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This is the novella in which Doyle introduces the characters of Watson and Holmes. If you have read the any of the Sherlock novella's then you are aware it is written as a continuous monologue of Dr Watson, this is done in such a fantastic way in the initial meeting of the two characters as every possible feeling and thought is described in such detail making you feel almost reminiscent. Of course Mr Sherlock Holmes solves the mystery with in the first quarter of the book, following this we travel bac to the 1840's Mormon community in Utah to learn of the pretext of the crime in such informative detail.
I would recommend this book to any "Sherlock" lover from the BBC series or just anyone interested in the famous Sherlock Holmes as you learn so much about the character in such a short time.

My introduction to Sherlock Holmes was the collection of short stories titled The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes. By the time I had finished this book I understood the setting of 19th century London and characters of Sherlock and John Watson well. One would think (and I have also recommended) reading A Study In Scarlet first for as the OP correctly states this book describes the initial meeting of Dr. Watson and Sherlock Holmes and provides the back story of their histories; however, I found that there was a particular charm to reading it later and having any questions I may have had, and a few I didn't know I had, answered by this novel.

The Sherlock Holmes canon is one that a reader can jump into at any point and still be thrilled and entertained by the brilliant creativity and writing style of Arthur Conan Doyle.

Doyle had a rare gift of capturing the attention of a reader even when elaborations were not forthcoming ....

Matilda Briggs was not the name of a young woman, Watson, ... It was a ship which is associated with the giant rat of Sumatra, a story for which the world is not yet prepared.

I have read all Sherlock Holmes' stories and loved them.

This is definitely a good way to start reading the Holmes stories--and for some of us, it's been enjoyable more than once. Personally, I've lost count of how many times I've read Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's stories, and I've recently been thinking about starting again.

I've been working my way through the Sherlock oeuvre in chronological (when written) order. I'm currently near the beginning of Hound of the Baskervilles (which I'd read before but quite a long time ago). I liked Holmes' intro in this one, though the Mormon interlude was tedious and seemed an abrupt switch to delay the reveal about Holmes' solving of the crime.

A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is one of my favorite Sherlock Holmes stories. I read them in order, so this was the first book I read in the series. The writing is genius. I did not find it difficult to read because Doyle created a story that grabs the reader's full attention through the entire book. Even though I was not used to reading books with such "old fashioned" dialogue, I found it easy to become engulfed in the story and the wording I was not familiar with did not hinder my reading. I loved the backstory in the book and every page added to the story as a whole. Nothing felt as though it was too much information or dragged on too long. In conclusion, I would highly recommend reading this book.

dkgood wrote:This is the novella in which Doyle introduces the characters of Watson and Holmes. If you have read the any of the Sherlock novella's then you are aware it is written as a continuous monologue of Dr Watson, this is done in such a fantastic way in the initial meeting of the two characters as every possible feeling and thought is described in such detail making you feel almost reminiscent. Of course Mr Sherlock Holmes solves the mystery with in the first quarter of the book, following this we travel bac to the 1840's Mormon community in Utah to learn of the pretext of the crime in such informative detail.
I would recommend this book to any "Sherlock" lover from the BBC series or just anyone interested in the famous Sherlock Holmes as you learn so much about the character in such a short time.

I have only read about half of the Sherlock Holes stories, so far I love them! I have a question though. A Study in Scarlet is rather polemic, as the plot is not quite close to the other stories. Should I recomend A study in Scarlet to someone who have nerver read any of the others? (I recommend books every month in my website classics4classics.wixsite.com/classics4classic , but I am not quite sure if this one would be a good idea°

Thank you for your insights sinse now!

Not sure what you mean by "polemic." Doyle has some pretty strong ideas about things and they do pop up in his stories, but I think the only time I really wanted to smack him was during "Valley of Fear," with its ridiculously overwrought anti-union, anti-Masonic, and anti-Irish message. The way he eulogizes brutal mine owners as just a bunch of honest, hard-working, two-fisted guys who care about their men completely undercuts the reason why the real-life equivalent of the bad guys did what they did in the first place.

thesnowleopard wrote:Not sure what you mean by "polemic." Doyle has some pretty strong ideas about things and they do pop up in his stories, but I think the only time I really wanted to smack him was during "Valley of Fear," with its ridiculously overwrought anti-union, anti-Masonic, and anti-Irish message. The way he eulogizes brutal mine owners as just a bunch of honest, hard-working, two-fisted guys who care about their men completely undercuts the reason why the real-life equivalent of the bad guys did what they did in the first place.

