- The Good: Holmes! Watson!
- The Bad: Forget what you know from the adaptations, this is the real deal.
- The Literary: “’Excellent!’ I cried. ‘Elementary,’ said he.”
From his residence at 221B Baker Street, Sherlock Holmes solves a series of baffling and bizarre cases, as recounted to the reader by his faithful friend and colleague, Dr. John Watson. This second collection consists of twelve short stories, originally published serially in The Strand Magazine between December 1892 and December 1893 and was originally supposed to be the finale of the Holmes stories.
I find the Sherlock Holmes stories to be delightful and comforting, especially when read by Stephen Fry. Some stories are better than others, but I’m happy to listen to them all, so as to stay in the universe just a little bit longer. My favorites in this collection are:
- The Adventure of Silver Blaze, in which a race horse disappears the night before an important race and its trainer apparently murdered. The stable boy is suspected but Holmes doesn’t think the facts add up, including why the dog didn’t bark if someone stole the horse at night. I love the atmospheric setting of the Dartmoor, the fleshed out details of the mystery, and Holmes’ top notch commentary.
- The Adventure of the Yellow Face, in which a concerned husband is worried that his wife is visiting a neighboring cottage at all hours of the day and night. With modern eyes, the story is a complex treatment of race and an interracial marriage, that is at once both modern and problematic, certainly worth discussion. Holmes analyses the evidence, and for once, arrives at an incorrect deduction, then humbly asking Watson to remind him of this case if he ever gets too overconfident.
- The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter, in which Watson first meets Sherlock’s older brother, Mycroft. Sherlock readily admits that his brother’s observation and reasoning prowess outstrips his own. They banter and quip, while Watson watches in stunned silence. The mystery itself is a rather passive story, as it is told second-hand, despite featuring a kidnapping and murder, and pales in comparison to the Sherlock brothers’ relationship.
- The Adventure of the Final Problem, in which Holmes meets his match in the criminal mastermind Professor Moriarty. After several murder attempts, Holmes and Watson flee Moriarty and his gang to Switzerland, which requires hiding behind luggage and climbing over garden walls, a trick note, and a visit to Reichenbach Falls.
I am not myself as interested in the intellectual puzzles, although I’m sure fans of deductive reasoning have thoroughly dissected these and used these stories as starting points for even more mysteries. I think this collection, especially Greek Interpreter, gives a deeper insight and backstory into the elusive Holmes as a character, not just an archetype. I am especially drawn to the period ambience, the long train rides and afternoon tea, and the oh-so charming Holmes-Watson platonic romance. May Sherlock Holmes live forever!
“I never can resist a touch of the dramatic.”