‘If I am Mr Neville St Clair, then it is obvious that no crime has been committed’. This shows us that no crime has been committed because Mr Neville St Clair couldn’t have killed himself. Holmes solves this crime quite easily after some thought by washing, ‘Hugh Boones’ face. Suspense is formulated when Mr Neville St Clair is spotted at the window of the opium den by his wife. ‘Convinced that something was amiss with him, she rushed down the steps’, rushed is the key word here because it shows she knows something is wrong and the readers are intrigued to find out what happened to Mr Neville St Clair.
The Blue Carbuncle also alters from the usual Holmes story structure because no victim comes to Holmes, instead Peterson tells Watson about it and then he tells Holmes about the situation. We are led down many roads in this story, new evidence and new findings send Holmes everywhere looking for more information but in the end he solves the crime using a lot of deception. He used deception when the Goose seller wouldn’t tell him where the Geese had gone. ‘It’s merely taking your money’, this shows Holmes deceptive skills and shows how he can solve the crime. It also shows the greed of the seller because as soon as money is mentioned he leaps on the opportunity, this gives us an insight into how harsh Victorian England must’ve been. It is also different because instead of the criminal being caught, Ryder is told to ‘Get out’, by Holmes. Suspense is spawned in this story when the Goose seller tells Holmes that he isn’t going to tell him where the Geese came from, ‘Well, then I shan’t tell you. So now!’ This makes us think how is Holmes going to get the information and he doesn’t disappoint and he extracts the information without too much hassle and catches the criminal while he is doing it.
The Musgrave Ritual, yet again differs from a classic Sherlock Holmes story. There is a mystery but no crime. Also it involves Homes describing one of his past cases to Watson. Holmes solves the mystery using certain methods, like putting himself in the butler’s shoes. Suspense is yet again created, by Doyle in this story, when the Butler is caught looking through Musgrave’s desk. ‘Only a week sir? ’ he cries in a despairing voice’. This makes us think why does the Butler wish to stay for one more week?
Doyle had to vary the structures of his stories because otherwise he would have lost the interest of the Victorian public. It also had to vary the ways in which the crimes are solved and how the suspense was portrayed to keep the readers fixated on his Sherlock Holmes stories.
The setting and mood in each story plays a huge part in the success of Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories. In The Speckled Band Doyle contrasts the domesticity of Baker street to the strange and frightening atmosphere of Stoke Moran manor. The Mood throughout this story is intimidating and frightening. We see this at the start of the story when Helen Stoner says, ‘It is not the cold which makes me shiver’. This mood is continued right to the end of the story because Watson and Holmes have to enter the manor at night. The setting Stoke Moran is significant because it is an intimidating atmosphere and the dangerous animals roaming freely around the place add to this intimidating mood and atmosphere. In comparison to the intimidating mood and setting in The Speckled Band, the Man with the Twisted Lip starts off with a bright cosy mood in a warm inviting setting. ‘When a man gives his first yawn and glances at the clock. I sat up in my chair, and my wife laid down her needle work down in her lap and made a little face of disappointment.’ This mood and setting is significant because soon after this we are going to plunge into a completely different setting and mood in the form of the opium den and Upper Swandam Lane. The opium den is described to be ‘like the forcastle of an emigrant ship.’ This is and indication of time period this story is set in because slaves would be everywhere in the era and Doyle needed a simile to portray the opium den to a Victorian audience.
In the Blue Carbuncle the setting and mood is completely different compared to the previous two stories. It is set around Christmas time and lots of people are in the festive mood. I think that it is quite appropriate to use the goose at the centre of the case because of the time of year. We see this mood put into practice when Holmes lets Ryder leave without taking him to the authorities. ‘Besides it is the season of forgiveness’. The Musgrave Ritual starts off in a patriotic mood with Holmes shooting a VR in the wall. The mood constantly changes in this story with the death of the maid and the butler and the story also shows how the aristocratic Musgrave Family have links beyond the present Victorian era right back to the reign of Charles I. The family inhabit a large manor in the countryside which is where a lot of crimes happen in the Sherlock Holmes stories usually because the rich people can get away with crimes because they can afford to pay their way out of trouble.