You are completely right! We can not expect him to be as progressive as we (people from 2016!) are though. We've seen both sides of the history over and over again to create more solid concepts. His thinking is a product of his time, just as ours.

However, I think I didn't express myself well. By polemic I mean: the whole romance in Utah is just over the top! Some people enjoy it, some people just can get the point of it all. I am wandering what will be the first impression it will make on readers that first lay their eyes at a Sherlock Holmes novel.

It was suggested that I use the short stories first, so people are more keen to read the longer ones. Though, A Study in Scarlet says so much about all that comes next that it would be a pitty to skip it! Any insights?

Oh, I wouldn't always compare people of the past negatively with people of our time. We aren't automatically more tolerant than people in the past. Plus, the definition of "tolerance" does change and levels of tolerance in a given culture and time period are more a range than a single point.

With Doyle, you get some surprising levels of tolerance in a white male "gentleman" class of writer from the height of the British Empire--namely, "The Adventure of the Yellow Face" or "The Sign of the Four." Doyle is also good at making contrasts in attitudes and prejudices between Holmes and Watson, as well as with other characters in the story. And he seems to have been fascinated by American culture, if perhaps not as well-acquainted as he thought he was.

But he had his quirks. He seemed, for example, to have a thing for portraying almost all major female characters in the same mold--beautiful, dark, fiery, and Continental. He frequently portrayed any man with even a deep tan as a "savage." And he seemed a wee bit obsessed with phrenology and eugenics in terms of the ranking of races. Then again, none of these things is particularly remarkable for the age.

Getting back to the Utah interlude, I tend to like the novels less thanks to those boring interludes (especially since Doyle would stick them in right before Holmes revealed the culprit!). Without Holmes to keep him sharp, Doyle would fall back into one-dimensional characters, melodramatic situations, and dime-store novel plots. Personally, I found them dull. Kipling he wasn't.

The one exception is The Hound of the Baskervilles, where the backstory and the frontstory are beautifully integrated, and the novel preserves the pacing and preciseness of the short stories. Plus, it's a great pastiche of Gothic horror. It's different than the backstory for the other three novels, which all occurs years before Holmes ever enters the picture.

If I were asked to give a starting point for Holmes and the person wasn't wedded to the idea of going in chronological order, I'd say begin with either "The Hound of the Baskervilles" or "A Scandal in Bohemia." If a reader isn't caught up by either of those, I don't think Sherlock Holmes is for them.

I'm currently working my way through the Case Book and wow, is that preface jaundiced. Doyle really did kinda resent his creation, didn't he?

I bought The Complete Sherlock Holmes for my audio player just recently. Since I don't have a car, getting to and from work (as well as shopping and just relaxing) entails a lot of walking around. Listening to Sherlock Holmes is a great way to pass the time while walking through the city.

Does that have the full Casebook, too?

This book is a masterpiece. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle very intelligently wrote the book through Dr. Watson's point of view so that the readers would actually find out how Sherlock Holmes comes to his conclusions. Lovely book!

I think everyone should read this book, especially BBC series fans, to be able to call themselves real "Sherlockians". I'm not a fan of detective stories and I personally preferred the serie, as it focuses more on the characters than the cases, but I can proudly say I've read every book, beginning with "A Study in Scarlet".

DATo wrote: ↑06 Aug 2016, 03:41 My introduction to Sherlock Holmes was the collection of short stories titled The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes. By the time I had finished this book I understood the setting of 19th century London and characters of Sherlock and John Watson well. One would think (and I have also recommended) reading A Study In Scarlet first for as the OP correctly states this book describes the initial meeting of Dr. Watson and Sherlock Holmes and provides the back story of their histories; however, I found that there was a particular charm to reading it later and having any questions I may have had, and a few I didn't know I had, answered by this novel.

The Sherlock Holmes canon is one that a reader can jump into at any point and still be thrilled and entertained by the brilliant creativity and writing style of Arthur Conan Doyle.

Doyle had a rare gift of capturing the attention of a reader even when elaborations were not forthcoming ....

Matilda Briggs was not the name of a young woman, Watson, ... It was a ship which is associated with the giant rat of Sumatra, a story for which the world is not yet prepared.

It's been ages since I read this book. Thnx for this beautiful review ...it refreshed my memory.
I am going to stop here , find this book and start re reading it.