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A Study in Scarlet (Sherlock Holmes #1)

by Arthur Conan Doyle, Mark Billingham (Introduction)

4.00 · rating details · 18,466 ratings · 1,149 reviews

In the first of Sherlock Holmes’ adventures, Dr. Watson ends up renting rooms in Baker Street with the eccentric Holmes and finds himself called upon to help the budding detective solve a perplexing mystery involving a dead body showing no sign of having been attacked found in a locked room. Holmes is convinced a murder has been committed.

Paperback, 146 pages

Published February 1st 2010 by Random House UK (first published November 1887)

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Jan 22, 2012

Stephen rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: 1800s, mystery, sherlockian, audiobook, easton-press, crime, classics, classics-european

The birth of a legend....

This is it...the novel in which Sir Arthur ushered the world’s ~~greatest~~ second best detective ~~(after Batman)~~ into our collective consciousness. Being the non-conformist rebel that I am, I started off bassackwards by reading The Valley of Fear and then The Adventure of the Final Problem because those were the two stories with Moriarty in them. Shocking, I know, but that’s just how I roll. Btw, it still really chaffs my cheeks that Doyle wrote 56 short ...more

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Oct 28, 2011

Tatiana rated it

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Shelves: 2010, mysteries-thrillers-horror

Arthur Conan Doyle's first Sherlock Holmes novel is utterly unimpressive. In short, the book starts like this:

and mid-way turns into this:

And I am not even joking. The novel begins with Holmes and Watson meeting, moving into their Baker Street apartment and then investigating a murder of a man found in an abandoned house. At the half point, however, the story completely changes its course and becomes the most awkward introduction of the murderer's ...more

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Nov 27, 2011

Jacob rated it

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Shelves: 2011, fiction, i-own, thrilling-adventures-huzzah, mystery-and-crime, sir-arthur-conan-doyle

Mormons and murder, aaaiiieeeee!

For those who prefer their Sherlock Holmes served up pure and without digression (and I am one), it is possible to skip over the long omniscient passage entitled "The Country of the Saints" without losing "the scarlet thread of murder." Indeed, rare is the reader who can resist the temptation to leapfrog the Great Alkali Plain and learn the fate of the person responsible for the singlular expression of horror and hatred on the dead man’s

...more

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Oct 06, 2008

Scott rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: victorian, crime, 1880s

In A Study in Scarlet (1888), Arthur Conan Doyle introduces his master sleuth to the world, warts and all. Aside from his well-known arrogance and tactlessness, Holmes' other flaws – as well as his odd but impressive knowledge – are cataloged by his astonished new roommate, Dr. Watson:

1. Knowledge of Literature. — Nil.
2. Knowledge of Philosophy. — Nil.
3. Knowledge of Astronomy. — Nil.
4. Knowledge of Politics. — Feeble.
5. Knowledge of Botany. — Variable. Well up in be

...moreIn A Study in Scarlet (1888), Arthur Conan Doyle introduces his master sleuth to the world, warts and all. Aside from his well-known arrogance and tactlessness, Holmes' other flaws – as well as his odd but impressive knowledge – are cataloged by his astonished new roommate, Dr. Watson:

1. Knowledge of Literature. — Nil.
2. Knowledge of Philosophy. — Nil.
3. Knowledge of Astronomy. — Nil.
4. Knowledge of Politics. — Feeble.
5. Knowledge of Botany. — Variable. Well up in belladonna, opium and poisons generally. Knows nothing of practical gardening.
6. Knowledge of Geology. — Practical, but limited. Tells at a glance different soils from each other. After walks, has shown me splashes upon his trousers, and told me by their colour and consistence in what part of London he had received them.
7. Knowledge of Chemistry. — Profound.
8. Knowledge of Anatomy. — Accurate, but unsystematic.
9. Knowledge of Sensational Literature. — Immense. He appears to know every detail of every horror perpetrated in the century.
10. Plays the violin well.
11. Is an expert singlestick player, boxer and swordsman.
12. Has a good practical knowledge of British law.

Holmes is clearly a rara avis, and his oddities and eccentricities are as surprising as his formidable powers of detection. The first half of A Study in Scarlet, the most entertaining part of the book, is a finely drawn study of Holmes' character, peculiar habits, and methods for solving crime. Anyone interested in Holmes will enjoy this intriguing introduction to the great consulting detective.

