false 76120 20 Arthur Conan Doyle's <I>Study in Scarlet</I> 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.<p> 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. <p> 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. <p> 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--<I>The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes</I>, <I>The Return of Sherlock Holmes</I>, and <I>The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes</I>--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. <I>--Barbara Schlieper</I> 1108837 1986 A Study in Scarlet and The Sign of Four (Dover Thrift Editions) total:391|5:131|4:158|3:92|2:9|1:1| 391 1582 452 30 5 1 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1962 Sat Sep 08 06:12:08 -0700 2007 Sun Sep 09 16:39:37 -0700 2007 more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Oct 28 14:03:46 -0700 2009 Wed Oct 28 14:04:05 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 1 false false Fri Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2006 Tue Jul 10 09:45:21 -0700 2007 Tue Jul 10 09:47:04 -0700 2007 4 0 false false Fri May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 30 22:49:51 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 30 22:55:47 -0700 2009
I read through the first two novels written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and realized how much I had enjoyed these books as a child. Reading them on the DS prompted me to purchase the New Annotated Sherlock Holmes b...more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Jan 12 13:59:47 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 12 14:03:20 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Jul 07 13:26:04 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 07 13:26:22 -0700 2009 more...]]> 0 0 false false Wed Apr 09 11:06:36 -0700 2008 Wed Apr 09 18:52:25 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Nov 27 20:22:47 -0800 2007 Sat Feb 02 23:26:46 -0800 2008 A Study in Scarlet opens, Dr. Watson - a military surgeon recently returned from the Afghan War - is looking for a roommate to share costs of living. An acquaintance introduces him to the eccentric Sherlock Holmes and they move to 221B Baker Street. Watson is slightly irritated by Holmes' display...more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Jun 29 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Jun 25 06:16:02 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 29 05:23:10 -0700 2009
Now it's on to "The Hound of the Baskerville...more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Sep 10 04:29:42 -0700 2008 Thu Aug 07 04:37:43 -0700 2008 Wed Sep 10 04:29:42 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 true false Sat Dec 13 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 15 00:44:50 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 15 00:44:50 -0800 2008

]]> 4 0 false false Mon Jan 26 14:07:12 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 26 14:07:49 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Tue Apr 28 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 13 06:22:48 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 28 11:32:07 -0700 2009 221B Baker Street, London :-)]]> 5 0 false false Sun May 31 10:28:58 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 03 11:54:28 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Tue Sep 25 09:13:02 -0700 2007 Wed Sep 26 16:27:04 -0700 2007 more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004 Sun Mar 04 18:03:27 -0800 2007 Mon May 07 14:03:45 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Apr 07 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Mar 31 11:12:15 -0700 2008 Mon Apr 07 11:10:03 -0700 2008 5 0 false false Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sat Feb 09 00:14:29 -0800 2008 Sat Feb 09 00:45:15 -0800 2008 0 0 false false Sun Jan 27 14:34:59 -0800 2008 Wed Feb 06 22:00:54 -0800 2008 5 0 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Wed Jul 04 02:51:25 -0700 2007 Wed Jul 04 02:53:46 -0700 2007 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=76120