The doings of Raffles Haw — Reading Companion

The Enigmatic Arrival

The opening chapter introduces the McIntyre siblings in a setting that feels grounded in Victorian domesticity. Doyle lingers on details: the 'brilliant yellow light' of the lamp, the 'great white-limbed elms' outside. This realism contrasts sharply with the fantastical elements to come. Robert's sketch and Laura's fancy-work suggest a life of modest artistic pursuits, yet their conversation about an expected visitor—presumably Haw—creates anticipation.

Doyle's prose is precise: Laura's voice is 'disconsolate,' the wind 'shrieked and whistled.' The siblings' physical descriptions include a telling flaw—a 'slight out-turning and droop of the lower lip' in Laura, and a 'possibility of weakness' in Robert's mouth. These details may foreshadow moral or emotional vulnerabilities that Haw's wealth will test. The chapter ends without Haw appearing, leaving the reader with the 'double enigma' of the title: who is Raffles Haw, and what is his connection to the McIntyres?

A Visionary's Grandiose Plans

In a later excerpt, Raffles Haw reveals his ambitions to Robert. Haw speaks of cutting canals through isthmuses, including finishing the Panama Canal, joining the Forth and Clyde, and even connecting the White Sea to the Gulf of Bothnia. His tone is 'deadly earnest,' and he produces a map marked with blue pencil lines. Robert, meanwhile, struggles to suppress laughter, finding Haw's schemes 'lunacy' yet noting their 'precision and coolness.'

Haw's plans extend to tunneling through the earth, dismissing the idea of molten interior with references to 'barometric pressure' and 'combustible materials.' He claims to have estimates from 'first living engineers' and agents buying up land. This blend of scientific jargon and absurd ambition characterizes Haw as a monomaniac. The exchange highlights a central tension: Haw's wealth enables fantasies that border on the ridiculous, but his earnestness makes them unsettling. Robert's internal conflict—'against his own reason endorsing and speculating over his plans'—mirrors the reader's own response.

Wealth as a Double-Edged Force

The catalog subjects list 'philanthropists' and 'alchemists' as themes, and the excerpts show Haw's wealth as both a tool for grand projects and a source of unease. His canal-cutting plans are framed as 'charities' that are 'cosmopolitan,' yet they also reveal a hubris that may lead to unintended consequences. The chapter title 'The Workings of Wealth' suggests a focus on how money transforms lives, but the excerpts do not yet show its effects on the McIntyres.

Doyle's portrayal of Haw is ambiguous: he is polite, indulgent, and patient with Robert's skepticism, but his obsession with 'helping the human race' through engineering feats hints at a lack of self-awareness. The mention of 'the spread of the blight' in a later chapter title implies that Haw's influence may become destructive. Readers should watch for how Haw's philanthropy affects the McIntyres' personal lives, especially given the siblings' hinted weaknesses.

Structural Hints from the Chapter Titles

The table of contents provides a roadmap for the novel's trajectory. Early chapters like 'A Double Enigma' and 'The Tenant of the New Hall' establish mystery and setting. 'A House of Wonders' and 'From Clime to Clime' suggest Haw's global reach. Mid-chapter titles such as 'The Great Secret' and 'A Chemical Demonstration' point to the alchemical core of the plot, while 'A Family Jar' and 'A Midnight Venture' introduce domestic conflict and intrigue.

The later titles 'The Spread of the Blight' and 'The Greater Secret' indicate a turn toward darker consequences. This structure suggests a narrative that moves from wonder to unease, from private enigma to public impact. Readers can use these titles to anticipate shifts in tone and focus. The final chapter, 'The Greater Secret,' implies that Haw's ultimate revelation may be more profound—or more troubling—than the initial mystery of his wealth.

As you read, pay attention to how Doyle balances the fantastical elements of alchemy and immense wealth with the realistic portrayal of the McIntyres' domestic life. The siblings' flaws, hinted at in the opening, may become crucial as Haw's influence grows. The chapter titles offer a reliable guide to the novel's structure, signaling key turns from wonder to blight. Let the precision of Doyle's descriptions—of weather, faces, and schemes—anchor your reading in the tangible world even as the plot ventures into the extraordinary.

Raffles Haw’s sprawling schemes left me oddly restless—all that grand ambition against a homely hearth. I found myself thinking of Thrums instead, where the little minister’s quiet longings ache so much louder than any invention. There’s a tenderness in smallness, I suppose, that grand plans forget. The Little Minister — Story, Setting & Ideas lingered like an old letter I hadn’t meant to reread.