Charles Augustus Milverton

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Lore & Background

Milverton's downfall occurred not through legal means, but via the raw emotion he dismissed. During a midnight meeting in his study, he confronted a woman posing as a maidservant offering to sell compromising letters about her mistress. This woman was actually a former victim whose husband had died from heartbreak after she refused to pay Milverton's ransom. Consumed by vengeance for her husband, she shot Milverton dead and stamped on his face. Holmes and Watson were hiding behind a curtain; although Watson initially rushed to stop the shooting, Holmes restrained him, realizing 'that it was no affair of ours; that justice had overtaken a villain.' After the woman fled, Holmes burned Milverton's entire cache of blackmail papers in the fireplace before they escaped over the garden wall.

In Their Own Story

Holmes first infiltrated Milverton's Hampstead residence disguised as a plumber to map the house and learn Milverton's routine. He even became engaged to one of Milverton's housemaids, shocking Watson, though Holmes assured him he had a hated rival who would step in if he disappeared. Later that night, Holmes and Watson broke into the study just as Milverton entered unexpectedly while they hid behind a curtain. There, they witnessed the fatal confrontation where the avenging woman shot Milverton. The next morning, Inspector Lestrade visited Baker Street to request help with the murder investigation, describing one of the escaping burglars as 'a middle-aged, strongly built man-square jaw, thick neck, moustache...' Holmes joked that this description could fit Watson but refused Lestrade's offer, stating he sympathized with the criminals rather than the victim. Holmes later recognized the killer in a shop window photograph among celebrities, signaling silence to Watson, who noted the killer was 'beyond the reach of the law.'

Reader's Guide

The character of Charles Augustus Milverton was based on the real-life blackmailer and art dealer Charles Augustus Howell, who preyed upon figures like Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Howell died in 1890 under strange circumstances: his body was found near a Chelsea public house with his throat posthumously slit and a coin (reported as a sovereign or half-sovereign) placed in his mouth, understood as a criticism of slanderers. The story was published on 26 March 1904 in Collier's and in April 1904 in The Strand Magazine. It is one of 13 stories collected in 'The Return of Sherlock Holmes' (1905). According to timelines by William S. Baring-Gould and Leslie S. Klinger, the events occurred in 1899, nine years after Howell's death. Literary inspiration also came from E.W. Hornung's short story 'Wilful Murder.' In adaptations, such as the Granada Television series starring Jeremy Brett, Milverton was portrayed by Robert Hardy, with the episode titled 'The Master Blackmailer,' where Holmes suggested he would not chronicle the case due to its unpleasant circumstances.

Did You Know?

• Milverton demanded £7,000 for letters, which Holmes noted was worth that amount to him specifically 'to make an example' of Lady Eva Blackwell.
• The real-life inspiration, Charles Augustus Howell, died in 1890 with a coin found in his mouth, interpreted as a critique of slanderers.
• Holmes disguised himself as a plumber and became engaged to Milverton's housemaid solely to learn the layout of the blackmailer's home.
• When Inspector Lestrade described one of the burglars as having a 'square jaw' and 'thick neck,' Holmes joked that the description could apply to Watson.