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Arthur Conan Doyle's Study in Scarlet is the first published story involving the legendary Sherlock Holmes, arguably the world's best-known detective, and the first narrative by Holmes's Boswell, the unassuming Dr. Watson, a military surgeon lately returned from the Afghan War. Watson needs a flat-mate and a diversion. Holmes needs a foil. And thus a great literary collaboration begins.
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. Somewhat shaken by Holmes's egotism, Watson is nonetheless dazzled by his seemingly magical ability to provide detailed information about a man glimpsed once under the streetlamp across the road.
Then murder. Facing a deserted house, a twisted corpse with no wounds, a mysterious phrase drawn in blood on the wall, and the buffoons of Scotland Yard--Lestrade and Gregson--Holmes measures, observes, picks up a pinch of this and a pinch of that, and generally baffles his faithful Watson. Later, Holmes explains: "In solving a problem of this sort, the grand thing is to be able to reason backward.... There are few people who, if you told them a result, would be able to evolve from their own inner consciousness what the steps were which led up to that result." Holmes is in that elite group.
Conan Doyle quickly learned that it was Holmes's deductions that were of most interest to his readers. The lengthy flashback, while a convention of popular fiction, simply distracted from readers' real focus. It is when Holmes and Watson gather before the coal fire and Holmes sums up the deductions that led him to the successful apprehension of the criminal that we are most captivated. Subsequent Holmes stories--The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, The Return of Sherlock Holmes, and The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes--rightly plunge the twosome directly into the middle of a baffling crime, piling mystery upon mystery until Holmes's denouement once more leaves the dazzled Watson murmuring, "You are wonderful, Holmes!" Generations of readers agree. --Barbara Schlieper --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.
From School Library Journal
Grade 7-12-In the first of the Sherlock Holmes stories, Dr. Watson, discharged from military service after suffering wounds, is at loose ends until a chance encounter leads him to take rooms with Sherlock Holmes. When Watson is drawn into the investigation of a bizarre murder in which Holmes is involved, he is unaware that it is the beginning of the most famous partnership in the history of criminal detection.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Dr Watson, I'd like you to meet Mr Sherlock Holmes!,
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This review is from: Penguin Classics Study In Scarlet (Paperback)
As Agatha Christie's "The Mysterious Affair at Styles" introduced a grateful reading public to Hercule Poirot, perhaps the second best known fictional detective of all time, Conan Doyle's "A Study in Scarlet" marked the debut appearance of the acknowledged master of detection, the one and only Sherlock Holmes!John Watson, a medical doctor recently retired from the British military to recover his health and recuperate from wounds received in Afghanistan, is looking to stretch his limited budget by finding another gentleman with whom he can share accommodation. When a mutual friend introduced him to Sherlock Holmes, one might slyly suggest that the game was afoot and the rest, as they also say, became history. Already characteristically melancholy and moody, a jaded Holmes, who labeled himself the world's only consulting detective, is invited by Scotland Yard's Lestrade and Gregson to assist in the investigation of a baffling pair of murders. With "A Study in Scarlet", Doyle is clearly new to the craft of writing mysteries and the great detective's debut outing suffers from characteristic first novel and new character jitters. The style itself is markedly different from everything that follows in the Holmes canon with the story being told from a third-party perspective. The background to the mystery is revealed through the mechanism of a flashback to the western USA at the time of the Mormon migration to Utah. Feedback from the reading public must have been immediate and - we'll have to hand it to Doyle - he must have been a quick learner. Watson was thereafter appointed official narrator and diarist to the master and Doyle never looked back. I leave it to others smarter than I to judge whether or not Doyle's historical characterization of the Mormons is justified or accurate! Suffice it to say, that the mystery is entertaining but the details are, quite frankly, entirely unimportant beside the overwhelming fact that this was the first time the world heard the name "Sherlock Holmes". It took Doyle only a few pages for example to treat us to an aphorism that we would come to hear over and over again, "It is a capital mistake to theorize before you have all the evidence." This novel is a cornerstone in the annals of crime fiction, an extremely important piece of the history of English literature and a darned good read! Enjoy it! Paul Weiss
5.0 out of 5 stars
Elementary dear reader!,
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This review is from: Sherlock Holmes Vol. 1: A Study in Scarlet (Hardcover)
This collection is pretty awesome. It simply a wonderful new way to read Sherlock, however it is not a comic. It is a collection of short stories, which have been printed and enjoyed by thousands, in a new binding accompanied with some nice pictures in a new comic/ modern style. It is must for anyone who loves Sherlock or would like to see what all the buzz is about, but apart from that it doesn't contain any new content. If you don't own any Sherlock Books get it for sure, The pages are crisp and the font isn't too small or hard to read. Definitively one of the best way to read the world famous detective.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful Adaptation of the Classic,
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This review is from: A Study in Scarlet (Illustrated Classics): A Sherlock Holmes Graphic Novel (Paperback)
Reason for Reading: This was a Cybils '10 nominee and I hadn't read it by the time judging was due as it was not a contender by that time and I'm just now getting to it.I was a young teenager when I read through all of Doyle's Sherlock Holmes and since then I've only reread the occasional short story as it appears in anthologies that cross my path so my memory is dim on the book. A bit brighter on the various movie versions but that is still some time ago as I don't watch much TV anymore; all this to say I can't really compare to the original. What I can say though is that this was a wonderful read that certainly had the atmosphere of Doyle's Sherlock down pat and the both Holmes and Watson came across as genuine. This is the very first Sherlock Holmes story, so it is a treat to watch how the famous pair meet up and begin their detecting together. I think the author may have gone just a little soft on both Sherlock, making him just not quite that bit as egotistical and Watson, is just a little bit less awestruck and aware of Holmes' faults. This adds just a touch of originality to the adaptation as does the artwork which depicts Holmes in the familiar tall, long angular-faced personage (that both Rathbone and Irons brought to his character) but with a more frequent smile on his face. Watson is not a typical depiction at all, as he is suitably dressed, slim, fit and an expert in his own fields. This is an enticing murder case which brings two cultures together and starts off with a perplexing murder. Edginton & Culbard have done a wonderful adaption of this classic bringing it to a new generation of readers through the graphic medium. Highly recommended. I will try to read the others in the series as well.
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