Unfortunately, the actual crimes that are committed in this novella aren't nearly so intriguing as Doyle's portrait of Holmes. The detective's first documented case is uncommonly violent: two Americans are murdered – one in an empty house, the other in his hotel room; the crime scenes are littered with evidence – a wedding ring, a box of pills, tobacco ash, footprints, and the German word RACHE, scrawled in blood on the walls. Scotland Yard is stymied; Holmes' services are called upon.

To explain the murders, Doyle flashes back some twenty years to the early Mormon settlement of Utah Territory. The transition from late Victorian London to the great alkali deserts of the North American West is jarring and confusing, and his treatment of the settlers there is just as rough. Working from prejudiced sources hostile to the Mormons, Doyle sketches a "historical" romance that casts the Saints as bloodthirsty white slavers dominated by the belligerent figure of Brigham Young. Doyle's tale spirals off on this tangent for far too many tortuous – and some may say offensive – chapters until we are suddenly back in the drawing room of 221B Baker Street, where the mystery is resolved, rehashed, retold, and awkwardly laid to rest.

A Study in Scarlet, in spite of its flaws, is still required reading for any Sherlock Holmes fan. To meet Holmes in all his quirkiness is worth the perplexing, sometimes unsavory slog through the tale's second half. Or, as some readers have suggested, you could save yourself some tedium by skipping over all the flashback, reading just the first seven chapters and then the last two, which actually feature the super sleuth solving the case.

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Oct 21, 2011

Dulac3 rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, audio-books, conan-doyle

_A Study in Scarlet_ is an interesting book for several reasons. Here we have the first written adventure of Sherlock Holmes and get both the first introduction to the famous sleuth and his comrade Dr. Watson, as well as details of their first meeting. We are treated to a somewhat humorous précis of Watson’s first impressions of his strange room-mate (detailed in several other reviews) and even manage to see a fledgling Holmes occasionally wrong, or at least not 100% accurate, in some of his ini...more_A Study in Scarlet_ is an interesting book for several reasons. Here we have the first written adventure of Sherlock Holmes and get both the first introduction to the famous sleuth and his comrade Dr. Watson, as well as details of their first meeting. We are treated to a somewhat humorous précis of Watson’s first impressions of his strange room-mate (detailed in several other reviews) and even manage to see a fledgling Holmes occasionally wrong, or at least not 100% accurate, in some of his initial surmises at the mystery they become embroiled in. We also see the somewhat ambivalent and competitive relationship Holmes has with Scotland Yard and his disdain for the official investigators and their inferior methods of detection.

The mystery itself involves the double homicide of two Americans and an embarrassment of mysterious clues at the place of the first murder. Of course both Scotland Yard detectives assigned to the case manage to make the wrong assumptions and go off in different directions, though Holmes has to grudgingly admit that they “are coming along” and even wonders at one point if they have managed to beat him to the punch when one of his own assumptions seems to have gone awry.

The story is actually in two parts, the first of which covers the initial mystery and the very engrossing portrait of Holmes and his many quirks. Holmes ultimately proves able to solve the mystery by the end of this section in a fashion perhaps more mysterious than the murders themselves. From here we go to a flashback of events separated in both time and space by great distance in order to be given the background of the two murders in London and many readers seem to have a big problem with this. I actually found this section, while certainly a bit jarring at first, to be a well-written and entertaining story in itself. Its chief failings seem to be that a) it is not a story involving Sherlock Holmes, and b) the historicity of some of its facts can be considered somewhat questionable as it turns the early Mormons and their leaders into some kind of nefarious secret society rivalling even the Illuminati or Rosicrucians. I didn’t find either of these elements to be too great of an obstacle personally. I knew that we would return to Holmes & Watson in due course to be provided with our explanations and revelations and if I wasn’t being given a straight history lesson on the true founding of Salt Lake City, then I was certainly given an entertaining tale that was probably more interesting than the facts themselves would have been. The only part of this tale I really found questionable was that (view spoiler)

The culmination of both stories as they meet in the rooms of Holmes and Watson at 221B Baker Street in London was satisfying and I highly recommend this story. Another 4, or 4.5 star book from Doyle.
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Nov 08, 2011

Bonnie rated it

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Recommended to Bonnie by: Maja

Shelves: classics, mystery-thriller, banned-and-or-challenged-books, read-in-2011, sherlock-my-love

Interested in more of my reviews? Visit my blog!

