Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Novels And Stories, Volume I (1986) - Plot & Excerpts
The Complete Sherlock Holmes: Volume I by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is great fun to read. Other than the three short novels, A Study in Scarlet, The Sign of the Four, and The Hound of the Baskervilles, this first volume is comprised of a collection of Holmes stories (also published under the titles of Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes). I read this large volume over the course of three months or so, reading stories between the run of bad books I’ve unfortunately had this winter. I’ve never been interested in Sherlock Holmes, probably due to his over-exposure. He’s everywhere and thus I felt no need to read the original stories. That changed when I began watching BBC’s excellent Sherlock. I found the character of Sherlock intriguing (to say nothing of my newly-formed Cumberlust) and the relationship between Sherlock and Holmes is complex and funny and intriguing. So I bought this volume at my local Barnes & Noble and I’ve enjoyed it so much. Even the not-so-great stories are fun. What I enjoy so much about the stories aren’t necessarily the mysteries. I’ve read much more complex and suspenseful mysteries by other authors. I didn’t have the crimes solved before Sherlock did, but I usually had a fairly good idea of what was going on. What I like is the excellent, no-nonsense, crisp writing. The writing is so economical and practical and what long descriptions there are set the mood effectively. I don’t have to read long annoying passages about how the characters feel. Doyle lets the reader figure that out. I like that Sherlock isn’t overly emotional and his intelligent conversation and deductions are enjoyable. His deductive skills are best displayed in The Sign of Four when Sherlock looks at a watch Watson recently inherited and deduces much from it. This scene is also brilliantly adapted by Sherlock for “A Study in Pink” (1.1). In this episode, Watson’s cellphone (which was given to him by his sister) is the modern substitution for the watch, and the scene is just as enjoyable to watch as it is to read (although I think the modern mystery is better).I like Watson and his bemusement at Sherlock’s deductive powers. He also struggles to understand why a man who is so intelligent in some areas is completely ignorant in others. There is a scene in a Study in Scarlet in which Watson makes a list entitled: “Sherlock Holmes—his limitations.” Sherlock’s knowledge of literature, philosophy and astronomy are summed up thusly: “nil” and his knowledge of politics is “feeble.” This is also when Watson is flabbergasted to learn that Sherlock doesn’t know that the earth goes around the sun: “My surprise reached a climax, however, when I found incidentally that he was ignorant of the Copernican Theory and of the composition of the Solar System. That any civilized human being in this nineteenth century should not be aware that the earth travelled round the sun appeared to me to be such an extraordinary fact that I could hardly realize it” (14). When Watson reproaches him for his ignorance, Sherlock interrupts impatiently: “What the deuce is it to me? You say that we go round the sun. If we went round the moon it would not make a pennyworth of difference to me or to my work” (15). Benedict Cumberbatch, by the way, said this line with such childish irritation and arrogance while flouncing around in his robe; a great interpretation of the complex, mercurial personality that is Sherlock Holmes. The Sherlock Holmes stories are very evocative of nineteenth century London and I feel as if I am there walking the foggy streets dimly lit by gas lights. The descriptions of the moor in The Hound of the Baskervilles make the story even more creepy and scary: “Our wagonette had topped a rise and in front of us rose the huge expanse of the moor, mottled with gnarled and craggy cairns and tors. A cold wind swept down from it and set us shivering” (615). This was creepy story and I enjoyed it immensely. What surprised me to learn is that the things Sherlock is most famous for (the cape, the curved pipe and the deerstalker cap) don’t exist in the stories. Sherlock does smoke a pipe, but it’s straight, not curved. An early illustrator of the original stories added these affectations. Sherlock’s famous line, “It’s elementary, Watson” (and variations on that) is said only once in all the stories. What Sherlock most often says is, “You know my methods, Watson,” but apparently that’s too wordy and not as catchy. Also, Professor Moriarty, Sherlock’s genius evil alter-ego, only appears in one story: “The Final Problem.” Since so much is made of him, I thought he would be a repeating character, but he is not. However, he is so clever and evil and so like Sherlock, he makes an impressive and lasting impression. I would have enjoyed these Sherlock Holmes stories anyway, but my enjoyment was heightened whenever I came across a plot or character habit or dialogue that had been adapted directly into the BBC’s Sherlock. The two mediums together are a special treat. However, when I read the stories, I don’t picture Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock. The Sherlock Holmes and John Watson of the stories are similar, but not the same, as the characters in the television show. If you are a fan of the show, you may want to go right to the source and read the stories. I absolutely loved them and look forward to starting volume two and the resurrection of Sherlock in “The Empty House.”
