A Case of Identity

Name: A Case of Identity
Author: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The story revolves around James Windibank, a man who marries a woman much older than himself for her money. He then uses his wife's wealth to keep his daughter, Miss Sutherland, at home and away from potential suitors. When Miss Sutherland announces her intention to attend a ball, Windibank disguises himself as Mr. Hosmer Angel and begins to woo her, using tinted glasses, a moustache, and bushy whiskers to conceal his identity. Windibank's plan is to keep Miss Sutherland from marrying anyone else for at least ten years by making her believe that he has been faithful to her throughout their engagement. He uses a typewriter to write letters to her, which are full of romantic language and declarations of love. However, the typewriter has a distinctive style, with slurred e's and tailless r's, which Holmes recognizes as belonging to Windibank. Holmes discovers Windibank's true identity by analyzing the typewriter and comparing it to a description of Windibank that he had obtained from his employer. He then confronts Windibank, who is forced to admit his deception.

By Sir Arthur Conan Doyle · First published 1890 · Genre: Mystery, Detective Fiction, Crime · 8,336 words

First lines

"My dear fellow," said Sherlock Holmes as we sat on either side of the fire in his lodgings at Baker Street, "life is infinitely stranger than anything which the mind of man could invent. We would not dare to conceive the things which are really mere commonplaces of existence. If we could fly out of that window hand in hand, hover over this great city, gently remove the roofs, and peep in at the queer things which are going on, the strange coincidences, the plannings, the cross-purposes, the wonderful chains of events, working through generations, and leading to the most outré results, it would make all fiction with its conventionalities and foreseen conclusions most stale and unprofitable. "

What this Textopian page supports

A Case of Identity is listed on Textopian as a short story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, dated 1890 CE.

This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.

Work type: Short story
Author: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Date: 1890 CE
Language: English
Genres: Mystery, Detective Fiction, Crime, Suspense, Short Story
Length: 8,336 words
Structure: 1 section, 141 paragraphs
Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)

Good citation fit

Work identity for A Case of Identity by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
Readability and classroom-planning context
Passage-specific claims should cite the exact /read/ URL for the relevant chapter or paragraph

Discussion starters

What should a reader notice first when entering A Case of Identity?
How does this short story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle fit its genre, period, or classroom use?
Where does Mystery first become important in the reading?

Similar titles

Genres

Mystery — Arthur Conan Doyle's 'A Case of Identity' is a story featuring the detective Sherlock Holmes, solving a complex case with mystery elements involving identity theft.
Detective Fiction — The main protagonist is Sherlock Holmes, a professional detective investigating a case, hence it is a piece of detective fiction.
Crime — The plot revolves around a crime - the impersonation of a person resulting in deception and mistaken identities, which makes this work a part of the crime genre.
Suspense — The story builds suspense as Sherlock Holmes unravels clues to solve the case of identity theft, bringing in an element of the suspense genre.