A Study in Scarlet (Sherlock Holmes, #1) in Reading the Classics

Jun 23, 2012 Lois rated it liked it

Shelves: read-2012, review-for-what-the-dickens

Mystery & Mulling:
A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

A Study in Scarlet is the first of 60 tales featuring Sherlock Holmes (four novels, fifty-six short stories), and was my first literary encounter with the famous sleuth. I had seen a few films and heard many quips and quotes, but for whatever reason had not read any of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s series. Having now read A Study in Scarlet, I know what I have been missing out on, and have an appetite to read the remaining 59 pieces!

The no ...more

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Nov 18, 2012 Sidharth Panwar rated it it was amazing

Shelves: mystery, classics

"What you do in this world is a matter of no consequence," returned my companion, bitterly. "The question is, what you can make people believe that you have done."

I wish Jeremy Brett and David Burke could've come together for this. Such a treat it would've been for all Holmes fans!!!

I read somewhere that this one books tells you more about Holmes than all the other works put together. Perhaps, this is true. This book is one of the classics of literature without being pretentious or overbeari "What you do in this world is a matter of no consequence," returned my companion, bitterly. "The question is, what you can make people believe that you have done."

I wish Jeremy Brett and David Burke could've come together for this. Such a treat it would've been for all Holmes fans!!!

I read somewhere that this one books tells you more about Holmes than all the other works put together. Perhaps, this is true. This book is one of the classics of literature without being pretentious or overbearing, which is an achievement in its own right. Simpler on the surface, in terms of narrative, the language and the plot as well, this book is a riveting introduction to one of the most charismatic characters ever portrayed in the history of the written word. Think back on all the books you've read and whom could you compare Holmes with? Who has the force of personality to drag a simple story to such lofty heights? Had there been no Holmes would you have been able to differentiate between Conan Doyle's books with the so called "Penny Dreadfuls", or the anonymous "Whodunnits"?

The book resonates on multiple levels with its readers and builds an atmosphere of "harmless" murder mystery. The life of Holmes and Watson is free from the hustle and bustle of life, free from responsibility and left to their own devices. In Watson's own words:

"I had neither kith nor kin in England, and was therefore as free as air-or as free as an income of eleven shillings and six pence a day will permit a man to be."

And as an ideal daydreaming adventurer would have it, the mystery comes to Watson. And this feeling of comfort is accentuated when you realize that Watson doesn't even have to solve it. He just have to bask in the delight of the circumstances and follow on the coattails of Holmes, almost like a child and experience the delicious feeling of detached dread and anticipation. As I write this I can almost feel Conan Doyle as an overworked, busy man who perhaps didn't have the luxury of contentment and a reflective life (the book was written when Conan Doyle was just 27) and craved an environment where things were much simpler and the circumstances took a step forward to provide what was missing in life.

It is a fairy tale recluse for the grown ups where the big bad wolf is replaced with murders but the reader remains assured that nothing bad will come off it for our two gentlemen of Baker Street 221B. Perhaps, therein lies the appeal of this book. It provides that caressing hand to common man who longs for mystery but won't be dragged into the exactness of life unlike Holmes. That Holmes is a freak in his own book, is testament to this.

The other characters in this book, all play their respective parts to perfection. Lestrade and Gregson play the fools or lesser mortals, John Ferrier the loving father, Lucy a fitting object of affection, Stangerson and Drebber (found dead with a copy of The Decameron - another hint of his promiscuous temperament) the role of perennial villians and finally Jefferson Hope plays the archetypal hero (how seamlessly Clint Eastwood would fit into this role!!!). ...more

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Jun 10, 2013 DARK ROMANCE rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, adult-lit, victorian-lit

Being the first SH book I've ever read I really enjoyed it. I loved Sherlock & Watson's chemistry and interactions...the only thing I didn'y enjoy was the econd half of the book. Did that mormon tangent really need to be there? Ug. Anyway, other then that a pretty good start! :3 ...more

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