Month: July 2022 (Page 3 of 5)

According to a 2008 survey of 3000 British people, about 58% thought that Sherlock Holmes was a real person. You can see the other findings here. I am not going to comment on whether I think these findings are sad, or humorous, or a sign of the success or failure of the educational system. Now that I have read several Holmes tales for myself, I can understand how easy it would be to believe in the reality of Holmes.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a genius with the pen. Rather than letting the detective tell his own stories, he wrote about Holmes from the viewpoint of Dr John Watson. In this way, Holmes could still remain a bit of a mystery to the readers. They can only know what Watson knows. So, for example, when Holmes dons a disguise and disappears into the dark corners of London, the reader is left with Watson to wonder what the detective is doing.

Another genius literary technique Doyles uses is criticizing his own work through Holmes. In almost half of the tales I have read thus far, Holmes accuses Watson of exaggerating his successes. His methods are elementary, he says, and anyone who practices observation can have the same success.

Doyle, writing as Watson, also mentions cases that Holmes has solved but that must remain untold. In this way, he leaves to the readers’ imaginations what other puzzles Holmes has pieced together. The ones that are in the books can’t be the only adventures, because Watson says so. See this quote from “The Naval Treaty”:

“The July which immediately succeeded my marriage was made memorable by three cases of interest, in which I had the privilege of being associated with Sherlock Holmes and of studying his methods. I find them recorded in my notes under the headings “The Adventure of the Second Stain”, “The Adventure of the Naval Treaty”, and “The Adventure of the Tired Captain.” The first of these, however, deals with interest of such importance, and implicates so many of the first families in the kingdom, that for many years it will be impossible to make it public. No case, however, in which Holmes was engaged has ever illustrated the value of his analytical methods so clearly or has impressed those who were associated with him so deeply. I still retain an almost verbatim report of the interview in which he demonstrated the true facts of the case to Monsieur Dubuque of the Paris police, and Fritz von Waldbaum, the well-known specialist of Dantzig, both of whom had wasted their energies upon what proved to be side issues. The new century will have come, however, before the story can be safely told. Meanwhile I pass on to the second on my list, which promised also at one time to be of national importance, and was marked by several incidents which give it a quite unique character. “

“The Naval Treaty”, The Greatest Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, circa 1893

Sometimes, I find these introductory paragraphs from Watson dull, and I am tempted to skip over them. But I believe this is where Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s genius can be seen the most. He adds just enough dullness to make Watson seem real, and he makes Holmes just mysterious enough feel real. It’s no wonder so many people believe that Sherlock Holmes was a real person.

I can assure you, I know that Sherlock Holmes is fiction. But I admit, there are times I wish he was real. I think he would be a fascinating friend.

This week, I finished the collection of stories called The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes. I am now halfway through my Sherlock Holmes volume. The Memoirs was published in 1893. There are eleven stories:

• “Silver Blaze”
• “The Yellow Face”
• “The Stockbroker’s Clerk”
• “The Gloria Scott“
• “The Musgrave Ritual”
• “The Reigate Squire”
• “The Crooked Man”
• “The Resident Patient”
• “The Greek Interpreter”
• “The Naval Treaty”
• “The Final Problem”

I am so glad to have a full volume of Sherlock Holmes tales, because “The Final Problem” definitely has a sad ending. If you have ever read anything about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, you know that he did not like Sherlock Holmes. He intended for Holmes to be wrapped up in one novel, A Study in Scarlet (1886-1887). But audiences loved Holmes, and so for the next several years, Doyle would write another novel, The Sign of the Four, and several short stories that were printed as serials. He never intended for Holmes to become a national hero, preferring to write other novels and full length historical fictions instead. According to the introduction in my volume, Doyle said, “The difficulty of the Holmes work was that every story needed as clear-cut and original a plot as a longish book would do. One cannot without effort spin plots at such a rate. They are apt to become thin or break” (Christopher & Barbara Roden, The Greatest Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, 2009). Doyle decided to kill Holmes off and never write of him again, and he did just that in “The Final Problem”. At Christmastime 1893, readers were shocked as Holmes grappled with his greatest adversary, Professor Moriarty. Both plunged over a cliff to their deaths. With expert care, Doyle, writing as Watson, gave an emotional farewell to the great detective, and that was where The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes ended.

As I said before, I am so glad to have a complete volume of Holmes, because I can move right to the next story and find that Holmes returns from the cliff. For ten years, Doyle didn’t write any more short stories featuring the great detective. He did write one novel, The Hound of the Baskervilles, in that time period. He offered it to his publishers at two different prices, a lower price without Holmes and a higher price with him. The publishers paid the higher price.

Then, in 1903, Doyle brought Sherlock Holmes back from the dead in “The Empty House”. This was the first of fourteen stories that would be published as The Return of Sherlock Holmes. Doyle offered a very real alternative outcome to the detective’s cliffside death. While he and his adversary had fought, Moriarty had gone over the side while Holmes was able to find shelter on a cliffside ledge. However, he was spotted by Moriarty’s accomplice. Though his new adversary threw boulders at the detective, trying to dislodge him and cause his death, Holmes was able to get away. They would meet again in “The Empty House.”

I am afraid I have given away too many details. I hope I have not ruined the stories for you. I recommend that you find yourself a copy of these stories, maybe even a complete volume like I have. Curl up on a rainy day with a cup of tea and enjoy reading them for yourself. I think you will not be disappointed.