Alice Rucastle
From The Arthur Conan Doyle Encyclopedia
Fictional character.
In the Sherlock Holmes stories
- Alice Rucastle was the daughter of Jephro Rucastle and his first wife (COPP 146).
- She met and fell in love with Mr. Fowler, a seaman (COPP 568).
- She had property or money of her own, which Jephro Rucastle tried to control by making her sign it over (COPP 569). When she refused, he pressured her until she fell seriously ill (brain fever) and had her hair cut short during recovery (COPP 481).
- After her illness, instead of letting her go, Jephro Rucastle imprisoned her in a locked, barricaded room to stop her marrying Mr. Fowler (COPP 412).
- Violet Hunter was hired because she resembled Alice in appearance (especially hair color) and could be dressed to impersonate her at the window, misleading Mr. Fowler into thinking Alice was happy and no longer interested in him (COPP 477).
She was eventually rescued by Mr. Fowler with the help of Mrs. Toller (COPP 581).
