A Study In Scarlet

An even larger figure in British crime lore comes out of 1887 – Sherlock Holmes, who made his debut in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s first novel, ‘A Study In Scarlet’.

ArthurConanDoyle_AStudyInScarlet_annual

As far as Victorian popular novels go, it stands up very well indeed, even more so as it manages to act as an introduction to Sherlock as well as a well-plotted mystery story, an accomplished bit of writing and an enjoyable read. My favourite bit has to be the way the middle third of the book appears to be a different, entirely unrelated novel, set on a different continent with different characters and of an apparently unrelated genre, until the two ends finally tie together in the final third.

A Study In Scarlet
A Study In Scarlet (text at Project Gutenberg)
A Study In Scarlet (audiobook read by Derek Jacobi)

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