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A review by notwellread
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
4.0
A Study in Scarlet ★★★☆
The Sign of Four ★★
Average rating over these 12 stories: 4.125 stars, so about 4 stars.
As I expected, the short-story format works much better for the Holmes mysteries than the novellas: the mysteries are shorter and pithier, with no need for extra padding. We get the almost-instant gratification of the resolution of a mystery, followed in quick succession by another and another, making for a sequence of unsettlingly exhilarating experiences.
***
A Scandal in Bohemia ★★★★★
This story is so famous that I hardly need to provide a synopsis, but for those in doubt, it concerns the King of Bohemia approaching Holmes to retrieve a compromising photograph of himself with a sly adventuress. A true standout — my favourite Holmes story so far; I particularly love that, a twist which is famous now but must have been so unexpected for readers at the time. I also enjoyed the humour at the expense of the King of Bohemia, with his half-hearted disguise (which proves useless, since naturally Holmes already knows who he is), and seemingly continued infatuation for Adler, despite the threat she poses to him.
A Case of Identity ★★★★
In this story, a young woman’s fiancé mysteriously vanishes on the way to their wedding, and Holmes must investigate his whereabouts and the reason for his disappearance. This story does arguably play into some sexist stereotypes about women’s ‘delusions’ (which doesn’t seem fair to the subject, since she had no reason to suspect anything was amiss), but I particularly enjoyed the exploration of how the young woman was manipulated by those close to her; like a surprising number of Holmes stories, it provides an intriguingly critical view of women’s positions in the society of the time.
The Red-Headed League ★★★★
An unremarkable pawnbroker is offered a new job purely because of his red hair, and assigned simply to copy the Encyclopaedia Britannica. This story provides a particularly great example of Holmes’ technique, and I also personally liked the premise of a strange league of red-headed men. The premise is very unusual, the ending was unexpected, and the means of solving the case provided a lot of fun.
The Boscombe Valley Mystery ★★★☆
A man is killed after an argument with his son, who naturally becomes the prime suspect, but it’s unclear what they argued about, or why his father’s last words were supposedly “A rat”. I liked this one, but it wasn’t quite as memorable to me as some of the others: the means of solving it is all very logical but it doesn’t wrap up as neatly as some of the others.
The Five Orange Pips ★★★★☆
Various members of the American Openshaw family die after receiving orange pips from a mysterious group. I really enjoyed the inclusion of, even if much of it is fiction and/or conjecture, and found this one quite unorthodox and mysterious in tone throughout.
The Man with the Twisted Lip ★★★★☆
A mysterious beggar kills a businessman and disposes of his body into the Thames. This was one of the stronger and more creative stories, and one that shows Holmes’ thought process particularly well, with a very unexpected and amusing ending but one that seems perfectly logical once considered in the bigger picture.
The Blue Carbunkle ★★★★
A carbuncle (i.e. a gem) is stolen from a hotel room, and a man is attacked one night as he staggers home with a goose; Holmes has to investigate the goose’s owner. This one was creative, albeit a little convoluted and somewhat difficult to follow, but that allows for a more intriguing mystery narrative overall. I certainly didn’t expect the ending.
The Speckled Band ★★★★
A woman’s twin sister died as mysterious whistling is heard, and the woman’s stepfather wants to move her into the bedroom where her sister’s died. This was another very unexpected ending, somewhat reminiscent of Poe’s [b:The Murders in the Rue Morgue|3301759|The Murders in the Rue Morgue - a C. Auguste Dupin Short Story (C. Auguste Dupin #1)|Edgar Allan Poe|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1409105459l/3301759._SX50_.jpg|18440614], and is another more well-known story.
The Engineer’s Thumb ★★★
An engineer loses his thumb after being called out for a late-night repair and attends Watson’s surgery for treatment, where he relates the story of the mysterious and secretive job for which he was commissioned. This one was satisfying enough, but lacked the ‘human interest’ angle or the twists and turns that tend to characterise my favourite stories.
The Noble Bachelor ★★★★☆
A wealthy Lord’s American bride disappears shortly after their wedding. I enjoyed the operatic drama of this story, and the unexpected of the ending.
The Beryl Coronet ★★★☆
The co-owner of a private bank discovers that his reputation could be in ruins over the loan of a highly valuable coronet. The resolution of this was fine and logical, but nothing especially compelling. I liked the portrayal of familial relationships, though.
The Copper Beeches ★★★★
A governess is offered an unusually high salary in exchange for various changes to her appearance. It was easier here to put two and two together than in most of the other cases, with the resolution of the story being a little more predictable, but I still enjoyed the setting and.
***
Although some make for better reading than others, another benefit of the brevity of format is that you move quickly on from one case to another, so you aren’t forced to dwell on the weaker portions for too long. I also find myself more interested in the human relationships and the twists of the narrative, and less so with whether an actual ‘crime’ has occurred. Besides what I interpret as allusions to earlier work by Poe (and maybe other mystery writers with whom I’m not familiar), it’s interesting that people see Holmes as so quintessentially British when there’s a lot of cross-cultural references in the characters and settings (being Bohemian, Australian, and American, among others), as well as the use of language (in particular, lots of French and German quotations). Overall this was the most worthwhile reading experience in the series so far.