Part I

The Storyline
This being the first story in the Sherlock Holmes series, this is also the introduction of the two main characters: Holmes and Watson. After meeting one another they agree to move in together as they were both in need of a roommate. Shortly after, a man is discovered as being murdered and Sherlock Holmes is asked to evaluate the scene to determine if there is any evidence of who may have done it. The...more

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Feb 03, 2012

Tanu Das rated it

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Shelves: all-time-favorite, excellent-prose, favorite-protagonist, favorite, i-swoon-over-this-hero

Rating: 4 stars

This is my first Sherlock Holmes novel and yes, I am ashamed for not having read it earlier. I suppose that, what LOTR trilogy is to the fantasy world, Sherlock Holmes is to the detective/crime genre. Reading it is kind of like getting a degree. So anyway friends, I have graduated and am finally an official member of the crime/mystery fandom.

And I am most definitely a part of the bandwagon of Sherlock Homes fans.
description

Okay, off to the plot t...more

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Apr 28, 2010

Cameron rated it

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Shelves: mystery

This is the first of Sherlock Holmes, it is very cool and I enjoyed it. The very interesting part of the book is that it is Doyle's first try at historical fiction. In the introduction it talked about how he was not very accurate with his history but remember it is fiction. I find it interesting because I am a member of The Church of Jesus Crist of Later-Day Saints also known as "the Mormons".
In this book the two people that are murdered are Mormons and the Murderer is not Mormo...moreThis is the first of Sherlock Holmes, it is very cool and I enjoyed it. The very interesting part of the book is that it is Doyle's first try at historical fiction. In the introduction it talked about how he was not very accurate with his history but remember it is fiction. I find it interesting because I am a member of The Church of Jesus Crist of Later-Day Saints also known as "the Mormons".
In this book the two people that are murdered are Mormons and the Murderer is not Mormon but lived among them. The way that Doyle portrays Mormons in this book is consistent to how people in England Viewed Mormons in the late 1880's but it is completely inaccurate to what Mormon's were then and now. It is quite funny how they are portrayed in this book. The murderer is in love with a young woman who is being forced into a polygamous marriage that was arranged by Brigham Young. The woman, her father and the murderer all try to escape but the tight Mormon community locks down like a military zone with people on guard and secret pass codes to get to and fro. It is so inaccurate that the introduction says "The Brigham Young [Doyle:] produced, while owing more to the English Jesuits and Scots Calvinists of his own past, carried one quality of its historical original: his force." In other words Doyle only got one thing right. It was funny to see the Mormon’s portrayed as the villains in the book. I was not offended at all about this book and found everything very funny as I read how people portrayed Mormon’s back then. My mother joined the Mormon Church about 40 years ago in England and says they still had bits of this reputation when she looked into them.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Sherlock Holmes because it lives up to the reputation and he is able to see clues that others do not and the way he caught the murderer was an awesome surprise. Then the explanation of how he did it is written just as if Holmes does not understand why others did not see all the clues yet he does not say in this book that "it was elementary" I think that comes later.
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Aug 28, 2010

A.U.C. rated it

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I really, really enjoy mystery and detective novels. So when I told a friend about this, she asked "and have you ever read the Sherlock Holmes series?" I said "no", yet I knew what my next mission was: to read them.

So, I started the book, and unlike most 19th century novels, this book was entertaining from the first page onwards. It was extremely well written, its language being precise and sort of scientifical (like Sherlock Holmes himself) but also with an enterta...more

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Dec 28, 2011

K.D. rated it

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Recommended to K.D. by: Kristel

Shelves: 501, detective

Not related to the book yet

This is the book that completes my 2011 Goodreads Reading Challenge! 275 books and I still have 3 days to spare. My first target was 200 because that was the the annual target of the author Nicholas Sparks as he said in one of his interviews. But I achieved it in September so I changed it to 250. But I achieved 250 on the last week of October and I thought I could still read 25 more. So, here I am, proud that I was able to read 275 books!!! Last year, I onl...more

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May 28, 2010

Kemper rated it

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Shelves: crime-mystery, detectives

Sherlock Holmes is a dick. And I don’t mean that as a reference to the character being a private detective.

Sure, he may be brilliant, but he’s also arrogant, condescending, cold, rude, self-absorbed and generally an insufferable douche bag. If Watson wasn’t such a brown-noser, he’d have snapped and pimp slapped the shit out of Holmes about five minutes after meeting him.

