A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The Complete Sherlock Holmes (The Heirloom Collection)

Publisher: Thomas & Mercer; Deluxe ed Edition (2012)

1897 pages, eBook (purchased myself for $6.99)

Book Rating: 4 Stars

Content Ratings:

Violence: Mild-Moderate-Brutal

Swearing: Clean-Light-Filthy

Sexual Content: White-Pink-Red

Summary:

This is the first tale of Sherlock Holmes, in which he meets Dr. John Watson and they become involved in their first investigation together, that revolves around the murder of a man found in an abandoned house with the word “Rache” scrawled on the wall in blood and they come to find out it is somehow involved with the Mormons of Utah.

My Thoughts:

Through Dr. John Watson’s narration, Sherlock leads us through a very interesting mystery involving a mysterious death, as he attempts to help the befuddled police detectives in their investigation. Part one follows the hunt and eventual capture of the murderer, while part two explains the murder’s reasons for doing what he did, as well as Sherlock’s explanation for how he figured everything out. Highly enjoyable story, with an easy flow and very accessible language (not too antiquated). Some may find the storyline involving the Mormons offensive, but I figure with historical literature you kind of have to expect a certain amount of politically incorrect content, and it didn’t really bother me. Great, relatively short read, and I look forward to reading Sherlock’s further adventures.

Edition Notes:

This is the best edition I’ve found for organization, readability and maneuverability in an ebook version that contains the complete collection of Sherlock Holmes tales in the correct reading order. This edition is divided into four volumes: Volume I (A Study in Scarlet, The Sign of Four, Adventures of Sherlock Holmes), Volume II (Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, The Hound of the Baskervilles), Volume III (The Return of Sherlock Holmes, The Valley of Fear) and Volume IV (His Last Bow, The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes). The overall Table of Contents contains links that lead to a Table of Contents for each Volume, which provided links for each individual chapter to provide maximum maneuverability throughout this collection. The chapter and volume heads are visually appealing and well laid out. My only qualm with this edition is that there are very few illustrations. The ones it does contain are of very good quality, but are few and far between. The best ebook edition I’ve found for Sherlock Holmes illustrations is Classic Mystery Collection by MobileReference (contains 24 beautiful illustrations by Richard Gutschmidt from 1902 for A Study in Scarlet alone, and various Sidney Paget illustrations for other tales in the collection). I read in The Complete Sherlock Holmes (The Heirloom Collection), but followed along in the MobileReference edition so I could view the illustrations as I went along . . . not ideal, but the best I could do. The MobileReference edition is perfectly adequate for reading and contains the complete Sherlock Holmes collection organized in the correct reading order, but doesn’t have the ease of movement or superior organization of the Heirloom edition.

Quotes:

“There’s the scarlet thread of murder running through the colourless skein of life, and our duty is to unravel it, and isolate it, and expose every inch of it.” -Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, A Study in Scarlet, Part I, Chapter 4

“Do you remember what Darwin says about music? He claims that the power of producing and appreciating it existed among the human race long before the power of speech was arrived at. Perhaps that is why we are so subtly influenced by it. There are vague memories in our souls of those misty centuries when the world was in its childhood.” -Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, A Study in Scarlet, Part I, Chapter 5

“ . . . where there is no imagination there is no horror.” -Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, A Study in Scarlet, Part I, Chapter 5

“The plot thickens . . .” -Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, A Study in Scarlet, Part I, Chapter 5

“To a great mind, nothing is little . . .” -Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, A Study in Scarlet, Part I, Chapter 6

“‘Any delay in arresting the assassin,’ I observed, ‘might give him time to perpetrate some fresh atrocity.’” -Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, A Study in Scarlet, Part I, Chapter 7

“‘He made the country down in Illinois, and He made the Missouri,’ the little girl continued. ‘I guess somebody else made the country in these parts. It’s not nearly so well done. They forgot the water and the trees.’” -Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, A Study in Scarlet, Part II, Chapter 1

“‘What you do in this world is a matter of no consequence,’ returned my companion, bitterly. ‘The question is, what can you make people believe that you have done?’” -Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, A Study in Scarlet, Part II, Chapter 7

Movie Adaptations/Modern Retellings/Related Works:

Sherlock (TV Series 2010-)

Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman

My Rating: 5 Stars

Adaption: Verbatim-Tweaked-Veiled

Eye Candy: Plain-Pretty-Sultry

This TV Series version of the Sherlock Holmes tales is a modern day adaption but stays true to the spirit of the characters and the tales themselves. The A Study in Pink episode follows the book very closely in dialogue and the construction of the murders, but differs in the reason for the murders, the murder victims, and the connection between the victims.

Sherlock Holmes (2009)

Robert Downey, Jr., Jude Law

Movie Rating: PG-13

My Rating: 4 Stars

Adaption: Verbatim-Tweaked-Veiled

Eye Candy: Plain-Pretty-Sultry

Interesting movie, if you like the characters from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s tales of Sherlock, but this movie is not based particularly on any of his stories.