The Sign of Four ★★
Average rating over these 12 stories: 4.125 stars, so about 4 stars.
As I expected, the short-story format works much better for the Holmes mysteries than the novellas: the mysteries are shorter and pithier, with no need for extra padding. We get the almost-instant gratification of the resolution of a mystery, followed in quick succession by another and another, making for a sequence of unsettlingly exhilarating experiences.
***
A Scandal in Bohemia ★★★★★
This story is so famous that I hardly need to provide a synopsis, but for those in doubt, it concerns the King of Bohemia approaching Holmes to retrieve a compromising photograph of himself with a sly adventuress. A true standout — my favourite Holmes story so far; I particularly love that
Spoiler
Adler outwits HolmesA Case of Identity ★★★★
In this story, a young woman’s fiancé mysteriously vanishes on the way to their wedding, and Holmes must investigate his whereabouts and the reason for his disappearance. This story does arguably play into some sexist stereotypes about women’s ‘delusions’ (which doesn’t seem fair to the subject, since she had no reason to suspect anything was amiss), but I particularly enjoyed the exploration of how the young woman was manipulated by those close to her; like a surprising number of Holmes stories, it provides an intriguingly critical view of women’s positions in the society of the time.
The Red-Headed League ★★★★
An unremarkable pawnbroker is offered a new job purely because of his red hair, and assigned simply to copy the Encyclopaedia Britannica. This story provides a particularly great example of Holmes’ technique, and I also personally liked the premise of a strange league of red-headed men. The premise is very unusual, the ending was unexpected, and the means of solving the case provided a lot of fun.
The Boscombe Valley Mystery ★★★☆
A man is killed after an argument with his son, who naturally becomes the prime suspect, but it’s unclear what they argued about, or why his father’s last words were supposedly “A rat”. I liked this one, but it wasn’t quite as memorable to me as some of the others: the means of solving it is all very logical but it doesn’t wrap up as neatly as some of the others.
The Five Orange Pips ★★★★☆
Various members of the American Openshaw family die after receiving orange pips from a mysterious group. I really enjoyed the inclusion of
Spoiler
the KKKThe Man with the Twisted Lip ★★★★☆
A mysterious beggar kills a businessman and disposes of his body into the Thames. This was one of the stronger and more creative stories, and one that shows Holmes’ thought process particularly well, with a very unexpected and amusing ending but one that seems perfectly logical once considered in the bigger picture.
The Blue Carbunkle ★★★★
A carbuncle (i.e. a gem) is stolen from a hotel room, and a man is attacked one night as he staggers home with a goose; Holmes has to investigate the goose’s owner. This one was creative, albeit a little convoluted and somewhat difficult to follow, but that allows for a more intriguing mystery narrative overall. I certainly didn’t expect the ending.
The Speckled Band ★★★★
A woman’s twin sister died as mysterious whistling is heard, and the woman’s stepfather wants to move her into the bedroom where her sister’s died. This was another very unexpected ending, somewhat reminiscent of Poe’s [b:The Murders in the Rue Morgue|3301759|The Murders in the Rue Morgue - a C. Auguste Dupin Short Story (C. Auguste Dupin #1)|Edgar Allan Poe|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1409105459l/3301759._SX50_.jpg|18440614], and is another more well-known story.
The Engineer’s Thumb ★★★
An engineer loses his thumb after being called out for a late-night repair and attends Watson’s surgery for treatment, where he relates the story of the mysterious and secretive job for which he was commissioned. This one was satisfying enough, but lacked the ‘human interest’ angle or the twists and turns that tend to characterise my favourite stories.
The Noble Bachelor ★★★★☆
A wealthy Lord’s American bride disappears shortly after their wedding. I enjoyed the operatic drama of this story, and the unexpected
Spoiler
sweetnessThe Beryl Coronet ★★★☆
The co-owner of a private bank discovers that his reputation could be in ruins over the loan of a highly valuable coronet. The resolution of this was fine and logical, but nothing especially compelling. I liked the portrayal of familial relationships, though.
The Copper Beeches ★★★★
A governess is offered an unusually high salary in exchange for various changes to her appearance. It was easier here to put two and two together than in most of the other cases, with the resolution of the story being a little more predictable, but I still enjoyed the setting and
Spoiler
the sub-plot with the power-struggle of sorts in the wrestling between the fiancé and the woman’s family over her, similar to A Case of Identity***
Although some make for better reading than others, another benefit of the brevity of format is that you move quickly on from one case to another, so you aren’t forced to dwell on the weaker portions for too long. I also find myself more interested in the human relationships and the twists of the narrative, and less so with whether an actual ‘crime’ has occurred. Besides what I interpret as allusions to earlier work by Poe (and maybe other mystery writers with whom I’m not familiar), it’s interesting that people see Holmes as so quintessentially British when there’s a lot of cross-cultural references in the characters and settings (being Bohemian, Australian, and American, among others), as well as the use of language (in particular, lots of French and German quotations). Overall this was the most worthwhile reading experience in the series so far.