It’d been a long time since I’d read any of the Holmes stories, and I thought I’d check some out ...more

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May 02, 2010

Becky rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: classics, mystery-and-thrillers, 2010, reviewed, religion-related

I really enjoyed this story, and now begin to wonder why I've never read any of these Sherlock Holmes stories before. (I did like to read the Slylock Fox mystery cartoon in the Sunday paper as a kid, but that hardly counts. :P)

This is the very first of all of the SH stories, and it introduces us to Holmes, Watson, and the methodology of Holmes's practice and brilliance. I loved Holmes's witty, dry humor, and his quirkiness and genius. I also loved Watson's more socially accepted gent...moreI really enjoyed this story, and now begin to wonder why I've never read any of these Sherlock Holmes stories before. (I did like to read the Slylock Fox mystery cartoon in the Sunday paper as a kid, but that hardly counts. :P)

This is the very first of all of the SH stories, and it introduces us to Holmes, Watson, and the methodology of Holmes's practice and brilliance. I loved Holmes's witty, dry humor, and his quirkiness and genius. I also loved Watson's more socially accepted gentleman role. He's fresh back from the Afghanistan war, after being wounded and ill, and is intrigued by the mystery that is Holmes, but isn't exactly keeping up with him all that well. I always get a kick out of reading Victorian lit when it comes to people's constitutions, and how the simple exertion of morning errands can be enough to wear someone out, or how excitement can lead to a bed-ridden state of ill-health. What would these people think if they were to see a single episode of CSI? They'd probably keel right over dead from shock. I love Victorian lit for this reason, it amuses me.

I love that Holmes is sort of falsely self-deprecating. He's brilliant, and knows it, but for him it's normal, so he tries to act like he's normal, while all the while being brilliant because he just can't help it. He loves flattery though, so mention he's brilliant next time you see him and I'm sure he'll be pleased. ;)

The story is narrated by Watson, or rather, catalogued by Watson, except for the middle, which is the first part of the 2nd half. I was kind of thrown off by this, and wasn't sure how the two completely different stories had anything to do with each other, but I was rewarded for my patience, I think. I mean, the whole thing was barely a novella, it's not like it was any huge commitment to stick with it. The middle section details the back-story of the events that led to the initial murder which Holmes and Watson investigate. Once I realized that's where it was going (which took a few pages, even in a barely-novella length story), I was intrigued to see how it would end.

There is, in this section, a rather blatant anti-Mormon sentiment. High ranking Mormons (referred to as the "Holy Four") were depicted as essentially bad men who care more about power and expansion than they do of the happiness and Godliness of their community. They dictated rules of behavior and instilled fear in the community by invoking terror - any dissent, no matter how small, was cause for harsh repercussions. People would just vanish... Add to that the attitude towards women, calling them "heifers" as if they are chattel rather than people, etc, and you have yourself a pretty dislikable group.
This is not the first I've heard of this kind of thing regarding Mormons, but I was surprised to see it here! I'm all for people believing what they want, but with that comes freedom to choose.

This section did interrupt that flow of the story, for me, and kind of drug out a little too long. I think that it could have probably been worked into the story differently in order for the story to flow better. I really loved the conclusion, where Holme's explains his deduction and how he came to solve the mystery. The hints of clues were there, so that we could follow along as Watson did, but the solving is all Holmes. I'm OK with that though. All in all, I really liked it and look forward to smooshing in more of these stories as my schedule permits. :)
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Feb 20, 2009

Ouise rated it

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I found this book in a second-hand bookshop and as always with Conan Doyle, it transported me to a whole different world. This is the first Sherlock Holmes' novel and it mixes the crime genre with the travelling-to-uncommon-places narration that I am fond of in Conan Doyle. I particularly liked the first encounter with Sherlock Holmes, the description made by Dr. Watson of his new peculiar "flatmate" and the discussion they have about the brain-attics. Sherlock Holmes explains to Dr. W...more

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Jul 27, 2011

Hayes rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: ebook, gutenberg, read-in-2011, banned-or-challenged

[See below for review, which contains spoilers.]

I confess: I have never read "A Study in Scarlett", although I have read many other Holmes stories. The book has been challenged in Virginia* because of its insuitability for younger readers (I might agree that 6th grade is a little young for Sherlock Holmes), and because of its portrayal of Mormons and Mormonism.

