Just Finished re-Reading: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (FP: 1892) [316pp] 

This outing for Holmes and Watson was somewhat different from the previous two. Instead of a long(ish) novella or short novel we are presented with an even dozen short stories. There’s quite a mixture here, from straight crime/detective stories to mysteries to a few with an almost Gothic ‘horror’ feel. There are a few surprises too, including admissions that Holmes sometimes FAILS to unravel things not just in good time but at all. Interesting to see that ACD didn’t see (or want the readership to view) Holmes as some sort of superman. 

The first story was one of his most famous ‘A scandal in Bohemia’ revolving around an attempted blackmail of a member of that principality's royalty (who had, to be honest, been a bit of a naughty boy and a fool). The protagonist here was the now notorious Irene Adler – apparently always referred to as ‘the woman’ - and clearly admired by Holmes for her mind far more than her looks. There was an interesting comment about romance/love/lust that was central to the tale: “He [Holmes, that is] never spoke of the softer passions, save with a gibe and a sneer.” I’m still of the opinion that Sherlock has had his heart badly broken at some point. 

In my random(ish) notes I made during my reading (not something I normally do but as this is a buddy read/review piece – plus short stories rather than a full novel – I thought it’d be best to get the most out of it) Holmes’ drug habit was mentioned again, and he even joked about it with Watson when Holmes was found in a London dockside opium den in deep cover on a case. Some mentions of his drug use did make me wonder if Holmes was suffering from manic depression.  

Although in the previous novels it appeared that Holmes (generally) worked for free or for very little more than basic expenses it seemed that he wasn’t above asking for a fee up front – especially from the rich and shameless. Sherlock’s services didn’t come cheap IF you could afford it. Where a professional man might earn around £700 a year in London in the late 19th century, Holmes was given £100 plus expenses and then a bonus on top for a few days' work. That’s not to be sneezed at! 

Another thing that jumped out at me at one point was that a ‘Mrs Turner’ was mentioned as the pair's housekeeper. What happened to ‘Mrs Hudson’ I wondered – only to have her reappear in a later story! This ‘confusion’ only deepened when clients were shown in by a bellboy (as in a hotel) or a commissioner. I suppose that if 221 Baker Street was an apartment complex (with Holmes in B of course) that would make a kind of sense. There were also a few interesting things that jumped out at me in the story ‘The Red-Headed League’ (one of my favourite stories in the collection) including the first time I saw a reference to a ‘three pipe problem’ as well as a note of a vegetarian restaurant(!) in the street Holmes was scoping out for a crime scene.  

As I’ve found in other crime/detective stories of this era, the problem of Identity is very much front and centre in quite a few of the stories. Not, of course as we view it in today's crazy world, but knowing exactly who people are – either victims (who generally can’t answer questions) or protagonists. With little in the way of official documentation and what was available probably easily forged I’m guessing that it was comparatively easy to pass yourself off as someone else. In a world without knowledge of blood types, finger printing (only widely used/recognised in the very late 19th/early 20th century) and certainly not DNA evidence the police and detectives – both real and fictional – had to fall back on much older and cruder methods of identifying someone. 

Overall, this was a very creditable collection of short stories without a duff one in the bunch. Having previously read them over 40 years ago around 90% of the book appeared to read as something completely new to me. The only thing that disappointed me (slightly) was the fact that I learnt very little about Holmes or Watson as people – with Holmes being almost ‘invisible’ in one sense. I suppose (guessing again) that ACD didn’t want the Holmes character getting in the way of the story. So, at this point we still know nothing about Holmes’ family, personal history or much about his character makeup. About the only valuable thing we did learn was that Watson is Holmes’ ONLY friend. I am, naturally looking forward to the next stack of short stories in ‘Memoirs’ and hope to find out a bit more about this great duo and, of course, to be highly entertained and impressed by Holmes’ forensic methods! Highly recommended. 

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