A Study in Scarlet (Best Novel Classics, #56) (Jefferson Publication) (Arthur Conan Doyle Collection, #1)

by Arthur Conan Doyle

Anne Perry (Introduction)

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.

• ISBN10: 0812968549
• ISBN13: 9780812968545
• Publish Date: 10 June 2003 (first published 1 December 1887)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Random House USA Inc
• Imprint: Modern Library Inc
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 160
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780812968545

Reviews

[moraa]

To a great mind, nothing is little.

4.5 stars

I don't think anyone who knows me doesn't already know how much I love Sherlock Holmes so here are a few points of interest:

-I read this 5 years ago and still love it as much (if not more) than I did then
-(actually, I read the entirety of Doyle's work on Holmes in a matter of weeks and little else in between)
-I had watched neither the BBC series nor the film (starring RDJ) then but re-reading this now reminds me how little the adaptions retain of the actual text, for instance:

Holmes was certainly not a difficult man to live with. He was quiet in his ways, and his habits were regular. It was rare for him to be up after ten at night.

p.s. I don't pretend not to understand why film makers alter certain parts of the book in an adaptation, it's just something I will always bemoan :)

[thepunktheory]

Full Review on: my Blog ThePunkTheory

After I read The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes last summer, I decided it's time to get started properly with one of the most famous detectives of all time. In A Study in Scarlet Sherlock (who just met Watson for the first time) investigates a rather mysterious murder.
One of the things I really liked about this novel is that we get so find out how Watson and Holmes met and moved in together. It's quite funny how Watson gets acquainted with Holmes' weird habits and tries to make sense of him. But we also get a thorough inside on how Sherlock Holmes works and on how me makes his deductions.
I have to admit, at some point the story began to bore me a bit, but when I watched a theater adaptation a few weeks later, I loved it! A Study in Scarlet is a cleverly written novel, featuring a crime you would never ever be able to solve before Sherlock does.

[adamfortuna]

The first Sherlock Holmes book, and the start of one of the most iconic characters of all time. Unlike movies and TV shows, a flashback to Utah plays an important role in the book. Although it came as a surprise, I did enjoy the payoff in the book moreso than in the video form. There was much more background to the murders that gave the villain more of a heart -- and a real motive.

[empressbrooke]

The Sherlocky parts of this book get 4 stars, I really have no complaints about them. However, there are 30 pages about evil murderous Mormons that just ground the entire story to a halt. It felt like a bait and switch - I thought I was getting one story, but there was another one stuck in the middle that went on and on and on and took days to get through. I'm kind of shocked to realize it only took up about 30% of the book, because it put me to sleep early at least three nights in a row.

[adastra]

Inspired by the BBC's brilliant "Sherlock", I read this story and was amazed at how accurate Benedict Cumberpatch's performance is. This book is of course more archaic but still an exciting enough story that it kept me glued to my iBook and frequently drained my iPhone battery.

Weird though was Part II of the book - all of a sudden we're confronted with 5 chapters of Mormon cowboys with our London (anti-) heroes no where in sight. That guarantees a VERY elaborate conclusion of the murder story, bit still, it's a bit weird.

Anyway, I'll have to rewatch "A Study in Pink" now...