A narrator reflects on the seventy some cases Sherlock Holmes has solved in the past eight years and advises us that the case he's about to chronicle for us is the most unusual of all. The narrator mentions that this is an old case, one which takes place back in the narrator's bachelor days when he shared rooms with Sherlock Holmes on Baker Street. The reason given for the delay in reporting the case publicly is a mysterious promise of secrecy, apparently made by the narrator to a lady who has recently passed away, thus releasing him from his vow. The narrator also feels it's important to come forward about the case to set to rest some of the uglier rumors about the death of one Dr. Grimesby Roylott. (read more)