There is nothing I like more than reading a challenged book.

* Albemarle School Board to vo ...more

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Jun 11, 2010

Timmy rated it

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Shelves: noir-mystery, united-kingdom

The first book in the Sherlock Holmes series is far from Doyle's best, but it's a great success for evoking Mormon apologists to somehow find deep in the recesses of their polygamist pockets a lost "historical inaccuracies" card---discolored, peeling, forgotten, and foul-odored.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle went on to write superior Sherlock Holmes novels; Joseph Smith never improved his religion.

Sir Doyle himself was a spiritualist and he never apologized or recante...more

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Jun 15, 2011

Valerie rated it

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Recommended to Valerie by: Gerson

Shelves: classic, male-protagonist

Maybe I should've starting reading the books before watching the movie (the one with the guy from Iron Man) because I was kind of disappointed. I should also mention that I’ve seen no other adaptation—at least I don’t remember seeing any.

I knew that Holmes is supposed to be a conceited and arrogant fellow. This I’m okay with but what I wanted was for Watson not to add fuel the fire, it made Holmes more, I don’t know, complacent I guess. Watson didn't really help any either. Maybe thi...more

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Jan 25, 2011

Callista rated it

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Shelves: mystery, literature-esd

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I was pleasantly surprised at the beginning of this story--it was more engaging than I expected for a work of its era. I'd been afraid that those stodgy PBS Jeremy Brett {?} episodes were more true to the source material than the Robert Downey, Jr. & Jude Law movie was. I enjoyed seeing the beginning of Watson's and Holmes' friendship. And, as the recent moviemakers asserted, there is more to Watson and Holmes than some productions would lead you to believe. Watson is a veteran of the wars in Af...more

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Feb 02, 2011

Cristopher rated it

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Shelves: 2011

I like a lot this first Holmes' novel. It's very easy to read and I finished in two days. The descriptions made by Sir Arthur about Utah are absolutely amazing. I guess that he was in that place at least one time. I think that the change of subjects in the middle of the book was a little abrupt. Maybe he could do a better job in that sense, interspersing the two stories in the book. Now I will start to read the second book, "The Sign of Four".

Me gustó bastante la primera ...more

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Feb 11, 2009

Hayley rated it

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Recommends it for: Mystery lovers; people who watch "House"

Recommended to Hayley by: Kris Sandburg

Doyle's first book about Sherlocke Holmes introduces us to Dr. Watson, who meets Holmes and provides a reasonable and likable narration of the latter's bizarre prowess as a detective.

The most enjoyable parts of this, for me, were Watson's own observations and characterizations of Holmes. I think there could have been much more of them, but I suppose that's what the later books and short stories are for.

I'm not going to describe the particular mystery Holmes solves in det...more

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Oct 06, 2010

ninefly rated it

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Shelves: _owned-audio, _favourite, _owned-ebook, hero-detective-lawyer, historical, mystery-thriller, revenge, series-sherlockholmes, series_first, teamwork-rivalry

excerpt from detailed review here:
http://angeltyuan.blogspot.com/2010/01/r...

review of audio book read by John Telfer

This introduction of the uniquely gifted detective Sherlock Holmes, seen through the eyes of the humble ex-army doctor John Watson, appeals as both a historical mystery, as well as a deeply entertaining portrait of the eccentric sleuth. It was fun to follow along with the easily sympathized Watson as he struggles to figure out both what Holmes has alre...more

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Dec 20, 2008

Brian Steed added it · review of another edition

The first Holmes. I was half expecting the character, as presented in his original form, to be the cartoony “elementary, my dear Watson!” shorthand we all carry in our heads, but I was surprised to see that many of the cool mannerisms that Jeremy Brett brought out in his performances were right there on the page (which makes Brett an even greater actor in my mind, knowing that his performance was in large measure an accurate interpretation of the literary character, rather than added-on eccentr...more

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Nov 11, 2010

Kati rated it

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Shelves: het, 2010, in-czech, mystery, sherlock-holmes

First "Holmes" story that I've ever read. I liked it a lot, but I have to admit that the flashback to what happened in Utah - as interesting as it was - disrupted my reading pleasure a lot. It felt as if I was suddenly reading a completely different book and it took me a bit to realize that it was a flashback, there to explain the how-s and why-s behind the murder. And some parts of the mystery - like the word "Rache" on the wall or some of the conclusions Holmes drew - were ...more

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Nov 17, 2007

Amy rated it

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Shelves: library-book, audio-book, fiction

I recently read/listened to A Slight Trick of the Mind by Mitch Cullin. I've only read one of the Sherlock Holmes short stories when I was younger, and decided my Winter Reading Goal is to read through/listen to as many of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock stories that I can get my hands on.

