the Colonel died of apoplexy, Holmes keeps Wood's story secret for the time being. Questioned by Watson about Nancy's use of the name "David", when no one involved in the case went by that name, Holmes decides that Nancy must have been comparing her husband to the Biblical King David, who arranged the murder of Uriah to steal Bathsheba from him. Commentary "Elementary, my dear Watson" is an often quoted line from Sherlock Holmes. However, Holmes never says this in any of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's stories. In The Adventure of the Crooked Man, though, he comes his closest to it: "I have the advantage of knowing your habits, my dear Watson," said he. … "Excellent!" I cried. "Elementary," said he. The Granada Television adaptation of "The Crooked Man" reverses the quote, having Watson deduce that Holmes had looked up a passage in the Bible since they returned home from Aldershot. When Holmes asks Watson how he knew, he points out Holmes' bookmark and replies "Elementary, my dear Holmes". The exact date of this story's setting is unknown, but since Nancy had been married for "upward of thirty years" and the Indian Rebellion broke out in 1857, the date would need to be at or past 1887. The first few lines by Watson explain that this story occurred in the "summer" just after his marriage, which, according to The Sign of the Four, was sometime in 1889; this suggests the story is set in either 1889 or 1890. Publication history "The Adventure of the Crooked Man" was published in the UK in The Strand Magazine in July 1893, and in the US in Harper's Weekly on 8 July 1893. It was also published in the US edition of The Strand Magazine in August 1893. The story was published with seven illustrations by Sidney Paget in the Strand, and with two illustrations by W. H. Hyde in Harper's Weekly. It was included in The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, which was published in December 1893 in the UK and February 1894 in the US. Adaptations Film and television The story was adapted as a 1923 silent short film as part of the Stoll film series. It starred Eille Norwood as Holmes and Hubert Willis as Watson, and featured Gladys Jennings as Mrs Barclay and Dora De Winton as Miss Morrison. The Granada TV version with Jeremy Brett is faithful to the original