The stories also vary in the way that Doyle uses descriptive techniques and the different language he uses. In The Speckled Band Watson is narrating the story. Helen Stoner often talks in a frightened manner, ‘You may advise me how to walk amid the dangers which encompass me.’ She speaks like this because she is scared for her own safety. Dr Roylott also speaks to Holmes in a different way, ‘I have know you, you scoundrel! I have heard of you before. You are Holmes the meddler!’ Roylott is talking like this because he is also frightened but in a different way. He is frightened Holmes will discover what he is up to. In the Man with the Twisted Lip Watson is again charged with the task of narrating the story. Mrs Neville St Clair often talks in a distressed way because she believes that her husband is dead, ‘In your heart of hearts, do you think that Neville is alive?’ This shows how she has pretty much given up faith in her husband still being alive. When Holmes is questioning Mrs Neville St Clair he ask a lot of questions, ‘Then he might have called to you?’ This shows how confused Holmes is about the situation and how he is trying to get one bit of information that clicks into place or gets his brain working.
In the Blue Carbuncle Watson is again narrating the story. We see Holmes persuasive techniques and how he also doesn’t reveal too much to Henry Baker. ‘It’s quite certain that he knows nothing whatever about the matter’, we also see his persuasive techniques when he convinces the goose seller to show him the records. ‘But I’ll have a sovereign on with you, just to teach you not to be obstinate’. Holmes here appeals to the seller’s greedy side, as soon as money is mentioned he shows him the records. The Musgrave Ritual is narrated originally by Watson but Holmes tells the story of the Musgrave ritual. The butler makes quite and interesting criminal because he can speak a few other languages so he is a bit cleverer than an average butler. He has started deciphering the Musgrave ritual and when he is caught in Musgrave’s desk he pleads with Musgrave, ‘Only a week, sir. He cried in a despairing voice’ The way he talks tells us that he is close to discovering the secret and that he only needs one more week. Towards the end of the story, Musgrave says ‘What is it then? He gasped in astonishment,’ he says this because Holmes is about to tell him that he has found the ancient crown of the king of England.
Throughout Doyle’s stories involving Sherlock Holmes he gives us insights into the view of Victorian England at the time. In the Speckled Band we see that there are lots of manors littered around the countryside and we also see that because people are rich they believe that they are above the law. We also see the want for money, and we see how far Dr Roylott was going to go to get it. The Man with the Twisted Lip shows us the poorer part of Victorian England; it shows Mrs Neville St Clair travelling up Upper Swandam Lane which is a typical poor place in London. We also learn that most of the races that have come to England have poor jobs, like we see Lascar-who is a black, running the opium den. The Blue carbuncle shows us that Geese were a familiar Christmas food (Turkeys came later). It gives us an insight into how geese were either town bred or country bred. Mrs Oakshott breeds geese in her backyard as a means of income and this shows Victorian women being enterprising. The Musgrave ritual shows us that they have Butlers and maids who lived and worked in estates for the rich. We also gain a further insight into the amount on manors and estates in Victorian England.
Doyle uses two main characters within his Sherlock Holmes stories: Watson and Holmes. Both of these characters contrast vastly and I think that this contrast works well together in delivering the reader/audience with entertainment. Throughout the stories I have read Watson is often the funny character whereas Holmes is the one who solves the cases and has interesting habits. We see this within the Blue Carbuncle when Watson and Holmes are examining Henry Bakers hat. ‘My dear Holmes!’ Watson said this when Holmes revealed all his knowledge that he could extract from Henry Baker’s hat. This creates humour and acts as a contrast to Holmes more professional mood.
In Conclusion I think that the Sherlock Holmes stories retain our interest today and remain so popular because of the contrasting characters of Watson and Holmes. Another reason is how Doyle varies the structure of the stories and how he makes the reader guess what has happened. Doyle also uses words like ‘ejaculated’ to describe Holmes’ speech and this would appeal to people today as well as people in Victorian England.