November 2011Oh, Sherlock Holmes, where have you been all my life?"Abstinence works!"--Rick PerryMurder! Intrigue! Theft! Blackmail! Here, in two novels and 36 stories, are some of the adventures of Sherlock Holmes, as recorded by his trusty friend and sidekick Dr. John Watson, from their first fateful meeting to Holmes's apparent death and surprising return, and beyond--featuring murderous Mormons, Klansmen without Konscience, mysterious American ladies with mysterious pasts, kidnappers, wayward clerks, giants, hunters, bad men, good men, beasts of all natures and descriptions--oops, sorry, got carried away there. All the familiar characters are here: Irene Adler, Professor Moriarty, cocaine, Mycroft Holmes, Inspector Lestrade, cocaine! Ripping yarns and thrilling mysteries galore! What are you waiting for? Onward, to adventure!Gubner Rick Perry doesn't like to admit it, but abstinence-only programs don't work; teens and young adults will do what they like no matter how many lectures and pledges and rings are foisted on them. You can't stop it. And just as it is unrealistic to expect people to remain celibate until marriage, it is just as difficult--no, almost impossible--to approach the Sherlock Holmes stories as a complete virgin. Well, you Holmeswhores can speak for yourselves--I almost did it. Sure, I may have been diddled by Uncle Walt when I was young, and I kinda fooled around a bit with a dog named Wishbone, but hey, I was just a kid, I didn't know any better! And fine, maaaaybe I got to first or second base in high school English with "The Red-Headed League," but it doesn’t really count if we kept our pants on. It was just the one time, honest! And then I had a one-night stand with the BBC's Sherlock. Several times. First time I was hanging out with friends, second time I found it on Netflix, and the, uh, I'm sorry, I can't remember the third time. Oops.Really, though, when you think about it, it isn't easy. Sherlock Holmes has been in movies for over a hundred years--but I've seen none of them. Radio--nope. "Continuing adventures" from other writers--also nope. Television shows--well, there were a few Wishbone episodes, and the first two episodes of Sherlock, but nothing else. Detective stories "inspired" by Doyle--Nate the Great, the Encyclopedia Brown stories, Disney's The Great Mouse Detective, and I suppose House, M.D. counts too--but, like Shakespeare plays, and like the Bible, the Sherlock Holmes stories are practically universal, and yet my exposure to them, before now, was almost nil. Somehow, incredibly, I was the 24-year-old Sherlock Holmes virgin. And I am glad I waited.I picked up Bantam Classics' 2-volume set of Sherlock Holmes stories last year; Volume I includes the novels A Study in Scarlet and The Sign of the Four, plus the three collections Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, and The Return of Sherlock Holmes. At over 1,000 pages it was pretty hefty, even for a mmpb, and I thought it would be wise to take my time-- starry-eyed virgin that I was, I thought I could space the stories out, spend a few months savoring the collection, read a story a day to avoid getting bored, then take a long break and pick up Vol. II sometime next year. Silly me. I devoured Scarlet in the space of two days, consumed Four not long after, swallowed the collections whole, licked my plate, and asked for seconds. (this may or may not still be a sex metaphor--you decide!) It was only with the strongest amount of willpower that I paced myself, a bit, by taking small breaks between the novels and collections--enough to take a breath, that is--and my plan to wait a few months before starting Vol II. fell apart rather quickly as I cleared my short story schedule to fit in more Holmes...which I read just as quickly, and recently finished. And what a feast! I may be stuffed to the gills (ok, this isn't a sex metaphor anymore), I may be fat and happy (ditto), but dammit, I want more Holmes! More! MORE!Looks like it's time to try those movies and tv shows and books I've been avoiding. What can I say, I'm a Sherlock slut.Finished Reviews:A Study in Scarlet(More to come!)
