Synopses & Reviews
Introduction by Anne Perry
Includes newly commissioned endnotes
In 1887, a young Arthur Conan Doyle published A Study in Scarlet, creating an international icon in the quick-witted sleuth Sherlock Holmes. In this very first Holmes mystery, the detective introduces himself to Dr. John H. Watson with the puzzling line "You have been in Afghanistan, I perceive," and so begins Watson's, and the world's, fascination with this enigmatic character. In A Study in Scarlet, Doyle presents two equally perplexing mysteries for Holmes to solve: one a murder that takes place in the shadowy outskirts of London, in a locked room where the haunting word Rache is written upon the wall, the other a kidnapping set in the American West. Picking up the "scarlet thread of murder running through the colourless skein of life," Holmes demonstrates his uncanny knack for finding the truth, tapping into powers of deduction that still captivate readers today.
Review
"[Holmes] is probably the only literary creation since the creations of Dickens which has really passed into the life and language of the people." — G. K. Chesterton
About the Author
Anne Perry is the Edgar Award-winning author of more than thirty novels. Her most recent books include Death of a Stranger and Funeral in Blue. She lives in Scotland.
Reading Group Guide
1. Before Arthur Conan Doyle created Holmes, there were few detective stories for Conan Doyle to use as a sort of template. Do you believe Conan Doyle was basing Holmes on a doctor or medical student instead? Why does Conan Doyle intentionally mention Poe and Gaboriaus detectives? Is he poking fun at himself or setting himself apart from his competition?
2. Upon meeting Watson, Holmes immediately says “You have been in Afghanistan, I perceive.” Yet, Holmes does not indulge Watson with an explanation of his deduction until later. Why did Conan Doyle wait to insert the explanation until later in the book? Does it help or hurt the book?
3. What does Part II, “The Country of the Saints,” tell us about Conan Doyles view of religion? Do you believe Conan Doyle believed in the occult or spiritualism? If so, then how do you reconcile the fact he created a character whos sole motivation is reason and science?
4. Do you like the American flashback? Why do you think Conan Doyle used this scene in the book knowing so little about the Mormon religion and the general geography of the American mid-West?
5. London had recently survived the Jack the Ripper attacks when Conan Doyle wrote this story. Do you think the Holmes stories became so popular as a direct result of the chilling crimes?
6. Traditional detective stories present the “facts” to the reader and let he or she work out the crime. Why do you think Conan Doyle rejected this formula? Why is Conan Doyles Holmes stories so popular if they are a direct contradiction of the traditional detective genre?