February 10, 2013

A Study in Scarlet and The Sign of Four by Arthur Conan Doyle

Vasily Livanov as Sherlock Holmes
As I was trying to read something light during my January exam session, it suddenly occurred to me that I have no idea whatsoever if I have read all the Sherlock Holmes. Of course I read a lot of Conan Doyle while a child and I've seen numerous adaptations, and I generally consider myself a fan, but have I read all of them? Instead of trying to remember, I downloaded "The Compete Sherlock Holmes" and started at the beginning. Haven't regretted it yet!

A Study in Scarlet (Sherlock Holmes, #1)
For those who don't already know it, it's the first Sherlock Holmes novel, where the reader actually meets both him and doctor Watson. I definitely haven't read it in English, and it's a long time since I read it in translation. So I was really surprised at how small is the part of the novel which describes the actual investigation of the familiar case. The novel seems to be focused on the character of Holmes himself more than on the details of the murder. I was also surprised, that nearly one half of the novel was dedicated to somewhat poetical description of the murderer's story. I really enjoyed the passages about Mormon caravan moving to Utah, about their life there and about the forbidden and tragic love which led to the murder itself. It's no mystery why this novel was and still is so popular: it mixes crime investigation with psychological one, and also adds an adventure and a love story in some exotic (for a Londoner, at least) setting. I rather liked the language too, it's not primitive as some authors of serial detectives adopt, and really beautiful.

The Sign of Four (Sherlock Holmes, #2)
The second novel is still more extravagant and plays with the love of treasure hunting which everyone with some imagination tend to love. It starts a year or so later after the first case, during which time Watson was methodically writing down his observations about Holmes, but never participated in any investigations himself. Nor there seemed to be any, as Holmes is taking cocaine on regular basis now as  means of escaping the dullness of the world. With such a lot of cocaine which is only slightly frowned upon, I'm surprised they haven't forbidden or rewritten the book! I'm happy they didn't. Along with many mysterious deaths, escaped convicts, revolts in colonial India and a very dynamic boat pursuit, the novel also has a love story, and with no other than Watson himself! I remember him getting married and moving out from Baker street, but in the second novel? Conan Doyle is certainly not afraid of moving on with things in his novels!

After these two novels there is a short story collection called "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" in my book, beginning with A Scandal in Bohemia, so I'm up to some intrigue next time I decide I need something really nice and distracting!



20 comments:

  1. Very nice! It's been ages since I read A Study in Scarlett - seriously, I didn't even remember there was a love story. Time for a reread. And I don't recall ever reading The Sign of Four.
    Enjoy the collection that follows!

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    1. The love story is behind everything there, and there are a lot of adventures in the pre-history. You'll be surprised after the reread!)

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  2. Love Sherlock Holmes! I have most of the stories in a single volume as well. It's been a while since I read them--but I'm gearing up for a reread of His Last Bow this year.

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    1. All in one volume is great - you can be sure you haven't missed anything! Looking forward to reading your review) I hope I will have read it too by the time)

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  3. Sherlock Holmes is my favorite character, so I'm glad you liked these novels! I think I saw the Livanov version of Hound of the Baskervilles, or part of it - he's great.

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    1. I think he's the best! Although I also love the modern "Sherlock" :) Who doesn't?)

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  4. I rarely read mystery/detective novels but I did read some of Doyle's stories and thoroughly enjoyed them. I don't know why that is. I suppose it's because I always feel rather foolish that I couldn't see what the detective found so evident but when Holmes is that detective I don't feel quite so dumb because he's so intelligent that my being able to keep up with him mentally doesn't seem like such an insult.

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    1. It's true! When reading Agatha Christie, for example, I sometimes feel myself rather dumb, because the detectives are rarely professionals

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  5. I love Sherlock Holmes! I don't really like Study in Scarlet, though, because of the sensationalism and made-up stuff. ACD didn't know anything about actual Mormons, he just wanted an exotic location, so be sure to take his descriptions with a shovelful of salt. ;) (Years later he actually visited Salt Lake City and kind of apologized!)

    I like the short stories a lot. Hmmm, maybe time to pick them up again...

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    1. Haha, nice remark! I actually believed the facts in general, although of course it's a bit dramatized. Now I know better!

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  6. I love SH, always, always. You may as well say he's my first love with classics.

    Study in Scarlet and Sign of Four are nor my favourite, though. It's a bit too much of love-stuff there. Many might not agree, but for me SH is still the best detective in literature ever written.

    And you are so amazing to plan reading all the complete SH series. Quite a job there. Good luck with your reading.

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    1. He's the best, agree! And thanks. Although it's not really a hard work, rather some relaxation =)

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  7. It is great fun to read Sherlock Holmes, I started reading some of the stories last year but the great thing is there are so many still left. :) I wasn't too fond of A Study in Scarlet but I did really like the Sign of Four.

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    1. It's actually quite the opposite with me, I like A Study in Scarlet much more than The Sign of Four. There is not actually a lot new ones for me, but the good thing is you forget them after some time and can read them again =)

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  8. I had forgotten I was in the middle of reading A Study in Scarlet until now. How silly of me! I had put it down to finish reading a book for review and then forgot all about it. Easy to do with e-books I suppose. Great reviews!

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    1. Oh, finish it! You will not regret, I promise you))

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    2. I finished it! Thanks for the reminder to do so. :) Review is up if you wanna take a look!

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  9. Shame on me - I've never read Sherlock Holmes which is strange considering I enjoy detective fiction. I'll have to add some into my Salon reading.

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  10. It's been a long time since I'd read A Study in Scarlet too. I'd forgotten how much Watson background is in it! (As well as the whole Mormon digression. I wonder what I thought of that when I read it as a kid...)

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  11. I've had the entire set of Sherlock Holmes books sitting in my bookcase forever, and I STILL haven't gotten around to reading them. But I will. I must! :)

    I'm glad you enjoyed the first two!

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