A Study in Scarlet

The first novel introduces Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, how they meet, and how they get roped into their first intriguing case together. A Study in Scarlet is a complex narrative of emotion. At first glance, most readers may assume this is a clear-cut mystery; however, that is not the case. The murderer’s backstory is actually a sad one, and as you read, you may begin to feel differently about the case. My final thoughts about A Study in Scarlet are this: This is the best way Sir Arthur Conan Doyle could have introduced the Sherlock Holmes stories. I can’t believe this story was rejected for a while before it was inevitably published. I wish I could have met the person who created my favorite detective of all time, and I will continue to read every Sherlock Holmes story.

Published in 1878, this first Sherlock Holmes story is a curiosity, rather than a finely developed novel. Here Dr. Watson, just released from the British army and recovering from serious wounds from the second Afghan war, meets Sherlock Holmes for the first time. Both have been looking for someone to share the rent--at 221B Baker Street. Holmes, without a "real" career, spends considerable time experimenting in a hospital chemistry lab and interviewing people who come to the apartment. Watson soon discovers that Holmes is a detective consultant, working with police detectives and private detectives alike. Written before Doyle had fully developed his skills as a mystery novelist, this novel divides in half. In the first part, which begins around 1880, Holmes helps investigate the murder of Enoch J. Drebber of Cleveland, Ohio, apparently poisoned in an abandoned house. A tall stranger has been seen in the neighborhood, and some clues have been planted at the crime scene. Later, Drebber's traveling companion is killed. Holmes, however, manages to solve both cases by the halfway point in the book. The second half of the novel flashes back to 1847. John Ferrier, one of twenty-one people in a caravan, is traveling through "an arid and repulsive desert" in the American west when the caravan runs out of food and water. Ferrier and a small girl, the only survivors, search for water until they collapse. Rescued by Brigham Young and a wagon train of Mormons on their way to found their city, Ferrier, in exchange for food and water, agrees to convert and become a good Mormon. Years later, when Ferrier is a successful rancher and Lucy has fallen in love with a Gentile, the elders of the church demand that Ferrier agree to wed Lucy to a member of the church, a decision he resists. These seemingly unrelated stories eventually overlap, but Doyle's incomplete and inaccurate knowledge of Mormon beliefs show his deliberate attempt to capitalize on the mysteries of the "wild west" and of Mormonism for the sake of his story, now quite dated. The ending consists of Holmes simply ticking off the clues which have led him to solve the murders and capture the murderer, not a dramatic or exciting climax. Watson is seen as a soldier-hero and doctor, and not as a bumbling side-kick to Holmes, who is shown here as a decidedly odd and pompous man, less "clever" than he becomes in time. Fun to read and interesting primarily because it is the first Holmes mystery. Mary Whipple The Hound of the Baskervilles (Signet Classics) The Speckled Band (Travelman Crime) The Naval Treaty

I have read this book numerous times over the years and even though I obviously know the outcome, it never fails to entertain me. This book is a great place to start the Sherlock Holmes trek in part because it is the first chapter in the Sherlock Holmes saga (he is introduced and moves in with Doctor Watson fresh back from the Afghan War); it also gives a foundation of the science of deduction (which probably was novel in Victorian England) and provides a compelling story that is suspenseful and told with prose as only an educated 19th Century English writer can deliver. Conan Doyle really keeps the pages turning! (Hey, I thought this was supposed to happen only in modern thrillers!)This work will whet your appetite to delve further into all the Sherlock Holmes stories!

Study in scarlet begins as a war story with Watson reflecting on everything that has happened since he went to Middle East serving his country (as a doctor). He tells the story of how he was a man trying to find a home, to a man who decides to be roomates with the great Sherlock Holmes. The dialogue between Holmes and Watson is one of the most interesting piece of literature I ever read, it offers philosophical ideas, even with the 100 year gap of grammar and slang (with the unabridged novel). Seeing how they get to know eachother and how Watson becomes interested in Sherlock Holmes work. The case is about a simple citizen being murdered in a household, and Holmes is hired to investigate, while bringing along Watson. But in the end there is a big twist of events and we learn the "WHOLE" truth of what happened. A must read, with a mixture of love and desperation.

Meet Sherlock Holmes. Hopelessly eccentric, devastatingly brilliant, and seemingly born of a supernatural ability to accomplish what he sets his mind to, the world's greatest detective has devoted himself to the pursuit of criminals. By matching wits with both the criminals he hunts and the official police inspectors, Holmes has found a pasttime that has a neverending series of puzzles on which he can train his amazing powers of observation and deduction. We're all familiar with this character, and that's because, a hundred years after Holmes was first unveiled to the public, he continues to gather new readers. An icon who has spawned dozens of stereotypes, Holmes has a universal appeal that still fascinates us, even though the world of crimefighting has transformed itself entirely. For the modern reader, the writing is stiff and takes some getting used to. Watson's buffoonish amazement at every word Holmes utters is comical, and the pronouncements of the great detective seem arrogant and, at times, obvious or self-serving. But make no mistake. There's some magic in these writings. This particular edition (I have the 1975 printing) is a very nice introduction to Holmes, beginning as it does with the first two stories which made the character famous. Young readers in particular should enjoy the immersion in Victorian England, and the exposure to this great character's methods. Highly recommended.

It is 1878 and Doctor John Watson, his health damaged by his experiences with the British Army in Afghanistan during the Second Anglo-Afghan War, is looking for lodgings in the great city of London. It seems fortuitous, when a mutual friend introduces him to another who needs someone to share costs on a suite on Baker Street, but this other man is quite an eccentric. Sherlock Holmes has bent his life and education towards turning himself into the premier detective.Watson can hardly credit Holmes's claims of what a first-class detective can do. But, when a note arrives from a Scotland Yard detective, inviting Holmes to consult on a particularly mysterious murder, Watson soon finds himself carried along by Holmes, watching his new friend's powers unravel a seemingly inscrutable knot. The game is afoot, and Holmes needs to solve a murder, and bring a murderer to justice.This fascinating book was first published in 1887, and was the very first Sherlock Holmes story. In it we get to see the first meeting of Holmes and Watson, and hear Holmes explain his methods in detail. If you are a fan of murder mysteries, then this is definitely a book that you should not miss.The center part of this story revolves around the actions of the Mormon Church in Salt Lake City, Utah. Author Arthur Conan Doyle had a tendency to "wing" the details of his story, and his treatment of the Mormons shows a certain carelessness in how he presented them. Therefore, if you are a Mormon, you will most likely find this book offensive.But, that said, this is a wonderfully entertaining story that is sure to please most every mystery fan. And, if you are a fan of Sherlock Holmes, then you must read this book! It's great.