Study in Scarlet was a great introduction to Holmes and Watson. I never entirely realized what a smug, conceited bastard Holmes was. I'm not entirely sure that I like him, but the story was well-to...more

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Jul 18, 2011

Bettie rated it

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Shelves: summer-2011, re-read, published-1887, victorian

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Oct 28, 2007

Lenna rated it

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Shelves: randomfiction

This wasn't quite as interesting as I expected, perhaps because it is the prototype for a genre that has become so prevalent. As a reader you're not really asked to think about anything on your own. None of the facts that Holmes uses to make his startling accusations are provided to you until the mystery has already been solved so the whole thing is rather anti-climatic. A crime happens, a bunch of other things happen and then an arrest is made... then there is lengthy exposition as to how the '...more

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Mar 31, 2008

Pete rated it

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After reading some of the stories from "The Return of Sherlock Holmes" recently, I got caught up in watching a bunch of the BBC's The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes TV series (which was a fantastic program from the 1980s...check it out on Netflix). I then thought it necessary to take a look at this... the original Holmes story. Eh. The first part of the book is great, the initial meeting of Holmes and Watson is priceless (as all of their interactions invariably are), but half of the boo...more

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Jan 11, 2012

Kevin Schlegel rated it

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A Study in Scarlet is the first novel in the Sherlock Holmes collection by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. A Study in Scarlet introduces the famous detective, Holmes, and his partner, Dr. Watson, as they first meet and eventually join together and become the famous crime solving team. The story takes place during the first case presented to Holmes and his partner; the murder of Enoch Drebber and later the murder of Joseph Stangerson. The story becomes a struggle to find and catch a killer who avoids al...moreA Study in Scarlet is the first novel in the Sherlock Holmes collection by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. A Study in Scarlet introduces the famous detective, Holmes, and his partner, Dr. Watson, as they first meet and eventually join together and become the famous crime solving team. The story takes place during the first case presented to Holmes and his partner; the murder of Enoch Drebber and later the murder of Joseph Stangerson. The story becomes a struggle to find and catch a killer who avoids all means of detection, until Sherlock comes around. It quickly turns into the amazing mystery that has set an example for all of Holmes following tales.

Doyle portrays his detective as a superior being, having an intellect high above anyone else in existence. It becomes clear to readers just how effective Holmes’ skills of deduction are the second he enters the crime scene. In one quick swoop, Holmes identifies every little detail there is to know about the crime. The astounding thing is his ability of deduction, being his most precious gift, as it quickly causes him to be a powerful force as he can make exact inferences about events on the crime through the simplest of things which most people would otherwise not notice. But his level of deduction isn’t his only gift. Holmes is able to utilize his resources such as using a local group of poor children to help him search for his prime suspect, and even testing out his beliefs for all to see. The reader only can be amazed as to how effective the character of Holmes is.

Through the highs of the story, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is able to provide an interesting piece of text to not only to entertain the basic reader, but satisfy the more difficult to please. He chooses a style of writing that keeps the mystery alive through out the story, as he allows for Holmes to unravel the crime, but keep others like the reader in the dark since he chooses to have Watson be the story teller, rather than have the detective tell the story as most detective novels do. This provides an assurance that the reader will not only be entertained, but everything around the story will stay in the dark till the perfect time to be revealed to the reader.

While A Study in Scarlet is a great novel, it lacks critical development of Holmes and other characters on a human basis. Doyle gives only a brief detailed development of Holmes in the beginning but fails to add anything new as the story progresses. He remains the same character from the beginning to the end, and the same is for Watson. While it doesn’t hurt the over all story, the characters appear less human as they fail to show emotion, and even express any emotion that’s human. Still A Study in Scarlet will be sure to please any type of reader who picks it up, and is a definite book to store in a person’s collection for a long time.

