Tag Results
6 posts tagged crime
A Study In Scarlet
by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The cover of the first edition.
A Study in Scarlet is a novel written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and the first to feature the characters Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson. Maybe you’ve heard of them?
They look like this.
Before beginning A Study in Scarlet, I had never read a single Sherlock Holmes mystery. I’d seen the Wishbone episodes where the character is portrayed by a dog, said “Elementary, my dear Watson” on many an occasion, and seen and adored both of the Sherlock Holmes films starring (my future boyfriends) Jude Law and Robert Downey Jr, yet the real thing had always escaped my grasp. That is, until I got this thing called a “Kindle.” Maybe you’ve heard me mention it. Using this mystical device I was able to download the entire Sherlock Holmes anthology - you ready? - for free. Seriously. I know it’s April Fool’s Day, but you gotta believe me!
I began A Study in Scarlet apprehensively. As a text written so long ago, I worried that it may not appeal to me. Boy, was I wrong! The novel is hilarious, witty, interesting, mysterious and an easy read. I devoured this text and I loved every second. It didn’t feel dated at all!* Why had I avoided reading it for so long?
A Study in Scarlet, narrated primarily by Watson, details how he meets Sherlock Holmes, they become roomies, and Watson slowly discovers that Holmes is a rather unusual albeit brilliant character. Having just returned from Afghanistan after serving as a doctor in the military, Watson finds himself back in London and in need of a roommate. He meets Sherlock Holmes and the two hit it off and move in together. Watson quickly notes Holmes’ unusual habits - the man has incredible mood swings, is a chemist and master violinist in his spare time, and has powers of observation so keen that they seem supernatural. It isn’t long before Watson discovers that Holmes is running a private detective business out of their home and he decides to accompany him on a case involving murder which Holmes describes as “a study in scarlet.” The two of them embark on the case together and solve it, entangling Watson into the world of mystery that Holmes so loves and beginning their quest together as the most famous crime solving duo in the history of fiction.
Read this book if you have any interest in mystery novels. You will not regret it! That’s the Brooke guarantee.
*Well, except for the whole anti-Mormon direction during the second half.
