIntyre, who keeps her engagement with Hector Spurling a secret from him. One day, in a mood of despondency, he goes to the one person he supposes to be true to her and not greedy for money, Laura McIntyre. As they are talking, Hector Spurling unexpectedly enters. His voyage had been shorter than expected. When Raffles Haw discovers the secret of the engagement, and the fact that not only Laura but her brother Robert had kept him in dark about it, he is totally heartbroken
Broken heart
A broken heart is a common metaphor used to describe the intense emotional pain or suffering one feels after losing a loved one, whether through death, divorce, breakup, physical separation or romantic rejection....
. He locks himself up in his laboratory and burns all his gold and gems, worth millions, and is found dead later.