I’m reading through the Sherlock Holmes stories for the first time, and posting my thoughts on each story as I read it.
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Title: A Study in Scarlet, from The Complete Sherlock Holmes
Author: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
A Study in Scarlet is the first Sherlock Holmes novel ever written, and the first Holmes story I’ve ever read (apart from a distracted scan of The Red-Headed League in elementary school). I was warned by multiple websites not to read it first, as it’s the earliest and not supposed to be the best, but I ignored the warnings; I like reading things in order. Though it isn’t perfect, it’s a fun read, and if it’s considered one of the worst Holmes stories, I’m definitely looking forward to the rest.
The story begins when Dr. John H. Watson, recovering from his stint in Afghanistan, is looking for a flatmate to share the burden of rent, and is introduced to a peculiar fellow by the name of Sherlock Holmes.
His very person and appearance were such as to strike the attention of the most casual observer. In height he was rather over six feet, and so excessively lean that he seemed to be considerably taller. His eyes were sharp and piercing, save during those intervals of torpor to which I have alluded; and his chin, too, had the prominence and squareness which mark the man of determination. His hands were invariably blotted with ink and stained with chemicals, yet he was possessed of extraordinary delicacy of touch, as I frequently had occasion to observe when I watched him manipulating his fragile philosophical instruments.
Watson spends the first couple chapters of the book trying to figure out just what it is Holmes does for a living, since his habits are so odd and his fields of study so disparate. Before long, he learns that Sherlock Holmes is the world’s only consulting detective, and that his odd assortment of visitors are actually clients seeking his assistance. For the first time, Holmes invites Watson to visit the scene of a crime with him, where they examine the body of a wild-looking man, bloody but somehow uninjured, and nearby, the word RACHE written on the wall.
This novel is a short one, more like a novelette. Holmes and Watson are fairly undeveloped as characters in Doyle’s mind at this point, and he made some obvious changes when he returned to them in The Sign of the Four (in just one example, in A Study in Scarlet, Watson makes a list of Holmes’ limitations, and describes his knowledge of literature and philosophy as “Nil”.) But the familiar characters are essentially there, and there’s a thrill in seeing Holmes come alive on the page for the very first time. I was surprised to find that a good portion of the story takes place in Salt Lake City, Utah, in a long flashback; I’ve heard that Doyle often made his stories a sort of history lesson, in which an historical event is described through the eyes of one of the characters.
Holmes is more cold and calculating than I expected in this story, and while I realize that’s one of his signature traits, I’m hoping his characterization will be rounder in future stories. Watson is a likeable narrator, who isn’t afraid to stand up to someone even as masterly as Holmes when he feels he should. I wasn’t disappointed in A Study in Scarlet, and I’m glad I read it first, since the stories can only get better from here.
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