A Study in Scarlet [Paperback]

A Study in Scarlet, by A. Conan Doyle

This story introduced the world to John H. Watson M.D., who was wounded in the second Afghan war and then suffered from enteric fever. He was invalided back to England. He is looking for reasonable lodgings. A friend tells him about Sherlock Holmes who is also looking for someone to share expenses. Holmes is described as cold-blooded in outlook. Holmes is excited by his discovery of a test for old bloodstains (Chapter 1). Holmes explains the reasoning for his deductions. Then a letter requests help. A man was found dead in an empty house, no wound on the body, but blood in the room. Holmes & Watson go there to inspect the scene. Holmes explained his deductions (Chapter 4). An advertisement is placed in the "Found" column. Watson loads his revolver to deal with the claimant. The claimant used a cab to escape her shadow! Detective Gregson visits Holmes to explain how he solved the murder. Lestrade arrives to tell of another murder: Stangerson, the secretary of Drebber! Gregson's suspect could not have done it. Holmes shows his brilliance by the surprise introduction of the murderer!

Part 2 tells about the background of the events that resulted in the murders. In 1847 a man and a girl were lost in a desert. They were rescued by Mormons on their way to a new land. Years later Lucy Ferrier was rescued by Jefferson Hope, and they fell in love. The leader of the Mormons commanded Lucy to marry a man she did not love. John Ferrier rejected this ruling. Jefferson Hope returned at night to lead them to Nevada and freedom. But after going hunting Hope found Lucy was captured and John killed and buried. Lucy's husband inherited John's property. Poor Lucy pined away and soon died. Hope planned his cold revenge. Chapter 6 contains Jefferson Hope's story, and his end in jail. Chapter 7 explains Holmes' actions in reasoning backwards.

This story introduced Sherlock Holmes to an audience that never tired of these stories. Note the intermix of dialogue followed by explanatory comments. More modern stories used mostly dialogue to carry the story along and bring out the facts. The solution occurs in the last chapters. The use of exotic American locales was a way to add interest, although Doyle's knowledge came from second hand sources (as in "The Valley of Fear"). Background descriptions are sparse. I wonder what stories from America inspired this novel? Note how it tells the readers why a man can have a "florid face", a medical fact.