Sebastian Moran: biography and photos

Who among us has not been read (and not reckoned now) by the immortal works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle about the greatest detective in the history of mankind named Sherlock Holmes? Of course, this character is fictitious (even the address on Baker Street, by which he lived, does not really exist). Nevertheless, the detective of all times and nations was opposed by sufficiently strong and cunning villains. Among them, and such a small, but very strong personality, as Colonel Sebastian Moran. What is known about him and whether such a person really was, will now be considered.

Sebastian Moran: well-known facts

There are at least two versions when Conan Doyle mentions the colonel. Firstly, this is a case of embezzling a large diamond (a story we have not published), and secondly, these are stories about Holmes's last battle with Professor Morriarty on the plumb line at the Reichnbach waterfall. Well, and, of course, the "resurrection" of Sherlock Holmes in subsequent events.

Here it is worth noting one thing. Judging by our film and the chronology of the works of Conan Doyle, Colonel Sebastian Moran appears as a negative character only in a case involving the murder of the unfortunate Ronald Adair, who in the card club convicted the colonel of cheating. Adair, as you know, came home, locked himself in his office and began to calculate the amounts of improper winnings in order to return them to partners.

Naturally, such a Colonel Sebastian Moran could not allow. It is believed that after leaving the royal service it was his main source of income. At the initial stage of the investigation, although all the facts point to a verbal skirmish between Moran and the young Adair, the colonel still remains beyond suspicion.

Moreover, Ronald Adair was killed by a revolver bullet from a distance that does not fit into the understanding of a conventional pistol shot and any physical laws of that time.

Sebastian Moran: Biography

Now let's digress from the events a bit and look at the biography of this character. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle does not give much information about him, although he claims that Sebastian Moran and Jim Moriarty were the most important criminals and organizers of such activities in the then old woman-England.

At least, it is only known that Moran was a retired officer of the Indian Army of Her Majesty, Queen of Great Britain. The author mentions that the future employee was born in 1843 in London and was the son of Augustus Moran, a highly respected man who became even a knight of the Order of the Bath. In addition, the father of the future colonel was the official ambassador of Britain in Persia, which could not but affect the education of his son.

Sebastian Moran himself received a rather serious education. What does Eton College and Oxford University stand for? Being in India, he became one of the best hunters for tigers. Under his authorship were published such books as "Hunting for a large beast in the Western Himalayas", written in 1881, and "Three Months in the Jungle" in 1884 release.

Achievement list

As for the merits of this unique villain, it is worth noting that he served in a separate sapper bangalore regiment, and also participated in several campaigns, as a diplomatic representative (Afghan, Cherasyab, Kabul, Sherpur, Giovak).

Hunter for a large beast

It was in India that the colonel distinguished himself as a fearless hunter. For the most part he killed tigers, tying prey to a tree, and waiting for the predator to approach the victim at a close enough distance to be able to shoot him. But this method, as you know, in the end, worked against the colonel himself.

"The last Holmes affair"

Judging by the chronology of the stories, a skirmish on the waterfall, costing the death of two desperate and great people of that time (the genial criminal mind - Professor Moriarty - and no less than a brilliant exporter - Sherlock Holmes) was not an accident. And it was in it that Moran was directly involved. After all, after the fall of the professor in the abyss, he shot at Holmes, who was hanging on the edge of the cliff.

The killer seemed to be there - Sebastian Moran. Sherlock Holmes, being, so to speak, "dead", could not prove the murder of Adar Colonel. As it turned out later, the young gentleman was killed from an original wind-gun made by a blind German master named von Herder, commissioned by Moriarty. Few knew that this weapon was firing a small revolver bullet.

James Moriarty, Sebastian Moran (by the way, with an income of six thousand pounds a month, which for those times is an astronomical sum) - this is not all criminal persons.

"King of blackmail" - Charles Ogestos Milverton, as the narrative shows, was also in the same harness.

Nevertheless, the latter was shot by his angry victim, the professor died in a fight with Holmes, and the colonel fell for his own fishing pole.

"Empty house"

In this story, shown to our viewer in the form of the movie "Tiger Hunt", Holmes, after his "resurrection" in the investigation of the murder of Ronald Adair, ordered a wax figure, which later was fired by Moran from the notorious wind gun.

True, very few people know that our film describes these events somewhat differently. It is believed that the colonel "bought" this bait.

The author himself in the stories mentions the fact that Moran was at Holmes's house and saw this figure. The sleuth himself advised Moran not to touch it, so as not to spoil the appearance. In general, absurd enough.

Trial

However, there is one more "but". The fact is that if for the image of Moriarty there was a prototype in the form of a well-known personality of that time, as they say now, "criminal authority" named Adam Worth, then for his accomplice, so to speak, "right hand", there is only the image of the colonel.

What is most interesting, the son of Worth, caught by Pinkerton's agents, later became a detective himself. Is not it a paradox?

Well, if we talk about the practical side, it's hard to imagine that a criminal of this level escaped punishment. However, the author mentions the colonel, even in the stories of 1902 and 1914. It is noteworthy that if the criminal was still a court, according to British law, he would receive a sentence in the form of a hanging. However, analysts and researchers of creativity Conan Doyle agree that it seems that evidence was not enough, and the colonel was acquitted. So it or not, nobody knows. However, the author himself does not touch upon this topic.

Instead of an afterword

Either way, history is silent, there was a colonel in reality or was the fruit of Conan Doyle's imagination. Nevertheless, judging by the biographical data of the criminal himself, he was very uncommon. Moreover, the skills of service in India were useful to him. Incidentally, this fact agrees with the novel by Jules Verne "20 thousand leagues under the sea" with Captain Nemo, because in time it just coincides with the uprising of the sepoys in the Indian colonies of Her Majesty.

Despite all the negative characteristics of this character, in some moments one can not help but admire his dignity and courage. Yes, let the criminal, let him transgress the law, but it was precisely such desperate and devoted empires that the English crown always valued above all else. And after all, the opposition of three rivals looks very grandiose. Another thing is that Moran did not really claim anything, but was only an instrument of murder, although after Moriarty's death, he could easily take his place (but did this).

But now it is already impossible to find out exactly what considerations Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was guided by creating this character. It is possible to assume that he had a man who served as the prototype of this hero, but, as already mentioned above, we can only guess about this.