Since I can remember the name Sherlock Holmes has been the utmost association to anything pertaining to a detective, mystery, or investigation case. This iconic character was first created by the British author Arthur Conan Doyle in 1887 and appeared in many short stories. Sherlock is very unique character who lives on Baker Street in London. He has many character flaws (such as drug use), but has an extremely keen intelligence. He is best renown for his natural skills of human observation and picking up on the most miniscule of details. Sherlock is often accompanied by his best friend, Dr. John Watson who also narrates much of the stories.
I came to better understand the character of Sherlock Holmes from the 2009 and 2011 films starring Robert Downey Jr as Holmes and Jude Law as Dr. Watson (Rachel McAdams plays Holmes' love interest Irene Adler and James Harris plays Holmes' arch nemesis Prof Moriarty). The two movies cram together much of the mini stories from Sherlock Holmes and I found the macabre style to be quite intriguing. It's my understanding that a third movie is currently in production. There is also a BBC TV series I enjoyed starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Holmes and Martin Freeman as Dr. Watson. But aside from the media portrayals I had never truly embarked on the source material.
About the Author
Doyle was most influenced by the writings of Edgar Allen Poe, specifically the detective character of C. Auguste Dupin. Published in 1841, Poe's short story "The Murders in Rye" debuted this character which was considered the first ever detective story in literature. Poe released two more stories pertaining to this intelligent character as he rationalizes and solves various criminal mysteries. There was also the popular detective, Monsenior Lecoq written by the French author Emile Gaboriau during the 1860s which also influenced Doyle's creation of Holmes. In 1887 the character of Sherlock Holmes made his debut in the story "A Study in Scarlett" and became an instant success. Throughout his career Doyle wrote 56 short stories and 4 novels starring this iconic detective character.
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
This particular book review I am making pertains to the 1892 publication of the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. The book consists of 12 short-stories that are his earliest works of Sherlock Holmes, some of which are regarded as his favorites. The stories all have a similar structure in which Sherlock teams up with Watson to meet a unique character, listen to their case, and solve the mystery. The more I read these stories, the more I found myself trying to deduce the details of the person's case. What's especially interesting is that although Sherlock Holmes always solves the case, the criminal either escapes, dies, or is forgiven in the end. I'm going to give a brief summary and analysis of each of the books.
- A Scandal in Bohemia
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- At Sherlock's apartment on 212B Baker St (where most the stories begin) Sherlock and Watson are visited by the king of Bohemia (who is dressed incognito). The king pleads that Sherlock take his case to steal a photograph which could cause great scandal to his upcoming marriage with the princess of Scandanvia. This is a photograph of the king with the famed opera singer, Irene Adler (also a love interest of Holmes). Holmes accepts the case and in order to discover the location of the photograph he stages a fire at Adler's house with the assistance of Watson. Holmes reasons that in a moment of distress a person will go for their most coveted treasure and observes Adler do-so during the event. Holmes waits until later however to return to the hidden location only to realize that Adler has outwitted him. After the fire she quickly realized that Holmes had staged the fire, and decides to take the photo and leave the countryside. She leaves a message with a portrait for Holmes and the king, explaining that she has found love and there is no need to worry about the photograph. The king finds peace with this message, however Holmes is somewhat bemused that he was outwitted by someone. He requests to keep the photograph of Irene Adler (and from that point on she is the utmost love interest of his).
- The Red-Headed League
- Sherlock and Watson are visited by a pawnshop owner who describes his unusual case to them. Since he has red-hair he is welcomed to an exclusive club known as the Red-Headed League, that could offer great privileges' to the select few. A request of the league was that he leave his pawnshop for several hours during the day, at a nearby office where he could perform various clerical duties (such as transcribing the Encyclopedia Britannica). After 8 weeks of performing these tasks at the office, one day he shows up and sees that the office has been disbanded without any explanation. Holmes then does some investigation around the perimeters and discovers a nearby bank. He is able to deduce that the league is ultimately a cover, by which these criminals are using the pawnshop to build an underground tunnel into the nearby bank.
- A Case of Identity:
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- A young country woman approaches Sherlock and Watson about a mysterious missing person case, that happens to be her lost lover. The woman explains ther relationship and how her lover did not show up to the church on their wedding day. Holmes is able to reason that this mysterious lover was actually the woman's step-father (who was intending to permanently damage her desire to marry). In conducting this cruel scheme, the step-father had hoped that she would never want to love another man again which would allow him to hold possession of her inheritance. Holmes confronts the step-father and accuses him of his wicked ways, however the man is able to escape having committed no crime. Holmes predicts that this man is wicked in heart and will eventually commit further crimes. He also decides not to tell the young daughter as he deems it unwise to snatch a delusion from a woman.
- The Boscombe Valley Mystery
- Inspector Lestrade of the Scotland Yard police force requests Sherlock's assistance on a recent murder mystery. A young Australian man is convicted of murdering his father and Lestrade believes he is innocent. While the evidence is quite damming to the young man, Holmes is able to investigate the crime scene and realizes there was a third person at the scene. Later that evening Holmes is visited by the guilty culprit named John Turner, who shares his unusual reason for the murder. He states that back in his youth in Australia he committed crimes and came to London to start anew. However he was followed by one of his expatriates who blackmailed him into giving him his own land. The final straw came when this blackmailing man intended for his son to marry his daughter. Having heard the unusual circumstance, Holmes decides not to implicate John Turner, but he is able to help release the young man on the evidence of a third person at the crime scene.
