The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes · Character
Joseph Harrison
Phelps's brother-in-law, a stout, easy-mannered young man whose casual presence at Briarbrae sits oddly against the wreckage of a stolen treaty.
supporting
Also known as Joseph, Mr. Joseph Harrison, brother Joseph, Master Joseph, Joseph—the Mr. Harrison
First appearance: The Naval Treaty
As a supporting figure in The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, Joseph Harrison is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.
The brother of Phelps's fiancée, who greets Holmes and Watson at Briarbrae and explains his connection to the family.
Joseph drifts through the household at Woking as a familiar, unremarkable figure — the brother of Phelps's fiancée Annie, welcome in the family circle and free to come and go. His ordinariness is precisely what makes him interesting: in a case built on a locked room and a vanished document, the people closest to the victim deserve the hardest look. He represents the domestic intimacy that both comforts Phelps and complicates the investigation, since suspicion and affection cannot easily share a house.
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Character Web
16 connectionsA slice of how Joseph Harrison sits in the book — open the reader for the full interactive map.
Relationship types
- Other
Character groups
- Yellow Face secret
- Protagonist
- Silver Blaze case
+11 more in the full Character Web
Open in readerNarrative arc
Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Falling action.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
In this excerpt, the narrative climax is marked by Watson’s psychological peak of self-conscious frustration a…
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Joseph Harrison appears across 1 companion beat. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.
Chapter companion notes
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See Joseph Harrison in The Naval Treaty