What do You think about Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Novels And Stories, Volume I (1986)?
Having undertaken the journey of reading ALL the Sherlock Holmes stories due to my recent infatuation with the terrific BBC television series Sherlock, I am pleased to say I am pleased! Though Sir A. C. D. himself once insisted that he would be disappointed if he were only remembered for creating the character of Holmes, I have to object to such a statement. You should not be disappointed, sir! These stories are brilliant. They aren't the most quickly-paced things, and they aren't exactly dripping with imagery, but I fail to see how anyone could be unimpressed with the ideas the author thinks up. It's amazing! Each mystery was filled with its own little quirks and turnabouts.My favorites were The Red-headed League, Silver Blaze, The Final Problem, and (of course) The Hound of the Baskervilles.Some people might remain dubious concerning the worth of detective stories. And I refer them to a quote I discovered in the Comments & Questions section of this book:"The narrowest street possesses, in every crook and twist of its intention, the soul of the man who built it, perhaps long in his grave. Every brick has as human a hieroglyph as if it were a graven brick of Babylon; every slate on the roof is as educational a document as if it were a slate covered with addition and subtraction sums. Anything which tends, even under the fantastic form of the minutiae of Sherlock Holmes, to assert this romance of detail in civilization, to emphasize this unfathomably human character in flints and tiles, is a good thing."Thank you, G. K. Chesterton, for eloquently expressing my wonder at everything human.
—Bridget
I've been reading this book off and on for months. Since it's short stories, I've been reading them between other things. I'm glad I've finally finished.So... I'd always known about Sherlock Holmes. My parents used to watch the old shows on PBS. In high school I read 'Hound of the Baskervilles', and remember liking it, but don't remember much about it. And I loved, loved, LOVED the recent modern movie adaptation with Robert Downey, Jr. So, for the longest time, I consider myself something of a Holmes fan, but realized that, for all that, I'd never really read much Holmes. So I got this book.Overall, I enjoyed it. I liked the novel length stories a lot, and some of the other stories were great. (Particulars of which stories I liked and didn't like, and various comments, are in my status updates.)But, that said, I found a lot of the stories sort of predictable. It was hard for me to see them as examples of Holmes' genius when I figured them out from the outset. Sometimes they were truly clever, or amusing, or touching - but a lot of them were sort of ho-hum.I was also disappointed to learn that Holmes' great rivla, Moriarity, is only in a scant few stories, and Irene Adler is in one! (Of course, I haven't read the second volume, yet, and I still hope this will be rectified.)In a way, I'm glad I had the exposure to Holmes I did early on, prior to reading the stories, because I'm not sure, if I'd started with the stories, what I'd think, to be honest.
—colleen the fabulous fabulaphile
This is a collection of the Sherlock Holmes stories in order. My summation: I like it. It's classic literature. It's enjoyable to read not just for the stories contained within, but because of the tone and way its written. Watson narrates the goings on of Sherlock Holmes from his own perspective and it very much gives off that sort of feel. It's his perspective so we see what HE sees, and not necessarily what Sherlock sees... or rather... deduces. Its always a fun time trying to see if you can figure out what sort of conclusions Sherlock Holmes is going to draw from the stories. Sometimes they're kind of easy and other times they are most difficult. Sometimes I think he's a bit lucky that he was right as some things that he sees could have been made by some mere coincidence and aren't tell tale signs of what's going on at all! I thought it was quite funny that Sherlock Holmes is prone to using Cocaine when his mind isn't adequately stimulated. Watson of course objects to this, but Sherlock will do what Sherlock will do. I have enjoyed the trip back in time and I have enjoyed reading about the characters. The one setback I find in all of this is that it gets to be kind of redundant after a while. The new scenarios are enough to keep me coming back to see what happens, but the manner in which things occur are usually about the same. The good news is that since this is a chronicle of short stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is that at the end of one I can easily put it down and read something else for a while and then come back later refreshed and ready for a new case!
—Heather
