BACKGROUND: In 1887, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle published A Study in Scarlet, the first book in the Sherlock Holmes series. The story takes place in 1881. Doctor John H. Watson was recently discharged from service after receiving an shoulder injury. Now in London, Watson is in desperate need of an flat and a roommate to share rent with. He’s in luck as his old friend Stamford has just met another person looking for a roommate, Sherlock Holmes (stop squealing fan girls). After a remarkably quick exchange, the two decide to room together in apartment 221B on Baker’s street. Thus begin the story of original dynamic duo.
PACING: If it wasn’t obvious, this book is a mystery. With that carries the expected plot progression of an interesting case presented, the careful accumulation of evidence and suspense, before a huge reveal. This story perfectly aligns with that format and likely had a hand in creating it. Much of the story’s first chapter is the introduction of the main leads, Holmes and Watson. The two are then introduced to a peculiar murder and venture to solve it. Much of the story is Watson and Holmes running around, looking for clues (clews) as the situation. The storyline is remarkably straight forward, lacking red herrings and other mystery elements. The mystery ends remarkably quickly and switches to the origin of the murderer’s motives. The jump is jarring and unexpected. Many readers (myself included) were extremely disappointed in the lack of Sherlock in the second half of this novel, but if you look past that, you are greeted with an interesting tale of Mormons and murder
REVIEW: I found A Study in Scarlet to be a surprisingly good read. Despite the fact that the book was published in 1887, the book still reads remarkably well. Yes, there are a few spelling changes and some words are used differently, but this doesn’t detract from the book’s overall reading experience. It holds up as a novel and doesn’t need to be read in a classroom to be appreciated. As the books have been adapted countless times, it is interesting to see the origin of the characters or favorite actor play, but it is important to remember that the actor is not the character. Each retelling brings new traits to old characters. Sherlock, for example, was a well-mannered person. Although he could be brash at times, he was never callous like recent depictions may have you believe.
VERDICT: Altogether, this classic was fantastic. The pacing held up, and the characters had individual motives that made them interesting. Winning high marks in READABILITY, PACING, and the general REVIEW, I give A Study in Scarlet book 4.5 stats.
Sherlock Holmes
Everyone has heard of the infamous Sherlock. This daring detective appears in spinoff series, suspenseful films, and (the wonderful) BBC adaptation. While enjoying these retelling is great, reading the original can give you a deeper understanding of the characters and narrative