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Dec 31, 2008

Andrew Post rated it

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It's weird to think of Sherlock as anything but the big-nosed floppy-heat-wearing goof that we've all seen in a million different incarnations whether it be in film, cartoon or whatever. I pictured him as written and it wasn't in the checkered suit and magnifying glass. He was more of a prick and a usually mentally unavailable man that wasn't exactly approachable who cared little outside of uncovering clues and getting to the bottom of the case.

The relationship between him and Watso...more

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Feb 06, 2012

Ben Dutton rated it

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So we come to another classic of its genre that I’d never read: Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories. I’d seen the films, the TV versions – including the just brilliant new BBC version, starring Benedict Cumberbatch. I was once given the complete collection by my grandparents when I was ten, but the sheer size of the volume put me off. And it didn’t have spaceships on the cover. If only I’d known what they did contain.

Like Jules Verne, Sherlock Holmes really needs to be read wh...more

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Feb 05, 2012

Bill Krieger rated it

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QOTD
Robbery had not been the object of the murder, for nothing was taken. Was it politics, then, or was it a woman? That was the question which confronted me.
- Sherlock Holmes, A Study in Scarlet

Murder. Must have been politics or a woman. He he.

A couple weeks ago, I asked Ty what he was reading. "The first Sherlock Holmes book. The one where he's a kid." OK. So, I took the opportunity to define for my 12 yo what a "prequel" was. Then, I thought o...moreQOTD
Robbery had not been the object of the murder, for nothing was taken. Was it politics, then, or was it a woman? That was the question which confronted me.
- Sherlock Holmes, A Study in Scarlet

Murder. Must have been politics or a woman. He he.

A couple weeks ago, I asked Ty what he was reading. "The first Sherlock Holmes book. The one where he's a kid." OK. So, I took the opportunity to define for my 12 yo what a "prequel" was. Then, I thought out loud, "I wonder what the first Sherlock Holmes book is anyway."

Well, the first Sherlock Holmes is A Study in Scarlet. And it's pretty good. My review is a strong 3 stars. It's only about 100 pages. The first half is 4 bill-stars based on interesting characters and plot, and a very enjoyable writing style. I didn't know that Dr. Watson was the narrator on these things, which was a great choice. Watson observes Holmes and through Watson we see what a goof/genius Holmes is.

Alas, the second half of the book is completely different than the first half. In reverse chronological order, we're solving a murder mystery in the first half of the book and in the second half, Doyle explains the history behind why the murder happened in the first place. It's not good because 1) there's hardly any Holmes or Watson in the second half, and 2) it's pretty contrived and uninteresting... riding through the desert and you bump into Brigham Young and his caravan of traveling Mormons? Huh?!?

A Study in Scarlet was written in 1887, 125 years ago. And when I think of it that way, the writing has held up very well over the years.

QOTD2
After the lapse of time that has passed since their crime, it was impossible for me to secure a conviction against them in any court. I know of their guilt though, and I determined that I should be judge, jury, and executioner all rolled into one. You'd have done the same, if you have any manhood in you, if you had been in my place.
- Arthur Conan Doyle, A Study in Scarlet

If you have any manhood in you... cha!
yow, bill
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About Arthur Conan Doyle

Arthur Conan Doyle was born as the third of ten siblings on 22 May 1859 in Edinburgh, Scotland. His father, Charles Altamont Doyle, was born in England of Irish descent, and his mother, born Mary Foley, was Irish. They were married in 1855.

Although he is now referred to as "Conan Doyle", the origin of this compound surname (if that is how he meant it to be understood) is unce...more

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The Complete Sherlock Holmes: All 4 Novels & 56 Short Stories

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Quotes from A Study in Scarlet

“I consider that a man's brain originally is like a little empty attic, and you have to stock it with such furniture as you choose. A fool takes in all the lumber of every sort that he comes across, so that the knowledge which might be useful to him gets crowded out, or at best is jumbled up with a lot of other things, so that he has a difficulty in laying his hands upon it. Now the skillful workman is very careful indeed as to what he takes into his brain-attic. He will have nothing but the tools which may help him in doing his work, but of these he has a large assortment, and all in the most perfect order. It is a mistake to think that that little room has elastic walls and can distend to any extent. Depend upon it there comes a time when for every addition of knowledge you forget something that you knew before. It is of the highest importance, therefore, not to have useless facts elbowing out the useful ones.” — 58 people liked it

“To a great mind, nothing is little,' remarked Holmes, sententiously.” — 26 people liked it

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