THE very first novel of Arthur Conan Doyle to introduce, back in 1887, the character of Sherlock Holmes, destined to become the most famous fictional detective of history. Surely many of you have read this book already, perhaps some of you have never read Sherlock Holmes at all... well it's never too late. I just started reading Doyle few months ago and I already love it!
---------------------------------Teaser Plot--------------------------------- I don't want to say too much about the plot but enough to interest those who haven't read this book just yet:
So, it's London 1881, John Watson, a medical doctor, is just back from the Afghan War, where he served as a field doctor, with a wounded shoulder (wound that in later stories will move to the leg but we forgive Doyle for this little mistake) and is looking for a decent accomodation in The City (apparently, even back then, it was hard to find an accomodation and the cost of living incredibly high). His introduction to Sherlock Holmes through a mutual friend is soon followed by the first mystery in which the Doctor "helps" (or "witnesses" for the use of a better word) Holmes' investigations:
A twisted corpse with no wounds found at a derelict house with the word "RACHE" scrawled in blood on the wall beside the body, and two inept but ambitious investigators of Scotland Yard --Lestrade and Gregson-- who are willing to take Holmes' help but to keep the credit for solving it.
---------------------------------The Style--------------------------------- The novel is split into two separate halves. The first is titled "Being a Reprint from the Reminiscences of John Watson, M.D., Late of the Army Medical Department". This part is told in first person by Holmes' friend Doctor John H. Watson.
The second half of the story is called "The Country of the Saints". At first, this second part seems to be something completely different from the previous; it is told in a third person narrative style, with an omniscient narrator and is set in the United States of America and the Mormon community! Only in the last two chapters the narration returns to Watson's account of Holmes' investigation and the relationship between the two halves of the novel becomes apparent as we get to know the motive for the crime and a full identification of the villain(s). Enough said!!!
---------------------------------More about the story--------------------------------- In this novel Watson and Holmes move to a now-famous address, 221B Baker Street, where Watson is introduced to Holmes's eccentricities as well as his uncanny ability to deduce information about his fellow beings. The Doctor is shaken by Holmes' manners and egotism but he's also impressed by his abilities to provide detailed information about a man glimpsed once under the streetlamp across the road. Holmes shows how there is nothing magical about it, simply the power of the deductive method on which he so much focused.
To prevent accusation of plagiarism from the critics, Doyle smartly paid tribute to other two fictional detectives which gave inspiration to Doyle in creating Holmes character: Edgar Allan Poe's Dupin (with his Watsonian friend) and Émile Gaboriau's Monsieur Lecoq. His "tribute" was given through Holmes when he defines the two investigators as "a very inferior fellow" and "a miserable bungler", respectively. A sight of the smartness of the Scottish-born author.
---------------------------------Conclusion------------------- -------------- A Study In Scarlet was incredibly interesting to read, I could hardly put it down (as a consequence I often turned off the bedside lamp at 3am). Doyle's writing is pleasant and can be read at any age. The feel of the Victorian era is unmistakable and priceless. After reading this novel you can understand why Holmes & Watson had such a huge success worldwide, you just can't wait to read another of their adventures!
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
very helpful by (97%):
helpful by (3%):