- The Five Orange Pips
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- A young man visits Sherlock at Baker Street to describe a fearful letter he has received that has five orange seeds inside it and is labeled with the letters KKK. The man elaborates how his uncle and father died shortly after receiving the letter and now fears for his life. Holmes advices the young man to be very careful and is able to deduce that this letter came from the terrible American organization of the Ku Klux Klan. On his way home from Baker Street, the young man is killed, much to Holmes dismay. Holmes is however able to locate the recent murderers by studying the ship-logs and identifies the ship they traveled on from America. He thus mocks their death threat by sending the captain a letter with five orange pips and quite mysteriously the ship becomes lost at sea.
- The Man with the Twisted Lip
- Watson is visited by a woman in distress who declares that her husband, Neville St. Clair has gone missing and was last seen at an opium den. Watson goes to the opium den to investigate and shockingly he uncovers Sherlock Holmes there in a state of stupor. Holmes informs Watson that he is also trying to investigate the case and partaking in the drug to see things from the criminal's perspective. At first Holmes believes Neville St. Clair to have been murdered having found his coat in the River Thames. However after the wife informs him that she recently received a letter from him, he is able to deduce that Neville has actually been living a double life as a beggar. It is thru his acting and face cosmetics that he is able to come off as a beggar and make a fortune.
- The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle
- Shortly after Christmas, Watson arrives to Baker Street to find Sherlock in a perplexing state analyzing a hat. Sherlock has taken on a recent case of a missing carbuncle (gemstone) which is found in the mouth of a goose. While Watson observes the hat to be quite rudimentary, Sherlock picks apart many details of it's owner such as his age, social status, and intellect. He is able to discover the owner of the goose, however realizes that this person is innocent and did not steal the gemstone. Sherlock then goes on a hunt across town to track the dealings of this goose that had a gemstone in it. He eventually comes to a pub where he is able to trick the bartender by revealing where he bought the geese with a bet. Holmes then arrives to the source of the geese in question at a garden where he observes another man searching for geese. Knowing that Holmes is on to him the guilty culprit later confesses his guilt to Holmes, that he stole the gemstone, placed it inside a goose, then misplaced the goose. Seeing the man's regret Holmes decides to drop the case specially since it is Christmas season.
- The Adventure of the Speckled Band
- Holmes and Watson are visited by a hysterical young bride-to-be who is afraid that her step-father is trying to kill her. She explains the story in which she and her sister were promised an inheritance of the estate from the mother, upon their marriage. However her sister mysteriously died two years ago shortly before the wedding and this woman now fears the same as she approaches her wedding. After hearing and accepting the case, the step-father later visits Sherlock and warns him to stay away from his estate. Nonetheless Sherlock and Watson decide to investigate the bedroom at night. They discover a ventilator and a rope attached to it, which they later find is for a snake attack (the same method that killed the woman's sister). Sherlock is able to frighten the snake and turn it back upon it's master, the step-father who fatally bites him.
- The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb
- Dr. Watson is visited by a distressed patient who has recently lost his thumb and intends to make a report to the police. After treating him Watson takes the patient to his friend Sherlock Holmes to hear his case. The man is an engineer who was hired to inspect a hydraulic press in a confidential location. He then realizes that the press is for counterfeiting coins and he confronts the criminals, led by a wicked German. The engineer is nearly crushed by the compressor but is able to escape, that is after the German chops his thumb off. He awakes in a field far away from the site of the compressor and does not know the location to report. Having heard the case Sherlock informs the police and he is able to pinpoint the location of this hydraulic press. However when they arrive to the scene, the building has caught on fire and the criminals have fled. It is one of the rare cases in which Holmes does not catch the criminals.
- The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor
- Holmes is visited by a nobleman who explains that his bride has gone missing shortly after their wedding. He details the wedding ceremony how his bride was acting strange and seen talking with her maids and another man. The police inspector Lestrade later informs Holmes and the nobleman, that the bride's ring and wedding dress were found in the Serpentine Lake. Holmes is quickly able to reason that the woman has been reunited with her former husband from America who she thought was dead. Shortly after solving the case the American couple decides to explain the situation to the nobleman.
- The Adventure of Beryl Coronet
- A distressed banker arrives to Baker St in a state of mania, slamming his head against the wall. He explains to Holmes and Watson how someone had loaned him a royal crown, and feeling a sense of duty, he took the crown to his home to look after. However at his house, the crown was mysteriously stolen, recovered, yet damaged (and three gemstones have gone missing). The banker caught his son at the scene of the crime, who had recently undergone poor financial mishaps. The son does not declare his guilt or his innocence and the police take him away. However Holmes believes the son is innocent and investigates the scene of the crime. He locates footprints in the snow and is able to deduce that it was not the faulty son, yet rather the sweet daughter who schemed with another man. It was the son who was trying to confront the criminal, and his father caught him mending the trophy not stealing it. The father realizes that his son was doing an honorable thing by trying to confront the thief yet also to protect his sister.
- The Adventure of the Copper Beaches
- Holmes is visited by a young lady who seeks his counsel on whether she should accept a governess post or not. She explains the unusual conditions of her employers, wanting her to wear a certain dress and cut her hair. However the wage is too high for her to turn down and despite Holmes' misgivings she agrees to accept the post. A couple weeks later Holmes receives a letter from the girl wanting to meet and share more on the situation. The girl further elaborates on this mysterious household, where she is asked to often stand by a window in a dress and laugh. She also notices a locked room, in which the owner of the house gets very irritated when he discovers her snooping. While the owners are gone, Sherlock and Watson investigate the house and solve the mystery. They realize that the young woman was hired to imitate their daughter and to appear happy so as to fend off a broken love interest. Furthermore the real daughter has been kept prisoner by the parents for wanting to run-off with this young man and collect an inheritance. Sherlock and Watson confront the father who sets his dog on them but in turn the dog attacks the father instead. The daughter is able to escape and marries her lover and collects her inheritance. The governess later takes on a job as a school principal.
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